CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Big performances have earned University of Vermont's Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) and Boston University's Jake O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass./Boston College High) Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending November 30.
A 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward, McIntosh scored a career-high 25 points in just 27 minutes on 11-of-15 shooting to pace the Catamounts to a 78-63 win at Delaware Tuesday. The senior tallied 17 points and keyed a 23-4 run n the second half to seal the outcome.
On Saturday, McIntosh poured in a team-high tying 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. For the week he shot 13-of-21 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point territory and converted 9-of-11 free throw attempts. McIntosh ranks in the Top 10 among league leaders in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) and is one of just five America East players (Jay Greene, John Holland, Darryl Proctor, D.J. Rivera) to score in double figures in every game this season.
O'Brien had two torrid halves last week to earn Rookie of the Week accolades. A 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward, O'Brien tallied all 21 of his points in the second half in the Terriers' impressive 83-75 win over crosstown-rival Northeastern on Tuesday. He hit 7-of-8 field goal attempts in the period, including 5-of-6 tried from 3-point land.
Through his first five collegiate games, O'Brien ranks 12th in the conference in scoring (12.6 ppg) and fifth in 3-point percentage (11-of-25, .440 )
Weekly Notebook
The Rest of the Best
Albany's Anthony Raffa led his team to a 73-63 victory over Penn on Saturday with a career-high 23 points. The freshman tallied 16 of those points in the decisive second period and also grabbed a career-best six rebounds... The Great Danes' Tim Ambrose, last week's Player of the Week, scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting against the Quakers and dished out a career-best four assists... Boston University's Corey Lowe torched Northeastern Tuesday for 27 points, including 23 of his team's first 27 of the game, and also handed out six assists... D.J. Rivera, the league's leading scorer (20.3 ppg) scored 20 points in Binghamton's 73-66 win over previously unbeaten Utah Valley on Saturday... Maine's Mark Socoby poured in 28 points, the most by an America East player to date this season, and hit six 3-pointers in a loss at South Alabama in the first round of the USA Basketball Classic on Friday... UMBC's sensational duo of Jay Greene and Darryl Proctor, both of whom are averaging 37 minutes per game, had 14 points each in the Retrievers' come-from-behind win over Toledo Saturday... New Hampshire's Alvin Abreu nearly led his team back from 19 down against Marist, scoring 22 points, including 17 in the second stanza... Stony Brook freshman Tommy Brenton recorded his third double-double of his young career with 15 points and 11 rebounds against American Tuesday... Vermont's Mike Trimboli contributed all around in a win over Delaware Tuesday with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Vermont's 80-79 overtime loss to George Mason on Saturday... Marqus Blakely added a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Blue Hens.
League-Wide Improvement Thus Far
America East teams have posted a combined.489 winning percentage in non-league games (24-25) to date this season, compared to a .376 mark (44-73) a year ago. Furthermore, the nine teams are 21-13 in Division I games against non-BCS conference, including the Atlantic 10, schools with wins over two of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (Delaware, Northeastern) and a perfect 2-0 mark against the Mid-America Conference.
Zeglinski Second-Fastest to Milestone
Hartford's Joe Zeglinksi scored his 1,000th career point against Rhode Island on Tuesday, becoming the 128th player in league history to accomplish the feat. Zeglinski reached the mark in just 70 career games, the second-fastest rate in school history, one off the mark of former NBA star Vin Baker.
Stat Check
Statistical trends are beginning to take shape now that teams are several games into the season. Vermont leads the conference in both field goal percentage (.483) and field goal percentage defense (.390), a feat they accomplished last season, becoming just the fifth team in league history to do.The Catamounts also lead in scoring offense, averaging 76.8 points per game, while Stony Brook is the top team in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 61.0 points per game. St. Joseph's transfer D.J. Rivera leads the league in scoring (20.3 ppg) , while Stony Brook freshman Tommy Brenton is the top rebounder (10.3 rpg). No freshman has ever led the league in boards. Jay Greene once again leads the league in assists (7.5) after leading the league with 7.2 per game last season.
Blakely One to Watch
In what should be little surprise, Vermont junior Marqus Blakely, the first player in conference history to win both the Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year Award and Defensive Player of the Year honors in one season, has been named one of ESPN.com's 10 mid-major players to watch for the 2008-09 season. Blakely, who also earned AP honorable mention All-America honors last season, led America East in scoring (19.0 ppg), rebounds (11.0 rpg) and blocked shots (2.7 bpg). He had 24 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals in the Catamounts season-opener against George Mason on Saturday.
