CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- UMBC's Ray Barbosa (Allentown, Pa./William Allen/James Madison) was named the first America East Men's Basketball Player of the Week of the 2007-08 season after leading the Retrievers to a victory in their season opener. Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep) earned Rookie of the Week honors for the week ending November 11. Click here for complete release.
Barbosa, a transfer from James Madison, scored 21 points to lead the Retrievers to a 81-78 victory over St. Peter's on Saturday night. He scored 12 of his 21 in the second half to help his team overcome a 12-point second-half deficit. Barbosa, who shot 7-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three-point land, scored eight straight points to trim the Peacock lead to four with nine minutes to go. He also hit two free throws with 1:52 remaining to give UMBC the lead and sealed the game with a layup with 19 seconds remaining. Barbosa also contributed three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Holland scored 12 points off the bench in his first collegiate game to lead the Terriers to 68-57 win over St. Bonaventure on Friday. Holland, who scored five points during a 7-0 run for Boston U. in the first half, shot 4-of-7 from the field and hit half of his four three-point attempts.
America East Notebook
Boston U. Opens Season With Win
Sophomore Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) tied a career high with 28 points and added six rebounds to lead the Terriers past St. Bonaventure, 68-57, at Case Gymnasium on Friday evening. Lowe was one of four Terriers in double figures. Freshman John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep) scored 11 points in his first collegiate game. Sophomore Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ontario/Iroquois Ridge) had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Retrievers' Streak to Five
UMBC won its home opener for the fifth straight season, overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit to earn the victory. Senior Ray Barbosa (Allentown, Pa./William Allen/James Madison) scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half and hit 5-of-7 attempts from three-point land. Junior Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) scored eight points and dished out 10 assists, the fourth time in his career he has had double-digit assists. Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Close Call for 'Cats
Despite a 67-57 loss, New Hampshire played ACC foe Boston College tough on Saturday. The Wildcats overcame a 15-point first-half defiicit to take 28-26 lead into the locker room. Senior Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass.) scored 17 of his 23 points in the first stanza. The game remained close mid way through the second half, before Boston College took a the lead for good at 44-41.
Scheduling Tough
As a result of the scheduling standards that were passed prior to last
season, America East teams have continued to schedule quality
non-conference opponent to prepare them for league play. This season,
America East teams will play 22 combined non-league games against teams
that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including Vermont taking on
national champion Florida and UMBC traveling to runner-up Ohio State.
Additionally, America East teams will play seven combined games against
teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll, including Hartford at No. 6
Louisville, Albany at No. 13 Duke and Stony Brook at No. 20 Kentucky.
Terriers Top Coaches' Poll
Boston University, winner of a conference-best five America East Championships, was the preseason choice of the coaches to win the league title in 2007-08. The Terriers received five of a possible eight first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 61 points to outdistance back-to-back champion Albany, which had four first-place votes and 55 points.
Vermont, which earned the America East regular-season title last year en route to its first NIT berth, was chosen third with 50 points. Binghamton, with rookie head coach Kevin Broadus, was picked fourth with 45 points. UMBC (33 points) edged Hartford (31) for fifth place. Stony Brook (19) was seventh while Maine and New Hampshire tied for eighth place with 15 points.
Preseason All-Conference Squad
Senior Brian Hodges of UMBC and junior Mike Trimboli of Vermont were unanimous selections to the 2007-08 America East Preseason All-Conference team in voting conducted by the conference’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
That duo is joined by seniors Brent Wilson of Albany and Mike Gordon of Binghamton, and sophomore Tyler Morris of Boston University. All five preseason picks come from the teams finished in the top five of America East.
On the Bench
Kevin Broadus takes over as Binghamton's head coach after three years as an assistant at Georgetown. The Hoyas captured the 2007 Big East Championship and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1985... Albany head coach Will Brown agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2011-12 season. Brown has led the Great Danes to consecutive America East titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances... Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2011-12 campaing. Lonergan has compiled a 38-25 record in his first two seasons and led the Catamounts to back-to-back appearances in the America East Championship game.
Back to Binghamton
The America East Men's Basketball Championship returns to Binghamton University’s Events Center on March 7-9, with the title game to be played on March 15 at the higher remaining seed. It is the second time in three years the Events Center has hosted the tournament. It played host to the Women's Championship last season. Reserve your All Session Tournament Pass for the 2008 America East Men’s Basketball Tournament. For more information please call 607-777-3741.
