Vermont's Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) has been named America East Player of the Week for the second-consecutive week, while Boston University's Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) has been named Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career. The awards were announced Monday (February 5).
Holm had a monster night in leading the Catamounts to an 82-79 double-overtime victory over New Hampshire on Wednesday. The senior matched a career-high with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor. The nation’s second-leading rebounder also pulled down a career-high 18 boards, including eight on the offensive end. His biggest play of the night though came with three seconds left in the second overtime when the Catamounts were clinging to a one-point lead as he swatted Blagoj Janev’s lay-up attempt off the glass, sealing the win for Vermont. Holm has the top four rebounding performances in the conference this season and has more than twice as many double-doubles (10) then the next closest in the league.
The redshirt freshman averaged 17.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg in two wins for the Terriers. Morris led Boston U. with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists versus Maine. Seven of his 19 points came during the Terriers' decisive 23-3 second-half run. Against Hartford, the 6-1 guard chipped in 15 points and five rebounds. Morris banked in a jumper while fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to put Boston U. up by five with 59 seconds left.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Cats & Dogs Atop League Standings
Vermont (16-6, 8-1 America East) and Albany (16-7, 9-2) currently sit first and second, respectively, in the league standings. Having defeated the Great Danes 75-66 at Patrick Gym back on Jan. 13, the Catamounts control their own destiny as they continue the second-half of their conference slate. UVM and the Great Danes have a solid lead over third-place Boston University (9-12, 6-3). The two league power-houses meet on Sunday, February 11 at SEFCU Arena (2 p.m.) in a rematch of the 2006 title game. That contest can be seen live on Time Warner Cable in Albany.
Glass Cleaner
Vermont's Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley/Rhode Island) has been dominant on the glass all season long as the 6-11 forward ranks second in the nation in rebounding (11.8 rpg). Holm leads the conference in caroms by 5.0 rpg. In fact, Holm's 154 defensive rebounds are 11 more than America East's second-leading rebounder, Omari Peterkin (6.8 rpg) of Boston University. Holm is on pace to become Vermont's single-season rebounding leader.
Stat-Sheet Stuffer
Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) of Albany is in the midst of one of the most impressive statistical seasons in recent memory. The 6-1 guard currently ranks first in America East in scoring (18.0 ppg), third in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and third in assists (4.9 apg). Wilson also sits ninth in free throw percentage (76.5 percent), third in defensive rebounds (4.91 rpg) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18).
Close Competition
? Five of the eight America East games on the week were decided by 10 points or less, including three that were decided by three points or less.
? With over half of the 2006-07 regular-season conference slate completed, the competition around America East has been very close. Forty-seven league games are in the books with 31 of those outings being decided by 10 points or less and 25 by five points or less. No one has been in more close conference contests than Binghamton. The Bearcats are 2-6 in league games decided by five points or less, including seven in a row. Binghamton's last seven outings have been decided by a total of 21 points.
? On the season, America East teams have combined to play a total of 207 games with 54.6 percent (113) decided by 10 points or less and 33.3 percent (69) decided by five points or less. Hartford has played in the most close contests as the Hawks are 6-4 in games with five-point margins or less. Albany is an impressive 7-1 in games decided by five points or less and has won seven straight.
AE Remains 20th In RPI Report
The Collegiate Basketball News RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) Report was released on Monday (Feb. 5) and America East held its spot as the 20th-ranked league in the nation. Albany moved up six spots to 97, while Vermont rose three places to 99. The two flip-flopped for the third-consecutive week as the league's top-ranked team.
? As a conference, the league ranks 20th in the country, which is seven spots higher than last season's final RPI of 27, and 10th among other mid-major leagues. Most notably, America East ranks ahead of the MAAC (25th overall/15th among mid-majors) and the Ohio Valley (27th/17th).
? Eight of nine America East members boast higher RPIs than they finished with a season ago. 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
Vermont 212 99 +113
UMBC 297 218 +79
Maine 281 214 +67
Stony Brook 310 252 +58
Hartford 268 236 +32
Albany 116 97 +19
Boston U. 209 190 +19
New Hampshire 248 243 +5
AE-TV Schedule Continues
America East Basketball Presented by Boston Herald continues this week as Maine hosts Albany on Wednesday, February 7. Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Tom Herrion (color analyst) will call the action live on NESN and Time Warner Cable in Albany at 7:30 p.m. Streaming video will be available through America East Zone on the conference's website www.AmericaEast.com.
