CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Binghamton's Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) earned America
East Player of the Week honors after averaging 25.5 points in a pair of
games last week.
Hartford's Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) took home Rookie of the Week accolades for the week ending January 13. Click here for full release in PDF format.
Gordon, a preseason all-conference selection, poured in a career-high
32 points, including 20 in the first half, in the Bearcats' 71-57 win
over Albany on Saturday. Gordon connected on 11-of-17 shots from the
floor and set a Binghamton record with eight three-pointers. Earlier in the week, Gordon scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in a
one-point loss at Hartford. The senior guard, also dished out four
assists.
Gordon, who averages 12.5 points per game, ranks second in the league
with 2.31 steals per game. He is also fifth in 3-point percentage
(.393) and second among guards in overall shooting percentage (.477).
Sabia earned
his second rookie award by leading the Hawks to win over
Boston University on Saturday and a 2-0 start in league play.A a freshman forward, Sabia scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the
first half and also pulled down seven rebounds to lead Hartford to a
66-57 win over the Terriers on Saturday. Sabia drained 4-of-6 shots
from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep in 24 minutes off the bench.
He also added four points, two rebounds and two assists in just 13
minutes against Binghamton on Wednesday.
Conference Notebook
Honorable Mention
Several America East players had highlight performances last week.
Albany's Brian Lillis (Urbandale, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling)
continued his solid play by averaging 22 points and 7.5 rebounds in a
pair of games... Lillis scored 19 points in the Great Danes' win over
Stony Brook on Wednesday. He followed that performance with a
double-double of 25 points and 11 boards against Binghamton on
Saturday... Boston University's Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North)
scored his team's first 12 points on four three-pointers and finished
with a game-high 30 in an 82-72 win over UNH on Wednesay.... Maine's
Phil Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon/Redemption) scored a career-high
21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in the Black Bears' upset victory at UMBC
on Saturday... In his first career start, Vermont's Evan Fjeld (Durham,
N.C./Durham Academy) scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting
and also pulled down four rebounds to lead his team to a 64-61 win over
New Hampshire on Saturday.
Shooting the Lights Out
Maine hit 64.4 percent of its shots in a 77-74 upset victory at UMBC on
Saturday. The Black Bears shot 29-of-45 from the field, the best
shooting rate in a conference game since the Black Bears connected on
65.1 percent of their attempts against Northeastern on February 12,
2003. The win snapped Maine's six-game losing skid and put an end to
UMBC's eight-game home win streak that dated back to last season.
Taking Care of the Ball
UMBC ranks second in the nation averaging just 10.1 turnovers per game
and also is atop the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio
(1.63). Junior point guard Jay Greene is a large part of that success.
He is fifth in the country is assists (7.13 pg) and fourth in
assist-to-turnover ratio (3.39).
Road Warriors
Through the first two weeks of conference play, road wins have been
tough to come by. The visitors are just 3-11 thus far. Maine snapped
UMBC's eight-game home win streak by shooting 64.4 percent en route to
a 77-74 win on Saturday. Binghamton shot over 60 percent from
three-point range to knock off two-time defending league champion
Albany, 71-57, on Saturday. The Great Danes earned a road win earlier
in the week, knocking off Stony Brook 80-64 on Wednesday.
1,000-Point Club
Albany's Jon Iati became the 29th player in team history to score 1,000
career points. Iati, the league's Rookie of the Year following the
2003-04 campaign, surpassed the milestone on a three-pointer in the
waning minutes against Binghamton on Saturday. UMBC's Darryl Proctor
scored his 1,000th career point against New Hampshire on January 6.
Proctor, a transfer from Coppin State, scored 801 of those points while
with the Eagles. Albany's Brent Wilson became the third player in
America East to score his 1,000th point this season, when he reached
the milestone against Iowa State on December 30. Wilson currently ranks
third among active conference leaders with 1,041 career points.
Vermont's Mike Trimboli surpassed the milestone on November 20 and has
1,248 career points. Stony Brook's Mitchell Beauford scored his 1,000th
career point on November 12, while UMBC's Brian Hodges hit the mark on
February 15, 2007 and is the league's active scoring leader with 1,375
career points.
