CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A trio of players that had big weeks and led their teams to crucial conference wins have earned America East men's basketball weekly honors. University of Hartford's Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) and University of Maine's Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) are Co-Players of the Week, while Boston University's D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) is the Rookie of the Week. The awards for the week ending Jan. 9 were announced Monday afternoon.
Sabia earned his first Player of the Week award of the season by leading Hartford to its first three-game win streak since 2008. He averaged a double-double of 18.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in the three wins.
He started his week by having the best game of his career. Sabia totaled career-bests of 27 points and 17 rebounds in a win over St. Francis (N.Y.), which snapped the Hawks' five-game win streak. Sabia followed that performance by contributing 19 points and seven boards in a win at Maine Wednesday, Hartford's first in a league opener since 2008. He wrapped up the week by scoring eight points and grabbing seven boards in a win over Albany Sunday, the Hawks' third straight.
Sabia, one of six active 1,000-point scorers in America East, ranks seventh among America East leaders in scoring (15.3 ppg) and third in rebouding (7.4 rpg).
Barnies earned his second straight Player of the Week honors after averaging 21.5 points, 9.0 points and shooting 80 percent from the field in a pair of games last week.
The senior forward started his week win an 18-point, five rebound performance in a loss to Hartford Wednesday. Barnies, who shot 7-of-9 from the floor against the Hawks, then tied his career-high point total for the second time in three games against UMBC, totaling 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added 13 rebounds.
Barnies, who's averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last six games, leads Maine with 12.9 points and 7.3 rebounds this season. Those totals rank 11th and fourth among league leaders, respectively.
Irving picked up Rookie of the Week honors after leading the Terriers to a pair of America East wins last week. A freshman guard, Irving averaged 10 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists last week and poured in a career-best 16 points in a win over first-place Vermont Sunday, Boston U.'s first over the Catamounts in six meetings. Irving, who made 5-of-9 shots from the field, added four assists and turned the ball over just once. He also had four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in a win over New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Irving, who has started 14 of 17 games at point guard as a freshman, is averaging 7.4 points and a team-best 3.9 assist for the Terriers.
Conference Notes
The Honor Roll
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
• Albany's Logan Aronhalt (Zanesvillle, Ohio/Zanesville) led all scorers with 21 points in a loss at Vermont Thursday. He's scored 20-plus points five times this season
• Binghamton's Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime in Saturday's 66-61 victory at New Hampshire.
• John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of league win last week. He poured in 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half of Tuesday's win over UNH and had 24 points in a win over Vermont Sunday.
• Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala. Fairfield Prep/Panola College) scored a team-high 17 points in Sunday's win against Albany and also had a season-best 22 in a victory over St. Francis (N.Y) Jan. 3.
• UMBC's Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) tallied 24 points and added eight assists in a loss to Maine Sunday. He surpassed the 300th assist mark for his career
• New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in a pair of games last week.
• Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) scored 15 of his career-best 19 points in a loss to Vermont Tuesday.
• Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) scored averaged 5.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in a pair of games last week.
Hot Hawks
Losers of five straight coming into the week, Hartford turned things around in a big way. The Hawks won all three games last week, posting wins over St. Francis (N.Y.), Maine and Albany. Hartford, which hadn't won three straight since March of 2008, are off to a 2-0 conference start for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That year, the Hawks won a Division I program record 18 games and reached th America East Championship game for the first time.
Team Notes
Albany (8-10, 1-2 America East) has struggled over the last two weeks and has lost four of its five contests … The Great Danes’ offense scored less than 50 points in back-to-back America East Conference regular-season games for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign … UAlbany scored a season-low 42 points at Hartford by shooting 34.8 percent and committing 17 turnovers … The Hawks have won five of the last six meetings in the series between the programs … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) had his 17-game, double-figure streak halted at Hartford … Ambrose was the last America East player to reach twin figures in every game this season … the 6-foot senior, who has 1,346 career points, had moved into the program’s top 20 in assists (15th, 257) and steals (tie, 20th, 102) … Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) led all scorers with 21 points in a road loss at Vermont on Jan. 6 … the Catamounts have won the last four regular-season matchups with the Great Danes … Aronhalt, who has netted double-digit points in 13 of 18 starts this season, scored 20-plus for the fifth time this season … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick) has been in double-figure scoring in 12 of 13 games since returning from an ankle injury suffered in the season opener … Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) has grabbed six or more rebounds eight times as a freshman … John Puk (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West) is among the conference leaders with 23 blocked shots … Albany is still three wins better than last year’s record at this point in the season.
