CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Boston University's Jake O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass./Boston College High) and UMBC's Brian Neller (Red Bank N.J./Christian Brothers Acad.) have earned America East Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, in men's basketball, the league office announced Monday afternoon. The awards for the week ending Dec. 27 the final accolades of 2009.
O'Brien, a sophomore forward, scored 21 points and added six rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble. The reigning America East Rookie of the Year, O'Brien shot 7-of-9 from the field and shot 6-of-8 on free throw attempts.
A three-time America East Rookie of the Week last season, O'Brien is joined by teammate John Holland and Vermont's Marqus Blakely as the only players to rank in the conference's top 15 in both scoring (12th - 13.1 ppg) and rebounding (5th - 6.5 rpg). He's also second with 1.6 blocks per contest and fourth by making 82.2 percent of his free throw tries.
Neller canned three 3-pointers on six attempts and finished with nine points off the bench in a loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 22 to earn his first career Rookie of the Week award.
Neller, who played just 15 minutes in the contest, is averaging 5.6 points in 13.2 minutes per game this season and ranks 10th among league leaders with 1.7 three-point makes per game. A freshman guard from New Jersey, Neller had a career-high 15 points on five treys at Toledo on Dec. 5.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
THE HONOR ROLL
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
•
University at Albany's Fran Urli (Zagreb, Croatia Panola College)
scored all of his career-best 12 points in the second half on 3-of-4
shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.
•
Several Terriers had strong games in Boston University's 86-77 win over
Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 22. John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's
Prep (N.J.) scored 21 points and had five rebounds. Tyler Morris
(Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) provided 17 points, four rebounds
and four assists, while Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North)
contributed 13 points, a season-best nine assists and five boards.
• Maine's Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner St. CC) scored 13 points off the bench against #11 UConn on Dec. 22.
•
UMBC's Robbie Jackson (Aberdeen, Md./Prince Avenue Prep/Marshall) had
team-bests of 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks in a loss at
Virginia Tech on Dec. 22.
• University of New Hampshire's Tyrone
Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) had a team-high 17 points in New
Hampshire's loss at Army last week. Dane DiLiegro had his third
double-double of the season with 11 points and an America East
season-high 15 rebounds.
• Stony Brook University's Muhammad
El-Amin (Lansing, Mich./Holt/Lansing CC) scored a team-best 21 points
in a loss to Sacred Heart on Dec. 21. Dallis Joyner (Norfolk,
Va./Granby) added a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards.
no place like home
WHAT'S ON TELEVISION
A number of games involving America East teams
will be televised over the next few weeks. Hartford and Albany will
both appear on the ESPN Family of Networks after Christmas. The Hawks
travel to Rupp Arena Dec. 29 for a meeting with No. 3 Kentucky on
ESPN2. The following day, Albany will face defending national champion
and ninth-ranked North Carolina on ESPNU. The America East television
package kicks off January 2 when Stony Brook battles Boston University.
That game can be seen throughout the Northeast on NESN in New England
or MSG+ throughout New York and New Jersey. Albany's contest with Yale
on Jan. 3 at SEFCU Arena can be viewed by Time Warner Cable subscribers
in the Capital Region and Western Mass.
CONFERENCE PLAY AROUND THE CORNER
While
teams still have a couple non-league games remaining on the schedule,
conference play kicks off with a pair of games on Jan. 2.
Stony Brook at Boston University, 12 p.m.
- The two teams split last season's series with the home team winning each time.
- Boston U. won a 99-97 four OT thriller last January, while SBU earned a 66-54 win in February on Long Island
UMBC at Vermont, 1 p.m.
- The Catamounts swept last season's series after UMBC won all three meetings during the 2007-08 campaign.
- Marqus
Blakely led five 'Cats in twin figures with 13 points and seven
rebounds in the two teams' last meeting a 77-65 Vermont win in
Baltimore last February.
MARVELOUS MARQUS
Vermont's Marqus Blakely (Metchuen,
N.J./Metchuen) continues to make his case as one of the best players in
America East history. Blakely ranks 37th on the all-time scoring
list with 1,481 career points. He also eclipsed the 800 rebound plateau
recently to move into the top-20 all-time and currently ranks 17th with
822. The two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year, Blakely also
is in the top-10 all-time in blocks (214) and has 217 assists and 176
steals.
HOLLAND STREAKING
Boston University's John
Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep) is currently riding a streak
of 29 straight games in twin figures, which ranks among the sixth-best
active streak in the country. Holland's last single-digit effort came
on Jan. 2, 2009 against Holy Cross.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Home
games for America East teams have been few and far between this season,
but when they do occur the fan favorite has gone home happy more often
than not. The league is a combined 19-12 in home games this season with
New Hampshire (4-0) and Stony Brook unbeaten on its home court. UNH has
now won seven straight at Lundholm Gym, the program's longest streak
since the 1968-69 season. The Seawolves, who are 7-7 at home since
moving to Pritchard Gym last season, have won four straight and six of
their last seven dating back to last season.
