CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- University of Vermont's Marqus Blakely (Metchuen, N.J./Metchuen) and University at Albany's earned his Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park/Fenwick) have earned America East men's basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending February 7. The winners were announced Monday afternoon.
Blakely earned his eighth career Player of the Week award and fourth of the season by averaging 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals in a pair of Catamount wins last week. The senior forward's best effort came via a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, his league-best 13th of the season, in a win over Maine on Wednesday. In that game, Blakely shot 7-of-10 from the floor, sank 8-of-9 free throws added five steals. He followed that with 13 points, all of which came in the second half, seven rebounds and five assists against UMBC Friday.
Also named Player of the Week on Nov. 16, Dec. 14, and Jan. 4, Blakely leads America East in steals (2.8 spg) and blocks (2.2 bpg), ranks second in scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg) and is fourth in assists (3.7 apg).
Black, a freshman guard, led all America East rookies with 14.5 points and 4.0 assists over a pair of games last week to earn his first career weekly honor. He scored 11 points and dished out four assists in a loss at Binghamton Wednesday. Black then tied his career high with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and also added four helpers, against Boston University Saturday.
Over his last eight games, Black is averaging 10.0 points per game and he ranks third in America East shooting 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from three-point range against league foes.
CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK:
ALL-TIME PLAYER OF WEEK LEADERS
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont 14
Vin Baker, Hartford 13
Kenny Adeleke, Hartford 9
Eddie Benton, Vermont 9
Craig Claxton, Hofstra 9
Reggie Lewis, Northeastern 9
Mike Pegues, Delaware 9
Marqus Blakely, Vermont 8
Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern 7
Jamar Wilson, Albany 7
MORE 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 - 17.4 ppg), rebounding (2nd - 9.0 rpg), assists (4th - 3.7 apg), steals (1st - 2.7 spg) and blocks (1st - 2.3 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 (1,704), 900 rebounds (943), 200 assists (264), 200 blocks (241) and 200 steals (210).
STELLAR GAMES EARN HONOR ROLL STATUS
In addition to Blakely and Black, several players had strong efforts last week.
• Binghamton University's Greer Wright (Lake Worth, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) tallied a game-high 19 points in the Bearcats' 78-73 win over Albany Wednesday, their fourth straight before falling to Maine Saturday.
• Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./) scored 23 points and added six rebounds to lead his team to a 69-47 win over UNH on Thursday.
• Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the final seven minutes at UNH Saturday. His three-pointer at the buzzer broke a 54-54 tie and game the Hawks their fifth conference win.
• Maine's Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) scored 15 points and tied his career-high with 14 rebounds in a win over Binghamton Saturday.
• Stony Brook's Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich./Holt/Lansing CC) scored 16 points, added five rebounds and made four steals in a win at Hartford Wednesday.
STREAKING SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook earned its fifth straight win by downing Hartford, 64-54, on Wednesday to hold onto sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Seawolves' 8-2 league start is its best in program history and they have already won 15 games for just the second time since 1992.
1,000-POINT CLUB
A pair of America East juniors reached the 1000-point milestone last week. Albany's Tim Ambrose scored 16 points against Binghamton Wednesday to become the 30th Great Dane to hit the mark. New Hampshire's Alvin Abreu had 13 points against Hartford Saturday, including his 1,000th, and is the 27th Wildcat to reach the plateau. The duo joins Boston University's John Holland and Corey Lowe, Hartford's Joe Zeglinski and Vermont's Marqus Blakley as active players who have scored 1,000 points. Maine's Junior Bernal, who currently has 981 points, and the Hawks' Morgan Sabia, who has 964, are the next in line to join the club.
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, is sixth all-time with 289 and trails John Gordon, who split his career between Maine and Delaware, by two for fifth place. Hartford's Joe Zeglinski, who ranks fifth nationally with 3.3 makes per game, became the Hawks' all-time leader two weeks ago and trails Lowe by eight.
