CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) has earned his fifth career Player of the Week honor, while University of Maine's Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) garnered his first-ever Rookie of the Week honor. The awards for the week ending February 21 were announced Monday afternoon.
Holland, a junior guard/forward, averaged 31.5 point per game and shot 70 percent from the field in pair of wins last week. He began his week with a 20-point effort to lead his team to a 93-51 rout of Binghamton. The all-conference standout set the tone early, scoring the game's first seven points, and hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts overall. Against former conference member Delaware, Holland tallied a career-high 43 points on 14-of-20 shooting and added six rebounds and three steals. The 43 points is the most by any America East player since 2004, when Taylor Coppenrath, a three-time America East Player of the Year at vermont, scored 43 in the conference title game against Maine and tied for the sixth-best single-game effort all-time. It was also the most for any Terrier since their all-time leading scorer Tunji Awojobi poured in the same amount in 1997.
Holland, the league leader with 16 20-point effort year, is the best in the conference averaging 19.8 points per game and ranks sixth in rebounding with 6.1 boards per contest. He also leads the league in free throw percentage (.840) and is third in steals (1.6 spg).
Burnatowski earns rookie honor
Burnatowski averaged 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and played solid defense in a pair of Black Bear wins last week to earn his first career Rookie of the Week honor.
A freshman forward, Burnatowski, who also averaged 3.0 blocks on the week, scored 10 points to go with six boards and four blocks in a 72-53 win over New Hampshire Thursday. He followed that showing with a 10 point, seven rebound, two block performance in a 66-52 win against Hartford on Sunday.
Burnatowski, a native of Canada, is averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 27 games this year with 22 starts. Since he enteredthe starting lineup on Dec. 3 at Colgate, Maine is 15-6 and has held opponents to 57.7 points per game.
CONFERENCE NOTES
BRACKETBUSTER BEATDOWN
America East teams went 3-0 in BracketBuster contests over the weekend as Boston University, New Hampshire and Vermont all posted wins. The Terriers downed former league member Delaware, 78-65, behind a career-best 43 points by John Holland. Tyrone Conley secured a 61-60 win for UNH over Loyola (Md.) on a running jumper with 0.8 seconds left in regulation. Vermont posted the best win of the day, a 77-67 win over Fairfield, which is 18-9 and tied for second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
SEEDING SCENARIOS
With just a week to go in the regular-season, plenty remains at stake in terms of seeding for the upcoming America East Championship. Stony Brook and Vermont will meet Wednesday on Long Island in a game that will go a long way to deciding the regular-season champion and No. 1 seed for the tournament. The Seawolves can clinch their first-ever regular-season title, the No. 1 seed for the tourney and will be guaranteed a postseason berth with a win. The Catamounts will earn at worst a share of the regular-season title for the third time in four years with wins in its final two contests, at Stony Brook Wednesday and home vs. Binghamton Sunday. Maine will finish no worse than third, which would be its highest seed since 2000, with a win over Albany Wednesday. Maine faces Boston University, which is guaranteed no worse than the No. 4 seed, but would win the tiebreaker with the Terriers due to its win over Stony Brook earlier this season. The Black Bears could still earn a share of the regular-season crown with two wins, two losses by Stony Brook and a Vermont loss to Binghamton Sunday. Binghamton sits in sixth place and can secure that seed with wins in either of its final two games (vs. Hartford Wednesday, at Vermont Sunday). Hartford and UNH are currently tied for seventh, with the Hawks holding the tiebreaker having swept the Wildcats this year. Albany and UMBC, which are both 2-12, are locked into the first round game with Albany holding the tiebreaker having swept the season series.
FANTASTIC FOUR
The top four teams in the America East standings-Stony Brook, Vermont, Maine and Boston U. have gone 18-2 combined of their last five games each.
Stony Brook: Has won nine straight games and posted its first 20-win season since the 1990-91 campaign.
Vermont: Winners of seven in a row and 14 of 17 overall, the Catamounts have their seventh 20-win season in their last nine.
Maine: Has won four of five and 12 of 16 since knocking off Boston College on Jan. 2. Maine's 18 overall wins and 10 league victories are its most since winning 20 and 12 games, respectively, during the 2003-04 season.
Boston U.: Winners of three straight games and five of six overall, the Terriers have won 10 league games for the sixth time in nine years and can equal last year's win total with another victory.