Conference Climb
With just two regular-season non-conference games remaining, America East squads have sailed past last year's non-conference win total. America East teams are currently 49-62 (.441) 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.
Non-Conference Slate Nears End
Seven 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), Hartford (6-7), Stony Brook (5-7), UMBC (4-9), New Hampshire (4-9) and Boston University (3-9) have all wrapped up their non-league slates, while Albany (7-5) and Maine (5-7) both have one regular-season non-conference tilt remaining. Below is a list of the non-league games that remain.
Regular-Season Non-Conference Games
F 16 Albany at Boise St. (ESPN BracketBusters)
F 17 Maine at Northeastern, 1 p.m.
Above .500
Three 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.
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).
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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Albany Great Danes
Albany (16-7, 9-2 America East) posted its sixth-consecutive victory in a 65-62 decision against Binghamton on Feb. 3... The win streak matches the second longest in the program’s Division I history... The 10th annual Big Purple Growl, the university’s winter homecoming, featured a men’s and women’s doubleheader with Binghamton and produced a capacity crowd of 4,538 for the second-consecutive year... The Great Danes have an 8-2 record on Big Purple Growl... UAlbany has won 15 of its last 16 home dates at SEFCU Arena... The Great Danes came from behind in the second half for the eighth time this year and are 7-1 in games decided by five points or less... Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half in an 82-58 victory over UMBC on Jan. 31... UAlbany scored 52 first-half points, the most in any period this season, and shot better than 50 percent (.545) for the sixth time this winter... Wilson needs 41 points to become the 11th player in conference history to reach the 2,000-point mark... Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games... Jon Iati (York, Pa./York Catholic) is averaging 12.0 ppg and shooting 51.1 percent from the floor (23-of-45) over his last six outings off the bench... Iati had 11 of his 14 points in the first half against Binghamton... Brent Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) has moved into fifth place on the school’s career three-point field goals list with 147... Wilson, a 6-8 junior, had 12 points and eight rebounds versus the Bearcats... Jimmie Covington (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park) is scoring at a 5.7 clip over his last six starts and has made 18-consecutive free throws... The Great Danes will play a nationally televised game in the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters series for the second-consecutive year... UAlbany will travel to Boise State, of the Western Athletic Conference, on Friday, Feb. 16.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (10-13, 3-8 America East) split a pair of games and remains mired in last place in the nine-team league... The team has lost seven of its last nine games... The Bearcats held both opponents to 65 points and beat Stony Brook at the buzzer before falling by three at Albany... Junior point guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) beat the Seawolves in improbable fashion, banking an inbounds pass off a Stony Brook defender and converting the game-winning layup as the buzzer sounded... The shot was featured on ESPN's "Top 10 Plays" (No. 6)... It was Gordon's second buzzer-beating game-winning shot in the previous five games and third in his career... He averaged 14.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, and 4.0 spg in the two games... Freshman forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Secondary Railway) scored a game-high 22 points in the narrow defeat at Albany... He hit 8-of-17 and added six rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes of action... The Bearcats drew 3,121 fans for the Stony Brook game and are averaging a conference-best 3,154 for the season.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (9-12, 6-3 America East) went 2-0 last week, notching a 66-55 victory over Maine in Orono on Jan. 31 and a 59-51 home win against Hartford on Feb. 3... Freshman Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) led the Terriers in scoring for the week with 17.5 points per game... Strong had an excellent week from the 3-point line, making 7-of-14 attempts to shoot 50.0 percent from deep for the week... Redshirt freshman Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and freshman Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont./Iroquois Ridge) also turned in solid efforts this past week... Morris led Boston U. past Maine with 19 points and added 15 points and five rebounds in the win over Hartford... The guard has now scored in double figures 15 times this season, a team-high... Brittain averaged a double-double of 14.