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. 291, John Gordon, Maine (157)/
Del. (134), 1995-2000
6. 289, Corey Lowe, Boston U., 2006-
7. 281, Joe Zeglinski, Hartford, 2006-
RISING UP THE RANKS
Four America East standouts continue to charge up the league's all-time scoring chart. Vermont's Marqus Blakely eclipsed the 1,700 point mark and has entered the Top-20 all-time. Boston University's Corey Lowe sits one slot behind with 1,689 points, while Hartford's Joe Zeglinski is 40th with 1,474 points. The Terriers' John Holland rounds out the group with 1,336 points.
ACTIVE SCORING LEADERS
Rank, Player, Team Points
20. Marqus Blakely, Vermont 1,704
21. Corey Lowe, Boston U. 1,689
40. Joe Zeglinski, Hartford 1,474
55. John Holland, Boston U. 1,336
BUSTING BRACKETS
The three America East teams tabbed for 2010 BracketBusters received their opponents on Monday. Vermont will host Fairfield, while Boston University will travel to Delaware and New Hampshire will go to Loyola (Md.). The games will be played Saturday, Feb. 20.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTEBOOK:
Albany (6-20, AE 1-10) suffered its seventh consecutive setback in a 68-53 loss to Boston U. on Feb. 6, the longest losing streak since the 2003-04 campaign … the 13th Big Purple Growl, the school’s winter homecoming, produced the largest crowd (4,410) of the season … Big Purple Growl was attended by 4,000-plus fans for the sixth consecutive year … BPG is averaging 3,772 fans in the event’s history … freshman guard Mike Black (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park Fenwick) equaled a career-high with 18 points vs. Boston U. … Black is averaging 10.0 points over his last eight games … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) became the 30th player in the program’s history to reach 1,000 career points when he made a 3-pointer in the last minute at Binghamton on Feb. 3 … the 6-foot junior netted 16 points in the contest and has reached twin figures on 49 occasions as a collegian … Scotty McRae (Queens, N.Y. / Benjamin Cardozo) blocked a career-best four shots against Boston U. … redshirt freshman Jake Lindfors (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Driscoll Catholic) had seven points and tied career-highs in rebounds (7) and blocks (2) against the Terriers … Fran Urli (Zabgreb, Croatia / Sportska Gymnasium) posted his highest total as a collegian with nine rebounds vs. Boston U. … Urli has grabbed four or more rebounds 10 times this season … the Great Danes committed 21 turnovers vs. the Terriers, the eighth time with 20-plus this season … redshirt freshman Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) scored in double digits for the fifth time this year against Binghamton with a career-best 16 points …UAlbany has been starting three freshmen, one sophomore and one junior over the last four games … the Great Danes own a nine-game road skid.
Binghamton (11-14, AE 6-4) split two games during the week to keep within striking range of first place. The Bearcats are two games behind league-leading Stony Brook with six games to play… Binghamton completed a season sweep of longtime SUNY rival Albany before beginning a tough four-game road stretch with a loss at Maine… The Albany game drew 3,991 on a Wednesday night, boosting the team’s season attendance average to 3,452. That average, nearly 700 more than the next highest conference team, is actually higher than the attendance pace last season’s championship team set after 10 home games (3,358)… Junior forward Greer Wright (Lake Worth, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) averaged 15.0 points in the two games and continues to lead the conference in scoring (19.1 ppg.) in league play. Wright also is sixth in assists (3.6), sixth in field goal percentage (.485) and seventh in rebounding (6.8)… Junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Bronx, N.Y./Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) averaged 12.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two games. Jabbi, a walk-on, leads the league in blocks (2.5) and offensive rebounds (3.6) and ranks third in overall rebounds (8.5) and eighth in field goal percentage (.464) in conference play… Freshman point guard Dylan Talley (Burlington, N.J./Life Center Academy) chipped in 12.5 points and 5.0 assists in the two games… Junior forward Moussa Camara (Paris, France/Stoneridge) scored 14 second-half points to key the win over Albany. In the process, Camara lifted his season scoring average into double digits (10.1 ppg).
