UMBC's Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) becomes the second Retriever in school history to garner America East Player of the Week honors twice in the same season, while Vermont's Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) has been named America East Rookie of the Week for a league-leading third time this season. The awards were announced on Monday (January 8).
Hodges led the Retrievers to two conference road victories on the week as he averaged 21.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.5 apg, while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Hodges was UMBC’s America East Player of the Game in wins at Binghamton and at Stony Brook as he led all scorers in both games. He poured in a game-high 22 points, including the game winning three-point play with 5.5 seconds remaining, in UMBC’s 73-71 win at Binghamton. He followed that up with a game-high 20 points at Stony Brook, tallying 18 of his 20 points in the second half.
Trapani continued his solid rookie campaign with a game-high 23 points in a the America East opener as the Catamounts defeated Stony Brook 80-69. The freshman poured in 21 of his 23 points after halftime as he hit 6-of-8 from the floor in the second frame and was a perfect 4-for-4 from three. With the Cats only up by one early in the second stanza, 38-37, Trapani heated up and netted nine of the team’s next 12 points as Vermont pushed its lead to as many as 13.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Hawks, Retrievers Top Standings
Despite being picked to finish eighth and ninth, respectively, in the annual preseason coaches' poll, UMBC (6-9, 2-0 America East) and Hartford (8-6, 2-0) currently sit tied atop the league standings with flawless 2-0 records after the opening week of conference play. The Retrievers are off to a 2-0 start to conference play for the second-straight season after doing something they have never done as America East members before ? win back-to-back conference road games. Under first-year head coach Dan Leibovitz, a 10-year assistant under John Chaney at Temple, the Hawks' zone defenses have wreaked havoc on league foes thus far. UMBC will be put to the test in a big way this week, however, as the Retrievers go on the road to take on defending league champ Albany on Tuesday and then host Vermont on Thursday. Hartford heads to New Hampshire on Thursday and hosts Stony Brook on Saturday.
Freshmen Firepower
With the opening week of conference play in the books, America East freshmen did not disappoint in their league debuts. Vermont's Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) garnered the league's Rookie of the Week honors, but a handful of other freshmen also turned in impressive performances. Below is a breakdown of last week's scoring averages compared to season scoring averages for some of the conference's top freshmen.
Name, Cl, School Week Avg./Season Avg.
Corey Lowe, Fr., Boston U. 23.5/13.5 ppg
Joe Trapani, Fr., Vermont 23.0/15.6 ppg
Tyler Morris, Fr.-R, Boston U. 16.5/14.7 ppg
Joe Zeglinski, Fr., Hartford 15.0/13.2 ppg
Lazar Trifunovic, Fr., Binghamton 13.5/10.3 ppg
Wilson, Reed Approach Milestones
Seniors Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) of Albany and Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./St. Thomas More Prep) of Maine are both approaching significant scoring milestones. Wilson needs 63 points to become Albany's all-time scorer, while Reed is one point shy of tying Skip Chappelle (1959-62) for seventh place on Maine's all-time scoring list. Wilson has also moved into third place in career assists with 404, while Reed sits at 16th place on Maine's all-time rebounding list with 636 career boards.
Christensen Comes Up Big
New Hampshire's Mike Christensen (Reston, Va./Flint Hill) averaged 19.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.0 apg as the Wildcats went 1-1 on the week with a solid win at Maine on Saturday. The 6-8 forward led all scorers with a career-high 28 points to lead UNH past Maine, 73-68. Christensen shot 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe at Maine, while shooting 4-of-6 (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 7-of-11 from the floor en route to 18 second half points.