A Pair at the Point
UMBC's Jay Greene and Vermont's Mike Trimboli were among the 47 preseason nominees for the Bob Cousy Award. The award, which is selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and presented by The Hartford, is given to the top male point guard annually spanning across all divisions. America East is one of just two non-BCS conferences with more than one nominee. D.J. Augustin of Texas was the 2008 winner.
Albany Bound
For the first time, The America East Men's Basketball Championship will be held at University at Albany's SEFCU Arena on March 6-8, with the title game to be played on March 14 at the higher remaining seed. Over 1,500 All-Session Tournament Passes for the 2009 America East Men’s Basketball Tournament have already been sold. To reserve your tickets today, please call 518-442-4683 or visit AmericaEast.com.
Terriers Atop Poll Again
For the second consecutive year, Boston University, winner of a conference-best five America East Championships, is the preseason choice of the coaches to win the America East Men’s Baskeball title in 2008-09. The Terriers received five of a possible eight first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 59 points, slightly ahead of University of Vermont, which received four first-place votes and 55 points.
University of Hartford, which appeared in the America East Championship title game for the first time last season, was slotted third with 51 points. UMBC, the defending league champion, tallied 45 points and a fourth-place position. New York rivals Binghamton University (37 points) and University at Albany (30) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by University of New Hampshire (24), University of Maine (13) and Stony Brook University (10) to round out the nine-team field.
Preseason All-League
Juniors Marqus Blakely of Vermont and Corey Lowe of Boston University were unanimous selections to the 2008-09 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 Jay Greene of UMBC and Mike Trimboli of Vermont, and junior Joe Zeglinski of Hartford.
Albany Great Danes
Albany (4-2, AE 0-0) has a four-game winning streak for the first time since last November after defeating a pair of Ivy League opponents in Columbia (66-49) and Pennsylvania (73-63) last week... The Great Danes shot a season-best 50 percent from the field against Penn, including 15-of-24 in the second half... The Quakers have made 23 NCAA appearances in their storied history... Anthony Raffa (Strathmere, N.J. / Wildwood Catholic) had 16 of his career-high 22 points after halftime... Raffa’s scoring total was the most by a true freshman since Jon Iati tallied 26 points on Feb. 18, 2004... Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) extended his double-figure scoring streak to four straight... Ambrose, who is shooting 51.5 percent in that span, had 19 points on 8-of-11 field goal attempts vs. Penn... Will Harris (Corona, N.Y. / Brewster Academy) was one of four players in double digits with 14 points... The Great Danes posted consecutive road wins for the first time since mid-February of last season in the victory at Columbia on Nov. 25... Jerel Hastings (Dallas, Texas / South Oak Cliff) had 13 of his season-high 15 points in the first half... UAlbany held the Lions to 32.6-percent shooting, the lowest figure by an opponent since Nov. 17, 2007... The Great Danes did not make a three-point field goal (vs. Columbia) for the first time since Jan. 20, 1996, a span of 361 consecutive games... Brian Connelly (Audubon, N.J. / Camden Catholic) recorded season-highs in points (11) and rebounds (7) vs. Columbia... Brett Gifford (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge) tied career-bests in rebounds (7), assists (2) and minutes (28) against Penn... The Great Danes meet Bryant, a first-year Division I program, for the second time this season on Dec. 1... UAlbany and Siena will renew their crosstown rivalry on Dec. 6 in downtown Albany... The series has averaged 10,833 fans over the last seven years...