Team-By-Team Notebook
Albany (7-9, America East 2-2) broke a six-game road losing streak and
registered consecutive wins for the first time since November in an
80-64 win at Stony Brook on Jan. 9... The Great Danes posted their first
road triumph since Nov. 14... UAlbany lost for the just the second time
this season at home in a 71-57 defeat against Binghamton on Jan. 12...
The Bearcats’ Mike Gordon scored 32 points, the highest total by an
opposing player since Oakland’s Calvin Wooten netted 39 in the 2005-06
season opener... Binghamton shot 55.6% from the field, the fourth
opponent above the 50-percent mark this season... Brian Lillis
(Urbandale, Iowa / West Des Moines Dowling) recorded his third career
double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds versus Binghamton... Lillis,
who is averaging 21.8 points against America East opponents, extended
his double-figure scoring steak to 14 straight games... Jon Iati (York,
Pa. / York Catholic) became the 29th player in team history to reach
the 1,000-point mark on a three-point field goal with 2:09 remaining
against Binghamton... Iati had 11 points and handed out a career-high
seven assists vs. Stony Brook in his previous outing... Brent Wilson
(Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Prairie) tallied 18 points and equaled a
career-best with six 3-pointers against the Seawolves... Wilson, who has
scored in twin figures 50 times as a collegian, became the fourth
player in UAlbany history to hit the 200-career plateau in 3-pointers
made (202)... Wilson is currently No. 25 on the all-time scoring list
with 1,041 points... Jerel Hastings (Dallas, Texas / South Oak Cliff) is
scoring at an 8.4 clip over his last four games... Hastings posted
career-highs in points (11) and rebounds (9) vs. Stony Brook... freshman
guard Josh Martin (Philadelphia, Pa. / Simon Gratz)
Binghamton (6-10, America East 2-2) split a pair of road conference
games, falling at Hartford in the final seconds before knocking off
Albany by 14 points... Senior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield,N.J./Plainfield) continued his torrid scoring with 19 points at
Hartford and a career-high and school-record-tying 32 points at
Albany. Gordon drained a school-record eight three-pointers(8-of-11)
and hit 11-of-17 overall. He scored 20 of Binghamton's first 26
points, carrying the Bearcats to their first road win of the season and
first win at Albany in four years. Gordon is averaging 22.3 points in
conference play on 61.8% shooting... Junior guard Dwayne Jackson
(Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) averaged 17.0 points on 56% shooting for the
week. Jackson scored a career-high 24 points with seven rebounds at
Hartford. Jackson hit 12-of-13 free throws and played a career-high 34
minutes off the bench... Sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade,
Serbia/Secondary Railway Tech) scored 11 of his 13 points in the second
half against Albany... The Bearcats now play back-to-back games at the
Events Center, where they have won four straight and five of seven.
Boston University (4-11, 1-2 AE) split a pair
of games last week, handing UNH an 82-72 loss before falling 66-57 at
Hartford... The Terriers scored a season-best 82 points in the win
against the Wildcats... Sophomore Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North)
posted his second 30-point game of the season... He scored Boston U’s
first 12 points of the game on four consecutive 3-pointers as the
Terriers gathered a double-digit lead they would not relinquish the
rest of the way... the win was Boston University head coach Dennis
Wolff’s 250th career victory ... Sophomore guard Carlos Strong (Portland,
Maine) followed with 14 points and six rebounds. Junior Max Gotzler
(Weilheim, Germany) added a career-best 11 points and five rebounds,
while red-shirt sophomore Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind.) contributed
a season-best 10 points and six rebounds... Tight BU defense accounted
for nearly a quarter of the Terriers point total, as they scored 20
points off 17 Wildcat turnovers. Freshman John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.)
and the rest of the Terriers harassed UNH from the perimeter into the
lane, getting 10 takeaways and making four blocks... But Boston U
stumbled at Hartford on Saturday ... The Terriers committed 23 turnovers,
made just 2-of-27 (7.4 pct.) from the 3-point line and went scoreless
for 5:16 at the beginning of the final frame. BU's woes from deep were
a leading cause for the Terriers' trouble on offense since their
3-point attempts accounted for nearly half of their total field goal
attempts... Lowe netted 16 points in the second half en route to a
game-high 20 points for BU and an America East Player of the Game
honor. Holland posted his first career double-double of 11 points and a
career-best 12 rebounds... The Terriers will look to get back on track,
hosting Albany on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. on NESN.