Binghamton's Helper
Binghamton's Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) has developed into the conference's most efficient point guard. The 6-0 junior had 15 assists with just two turnovers in the Bearcats' two games on the week. Gordon currently paces the league's highest scoring offense with a conference-best 2.87 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Boston Bombers
Boston University connected on a school-record 15 three-pointers in the Terriers' heartbreaking double-overtime loss at Hartford on Saturday. Freshmen Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) and Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) were each one triple away from tying the school's single-game record as they buried six trifectas apiece to lead the long-range assault. Lowe attempted a school-record 16 long balls, while Strong was an efficient 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
America East Opening Night
The league portion of the 2006-07 slate got underway on Wednesday, January 3 with America East Opening Night. Four conference tilts and one in-state showdown highlighted an evening that featured t-shirt and 2007 America East Championship ticket giveaways on five campuses around the league. Fans turned out in droves to catch America East Opening Night action, as evidenced by the attendance breakdown below.
America East Opening Night Attendance
*Hartford at Maine 1326
*UMBC at Binghamton 2822
*Stony Brook at Vermont 2350
Holy Cross at Boston U. 1025
*UNH at Albany 3122
Average 2129
*America East Conference game
Non-Conference Slate Nears end
Five of the league's nine teams have already completed the regular-season non-conference portion of their 2006-07 schedules. Vermont (8-5), Binghamton (7-5), Stony Brook (5-7), UMBC (4-9) and Boston University (3-9) have all wrapped up their non-league slates, while Albany (7-5), Hartford (6-6), Maine (5-7) and New Hampshire (3-9) all have one regular-season non-conference tilt remaining. Below is a list of the non-league games that remain.
Regular-Season Non-Conference Games
J 16 New Hampshire at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
J 31 Hartford at Boston College, 7 p.m. (NESN)
F 17 Albany at ESPN BracketBusters, TBA
F 17 Maine at ESPN BracketBusters, TBA
Conference Climb
With just four regular-season non-conference games remaining, America East squads have sailed past last year's non-conference win total. America East teams are currently 48-61 (.440) in 2006-07, compared to just 33-69 (.324) a season ago. The conference is on pace to register 50 regular-season non-conference victories this campaign, which would be the most since the league recorded 52 in 1994-95 when there were also nine teams in the league.
Above .500
Four league teams are currently .500 or better in non-conference play on the 2006-07 season. Last season, only Albany (8-8) posted a non-conference mark of .500 or better.
Road Warriors
The biggest component to America East's non-conference success this season has been the ability of league teams to win on the road. Conference teams have combined to win 29 non-conference road games in 2006-07, compared to just nine a season ago. The most notable road victory to date was Vermont's victory at #14 Boston College, but the overall road successes of the league could loom large when the league's automatic qualifier is seeded for the NCAA Tournament and for other postseason candidates as well.
RPI Report
The Collegiate Basketball News RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) Report was released on Monday (Jan. 8) and America East moved up one spot to the 23rd-ranked league in the nation. Vermont moved up nine spots and currently sit as the conference's highest ranked team at 120.
? As a conference, the league ranks 23rd in the country, which is four spots higher than last season's final RPI of 27, and 12th among other mid-major leagues. Most notably, America East ranks ahead of the MAAC (25th overall/14th among mid-majors) and the Ohio Valley (27th/16th).
? Six of nine America East members boast higher RPIs than they finished with a season ago.
? Four America East members have made significant jumps in the RPI compared to the 2005-06 campaign. See the list below that compares last year's final RPI with this year's current RPI and the number of spots each school has moved up.
School 2005-06 2006-07 Increase
UMBC 297 180 +117
Hartford 268 171 +97
Stony Brook 310 217 +93
Vermont 212 120 +92
Lights, Camera, Action
America East announced its most comprehensive television schedule in history with more than 50 men’s and women’s basketball games slated for broadcast in 2006-07 (see following page for complete schedule). Included in the package is the America East Men’s Basketball Championship, which will air live on ESPN2 on March 10 at 12 noon. It marks the 19th-consecutive year that the championship game will appear on ESPN/ESPN2.
America East and ESPN Regional Television will team up to produce and distribute games throughout the America East geographic footprint, which includes several of the nation’s top 25 media markets including New York (No. 1), Boston (No. 5), Washington, D.C. (No. 8), Baltimore and Hartford. In addition, no fewer than 12 games will be included in the ESPN Full Court package, the subscription service provided by ESPN. The games will also be available on-line via video streaming at AmericaEast.com.