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg in two games... He tallied his second career double-double with career highs in points (15) and rebounds (15)... Against Maine, Boston U. went on a 23-3 run that spanned 13 minutes to close out the win against the Black Bears... The Terriers forced 17 Black Bear turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues... Boston U. played excellent defense on Maine's trio of leading scorers - Kevin Reed, Jon Sheets, and Junior Bernal... The Terriers limited the three, all of which average double figures, to a combined 7-for-23 from the floor and a total of 15 points... In the victory over Hartford, Strong came up big for the Terriers, making two key threes as Hartford cut Boston U.’s lead to one point, twice... Each Strong 3-pointer turned momentum back to Boston U.’s favor... Morris banked in a jumper while fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to put Boston U. up by five (52-47) with 59 seconds left... The Hawks would get no closer than four points the rest of the way as the Terriers closed things out by hitting eight of 10 free throws in the final minute... Boston University has Vermont on Monday, Feb. 5 in Burlington at 7 p.m. and Binghamton at home on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (9-14, 3-7 America East) made two trips to Boston last week and came home with a pair of losses... The Hawks completed the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 94-60 loss at Boston College to start the week... The Eagles shot a season-high 69 percent for the game and hit a school-record 14 three-pointers to hand Hartford its worst loss of the season. Senior Alex Zimnickas (Toronto, Ontario/Bishop Allen Academy) led the Hawks with 12 points and eight rebounds... The Hawks then suffered a 59-51 setback at Boston University over the weekend. Hartford trailed by as many as 15 points in the game but twice narrowed the margin to one point in the second half but never took the lead. Senior Bo Taylor (Reston, Va./Paul VI Catholic/Bishop Allen/South Lakes) scored all of his team-high 12 points in the second half... Taylor leads the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game while freshman Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin County) also average in double figures (12.5 ppg and 10.6 ppg, respectively)... Sophomore Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) leads the team in rebounding at 5.3 boards per contest... The Hawks will look to snap a seven-game losing streak against Albany on Monday at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Earlier this season the Great Danes handed Hartford an 80-67 loss at SEFCU Arena.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (11-12, 6-5 America East) saw its five-game winning streak snapped when it fell to Boston University on Wednesday, but rebounded when it defeated New Hampshire on Saturday... The Black Bears have won six of the past seven games... Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn./Northwest Catholic) grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the game against New Hampshire... His previous career-high was 12 earlier this season against Binghamton... Maine held a 41-26 advantage on the glass against the Wildcats... Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) is three points shy of 1,500 for his career... He will become the seventh player in Maine history to score 1,500 career points... Reed grabbed solo possession of fourth place on the America East career three-point filed goal leaders list when he drained his 292nd against New Hampshire... Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif./Nevada Union/Yuba City CC) has a team-best 64 three-point field goals on the season... His 64 three-pointers rank tied for ninth on Maine’s single-season three-point field goal list... Maine is 7-6 on the road this season... The Black Bears already have four more road wins than they finished with a year ago... The Black Bears have led at the half in 15 of the 21 games this season... Maine is 11-6 this season when holding opponents to 70 point or fewer... Maine found out last week that will face Northeastern in its final non-conference game of the year on Feb. 17 at 1 p.m.