1,000-POINT CLUB
Two more America East standouts reached the 1,000-point plateau over the weekend. Hartford's Morgan Sabia became the 23rd Hartford player to eclipse the milestone as he scored 17 points against Vermont Thursday. Maine's Junior Bernal also reached the mark and is the only Black Bear in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals.
MARVELOUS MARQUS BLAKELY
Two-time America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year Marqus Blakely is making a case for a three-peat this season. The senior forward is the only player in the country to rank among his league's top-5 in scoring (2nd - 17.6 ppg), rebounding (2nd - 9.4 rpg), assists (4th - 3.7 apg), steals (1st - 2.6 spg) and blocks (1st - 2.0 bpg) and is the only player to lead his team in all those categories. He is also the only active player in the country to have reached at least 1,500 career points (1,777), 900 rebounds (990), 200 assists (278), 200 blocks (244) and 200 steals (216).
RAINING THREES
A pair of America East standouts are rising rapidly up the conference's all-time 3-point chart. Boston University's Corey Lowe, already the Terriers' all-time leader in treys, passed John Gordon, who split his career between Maine and Delaware, by two for fifth place for sixth on the all-time list with 294. Hartford's Joe Zeglinski, who ranks among national with 3.3 makes per game, became the Hawks' all-time leader three weeks ago and trails Gordon by one and Lowe by four.
Career Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. 354, T.J. Sorrentine, Vermont, 2000-05
2. 313, Mike DeRocckis, Drexel, 1995-99
3. 311, Kevin Reed, Maine, 2003-07
4. 305, Tony Orciari, Vermont, 1997-2001
5. 294, Corey Lowe, Boston U., 2006-
6. 291, John Gordon, Maine (157)/
Del. (134), 1995-2000
7. 290, Joe Zeglinski, Hartford, 2006-
TEAM NOTES
Albany (7-22, AE 2-12) dropped a last-second decision, 68-66, to conference-leader Stony Brook on Feb. 19 ... The final eight minutes featured five ties and four lead changes … Will Harris (Queens, N.Y./Brewster Academy) scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, his highest scoring total since Jan. 13th … Scotty McRae (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin Cardozo) added 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks … McRae has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time after netting a career-high 21 in his previous outing … Brett Gifford (Columbia, Md./ Rock Bridge) tied a career-best with four blocked shots and added four points and six rebounds in his final appearance at SEFCU Arena … Gifford, Harris, McRae and Louis Barraza (Phoenix, Ariz./Trevor Browne) were honored prior to the game as members of the senior class … Gifford is seventh on the school’s career blocks list with 73 … Harris, a third-team all-conference selection last year, has totaled 725 career points in his two seasons with the UAlbany program ... Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench … Ambrose moved into 27th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,040 points … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick) had nine points and a career-high nine assists vs. Stony Brook and helped his team rally from a 16-point, first-half deficit … Black’s assist total was the highest by a Great Dane since Jamar Wilson had 10 against Brown on Dec. 9, 2006 … Black is averaging 13.4 points and 4.6 assists over his last five starts … UAlbany averaged 2,646 fans in 13 homes dates this season, the sixth consecutive year that the program had reached 2,000-plus … UAlbany has played in 70 games decided by four points or less at the Division I level and has a 32-38 record.
Binghamton (12-17, AE 7-7) split two lopsided games during the week, suffered a 42-point game at Boston before completing a season sweep with a 20-point win against UMBC. The loss to the Terriers was the worst defeat (margin) in the school’s nine years of America East membership ... But after an 0-4 road trip, the Bearcats celebrated their return to the friendly confines of the Events Center with a strong win over the Retrievers. The UMBC game attracted 4,717 fans, the second-highest total of the season ... Binghamton boosted its season average to 3,567 and is a virtual lock to grab the program’s seventh straight conference attendance crown … Against UMBC, freshman guard Dylan Talley (Burlington, N.J./Life Center Academy) poured in a game- and season-high 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Talley added five assists and four rebounds in 27 minutes of work… Junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Bronx, N.Y./Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) chipped in a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds – his fourth double-double of the season ... Junior forward Moussa Camara (Paris, France/Stoneridge) added 10 points to reach double-digits for the ninth consecutive game… Binghamton has a two-game cushion for fifth place with two regular-season games remaining.