You're On Television
ESPNU will broadcast the first nationally-televised regular-season conference game in America East history when Boston University plays host to Vermont at Agganis Arena on Friday, January 25 at 9 p.m. The game is the marquee match-up in the America East Television schedule, which will include more than 50 games on national or regional sports networks in 2007-08.
The America East Men’s Basketball Championship game will be shown live on March 15 at 12 noon on ESPN2. It marks the 21st straight year the conference championship has been nationally televised.
America East and ESPN Regional Television will produce 20 games for distribution among regional sports networks and local carriers. A total of 14 games involving America East teams will appear on NESN, seven games on Comcast Sports Net, seven games on MASN, four games on CN8, three games on Fox Sports New York, and two games on MSG network.
The America East men’s basketball semifinals will appear on Comcast Sports Net and Time Warner cable while the women’s semifinals and championship are slated for NESN and Time Warner. Eric Frede returns as the play-by-play announcer for America East basketball. Leah Secundo, a veteran of America East television productions, is the color analyst for women’s basketball games. Former Harvard head coach Frank Sullivan will be the men’s basketball color analyst.
Among the out-of-conference highlights are Albany at Duke (ESPN2) on December 17, Vermont at two-time defending national champion Florida (CN8) on November 30 and Hartford playing host
Streaming on the Web
For the first time in conference history, America East will produce “enhanced streaming” games, which will be available for free at the AmericaEastZone at AmericaEast.com. Through its partnerships with Pack Network and JumpTV Sports, America East will produce eight women’s basketball games beginning when Hartford visits Boston University on January 5. The package will include two “wildcard” games to be determined by the conference standings in February.
On Campus
America East will also produce five episodes of America East On Campus, a 30-minute magazine show devoted to the conference’s student-athletes. The third-year show, which will air on regional sports networks including NESN beginning in January, is hosted by Frede, who produces the show along with his Cod Rock Media Productions partner, Dan Hannigan.
Team Notebooks
Albany (0-1, 0-0 America East) opened its schedule with a 56-52 road loss against Bucknell, a program that has won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons, before 4,056 fans at Sojka Pavilion... the two teams were playing in the season opener for the second straight year... John Griffin made the go-ahead three-point field goal with just over one minute remaining... Brian Lillis (Urbandale, Iowa / West Des Moines Dowling) had given his team its only lead of the contest, 49-48, with 1:43 to play... Lillis, last year’s conference defensive player of the year, struck for a career-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting... Lillis, who scored in double figures for the 14th time as a collegian, added five rebounds and four assists ... Jon Iati (York, Pa./ York Catholic) added 11 points off the bench... Iati, who canned three long-range jumpers, is fourth on the school’s career three-point field goals list with 175... Jerel Hastings (Dallas, Texas / South Oak Cliff) had five points and five rebounds in his UAlbany debut... Hastings transferred from Lon Morris College in Texas... the Great Danes had their three-game win streak in season openers halted... UAlbany will attempt to end a 10-game losing streak against Central Connecticut State on Nov. 14... The programs have met just twice since 1968, but UAlbany last won in the series on Feb. 10, 1962... The Great Danes will unveil their 2006-07 America East Conference championship banner on Nov. 17 in the home opener with Columbia... UAlbany won its second consecutive A-East title with a 23-10 record, the program’s highest win total at the Division I level.
Binghamton (0-0, 0-0 America East) opens its 2007-08 season on Monday at St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m... Mike Gordon (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield), a preseason all-conference selection, earned second-team all-conference honors last season after averaging 10.9 points and 4.0 assists per game, good for fourth in America East. Gordon, who led the conference in steals (2.5) assists-to-turnover ratio (2.39, was named to the all-defensive team... Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Secondary Railway Tech.) is the top returning rebounder in the conference after averaging 6.5 boards per game last season... Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Far Rockaway/Howard JC) is the team's leading returning scorer (11.9 ppg)... Kevin Broadus takes over as head coach after serving as an assistant at Georgetown for three seasons... Helped lead Hoyas to Final Four last season.