Championship Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets for the 2007 America East Men's Basketball Championship on March 2-4 at Boston University's Agganis Arena are on sale now. To purchase tickets visit www.AmericaEast.com.
Championship Returns to Boston
The America East Men’s Basketball Championship returns to Boston in 2007 as Boston University hosts the nine-team tournament on March 2-4 at Agganis Arena. The first round game will take place on Friday, March 2, followed by the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 3 and the semifinals on Sunday, March 4.
Tournament ticket packages are $30 for youth/students and $60 for adults. To purchase tickets call 617-353-GoBU or online at www.AmericaEast.com. To request media credentials for the conference’s premier event, email K.J. Cardinal (cardinal@americaeast.com).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Albany Great Danes
Albany (8-6, 1-1 America East) split a pair of games to open America East Conference play... The Great Danes tied a season-low with nine turnovers in the 69-52 victory over New Hampshire on Jan. 3... UAlbany held the visitors to 21 second-half points, the lowest total by an opponent in the final period this season... The Great Danes allowed the most points by a conference opponent since Feb. 2, 2003 in an 83-72 road loss at Binghamton on Jan. 6... The Bearcats shot 57.8 percent from the field, the best performance by an America East opponent since March 9, 2003... UAlbany coach Will Brown served a one-game suspension for violating the conference’s Ethical Conduct policy... Associate Head Coach Eric Eaton coached the team against Binghamton... Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) needs 63 points to become the school’s all-time scorer... Gary Holway (1955-59) has held that record for nearly 48 years as he scored 1,851 points... Wilson scored 20-plus points for the 38th time with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists against New Hampshire... The 6-1 senior has moved into third place in career assists with 404... Brent Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) has extended his double-figure scoring streak to eight-straight games... Wilson is averaging 15.4 ppg, while shooting 66.7 percent (48-of-72) from the floor in that span... Jon Iati (York, Pa./York Catholic) is averaging 11.0 points over his last four games off the bench... Brian Lillis (Urbandale, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling) recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Binghamton... Lillis, a 6-5 junior, grabbed 10 or more rebounds for the fourth time as a collegian... UAlbany is averaging 3,059 fans in six dates at SEFCU Arena, which is way ahead of last year’s pace of 2,073 through six home games.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (8-6, 1-1 America East) split a pair of games to open the America East slate... The Bearcats continued their torrid scoring by averaging 77 ppg for the week. The Bearcats rank No. 1 in the AE in scoring (72.1 ppg.)... Binghamton dropped the UMBC game on the final possession before shooting 58 percent in the 11-point win over preseason favorite Albany... Junior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.5 apg in the two games, strengthening his league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio... Gordon collected 15 assists with just two turnovers... Senior guard Steve Proctor (Largo, Md./Paul VI/Pensacola JC) averaged 17.0 ppg on 58 percent shooting... He hit 7-of-11 three-pointers and is shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc this season... Junior guard Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Far Rockaway/Howard) stung Albany for a game-high 25 points off the bench... Forbes hit 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line to eclipse the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season... Freshman forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Secondary Railway Technical School) averaged 13.5 ppg and has reached double-figures in four of his last five games.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (3-10, 0-1 America East) fell twice last week in overtime games, 73-70 in one overtime to Holy Cross on Jan. 3 and 80-75 at Hartford in double overtime on Jan. 6... The Terriers have now played three overtime games in four contests... Prior to last Saturday, Boston U.’s last double overtime game was in February, 2003... In the game against Holy Cross, freshman Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) and red-shirt freshman Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) both scored 20+ for the Terriers... Lowe had a game-best 24 on 6-for-12 shooting and Morris tallied 23 on 9-for-13 from the floor... Lowe was 3-for-6 from three, while Morris shot 5-for-7 from deep... The game between the Crusaders and the Terriers featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes... Both teams had a blistering first half, shooting 50 percent or better - Boston U. at 57.1 percent - from the floor... Morris hit a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime... The Terriers took 12 free throw attempts in the overtime period - one more than Boston U. took in the prior two halves combined... The game at Hartford saw Boston U.commit six turnovers in the first half but finish the game with 23... Freshman Carlos Strong’s (Portland, Maine/Deering) 18 points were one shy of his career high set versus George Washington on Nov. 7... Freshman Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont./Iroquois Ridge) posted his first double-double with a career-high 13 points and a career-high-tying 10 rebounds... Corey Lowe (24 points) had 20 or more points for the second-consecutive game and third time this season... Strong’s 18 points, Brittain’s 13 points and Morris’s 10 points in addition to Lowe’s 24 gave the Terriers four double figure scorers for the first time since a 78-74 win over Harvard on Nov. 14... Boston U. faces three conference opponents next week with Maine at home on Jan. 9 (7 p.m.), Binghamton in Vestal, N.Y. on Jan. 11 (7 p.m.) and New Hampshire on Jan. 13 at home (1 p.m.).