Boston University (16-12, AE 10-5) improved its record in the month of February to 5-1 with a 93-51 victory over Binghamton followed by a 78-65 win over Delaware during the ESPNU BracketBusters … Junior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.)) had a standout weekend, scoring 63 points in 64 minutes of action … He opened the contest against the Bearcats with seven straight before finishing with 20 and then had a career-high and Bob Carpenter Center record 43 against the Blue Hens … His performance ties Tunji Awojobi (’97) for the fifth most ever by a Terrier and tops his previous high of 38 … He currently ranks eighth all-time in the program record book with 1,439 points and just needs 13 rebounds to reach 500 for his career … Senior Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) had a game-high 23 against Binghamton, while Jake O’Brien (Weymouth, Mass./BC High) posted his sixth double-double of the season and career with 15 points and 11 rebounds … Strong also had a career-high five steals in the contest … With the win at Delaware, the Terriers improve to 3-0 in the BracketBusters and also snap a nine-game losing streak to the Blue Hens, a former America East member … The Terriers have one regular season game remaining on Sat., Feb. 27, against Maine in Case Gym … They will honor nine seniors, including Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North), who ranks third all-time in points with 1,718 and needs just 31 minutes to set the program record for minutes played.
Hartford (7-20, AE 5-9) dropped games to two of the top teams in the America East, falling at home to Vermont and at Maine … the Hawks battled back in the second half of both games, making things uncomfortable for the Catamounts and Black Bears, but could not finish off their comebacks … Junior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) scored 17 points in the loss to Vermont, reaching 1,000 points for his career … He became the 23rd player in Hartford history to eclipse the milestone … junior Joe Zeglinski added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals against the Catamounts … Sabia added six points and a team-best six rebounds at Maine … junior Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield High Prep/Panola College (Texas)) put together his first back-to-back double digit scoring games since Nov. 24-28 at Lafayette and Dartmouth, scoring 11 points against Vermont and a career-high 23 at Maine … for Burton, it was his first career 20-point game … Burton’s three steals against the Black Bears also tied a career high … Hartford got production from some unlikely sources against the Black Bears, as sophomore Clayton Brothers (Philadelphia, Pa./Roxborough) hit his first three-pointer since having a career day at La Salle on December 6 … Senior Zack Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter/Temple) added three points, two rebounds and three assists … Freshman Ryan Baker’s (Cypress, Texas/Genesis One Christian) five points marked the first he had scored since exploding for 12 against Boston University on January 9.
Maine (18-9, 10-4) defeated rival New Hampshire 72-53 and Hartford 66-52 … In Durham, Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) scored a career-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting including 7-of-10 from downtown ... Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y.) scored 14 points and added five rebounds while freshman Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) notched 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks…Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y./MCI) notched his 1,000 career point and 500th rebound in the game, becoming the first Black Bear in program history to have 1,000 points, 5000 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals … Against Hartford in Orono on Sunday, Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) had a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 16 points and two blocks as the Black Bears defeated the Hawks…Bernal had a great all-around game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals…Burnatowski added 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals…Maine’s 18 wins are tied for the fifth-most in program history…McLemore’s 94 three-pointers are easily a school record, and as of Sunday evening was tied for the most in the country … Maine’s RPI of 136 as of Sunday according to CBSSPORTS.com is the highest in America East … The Black Bears’ 10 road wins are also among the country’s best, ranking in the top-5 after Maine’s win at New Hampshire … The Black Bears host Albany on Wednesday which is Senior Night for Bernal before traveling to Boston University for the regular season finale on Saturday.
A depleted UMBC (3-25, AE 2-13) team gave first-place Stony Brook a battle for 20 minutes and showed determination throughout, but the Seawolves prevailed, 86-72, at the RAC Arena on Feb. 16 … The Retrievers only dressed eight players, as leading scorer Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./.Brewster Academy) and starting post Jake Wasco (Philadelphia, Pa./Franklin Learning Center) did not play due to injury … Sophomore guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) scored 20 points … UMBC newcomers score 62-of-72 points in the game… The Retrievers have hit only 20 of their last 84 (23.8 percent) shots from behind the arc in the last six home games...Freshman wing Shawn Grant (San Jose, Calif./St. Francis), who started the game in place of Gilliam, scored 17 points vs. the Seawolves, his most against a conference opponent this season… Gilliam returned and led UMBC with 21 points at Binghamton … He also recorded seven steals in the game, tying a UMBC Division I record… The last player to to post seven steals in a game for UMBC was Darryl Proctor, who accomplished that feat in the NCAA Tournament game vs. Georgetown… Gilliam is averaging 18.6 points per game in seven America East road contests… The Retrievers conclude the regular season at New Hampshire on Wednesday.