Boston University (1-0, 0-0 America Eat) opened the 2007-08 campaign with a 68-57 win over St. Bonaventure on Friday, Nov. 9 in Case Gym... This marked Boston U’s first season-opening win since 2001, a 69-63 victory over New Orleans in the Guardians Classic on Nov. 13... Head coach Dennis Wolff is now 5-9 all-time in season-openers as Boston U’s head coach, and the Terriers are 55-42 all-time in season-openers... Boston U and St. Bonaventure are tied, 2-2, in the rivalry... Wolff is perfect as a coach in this series, as he was an assistant with the Bonnies in their two wins and has presided over the Terriers in their two victories... Sophomores Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North), Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) and Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont./Iroquois Ridge) and freshman John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep) each scored in double figures to lead the Terriers... Lowe led all players with a career high-tying 28 points and six rebounds, Holland added 12, Strong chipped in 11 and a career-best seven rebounds and Brittain tallied 10 points... Junior Matt Wolff (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), playing in his first game in nearly two years (knee injury), posted a career-best seven assists and had five steals and four rebounds... Boston U picked apart SBU’s 1-3-1 defense and went on a 15-2 run midway through the first half to put the Terriers up, where they would stay for the rest of the game... The Terrier defense was on display, totaling 10 steals and turning 20 St. Bonaventure turnovers into 18 points... The Terriers got hot from the 3-point line in the second, shooting 40.0 percent (6-15) after making just 16.7 percent (3-18) of their threes in the first half... Boston U heads to Washington, D.C. to face George Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. and hosts Saint Joseph’s in Agganis Arena on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in the nightcap of a double header with the women’s team (which hosts Ohio State).
Hartford (0-2, 0-0 America East) began the 2007-08 season with close losses at St. Francis (NY) and Quinnipiac last week. The Hawks had a 17-point first-half lead at St. Francis but ended up falling 62-59, and at Quinnipiac the teams went to double overtime before the Bobcats pulled out an 85-79 victory... Junior Warren McLendon (Dublin, Ga./West Laurens/Citadel) averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds for the week and scored in double figures in each game. He put up a game-high 24 points at Quinnipiac and added a team-high 11 rebounds to record his first double-double in a Hartford uniform... Sophomore Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) finished with 20 points and a career-high seven assists against the Bobcats. He also led the Hawks at St. Francis with 13 points... Senior Rich Baker (Frederick, Md./Montrose Christian) scored a career-high 17 points at Quinnipiac and was 5-of-6 from three-point range... Junior Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds at St. Francis to notch his second career double-double... Hartford plays its home opener against Sacred Heart on Wednesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. The Pioneers were the preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference...The Hawks will then hit the road for a 10-day trip across the country for the 2007 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational. The first stop will be at sixth-ranked Louisville on Saturday, November 17 at 12 noon The Haws will then play at Brigham Young before wrapping up the tournament with a pair of games in Las Vegas.
Maine's (0-2, 0-0 America East) game against Richmond on Nov. 5 was the first game of the 2007-2008 NCAA regular season...The Richmond game was also the first meeting between the two teams...The Black Bears have dominated their first two opponents on the glass, out-rebounding them by a 88-51 margin...Robby Hanzlik (Geenwood Village, Colo./Mullen/New Hampton) has accounted for half of the Black Bears’ 16 steals this season...Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine/Bangor) is averaging a double-double this season with 11.5 ppg and 10 rpg....Senior Brain Andre (Bingham, Maine/Valley/Univ. of Buffalo) set a career-high with 14 points against Tennessee-Martin, his previous best was nine points, last accomplished on Jan. 6, 2007 against New Hampshire...Jordan Cook (Hampden, Maine/Hampden) had a career-high six points against Richmond....Maine had four players in double figure scoring against Tennessee-Martin...The Black Bears have nine freshmen and sophomores on the team and only one senior...Maine has five players averaging at least four rebounds a game in Socoby (10 rpg), Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y./Hyde School/MCI) (7 rpg), Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) (5rpg), Andre (4.5 rpg), and Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon/Redemption Christian Academy) (4.5 rpg)...Maine has its home opener at Alfond Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Falcons of Fisher College.