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (8-6, 2-0 America East) won back-to-back games last week to open the America East season... The Hawks pulled out a 62-60 victory at Maine on Wednesday before returning home to hand Boston University an 80-75 defeat on Saturday in double overtime... The last time Hartford started the conference slate with two wins was during the 2002-03 campaign (that team started 3-0)... The win over Boston U. was the first since January 29, 2002, snapping a nine-game losing streak against the Terriers.... The Hawks overcame an 18-point deficit with 11:27 to play in the second half... Freshman Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) led the way with 20 of his game- and career-high 22 points coming in the second half and overtime periods... He also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds... Sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin County) also played a big part in the win, scoring a career-high 20 points in the contest, including Hartford's final six points in the second overtime... Senior Bo Taylor (Reston, Va./Paul VI Catholic/Bishop O'Connell/South Lakes) led the Hawks at Maine with a game-high 15 points and team-high seven rebounds... He leads the team on the season at 14.6 ppg... Hartford will continue league play this week with games at New Hampshire on Thursday, January 11 at 7 p.m. and at home against Stony Brook on Saturday, January 13 at 2 p.m.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (5-9, 0-2 America East) dropped a pair of America East Conference games on the week... The Black Bears were led by Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) who averaged 18.5 ppg on the week... He also grabbed nine rebounds in each game... Reed moved into sole possession of eighth place on Maine's all-time scoring list with 1,351 career points... He is one point shy of tying Skip Chappelle (1959-62) for seventh place on Maine's all-time scoring list... Reed has 270 career three-point field goals, which is six shy of tying Aaron Cook (Hartford 2002-06) for fifth place on the America East career list... Reed also moved into 16th place on Maine's all-time rebounding list with 636 career boards... Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn./Northwest Catholic) averaged 13.5 points on the week for Maine... He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor on Wednesday against Hartford and was also 2-of-2 from the free throw line... Maine has currently hit at least one three-point field goal in 381-straight games... Maine outrebounded UNH by 13 on Saturday... It is tied for the second-largest rebounding margin by the Black Bears this season... Maine has recorded more steals than its opponents in 10 of 14 games this season... Maine plays it first America East Conference road games of the season this week when it travels to Boston University of Tuesday and Albany on Thursday.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (6-9, 2-0 America East) accomplished a number of firsts with wins at Binghamton and Stony Brook this week... The two wins represented the Retrievers’ first back-to-back road victories in three-plus years of America East play... The wins were UMBC’s first ever at Binghamton versus the Bearcats and at Stony Brook... The Retrievers have won five road games this season, the most since seven road wins in the 2001-02 campaign... The win at Binghamton snapped a 13-game conference road losing streak for UMBC... The Retrievers hit 17-of-23 second half field goal attempts (73.9 percent) and 12-of-13 free throws at Stony Brook, outscoring the hosts, 47-24 in the 19-point win... UMBC trailed at halftime in both games and has come back from three halftime deficits to post wins this year... UMBC was 1-16 when trailing at halftime last season... Junior guard Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) has been UMBC’s America East Conference Player of the Game in each of the last three contests... He led all scorers in both games with 22 points at Binghamton and 20 at Stony Brook... Hodges scored the Retrievers’ final nine points, including the game winning three-point play, with 5.5 seconds remaining in UMBC’s 73-71 win at Binghamton... He tallied 18 of his 20 points in the second half at Stony Brook, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the floor and is averaging 19.6 ppg over his last 10 games... Over his last seven games, all starts, freshman forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) has hit an astounding 26-of-37 (70.3 percent) from the floor... Against the Seawolves, he rejected a season-high four shots and led the team in rebounding for the first time this year with six caroms... Senior guard and co-captain Chris Pugh (Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill) played in career game No. 100 at Stony Brook and the defensive wizard has moved into 10th place on UMBC’s all time steals list with 116... The Retrievers host league heavyweights Albany and Vermont in a three-day span this week.