Hartford (8-9, America East 2-0) got off to a 2-0 start in America East
play with wins over Binghamton and Boston University last week. The
Hawks hung on to top the Bearcats 80-79 and pulled out a 66-57 victory
against the Terriers... Junior Warren McLendon (Dublin, Ga./West
Laurens/The Citadel) hit the game-winning free throws with 2.4 seconds
remaining against Binghamton. A career 58-percent free throw shooter,
he was 9-for-11 from the line on the night and made his final eight
attempts. Junior Jaret Von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin
County) finished with a game-high 23 points while McLendon added 19...
Against Boston University, freshman Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo,
Calif./Sir Francis Drake) led the Hawks with 14 points, 11 of which
came in the first half. Hartford forced 23 turnovers in the game and
recorded a season-high 13 steals. Junior Michael Turner (Novato,
Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) dished out a career-high eight
assists as the Hawks finished with 18 assists on 22 field goals...
Sophomore Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) finished
with nine points against Boston University, snapping his streak of
double-digit scoring games at 19. He continues to lead the Hawks in
scoring at 14.4 points per game... Hartford opened the conference
season with a pair of wins for the second straight year. The Hawks are
the only undefeated team remaining in America East play... The Hawks
improved to 6-1 at home on the season but are winless on the road at
0-8... Hartford will play at UMBC on Wednesday, January 16 at 7 p.m.
before returning home to take on Albany on Saturday, January 19 at 7
p.m.
Maine (5-10, America East 1-1) returns for three straight home games
after more than a month away from home...The Black Bears’ 64 percent
field goal percentage was close to the all-time record for a Maine
team, the record being 70 percent against Delaware in the 1980s...Maine
had five players in double-figure scoring, the first time that has
happened this year...Maine has been steadily improving its free-throw
shooting, making almost 70 percent against UMBC, and was a key to Maine
hanging on for the victory... Despite Maine having many more
underclassmen than upperclassmen, the upper classmen accounted for 47
of Maine’s 77 points vs. UMBC...The game vs. UMBC was also the 10th time
in 15 games that Maine has out-rebounded its opponents as the Black
Bears out-rebounded the Retrievers by a 36-to-27 margin.
UMBC (11-6, America East 3-1)split a pair of home games last week,
defeating nemesis Vermont, 78-60 on Wednesday, before falling to Maine,
77-74 on Saturday... The Retrievers had lost nine of ten to Vermont,
including three games last year, but never trailed and shot 66.7
percent in the second half to outdistance the Catamounts... Junior
forward Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) set
a UMBC Division I school record by posting his fourth consecutive
double-double with 12 points and 11 (all defensive) rebounds... For the
eighth time in his career, senior forward Cavell Johnson (Fort
Washington, Md./Notre Dame Acad./James Madison) recorded four blocked
shots in a game and he added 12 rebounds and three steals... Johnson led
a strong defensive effort by the Retrievers, who held the explosive
Catamounts to 37.9% shooting...The 60 points allowed by UMBC was the
fewest permitted in a Retriever win vs. Division I competition this
season... But Proctor’s double-double streak (15 points, eight rebounds)
and UMBC’s eight-game home winning streak (second-longest in 22 years
of Division I play) came to an end on Saturday, as Maine hit 64.4% from
the floor (29/45) and escaped with a 77-74 victory... UMBC had just a
pair of one-point leads (30-29, 32-31) in the game, but nearly rallied
from seven points down with less than 90 seconds to play... Senior guard
Ray Barbosa (Allentown, Pa./Allen/James Madison), the conference’s
leading free throw shooter could have tied the game at 73-all, but
missed one of two with 30 seconds remaining... Senior guard Brian Hodges
(Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Barbosa each had three-point
attempts to tie in the final 13 seconds, but both attempts came up
short... Hodges scored 21 points in both games this week and became the
fourth player in school history to reach the 200 mark (202) in
three-point field goals made... UMBC, ranked second in the nation in
fewest turnovers per game, committed a season low four vs. Maine and
attempted 25 more field goal attempts than the Black Bears, but made
one fewer... UMBC had outscored its opponents in the second half in eight
of the last nine games until Saturday... The Retrievers conclude the
homestand vs. first-place Hartford on Wednesday, then travel to
Binghamton (Saturday) and Boston (Tuesday) to conclude its breakneck
pace of seven games in the first 20 days of league play.
