CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - University of Vermont's Maurice Joseph and UMBC Shawn Grant provided big scoring efforts to earn America East Men's Basketball Player of Rookie of the Week, respectivley. The awards for the period of Nov. 30-Dec. 6 were announced Monday afternoon.
Joseph averaged 17.0 points on 55.6 percent shooting and dished out 3.0 assists in a pair of Catamount wins last week to earn his first career Player of the Week honor. The senior transfer from Michigan State, who made 6-of-9 three-points tries last week, scored 15 points in a win over Dartmouth Tuesday and then had 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five assists against New Jersey Tech on Saturday, his team's third straight victory.
Joseph, who ranks fifth among league leaders with 15.1 points per contest, made all eight of his free throw attempts last week and is one of the league's most proficient shooters. He leads the league and ranks among the nation's best by hitting 97.0 percent (32-of-33) of his tries this season. He also ranks among the league's best shooting guards, hitting 41.7 of his shots overall and coming in sixth in 3-point percentage (.440).
Grant averaged 20.0 points in two games last week to take home his first career Rookie of the Week award. The freshman guard scored an America East season-high 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 24 minutes off the bench against Towson on Wednesday. The performance was the best for a league rookie since John Holland had 38 against Hartford on Feb. 28, 2008. Grant, who also averaged 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals last week, followed up with 12 points against Toledo Saturday, the fifth straight game he's scored in twin figures.
Grants ranks 12th overall and tops among conference rookies with 12.7 points per game. He also is seventh overall and second among guards with a .492 shooting clip.
CONFERENCE WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
THE HONOR ROLL
Several other America East players had top performances to start the season:
• University at Albany's Will Harris (Queens, N.Y./Brewster Academy) averaged 18.5 points in a pair of games last week, scoring 20 against Florida Atlantic Monday and adding 17 in a loss to crosstown-rival Siena Saturday.
• Binghamton's Greer Wright (Lake Worth, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) scored 17 points, pulled down nine rebounds and had five assists to lead the Bearcats to their first Division I victory of the season, a 64-60 defeat of Buckell on Friday.
• Boston University's Jake O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass./Boston College High) scored averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in games against UConn and Bucknell last week.
• Hartford's Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) averaged 14.3 points per game last week, including a 19 point performance at La Salle on Sunday.
• Maine's Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif.Worcester Acad.) scored a game-high 21 points at #8/7 Syracuse on Saturday.
• Stony Brook University's Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.Y./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) knocked down a career-best six 3-pointers en route to 18 points in a win over Lehigh on Nov. 30.
• University of Vermont's Marqus Blakely (Metchuen, N.J./Metchuen) had double-doubles of 10 points-12 rebounds and 13 points-10 rebounds in road wins at Dartmouth and New Jersey Tech last week.
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 13-8 in home games this season with Stony Brook (3-0), Binghamton (2-0) and New Hampshire (2-0) all unbeaten on their home courts. Vermont will play its home opener Sunday against Quinnipiac after playing its first 10 games of the season away from Patrick Gym. Albany is currently in the midst of an eight-game road swing, while Binghamton just returned from a six-game trip and and hits the road again for five more after tonight's game with Marshall.
STRONG START FOR SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook improved to 6-2 last week and is off to the program's best start ever as a Division I program and best start overall since beginning 8-1 during the 1992-93 season. The Seawolves are doing it with defense, holding opponents to a league-best 56.8 points per game and a 36.9 percent shooting clip.
A PAIR OF "BIG" WINS
America East has picked up a pair of wins against teams from power
conferences this season. Boston University knocked off the Big Ten's
Indiana, 71-67, at the P.R. Tip-Off on Nov. 20, while Vermont outlasted
the Big East's Rutgers, 77-71, on Nov. 22. Boston U's win was the
league's first over a Big Ten team since the Terriers downed Indiana in
2004. The Scarlet Knights have now dropped two straight against AE
teams. Binghamton won at the RAC, 66-56, last December.
MOVING UP THE LIST
Boston University's John Holland became the 130th player in league history to reach the 1,000-point club. Holland, who achieved the mark in a 67-61 overtime win over Northeastern Nov. 25, is currently 113th all time with 1,056 points. The 2008 Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference choice last season, Holland ranks fourth among active players behind teammate Corey Lowe (1,441), University of Vermont's Marqus Blakely (1,429) and University of Hartford's Joe Zeglinski (1,228).
STAT CHECK
Now that every team has several games under its belt, here's a look at what's going on statistically around the league.