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (4-10, 1-1 America East) has won three of its last five games, including a 73-68 road win over rival Maine on January 6... The win snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Black Bears as junior forward Mike Christensen (Reston, Va./Flint Hill) posted a career-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists... Senior co-captain Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Institute of Sport) and Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter) each delivered 17 points apiece for the Wildcats... UNH has three players averaging double-digits in scoring with Janev and Christensen averaging 13.7 ppg and Anderson at 13.4 ppg... UNH shot an impressive 21-of-28 from the charity stripe, including a 15-of-19 performance during the second half as Christensen made 10-of-11 on the night... Freshman forward Seth Price (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) notched five points and four rebounds off the bench in the win... UNH fell to defending America East champion Albany, 69-52, on January 3 to open conference play... Anderson posted a team-high 18 points, while Janev and Christenson posted 13 and 11 points respectively... UNH returns home to Lundholm Gymnasium after a season-long eight-game road trip on Tuesday (Jan. 9) when it plays host to Vermont... UNH last played at home on November 29 against Harvard... UNH also takes on Hartford on (Jan. 11) in Durham, N.H. before traveling visiting Boston University on Saturday (Jan. 13).
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (5-9, 0-2 America East) dropped a pair of conference games in the opening week of league play... In the conference lid-lifter, the Seawolves fell at Vermont, 80-69... Despite leading at the break, the Seawolves allowed Vermont to shoot 60 percent in the second half and were outscored 53-39 in the frame... Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) led the Seawolves with 18 points and six rebounds and was one of three Stony Brook players in double figures... Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) netted 16 points while Mike Popoko (Baltimore, Md./The McDonough School) added 14 points... The Seawolves went on to drop the conference home-opener to UMBC, 72-53... Once again, the Seawolves led at the half and their defense in the second period was the difference, allowing UMBC to shoot a blistering 74 percent and outscore the home team 47-24 in the second stanza... Popoko led the way for SB with 14 points while Beauford added 10... Emanuel Neto (Luanda, Angola/Colegio Henriques/San Jacinto) added nine points and five boards off the bench... The Seawolves next take on Binghamton at home on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. before traveling to face Hartford on Saturday afternoon.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (9-5, 1-0 America East) won its only contest of the week, an 80-69 victory over Stony Brook in the America East opener for both schools... UVM has now won four in a row and six of its last seven... Freshman Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) netted a game-high 23 points, including 21 in the deciding second half to lead the Catamounts... The Cats nearly doubled their first half point total with 53 in the final 20 minutes of play... Sophomore Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s) had a stat-stuffing night for the Catamounts with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a career-high five steals, while senior Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley/URI) added 14 points and nine boards... The Catamounts improve to 11-1 all-time against the Seawolves with the win... Vermont shot 60.0 percent (15-25) from the floor in the second half, making up for an 18-for-33 performance from the line over the last 20 minutes... The Catamounts have won 30 of the last 38 games against teams from the state of New York... Vermont is 6-0 when scoring 70 or more points in regulation this season... UVM has now hit 56.6 percent (30-53) from the floor against Stony Brook in the second half of the last two meetings combined... The Cats play three conference games this week starting on Tuesday at New Hampshire and then Thursday at UMBC before returning home to host Albany on Saturday on NESN and Time Warner Cable.