New Hampshire (4-11, America East 1-3) went 0-2 last week, dropping
back-to-back games on the road to Boston University, 82-72, on Jan. 9,
and to Vermont, 64-61, on Jan. 12 ... freshman guard Alvin Abreu (Lynn,
Mass./Boys to Men) did everything he could to help the Wildcats win
both of their games this week ... he scored 20 points and added four
rebounds and three assists against Boston University, and almost single
handedly brought the ?Cats back against Vermont, scoring all 18 of his
points in the second half ... junior guard Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton,
Mass./Brockton) continued his hot play versus BU, netting 19 points ...
he also chipped in with six points and six rebounds at Vermont ...
senior forward Mike Christensen (Reston, Va./Flint Hill) scored 17
points and ripped down a career-high 14 rebounds to record a
double-double against Vermont ... he pulled down seven boards against
the Terriers ... freshman guard Tyrone Conley (Burlington,
Vt./Burlington) tallied 14 points and four rebounds at BU, and then
contributed eight points and two rebounds in his return to his hometown
... freshman center Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) added
six points and nine rebounds against Vermont.
Stony Brook (4-11, America East 1-2) lost its lone contest of the week,
an 80-64 decision to visiting Albany on Wednesday. Brian Lillis scored
19 points to lead five Albany players in double-figures as the Great
Danes built a 21-point halftime lead and then held on late for a 80-64
victory on Wednesday night at Stony Brook Arena. Senior Ricky Lucas
(Herndon, Va.) led the Seawolves with 15 points, 13 of which came in
the second half. Junior Demetrius Young (Sacramento, Calif.) added 10
points and senior Emanuel Neto (Luanda, Angola) tallied eight points
and 13 rebounds for the Stony Brook who shot 41 percent from the
field. Freshman Chris Martin set a career-high with 12 points on the
Great Danes, all of which came in the nine second-half minutes. The
Albany contest concluded a 1-3 homestand for the Seawolves who will
play on the road for the first time in a month on Tuesday against
Binghamton. SBU still leads the conference in scoring defense (67.2)
despite allowing 80 points to Albany on Wednesday, its most since
giving up 86 to Villanova in the season opener.
Vermont (7-9, America East 2-2) split a pair of conference games this
past week, falling on the road to UMBC and downing New Hampshire at
home on Saturday ... On Wednesday the Retrievers shot 66.7 percent from
the floor in the second half on their way to a 78-60 victory ...
Sophomore Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) led the Cats with 17
points and seven rebounds ... The Catamounts snapped a two-game
conference slide on Saturday, holding on to defeat the Wildcats ... Four
Catamounts reached double figures led by 19 from junior Mike Trimboli
(Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s), while freshman Evan Fjeld (Durham,
N.C./Durham Academy) went for a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9
shooting from the floor ... Vermont held UNH without a field goal for the
first 15:20 of the game, as the Wildcats started by missing their first
15 attempts from the floor ... Vermont has now won eight straight and 15
of its last 16 against New Hampshire ... The Cats have won 13 of their
last 15 regular season home games ... Saturday marked the fourth time
this year that four Cats have reached double figures as they are now
7-1 in the last eight occurrences ... Vermont returns to action this week
when it travels to Maine for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.