Boston University (13-11, AE 8-4) improved to two games over .500 by completing the sweep over New Hampshire followed by its first win at Albany since 2005 … Junior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.)) tallied over 20 points for the 13th game this season with a game-high 23 to help the Terriers knock off the Wildcats, 69-47 … T score marked their largest margin of victory on the year … Senior Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) started in his first game since Jan. 2 against Stony Brook after missing eight games due to a shooting hand injury … Defense held UNH below 30 percent shooting for the fourth consecutive game … Terriers trailed 19-9 to start the game and only led 28-26 at the half before going on a 23-6 run in the middle of the second for the victory … Senior Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) tallied a season-high 24 points against the Great Danes off 9-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc … Terriers lost the rebound battle but enticed Albany into 21 turnovers while committing just 10 … Leading 34-26 at the half, Strong opened the second with eight straight points to fuel an 11-0 run … Holland, Strong and Morris each had three steals … Senior Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) posted 16 points total in the two games to move into third all-time in the program's record book with 1,689 points … Boston U. next hosts Vermont on Tuesday at Agganis on CSN followed by Hartford at Case Gym on Saturday.
Hartford (6-15, AE 4-4) can boast its first America East season sweep since the 2007-08 season, as it knocked off New Hampshire for a second time this year, 57-54 on Saturday afternoon … the win was the first for Hartford in Durham since 2004, the last time they swept the Wildcats … junior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) sealed the win by banking in a three-pointer at the buzzer, a play which ended up as ESPN SportsCenter’s Number 2 Play of the Day that evening … Zeglinski finished with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds … junior Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield Prep/Panola College) knocked down 12 of his 14 points in the first half … junior Andres Torres (Guaynabo, P.R./Colegio Adianez) returned to game action for the first time since suffering a posterior cruciate ligament tear at No. 3/3 Kentucky on December 29, scoring eight points and dishing out three assists off the bench … the Hawks put together two strong defensive efforts this week, although they fell to Stony Brook on Wednesday, 54-44 … junior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) was the only Hawk in double figures against the Seawolves, scoring 12 … junior Anthony Minor (Philadelphia, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) pulled down a season-best six rebounds in the loss.
Maine (15-7, AE 7-3) fell at Vermont 61-54 before rebounding for a 61-49 win against Binghamton…At Vermont, freshman Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) had 13 points, four rebounds and three steals…Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y./MCI) added 12 points and nine rebounds…After Vermont opened up a 13-point second half lead, the Black Bears closed it to five with six minutes left, but Vermont was able to convert on its free throws…Against Binghamton, Maine took a 25-22 halftime lead and pushed it to 10 before the Bearcats would cut it down to one, but a Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) free throw and a Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) three-pointer from the corner pushed the lead to five with under two minutes left and gave Maine a five-point cushion…Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) had a huge game for the Black Bears, tying his career-high with 14 rebounds and scoring 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line…Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) scored 15 points to go with five rebounds… Bernal is 19 points away from 1,000 and 14 rebounds away from 500, should he reach those numbers he would be the first player in program history to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals…McLemore is up to seventh on the all-time three-pointers list with 146…Bernal is eighth in program history with 327 assists and ninth with 156 steals…McNally now has 543 rebounds, good for 21st in program history…Maine returns to action with games at UMBC and at Stony Brook.
UMBC's (2-21, AE 1-9) game vs. Vermont was played 24 hours before its scheduled time, on Friday, Feb. 5, due to expected heavy snows in the Mid-Atlantic region…The Catamouts triumphed, 79-60… Sophomore guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) led the Retrievers with 18 points and sophomore wing Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./Brewster Acad.) scored in double figures for the seventh straight game with 15 points. ..Vermont thrashed UMBC on the glass, outrebounding the Retrievers, 42-22, and outscoring the hosts, 23-6 in second-chance points… UMBC forced 13 Vermont turnovers in the second half, but misfired on 11-of-13 looks from behind the arc and could not dent a 37-27 halftime deficit… There were 52 fouls in the game and the teams combined to attempt 71 free throws… Gilliam is averaging 14.7 points per game vs. America East competition… Junior guard Bakari Smith (Silver Spring, Md./Baltimore City CC/Blake) has seen his first America East action of the season in the last two games, and gave UMBC a spark with three points and a steal in nine minutes of action… Sophomore post Jake Wasco (Philadelphia, Pa./Franklin Learning Center) scored seven points and contributed a team-high five rebounds vs. Vermont… Freshman wing Brian Neller (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Brothers Acad.) played a career-high 27 minutes vs. the Catamounts… The Retrievers face a busy week, hosting Maine on Monday, traveling to Hartford for a Thursday contest with the Hawks and returning home to face Albany on Saturday… The contest vs. the Great Danes will be the 500th men’s basketball game at the RAC Arena.