Boston U.Terriers
Boston University (3-2) split the first two road contests of its three-game road trip ... Head coach Dennis Wolff improved his record to 19-11 against Northeastern with an 83-75 victory Tuesday night on NESN ... Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) led the Terriers in scoring with 27 points after scoring 23 in the first half ... Freshman Jake O’Brien (Weymouth, Mass./Boston College H.S.) took over in the second, scoring all 21 of his points to help the team snap a four-game losing streak to NU ... Terriers are now 70-66 against the inner-city rival ... Earned their second victory of the year when trailing at the half ... Played defending Northeast Conference champion Mount St. Mary’s for the first-time ever on Saturday night ... The game marked the Mountaineers’ home opener, as they coincidently also celebrate their 100th season ... Junior Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) led the Terriers in both points (18) and rebounds (6) ... The team trailed by as much as 12 in the early part of the second half before rallying to tie the game with five minutes remaining ... After converting on missed Boston U. opportunities, The Mount made critical free throws down the stretch to hold off the Terriers ... Next visit Harvard on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. before hosting Conference USA’s Marshall on Saturday in Agganis Arena at 3 p.m.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (2-2) split two games during the week, losing at Central Connecticut State 76-51 before defeating Utah Valley at home, 73-66. The Bearcats are now 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road heading into Monday night’s away game at Quinnipiac... Junior forward D.J. Rivera (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti HS/St. Joseph’s Univ.) leads the team with a 20.3 scoring average. He has reached the 20-point mark three times in four games... Senior forward Reggie Fuller (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower HS/Angelina College) produced a double-double at CCSU with 12 points and 10 rebounds... Junior guard Malik Alvin (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz HS/Chipola College) made his Bearcats debut against Utah Valley and scored seven of his 14 points in the final 1:26 to secure the victory.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (2-5) went 1-2 last week in its final three games of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. The Hawks lost at Rhode Island by a 94-72 final before the tournament moved to The Palestra in Philadelphia for the final two games. Hartford defeated NJIT 50-38 to advance to the championship game in the Liberty bracket, where it lost to Niagara by a 103-63 final... At Rhode Island, junior guard Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) scored his 1,000th career point on his first basket of the game. He became the 21st player in school history to reach the milestone and did so in 70 career games. Only Vin Baker (69 games) reached the mark faster in Hartford's Division I era. Zeglinski finished with a team-high 20 points in the loss... Hartford never trailed against NJIT and played a strong defensive game, holding the Highlanders to only 38 points. The last time the Hawks held an opponent below 40 points was in a 65-39 victory over New Hampshire on January 9, 1988. The last time a Hartford opponent finished with 38 points or fewer was a 56-37 final at Colgate on February 26, 1986. The win was also Hartford's fifth straight on a neutral court... Hartford fell short against Niagara in the championship game of the Liberty bracket. The Purple Eagles made a school record 17 three-point field goals and held a 43-34 edge on the glass. Zeglinski led Hartford with 13 points and was named to the Liberty bracket all-tournament team... Zeglinski led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding for the week, averaging 16.7 points and 5.7 boards per contest. Seniors Jaret von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin County) and Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) each put up 10.3 points per game... Hartford will play a pair of home games this week, hosting Lafayette College on December 4 and La Salle University on December 6. La Salle will be the first Atlantic 10 team to visit Chase Arena since Rhode Island during the 1991-92 season.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (3-4) lost two tough games in the University of South Alabama Classic...The Black Bears fell to South Alabama, a top-30 team last season, by the score of 71-59...Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine) had 28 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6-of-13 from three-point range and went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe...He also had three steals in the game...Freshman Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch/Worcester Academy) had 10 points...Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine) had 10 rebounds...Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y./Hyde/MCI) had four assists...Maine outscored South Alabama 39-31 in the first half...Maine made 10-of-25 three-pointers in the contest...In the next game against Conference USA’s Tulane, Socoby had 18 points and four rebounds while McLemore poured in 14...Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals...Bernal added five assists...Maine took a 31-21 halftime lead, but Tulane was on fire from three-point range and made free throws down the stretch to push the game just out of reach of the Black Bears...McNally is averaging 10 rebounds per game in the last three games...McLemore has scored in double-digits in four of the Black Bears’ seven games this season...Socoby has scored in double-digits in six of seven games this season...Maine played the tournament without forward Malachi Peay (Brooklyn, N.Y./Campus Magnet) who missed the games due to injury...Maine continues play on Thursday against UMPI at 7 p.m. in the Alfond Arena.