New Hampshire (11-15, AE 5-9) went 1-1 last week, falling to Maine, 72-53 on Feb. 17 before knocking off Loyola (Md.) in the BracketBusters game on Feb. 20, 61-60, on its final shot of the contest … Trailing 61-60 with 23 seconds left, the Wildcats looked for the final shot when they found junior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington), who knocked down a 15-foot runner off of one foot from the top of the paint with 0.7 seconds on the clock to give his team the win in its first ever BracketBusters contest … The win gave the Wildcats a 6-6 non-conference record this season, which is their best since the 1994-95 campaign when they went 7-3 … With his first of three assists against the Greyhounds, sophomore point guard Russell Graham (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) became the first Wildcat to record 100 helpers in a season since Colin Donahue (135) during the 2000-01 campaign … junior Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) extended his career-best double-digit scoring streak to 10 games with a pair of double-figure performances last week … Abreu, who has now scored in double figures in 13 of his past 14 contests, led the Wildcats at Loyola (Md.) with 16 points, two boards, two assists and a steal … Abreu also netted 17 against Maine, pulling down five rebounds to go along with a steal and a block … The tri-captain had another solid week at the line as he went 14-for-16 … freshman Chandler Rhoads (Berryville, Va./Air Force Prep) scored in double figures for the third straight game against Maine as he netted 12 points, highlighted by 8-of-9 shooting at the line … Rhoads added four rebounds, two assists and a steal … Playing in foul trouble at Loyola (Md.), Rhoads chipped in with five points, three assists and two rebounds as he was 3-for-4 from the stripe … UNH is 8-3 at home, matching their best home start since the 1997-98 season when they won eight of their first 11 games in Durham … the ‘Cats have been victorious in 11 of their last 14 home contests dating back to last year … The Wildcats return to action Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. when they play host to UMBC.
Stony Brook (20-9, AE 12-2) won both of its games this week, defeating UMBC, 86-72 on Tuesday before defeating Albany, 68-66 on Friday night … The win over Albany was the Seawolves 20th of the season … It is the first time in the programs Division I history that the Seawolves have won 20 games … Stony Brook has won nine straight games and 13 of its last 15 … Its previous longest win streak in Division I was seven … Senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich./Holt/Lansing CC) scored 26 points in the win over UMBC and then scored 19 in the victory over Albany … He also hit the game-winning shot against Albany with 1.8 seconds left … El-Amin is averaging 22.5 points per game over Stony Brook’s last six games … El-Amin is 50 points from setting the programs Division I record for points in a season … sophomore Bryan Dougher went 3-for-5 from three-point range against Albany … He now has 78 threes on the season, breaking the previous school record (including Division II & III) of 77 threes in a season … Sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md./Hargrave) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds against Albany after recording his sixth double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) on Tuesday against UMBC … He has now recorded double-digit rebounds in three straight games and 14 times this season … Stony Brook will honor its four seniors- El-Amin, Eddie Castellanos (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken), Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa/Durban) and Desmond Adedeji (Landover Hills, Md./DeMatha/Dayton)- prior to Wednesday’s game against Vermont.
Vermont (21-8, AE 11-3) went 2-0 on the week, earning wins over Hartford on the road and Fairfield at home … The Cats topped Hartford 74-56, as senior Maurice Joseph (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain-St. Lambert/Michigan State) netted 22 points, while classmate Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) added 16 and 18 rebounds … The Cats have now won 20 or more games seven times in the last nine years … Vermont has now defeated Hartford nine straight times and in 16 of the last 17 meetings … With the win Vermont earned its 12th road win of the season, as it continues to lead the nation … Junior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) led four Cats in double-figures with 17 points, while senior Nick Vier (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Bergen Catholic) added four three-pointers to lead Vermont to a 77-67 victory over Fairfield on Saturday afternoon as part of the ESPN BracketBusters series … The Cats have won seven straight overall … Vier, along with classmates Joseph and Blakely each added 14 points apiece for the Cats … Vermont is 12-1 in the month of February over the last two years … UVM is 16-0 when scoring 70 or more this year and is averaging 78.2 over the last five games … The Cats return to action this week with a first-place showdown at Stony Brook on Wednesday and then return home for “Senior Day” on Sunday vs. Binghamton.