UMBC Retrievers
For the third-consecutive year, UMBC (9-15, 5-6 America East) stands at 9-15 after 24 games... The month of February did not get off to a good start for UMBC, as the Retrievers were humbled, 56-39 by Stony Brook before 2,237 fans... The 39 points scored were the second-fewest for UMBC at the RAC Arena, just besting a 38-point performance in a 54-38 loss to Charleston Southern University in the 1995-96 season... UMBC is 2-2 in its last four games despite averaging 48.3 ppg... Junior guard Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) did manage 14 points versus Stony Brook, and is now 21 points shy of becoming the 14^th player in school history to hit the 1,000-point plateau... He would become just the fourth UMBC Division I player to achieve this feat by his junior season... Hodges is averaging 20.3 ppg in his last four games versus the Seawolves... SBU hammered UMBC on the board, 43-29, and dropped the Retrievers to 1-11 when being outrebounded this season... There were few bright spots in the 82-58 loss at Albany, but one was the play of redshirt freshman Matt Spadafora (Richboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood)... Spadafora scored a season/career-high eight points, hitting both three point attempts in 14 minutes of action... The Retrievers allowed more points to Albany in the first half (52) than they permitted in the previous two games versus UNH (44) and Binghamton (48)... The Retrievers’ lone game this week is in Burlington, Vt. on Thursday, where they are winless in three previous outings.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (8-16, 4-7 America East) recorded a 0-2 record this week... UNH suffered its fourth overtime loss of the season, which ties the 1989-90 team for most overtimes played...the Wildcats suffered a heartbreaking 82-79 double overtime loss to America East leader Vermont on Wednesday...UNH tallied three scorers in double digits, including senior Blagoj Janev’s (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) game-high 26 points...UNH posted double-digits from beyond the arc for a seventh time this season, posting 12 tifectas...UNH has lost to Vermont in two games by five combined points...the Wildcats extended its current four game losing streak on Saturday with a 65-56 loss to rival Maine...senior Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter Academy) compiled 19 points and three assists en route to being named America East Player of the Game for the sixth time this season, while sophomore guard Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass./Thayer Academy) continues to be an offensive threat for the Wildcats as he added 14 points and five rebounds in the loss...UNH was outrebounded in both games and post a 4-14 record when they are at a disadvantage on the glass...UNH attempts to return to the win column on Thursday (Feb. 8) with a visit to the University of Hartford for a 7 p.m. tip-off...UNH plays host to the Boston University Terriers on Sunday (Feb. 11) at 1 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium.
Stony Brook Seawolves
The Seawolves (8-15, 3-8 America East) went 1-1 on the week in a pair of road contests... With the win against UMBC on Saturday, the Seawolves doubled their total win output from a year ago as well as eclipsed their league-win total from last season... It was the first time since Feb. 12, 2005 that SB had won a conference game on the road... The Seawolves dropped a buzzer-beater thriller in Binghamton on Wednesday evening... Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) netted a game-high 2 points... The Seawolves built their lead to as many as 11 points in the second half when Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) drained a pair of free-throws with 13:09 to play... Binghamton chipped away at the Stony Brook lead and eventually grabbed its first lead of the half at 59-57 with 2:54 left in the game... Lucas added 19 points and Andre Vanterpool (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset/Monroe Community College) scored 12 off the bench in the loss... At UMBC, Lucas and Beauford led the way to the Seawolves victory, 56-39... Lucas paced the Seawolves with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half as the Seawolves doubled their total win output from a season ago... The Seawolves opened up the game on an 11-2 run and never looked back as they went on to the victory... The Seawolves clamped down on defense in the first half, holding UMBC to just 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting... Up 24-13 at the half, the Seawolves used a 14-6 run to open up the half to put the game away. SB would go on to lead by as many as 25 in the game for their third conference victory of the season... Beauford finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals and Mike Popoko (Baltimore, Md./The McDonough School) added nine points and eight rebounds... The Seawolves dominated the paint, holding a 32-8 advantage and got out and ran in the game, scoring 16 points in transition, compared to none for UMBC... Stony Brook looks to stay on the winning streak when they host Hartford on Sunday.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (16-6, 8-1 America East) won its only match up of the week, defeating New Hampshire at home, 82-79, in double-overtime... Senior Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) tallied 24 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds while sophomore Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s) added a career-high 26 points... Vermont has now won four straight and 13 of its last 15... With their eighth league win, the Catamounts surpass their total from last season... The Catamounts won their first overtime game since they defeated Syracuse 60-57 on March 18, 2005... Holm, the reigning America East Player of the Week, was dominant for the Catamounts, finishing 11-for-14 from the floor as he tied a career-high with 24 points... His 18 rebounds set a new career-high and are the most in the America East this season... Holm, Trimboli and senior Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Rep./Walsingham) combined to score 40 of Vermont’s final 46 points in the contest... The Catamounts had lost their last four overtime games before Wednesday... The last time Vermont played a double-overtime contest was at Binghamton on January 25 of last season, when the Cats lost 61-60... Vermont has now swept both New Hampshire and Stony Brook this season... Holm is averaging 12.0 ppg and 12.1 rpg per game at home this year... The Catamounts have three games on tap for this week as they open at home against Boston University on Monday (7 p.m.) and UMBC on Thursday (7 p.m.), before traveling to Albany for a Sunday showdown (2 p.m.).