• Marqus Blakely currently ranks among the Top 10 in scoring (2nd, 17.9 ppg), rebounding (2nd, 9.2 rpg), assists (5th, 4.0 apg), steals (1st, 2.8) and blocked shots (2.6 bpg), which also ranks among the nation's Top 15.
• UMBC's Chris De La Rosa ranks fourth in the nation with 6.6 assists per game. This is the third straight year the Retrievers have had a point guard among the nation's best assist men. Jay Greene concluded his career third on America East's all-time assist list with 683
• Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton ranks among the Top 25 rebounders in the nation with 10.4 per game.
RECOGNITION ROUNDUP
Several
America East Players received national recognition prior to the season
starting last week. Vermont's Marqus Blakely was named one of 25
preseason All-Americans by CollegeInsider.com. Blakely was also a
first-team selection on College Hoopsnet.com's Mid-Major All-American
First Team. Boston University's tandem of John Holland and Corey Lowe
were honorable mention selections. Stony Brook's Bryan Dougher and
Vermont's Nick Vier were tabbed candidates for the prestigous Bob Cousy
Award, given to the nation's top point guard.
TERRIERS THE TOP PICK
In
search of its first league title since 2002, Boston University is the
unanimous preseason choice of the coaches to win its sixth America East
Men’s Basketball title in 2009-10. The Terriers received all eight
possible first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their
team) and 64 points, followed by University of Vermont, which received
the remaining first-place vote and 56 points. University at Albany
barely edged Stony Brook University for third place with 43 points,
while the Seawolves came in one point behind with 42, just ahead of
University of New Hampshire’s 39. University of Hartford and UMBC tied
for sixth with 28 points apiece, while University of Maine (14 points)
and Binghamton University (12) rounded out the poll.
THREE UNANIMOUS CHOICES HIGHLIGHT PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE
The
three returning first-team all-conference selections from last season
highlight the 2009-10 America East Preseason All-Conference Team.
University of Vermont’s Marqus Blakely (Metchuen, N.J./Metchuen) and
Boston University’s tandem of John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s
Prep (N.J.) and Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./West Newton) were unanimous
selections. They were joined by Stony Brook University’s Muhammad
El-Amin (Lansing, Mich./Holt/Lansing CC) as well as University at
Albany’s Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) and
University of Hartford’s Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop
Ryan), who tied for the squad’s final spot.
NEWMAN'S OWN COMES ABOARD
The
America East Conference, the University of Hartford and Newman’s Own,
Inc. announced on Oct. 28 that Newman’s Own, Inc. will serve as the
title sponsor of the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Championship, slated for March 4-7, 2010 at the University of Hartford.
The Championship trio of America East, Hartford and Newman’s Own, Inc.
will announce a plan later this year that will further cultivate the
principles of community service, education and leadership among
students from the nine conference campuses.
TEAM-BY-TEAM WEEKLY NOTES:
Albany (3-6) has dropped three in a row following road losses at Florida Atlantic and Siena … the Great Danes are in the middle of eight consecutive road games … the previous longest road swing was five away dates to start the 2004-05 season … UAlbany allowed 10 three-point field goals at FAU, the most by an opponent since Feb. 15, 2009 … UAlbany was playing in the Sunshine State for the second time as a Division I program … the Capital Region rivalry with Siena produced a crowd of 12,960 fans at the Times Union Center, the third-largest figure since the series was renewed in 2001 … Siena’s 29-point win margin was the highest between the crosstown-rivals since the 1946-47 campaign … the Saints have won five straight in the series … Will Harris (Queens, N.Y. / Brewster Academy) became the first UAlbany player to score 20-plus in three consecutive games since All-American Jamar Wilson in Feb. 2007 … Harris, who is shooting 58.5 percent from the field in his last four starts and netted 20 at FAU, finished with 17 points against Siena … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) has reached double figures 38 times as a collegian after totaling 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Siena … Ambrose has handed out four or more assists six times this season … Mike Johnson (Queens, N.Y. / Sheepshead Bay) scored a career-high 17 against Florida Atlantic … Brett Gifford (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge) appeared in his 100th career game against Siena … Gifford is tied for ninth in career blocked shots (59) … UAlbany has a 3-6 record for the first time since 2005-06 … the Great Danes went 4-5 last year after nine games after posting 5-4 records the previous two seasons.