TEAM NOTES
Albany (4-9) ends its string of eight consecutive road games against nationally-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 30 … the Great Danes will be meeting their sixth opponent this season who made the 2009 NCAA Tournament field … UAlbany is playing the defending national champion for the second consecutive year after traveling to Kansas one year ago … the Great Danes are facing their second top-25 program this season (Syracuse, Nov. 9) and last met a pair of nationally-ranked teams in the 2005-06 campaign … UAlbany will play before a crowd of 10,000-plus for the 20th time as a Division I program in the match-up with North Carolina … UAlbany’s current road trip is the longest in the program’s Division I era and surpasses a streak of five consecutive away dates to begin the 2004-05 season … the Great Danes have dropped six of their last seven outings ... Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) had his eight-game, double-figure scoring streak halted in a 68-56 loss at Loyola (Chicago) on Dec. 22 … Ambrose is among the top America East scorers with a 15.1 average … Fran Urli (Zagreb, Croatia / Sportska Gymnasium) came off the bench to tally a career-high 12 points, all in the second half, against Loyola … Scotty McRae (Queens, N.Y. / Benjamin Cardozo) is averaging 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds since becoming a starter on Dec. 8 … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park Fenwick) made a return to his hometown vs. Loyola … the freshman had five points and tied career-best with three assists … Billy Allen (Hamilton, Ohio / Hamilton) made his first start of the season at Loyola … Allen tied a season-high with six points, plus had two assists and two steals … Brett Gifford (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge) is ninth on the program’s career blocks list (61) … Will Harris (Queens, N.Y. / Brewster Academy) has scored 20 or more points four times this season.
Binghamton (4-8) was idle last week ... The Bearcats will make their first-ever trip to California for the St.Mary's 7th Annual Shamrock Office Solutions Classic on Dec. 29 and 30. The Classic also includes Stephen F. Austin and Howard. The Bearcats will face the host Gaels and Stephen F. Austin in the event - BU's third in-season tournament in 2009-10. The trip also concludes a road-heavy two months that featured 11 away or neutral games and just three at home. The cross-country trip will make it six states visited in a five-week span (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Iowa, California).The Bearcats return home on the "red-eye" flight immediately after their game on December 30 to prepare for La Salle and the team's final non-conference game Saturday afternoon at home. The La Salle matchup will begin a string of 6-of-9 games at home in January.
Boston University (5-6) extended its winning streak to three games with an 86-77 victory over the Northeast Conference preseason favorite Mount St. Mary’s … The Terriers never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 19 in the second half after taking a 39-32 lead into the locker room … They shot 56 percent from the field for the second game in a row and held the Mountaineers below 40 percent shooting … Sophomore Jake O’Brien (Weymouth, Mass./BC High) led the Terriers in both points and rebounds with 21 and six, respectively … Junior John Holland (Bronx ,N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.)) also had 21 points, while senior Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) contributed 13 points and a career-tying nine assists … Lowe is currently 19 points shy of becoming just the sixth Terrier to post 1,500 in the 101 seasons of the program … The team will next visit Dayton on Tuesday (Dec. 29) in the first-ever meeting between the two schools … Both teams bumped into each other at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off back in November … They finished with a 1-2 mark, including a loss to Kansas State … They still have one non-conference game remaining with the Bracketbusters but will next open the conference schedule with Stony Brook on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Case Gym with the start time set for 12 p.m. … The previous time the two teams met at The Roof last January, they battled to a quadruple overtime game with the Terriers pulling out a 99-97 win.
Hartford (2-9) continued an 18-day break without a game last week … the Hawks return to action on Tuesday when they travel to #3/3 Kentucky, in search of the program’s first win over an SEC opponent … Hartford will also visit St. Francis (PA) after the new year to take on the Red Flash … the two road contests this week wrap up the non-conference schedule for the Hawks.
Maine (5-5) fell at #11 Connecticut on Tuesday evening by the score of 71-54…Maine played the Huskies tough, going into halftime tied at 26 and taking a lead in the second half before UConn was able to go on a run and take the lead…Maine was led by Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) who had 13 points while Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) added 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal…Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) pitched in with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal…Malachi Peay (Brooklyn, N.Y./Campus Magnet) scored seven points with two assists…The Black Bears held the Huskies to 32 percent shooting in the first half, including 17 percent from long range…Maine forced 12 UConn turnovers while only turning the ball over nine times…It was Maine’s second game in the last four that it has played a top-15 team, having played Syracuse on Dec. 5…Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y./MCI) is 124 points shy of 1,000 and 24 assists shy of 300 for his career…McNally has grabbed at least six rebounds in nine out of 10 games this season…The Black Bears’ game against Princeton originally scheduled for Dec. 20 has been rescheduled for Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Alfond Arena…Maine returns to action on Dec. 30 at Columbia for a 7 p.m. game…Maine then plays its third game in its last six against a team from one of the top-six conferences in the country when the Black Bears travel to play at Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday at 12 p.m.