UMBC (1-0, 0-0 America East) rallied from a 12-point second half deficit and edged visiting Saint Peter’s, 81-78 before 2,942 fans at the RAC Arena in the opening game for both teams... the win avenged a Peacock 67-56 win in the 2006-07 opener in Jersey City, N.J...senior newcomer Ray Barbosa (Allentown, Pa./William Allen/James Madison) led the second half surge with 12 points in the final 20 minutes and produced a game high 21 points... he earned America East Player of the Game honors... junior guard Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), who led the America East Conference in assists last season, recorded 10 and posted zero turnovers in 37 minutes of action... he scored eight points and added four steals...senior guard Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) , who moved into 12th place on UMBC’s all-time scoring list with 1,094 points, added 14 points, while junior newcomer Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) was the third Retriever in double figures with 13 points and eight caroms...senior Cavell Johnson (Fort Washington, Md./Notre Dame Acad./James Madison) had nine points, a game-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots... UMBC hit just 40 percent (24/60) from the field, but made 27 (of 37) free throws, 17 more than their guests. The Retrievers outrebounded the Peacocks, 36-32 and forced 17 turnovers, while committing just nine... it was Hodges’ 50th career game (of 89) in double figures... Greene recorded 10 or more assists in a game for the fourth time in his career... junior post Uwem Eshietedoho (Miramar, Fla./American) is out until December, as he rehabs from foot surgery... UMBC has now won its last five home openers and eight of the last 10... UMBC’s highs in free throws made (25) and attempted (35) last year occurred on Nov. 27 at Morgan State... the win was UMBC’s first over Saint Peter’s in four meetings... UMBC returns to action on Tuesday night at LaSalle, then travels south to Richmond on Saturday.
New Hampshire (0-1, 0-0 America East) went 0-1 last week, falling to non-conference foe Boston College, 67-57, on the road ... Junior Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass./Thayer Academy) showed up all over the stat sheet for the ?Cats, dropping 22 points on 50 percent shooting, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc, while recording three assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal ... Freshman Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Worcester Adacemy) came up big in his first collegiate game, playing solid defense and chipping in offensively. DiLiegro ripped down 11 boards, recorded a pair of blocks and scored seven points ... Freshman Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men) was the Wildcats’ second leading scorer, collecting 10 points in his 19 minutes of action ... Junior Eric Gilchrese (Springfield, Ill./Lewis & Clark CC) played well in his first Division I contest, tallying five points, three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes ... Freshman Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) and senior Mike Christensen (Reston, Va./Flint Hill) had seven and six points, respectively.
Stony Brook (1-0, 0-0 America East) lost its 2007-08 season-opener on Friday, falling to the 25th-ranked Villanova Wildcats 86-64 at The Pavilion. Junior Michael Tyree (Somerset, N.J./Franklin/Seward Community College) impressed in his Stony Brook debut, tallying a team-high 18 points in 16 minutes of action. Tyree connected on three from downtown and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. Seniors Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) and Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) each added 13 points and sophomore Eddie Castellanos (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) dished out six assists for the Seawolves who held Villanova without a field goal for almost three minutes during a 9-0 first half run that tied the game at 16. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Seawolves 35-19 on the glass, including 17-5 on the offensive board. The Seawolves shot an impressive 51.2 percent (21-41) from the field but the Wildcats shot an even better 55.4 percent (31-56). Stony Brook, who finished last in the league in three-point field goal percentage last season went 9-21 from long range. Beauford scored 13 points in the season opener against Villanova and is now just eight points from becoming the 19th player in Seawolves history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Mike Popoko reached it last season and now ranks 15th in school history with 1,048 points. Beaford also tied a career-high with three from beyond the arc. The Seawolves used almost everyone on their bench on Friday night, as 12 of the 13 student-athletes that dressed saw the court with nine of them playing at least 14 minutes.
Vermont (0-2, 0-0 America East) opened the 2007-08 season this weekend with a pair of losses ... The Catamounts fell to Colonial Athletic Association preseason favorite George Mason 60-53 on Friday night in a game that went right down to the end, as Vermont trailed by only two with 26 seconds remaining ... UVM also fell to reigning ACC Co-Regular Season Champion Virginia on Sunday, 90-72 ... Sophomore Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J.) led all scorers with 17 points, all coming in the second half, at George Mason ... Junior Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) added 14 for Vermont, while senior Kyle Cieplicki (Shelburne, Vt.) ended with 11 ... Friday night was the first meeting in men’s basketball between the two teams ... Junior Ryan Shields (Wilton, Conn.) made his first career start for the Catamounts ... Friday’s meeting with George Mason was the first regular season collegiate action for Catamount freshmen Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C.), Joey Accaoui (Lincoln, R.I.) and Garrett Kissel (Springfield, Mass.) ... On Sunday Blakely tied a career high with 24 points and added 10 boards to lead three Cats in double figures against Virginia ... His 10 boards were a career high as he earned his first double-double, to go with four steals, three assists and two blocks ... Trimboli added 16 and Cieplicki 13 for Vermont ... The Catamounts would cut Virginia’s lead to nine twice in the second half, but couldn’t get any closer ... Shields picked up a career-high six points in the loss ... The Catamounts return to action next Sunday when they travel to face Loyola (Md.) starting at 5:00pm. The game will be televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.