Binghamton (3-5) returned home after six straight away games and posted the team’s first win against a Division I opponent with a 64-60 triumph over Bucknell… The game drew 3,515 fans to the Events Center. Binghamton has led the America East in home attendance for six straight seasons… Junior forward Greer Wright (Lake Worth, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) was the America East Player of the Game after collecting game-highs of 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He also added two steals and a block and sealed the victory by converting 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:17…Freshman point guard Dylan Talley (Burlington, N.J./Life Center Academy) chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks… Junior forward Moussa Camara (Paris, France/The Rock School/Stoneridge Prep) hit for 13 points in 21 minutes and also recorded a game-high three steals… Sophomore center Kyrie Sutton (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls) added 11 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes… Binghamton hosts Marshall Monday night before heading to Des Moines and the Drake tournament this weekend. It will mark the beginning of another long stretch away from home. The Bearcats will play five straight away games to close out the month of December.
Boston University (3-6) split its two games last week with a 92-64 loss at No. 13 UConn followed by a 63-53 victory over Bucknell … Sophomore Jeff Pelage (Pompano Beach, Fla./Pine Crest School) earned his first career start against the Huskies in the first meeting between the two former Yankee Conference (1972-’76) since a Preseason NIT meeting in 1997 … Sophomore Jake O’Brien (Weymouth, Mass./BC High) posted his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, marking the Terriers’ fourth of the season which matches last season’s total … Freshman B.J. Bailey (Mays Landing, N.J./Holy Spirit) had his coming out party this week, first starting with a season-best 10-point performance against UConn … He earned his first career start against Bucknell and recorded a season-best five rebounds along with four points, including a critical tip-in off a missed 3-pointer with 1:20 to go that gave the Terriers a six-point lead … O’Brien contributed 17 points, including 12 in the first half that gave the Terriers a 32-16 lead at the half, which was their first lead of the season … Bucknell was held to 31.5 percent shooting from the field in defeat … The Terriers now lead the all-time series, 2-1, having also won last year’s contest, 71-68, in overtime … Terriers next visit Marist on Saturday, Dec. 12 for a 2 p.m. tip-off in their first meeting since the 1985-86 season.
Hartford (2-7) played three games in five days to wrap up the week, going 0-3 … led in-state rival Yale for much of the game before falling on a last-second dunk, 48-46 … jumped out to a 13-0 lead against the Bulldogs, who did not score for the first eight minutes of the game … Morgan Sabia led the team with 15 points against Yale … Hartford traveled to play Seton Hall the next day and fell to the Pirates, 89-56 … Joe Zeglinski led the squad with 13 points at Seton Hall, and his brother Zack Zeglinski tied for the team lead with five rebounds despite playing just nine minutes … in a homecoming for five Hawks from Philadelphia, the team dropped a 75-62 decision at La Salle … Sabia led the team with 19 points, Zeglinski added 18 … Philadelphia native Clayton Brothers knocked down a career-high 14 points … freshman Charles White started all three games, his first three collegiate starts ... the Hawks have two games this week, starting at St. Francis (NY) on Tuesday night ... they return home to play Sacred Heart on Friday evening.
Maine (3-4) defeated Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y, by the score of 76-66 before falling at #7 Syracuse 101-55…In Hamilton, N.Y. on Thursday night, Maine fell behind by nine early in the second half before Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) scored 13 points in the next six minutes in a 19-9 Black Bear run to give Maine a three-point lead and Maine would make free throws down the stretch to seal the victory…Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine) had another solid effort with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks…Mitchell finished with a game-high 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind the arc…Freshman Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario/Canadian National Elite Development Academy) had seven points and five rebounds…Maine shot 43.8 percent from behind the arc while holding Colgate to 15 percent from long range…Against #7 Syracuse on Saturday night in the Carrier Dome, Maine had a tough first half before outscoring the Orange 43-41 in the second half…The 43 points were the most a team had scored against the Orange in a half this season…Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) had a game-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting…Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y,/MCI) had seven points, six rebounds and two assists…The attendance of 20,302 was the largest crowd Syracuse had at home this season…Maine continues play on Wednesday against UMPI at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym before hosting Kennesaw St. on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Alfond Arena.