New Hampshire (8-13, 3-7 AE) went 0-2 last week, falling to Boston U., 69-47, on the road Feb. 4 before dropping a heartbreaking 57-54 decision to Hartford on a buzzer-beater Feb. 6 … junior Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) led the Wildcats in scoring in both games during the week … Abreu recorded 10 points and four rebounds at Boston U. before netting 13 points, matching a career high with eight boards and setting a new career best with three blocks against Hartford … with 1:28 to go in the game against Hartford and the Wildcats down three, Abreu sank a bucket while drawing the foul to record his 1,000th career point … he then knocked down the free throw to tie the game at 52 … Abreu also drained a baseline jumper to tie the game at 54 with four seconds left … he is the 27th Wildcat to join the 1,000-point club … freshman Ferg Myrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) scored a team-high 10 points at Boston U., going a perfect 8-for-8 at the line while adding four rebounds, a block and a steal … Myrick then chipped in with four points, five rebounds, including four offensive boards, and a block … junior guard Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) added 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting from behind the arc to go along with three rebounds and three assists in just 22 minutes due to foul trouble … junior Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass.) recorded eight points and 12 boards, while senior Radar Onguetou (Yaounde, Cameroon/New Hampton School) posted nine points and nine rebounds … the Wildcats return to action Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. when they take on Albany at SEFCU Arena … the game can be seen live on Time Warner 3.
Stony Brook (16-7, AE 8-2) defeated host Hartford, 54-44, on Wednesday night in its only game of the week … it was the Seawolves fifth straight win … it is the first time since the 2002-03 season that SBU has won five straight conference games … the Seawolves also matched the program record for overall wins (16) and conference wins (eight) since joining the America East in 2001-02 … Stony Brook allowed just 15 points in the first half against Hartford … it is the fewest SBU has allowed in a half this season … It is the fewest points the Seawolves have allowed in a half since giving up just 15 against NJIT last season … the 44 total points allowed are the fewest points allowed in a game since giving up 40 at Hartford last season … it was the fewest points Hartford has scored in a game this season … Stony Brook is now 12-0 when allowing 60 points or fewer … the Seawolves held the Hawks to 4-for-25 shooting from three-point range … Hartford entered the game as the top three-point shooting team in the America East … SBU is allowing just 55.0 points per game on 36.7 percent shooting over the last four games … sophomore Bryan Dougher hit two threes against Hartford … he now has 67 on the season, setting the program’s Division I record for three-pointers in a season … Dougher set the previous record, knocking down 66 threes last season … senior Muhammad El-Amin and junior Chris Martin each scored a game-high 16 points against Hartford.
Vermont (17-8, AE 8-3) went 2-0 on the week, earning wins over both Maine and UMBC … The Cats opened the week on Wednesday when they topped the Black Bears at home, 64-51 … Senior Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) and junior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) each recorded a double-double, combining for 35 points and 20 rebounds … Blakely scored 22 to go with 10 rebounds and five steals, while Fjeld added 13 points and 10 boards … Vermont limited the Black Bears to shoot only 31.6 percent from the floor for the game and 25.8 percent in the second half alone … One of Blakely’s four dunks in the game came in at number five on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays … With their flight cancelled due to weather, the Cats bused to Baltimore and then defeated the Retrievers 79-60 a day earlier then scheduled … Sophomore Garvey Young (Washington, D.C./Georgetown Prep) recorded career highs for points (20) and rebounds (10), earning his first double-double in the win … The Cats led by as many as 24 in the contest in a game that they never trailed … The Cats picked up their 10th road win of the year on Friday, as they continue to lead the nation in victories away from home … The Cats are next in action on Tuesday when they travel to face Boston University at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised on Comcast Sports Net and will also host New Hampshire on Sunday at 2 p.m..