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (4-2) held visiting Toledo scoreless for nearly eight minutes down the stretch and rallied to defeat the Rockets, 61-56 before 2,116 fans at the RAC Arena... It was the ninth consecutive home win for the Retrievers, who improved to 4-2 on the season...The Retrievers are now 20-2 in their last 22 games at the RAC Arena... Seniors Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) and Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) led UMBC with 14 points each... Greene, who scored 12 of his points in the second half, added six assists, while Proctor led the squad with eight caroms... UMBC trailed, 50-43 with 9:08 to play, but held Toledo scoreless in the Rockets’ next nine possessions and outscored UT, 17-2 until 10 seconds remained in the game... The Retrievers made their first 17 free throw attempts of the game, before settling for an 18-of-20 effort (90 percent) from the stripe...Freshman Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./Brewster Academy) hit all four shots from the floor and finished with 11 points, while sophomore forward Rich Flemming (Chester, Pa./Chester/Fairfield) added 10, including an alley-oop dunk from Greene which gave UMBC the lead for good at 51-50... UMBC, which trailed, 31-30 at intermission, has now erased a pair of halftime deficits to earn victories this season... The Retrievers are now 10-9 in their last 19 games when trailing at the half... UMBC was tied at 37-all at George Washington on Nov. 26, but ended up on the short end of a 70-64 decision... Proctor, who led all scorers with 17 points, hit three straight shots down the stretch to trim an eight-point deficit to 66-64 with 41 seconds remaining, but a Colonial tip-in of a missed free throw with 19 seconds left sealed the Retrievers’ fate... Greene recorded nine assists and one turnover in all 40 minutes against GW’s pressure defense... Junior forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) hit all five shots from the floor (12 points) in the first half, but picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the second half and went scoreless in the final 20 minutes... The Retrievers’ top six players have played all but six minutes (994 of 1000) in the five games vs. Division I competition... UMBC had only nine turnovers in each game last week... The Retrievers play the middle game of three straight at home when they host local rival Towson at the RAC Arena on Wednesday... UMBC had an eight-game winning streak vs. the Tigers snapped in their last meeting in the 2005-06 season and Towson leads the all-time series 32-18.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (1-3) lost its lone contest last week, dropping a heartbreaker at Marist, 63-61 ... sophomore guard Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) played a huge role in helping the Wildcats claw back from 19 down, scoring 22 points ? one shy of his career high ? including 17 in the second half ... Abreu was 7 of 14 from the field and 7 of 9 from the line, including 6 of 7 down the stretch ... Abreu also chipped in with one rebound, one assist and three steals while turning the ball over just one time ... sophomore center Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) netted eight points on 4 of 5 shooting and ripped down a season-high nine boards ... DiLiegro, who scored six of his eight points during a 17-2 run that brought UNH back into the game, also tallied three steals and a block ... sophomore guard Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) added nine points, seven of those coming in the first half to keep the game close ... Conley also tallied six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (2-3) went 1-1 on the week, defeating Columbia 62-60 on Saturday afternoon at Levien Gym after falling to American on Tuesday night at Pritchard Gymnasium, 56-53 ... Sophomore Chris Martin’s put back lay-up with 35 seconds remaining in the game broke a 60-all tie in the Seawolves victory over the Lions on Saturday ... Freshman Bryan Dougher scored a season-high 15 points against Columbia, hitting on three of seven shots from downtown ... SBU shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) in the second half against Columbia including 5-for-9 from three-point range ... Stony Brook opened the second half of Saturday’s game on an 18-5 run, taking a 45-30 lead with 13:31 remaining in the game ... Freshman Tommy Brenton had a team-high eight rebounds against Columbia ... He has now led Seawolves in rebounding in each of their five game this season, reaching double-figures in three of those contests ... Saturday’s victory was the second straight time the Seawolves have defeated Columbia at Levien Gym ... the Seawolves shot a season-high 46.5 percent (20-for-43) in Tuesday’s loss to American ... Brenton recorded his second straight double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) against the Eagles ... SBU held American’s Garrison Carr, who entered the game averaging 23.0 points per game, to just 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting on Tuesday night ... Junior Jonathan Moore knocked down three three-pointers against American and went 6-for-12 from downtown in the Seawolves two games this week.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (3-2) went 2-0 on the week, earning a 78-63 road win over Delaware and then topping Loyola (Md.) at home on Saturday 64-62 ... Senior Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) poured in a career-high 25 points to lead the Cats over the Blue Hens, as he hit 11-of-15 from the floor and scored 17 of his 25 in the second half in only 27 minutes of action ... Leading 44-43, Vermont used a 33-9 run in the second half to pull away ... Junior Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) would add his second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Cats and senior Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s) went for 19 points, seven boards and five assists ... Four Catamounts reached double figures in the win over Loyola, as McIntosh, Blakely and Trimboli each had 12 while sophomore Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) added a season-high 10 points off the bench ... Vermont unveiled a new alternate black jersey for the first time this season on Saturday ... UVM has now won four of its last five at home dating back to last season ... Vermont is back in action on Tuesday at home when the Catamounts host Dartmouth starting at 7 p.m. UVM will also travel to take on #4 Pittsburgh on Saturday at 7 p.m.