A pair of freshmen led UMBC (0-7) in scoring in a pair of tough setbacks this week… Freshman wing Shawn Grant (San Jose, Calif./St. Francis) tallied a team season-high 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting in 26 minutes at Towson on Dec. 2… The 28 points tied for the fourth-most points in a game by a UMBC Division I freshman and the most since Brian Hodges scored 28 vs. UNH on March 4, 2005 in an America East Tournament game… He scored 19 second-half points, leading UMBC’s rally, which fell five points short…Grant now has scored in double figures in five straight games, the longest streak for a Retriever this season… Against Toledo, freshman wing Brian Neller (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Brothers Acad.) hit five-of-nine behind the arc to lead five Retrievers in double figures with 15 points… Sophomore wing Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./Brewster (N.H.) Acad.) scored 13 points in each game, but was just 2-of-11 from behind the arc for the week… Towson hit 11 3-point field goals vs. UMBC, giving them 25 in the last two contests with the Retrievers… Toledo hit 10 from behind the arc as the opposition was 21 of 45 (46.7 percent) in two games vs. UMBC… UMBC’s opponents have already converted 34 more free throws than the Retrievers and the differential is 87-48 or -39 through seven games… Sophomore guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) had 14 assists in the two games this week and has 46 (6.6 per game) to date… UMBC is 0-3 in games
New Hampshire (2-3) went 0-1 last week, losing a defensive battle with the Big East’s Pitt, 47-32 at the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 4 … freshman Ferg Myrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) led the Wildcats with a career-high 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting, including a perfect 1 of 1 from behind the arc … Myrick also grabbed two rebounds and came up with a steal in a career-best 18 minutes off the bench … juniors Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) and Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Worcester Academy) chipped in with eight and six points, respectively, for the Wildcats, while DiLiegro grabbed eight boards and sophomore Russell Graham (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) handed out three assists … UNH held Pitt to its lowest scoring output since March 10, 2007 when Georgetown only allowed 42 points in a 65-42 win against the Panthers in the Big East title game at Madison Square Garden … the 22 combined points between UNH and Pitt at the half were the fewest in a first half of a Division I game since the shot clock era began in 1985 - when there was a 45-second clock, rather than the 35-second clock that was adopted in 1993 … the teams broke the previous record held by Mississippi (15 points) and South Carolina (13 points), which combined for 28 points on Jan. 8, 2003. South Carolina ended up winning 55-49 … the Wildcats return to action Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. when they play host to Central Connecticut State University at Lundholm Gymnasium.
Stony Brook (6-2) went 2-1 on the week … defeating host Lehigh, 71-52, on Monday before falling at St. John’s, 63-55 on Wednesday … SBU wrapped up the week with a 63-60 win over Columbia on Saturday … Stony Brook is now 6-2 on the season, its best start since the 1992-93 season … sophomore Bryan Dougher knocked down a career-high six three-pointers, including five in the first half, on his way to 18 points in Stony Brook’s win at Lehigh … sophomore Dallis Joyner tied his career-best with 14 points … Stony Brook put the game away with a 27-3 first half run which included 18 straight points at one point … SBU’s 3-1 start on the road was its best start away from home since 1990-91 … Stony Brook held St. John’s to 39.6 percent shooting … the Seawolves held St. John’s to its second lowest point total this season … SBU rallied from a 12-point second half deficit in Saturday’s win over Columbia … Stony Brook closed the game on a 25-10 run … junior Chris Martin scored a season-high 18 points for Stony Brook … Martin went 10-for-11 from the line … Saturday’s game concluded a stretch in which the Seawolves played four games in a week … sophomore Danny Carter scored a season-high 12 points against Columbia including back-to-back three-pointers that tied the game with seven and a half minutes left … sophomore Tommy Brenton has recorded double-digit rebounds in three straight games.
Vermont (5-4) went 2-0 on the week with road wins at Dartmouth (63-58) and NJIT (88-49) … Junior Joey Accaoui (Lincoln, R.I./St. Andrews) poured in a career-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half, to lead the Cats over Dartmouth … Accaoui reached double figures for a third straight game, as he hit 6-of-7 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the line in 24 minutes of action … Senior Maurice Joseph (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain-St. Lambert/Michigan State) added 15, while classmate Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds … Tuesday was the Cats’ sixth game in 10 days, all on the road … Joseph led four Catamounts in double figures with 19 points on Saturday at NJIT … The Catamounts shot 61.2 percent from the floor and outscored the Highlanders 49-18 in the second half … Freshman Ben Crenca (Exeter, R.I./ Worcester Academy) recorded a career-high 15 points, while Blakely added his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists … Saturday was the Cats’ second win by 30 or more in their last three games, after defeating Toledo by 33 … Joseph has now made 16 of his last 31 three-point attempts (51.6 percent) … The Cats wrap up their 10-game road trip to open the year on Monday at Yale (7 p.m.) and then play their first home game of the 2009-10 season on Sunday, when they will host Quinnipiac (12 p.m.) on NESN.