UMBC (1-10) fell, 71-34, at Virginia Tech on Dec. 22… The Retrievers, who entered play averaging 12.2 turnovers per game, committed 13 in the first half and misfired on 20 of 24 shots… UMBC committed a season-high 22 turnovers in the game… Sophomore guard Chris De La Rosa (Washingotn Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) who was eighth in the nation in assists enter play last week and had led (or shared team honors) the Retrievers in assists in all previous ten games, did not have a helper in the contest… The Retrievers’ shooting percentage (11 of 49, 22.4%) in the game is the poorest in school history… UMBC’s three lowest scoring outputs in school history have all occurred at Atlantic Coast Conference opponents… Junior post Robbie Jackson (Aberdeen, Md./Prince Avenue Prep/Marshall) led UMBC with 11 points in the game and tied a career-best with three blocked shots… Freshman wing Brian Neller (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) hit three of six shots from behind the arc and contributed nine points vs. the Hokies… UMBC travels to New Britain, Conn. to face Central Connecticut State to wrap up the decade… UMBC was 124-143 (.464) from the 2000-01 season through last season after a mark of 102-177 (.366) in the previous ten seasons… The Retrievers snapped a six-game losing streak vs. the Blue Devils with a 67-56 win at the RAC Arena last season… That win evened the series at 15-all, but UMBC has dropped six straight games in New Briatain… UMBC opens America East Conference play at Vermont on Saturday.
New Hampshire (4-5) went 0-1 last week, dropping a 54-46 decision at Army on Dec. 22 ... junior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) continued his solid play with 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 8 from behind the arc ... Conley made four of his five free throw attempts, pulled in four rebounds, handed out a pair of assists and turned the ball over just one time in 36 minutes ... classmate Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) added 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting from deep to go along with four rebounds and three assists ... the third member of the Wildcats' talented trio of juniors, Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Worcester Academy), inched closer to the 500-rebound club as he tied his season high by ripping down 15 boards to go along with seven points and an assist ... senior Radar Onguetou (Yaounde, Cameroon/New Hampton School) recorded seven points and five rebounds ... the Wildcats close out 2009 when they return to action Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. as they play host to Colgate at Lundholm Gymnasium ... the 'Cats will look to extend their seven-game home winning streak as they attempt to start a season 5-0 at Lundholm for the first time since the 1968-69 campaign.
Stony Brook (7-4) lost at Sacred Heart, 78-70, in its only game of the week … senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich./Holt/Lansing CC) led the Seawolves with 21 points … He is averaging 18.3 points per game over the Seawolves last three contests ... He has gone 19-for-20 (95 percent) from the free throw line over that span … Sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) had 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Sacred Heart ... The 15 points tied a career-high ... it was the second career double-double for Joyner, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds at Fordham on Dec. 8 ... Joyner has scored in double-figures in four of his last six games ... Joyner is averaging 12.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game over the Seawolves last three contests … Stony Brook’s game against Saint Peter’s will be its first home contest since its Dec. 5 win over Columbia … Stony Brook is 3-0 at home for the first time since the 1997-98 season ... the 1997-98 squad started 5-0 at home … victories in its final two non-conference games, Monday against Saint Peter’s and Thursday against Holy Cross, will give SBU its most non-conference wins since joining the America East in 2001-02 … this will be the Seawolves first ever meeting with Holy Cross … after playing eight of its first 11 games on the road, the Seawolves will play four of their next five contests at home … at 7-4, Stony Brook is off to its best start since the 1992-93 season.
Vermont (7-5) did not play last week ... The Cats are back on the road this week as they travel to face Marist (Monday) and Mount St. Mary's (Wednesday) before opening America East play on January 2 ... The Catamounts were hindered by poor shooting in their loss to Delaware on December 20 as Vermont connected on a season-low 30.4 percent of its attempts and shot only 15 percent (3-for-20) from three ... Vermont recorded a team-high 14 steals in the loss to Delaware and for the year UVM averages 8.2 per game, the most among America East teams ... Vermont?s stunning 60-57 overtime victory over Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005 has been named one of the top college basketball upsets of the last decade by SI.com ... Senior Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) has 1,481 points for his career and is 22 points shy of Kevin Roberson '92 who is seventh all-time at Vermont.