Binghamton (4-10, 1-0 America East) put four players in double figures, overcame a 14-point deficit and grinded out a 66-61 road win over over New Hampshire in the team's America East opener and only game of the week ... The win snapped a four-game losing streak and improved Binghamton's all-time record against UNH to 15-5 ... Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, including a critical three-point play that gave Binghamton some breathing room with 1:40 to play ... Sophomore guard Jimmy Gray (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) then sank 6-of-7 free throws in the final 1:18 ... Senior forward Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Grandview Prep/City College of San Francisco) tallied 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting before departing with an ankle injury with 6:49 to play. Wright, Binghamton's America East Player of the Game, added five rebounds and three assists but his injury dampened the celebration. Gray and senior forward Moussa Camara (Paris, France/The Rock School) chipped in 10 points apiece and senior guard Chretien Lukusa (Toronto, Ontario/Eastern Commerce College) added nine points ... Binghamton shot 51 percent for the game - the second time in three games that they have shot better than 50 percent ... The team won its conference opener for the third straight year - all on the road. The Bearcats have opened league play on the road in eight of 10 years since joining the America East in 2001 ... Binghamton was picked to finish seventh out of nine schools in the Coaches' Preseason Poll, but has met or exceeded preseason expectations all nine years in the conference - the only AE team to do so ... Binghamton returns home to continue its hectic 5-games-in-10-days stretch. The Bearcats will host Stony Brook Monday night in the America East Game of the Week, which will be broadcast on MSG Plus.
Boston University (7-10, 2-1 America East) snapped a three-game losing streak with two key conference victories at Case Gymnasium ... Three Terriers averaged double-figure scoring to pull out a 61-54 win over New Hampshire on Comcast SportsNet and a 74-65 victory over Vermont ... Senior John Holland (Broxn, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) had a game-high 20 points against the Wildcats and followed with 24 against the Catamounts ... He is now only 131 points away from reaching 2,000 ... Junior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) also had a strong offensive performance, posting 24 points in the win over UVM ... Freshman D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) added 16 points and four assists with just one turnover to help the Terriers win their first home game against UVM since 2006 ... The win also marked the program's first victory over a top-100 RPI team ... Boston U. previously dropped close games against No. 87 Hampton (51-50) and No. 90 Bucknell (52-49) ... In the UNH game, junior Patrick Hazel (Jamaica, N.Y./Marquette) posted six blocks, the most by a Terrier since Tunji Awojobi ('97) had eight in 1997 ... Against Vermont, junior Jeff Pelage (Pompano Beach, Fla./The Pine Crest School) posted a career-high six blocks as well ... Terriers will next hit the road for Albany on Saturday, Jan. 15 and then UMBC on Monday, Jan. 17.
Hartford (5-10, 2-0 America East) went 3-0 last week with victories over St. Francis (N.Y.), at Maine and at home against Albany ... The Hawks are on their first three-game winning streak since March 2-9, 2008 ... They have also started 2-0 in conference play for the first time since that 2007-08 season, when Hartford advanced to its only America East championship game appearance ... The Hawks benefited from a career-high 27 points, 17 rebounds and four assists by senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) in the victory over St. Francis ... Senior Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield Prep/Panola) added a season-best 22 points in the victory ... At Maine, Hartford rebounded from a slow shooting start to shoot 57.7 percent in the second half and take a 61-59 victory ... Sabia again led the team with 19 points, while senior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) added 13 of his 16 points in the second half ... Zeglinski would play in his program-record 119th game (all starts) in the 62-42 victory over Albany on Sunday, added 10 points to move into second place on the Hawks' all-time Division I scoring list ... Burton led the team with 17 points against the Great Danes as the Hawks never trailed and led by double digits the entire second half ... the Hawks are back on the road this week for one game at New Hampshire on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Maine (8-7, 2-1 America East) fell to Hartford 61-59 but rebounded for an 82-67 win at UMBC ... Maine was led by Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) who had 18 points and five rebounds against Hartford while Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) added 13 points and four rebounds...Hartford opened up an eight-point lead in the second half, but the Black Bears responded and had a chance to win it at the buzzer ... Barnies tied his career-high with 25 points and added 13 rebounds to lead Maine at UMBC ... He shot 9-for-11 from the floor to finish the week shooting 80 percent in the two games...It was his second 25-point. 10-rebound effort of the season ...McLemore added 16, Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) 15 points and four assists and Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) 14 points ... It was the third time this season that Maine has had four players in double-figure scoring...Maine has not been out-rebounded in its last nine games, and has only been tied in one of those games ... Barnies is averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in his last four games ... The University of Maine, with the support of America East and partners of Black Bear Sports Properties, will have Fandemonium during the men's and women's games against Binghamton on Jan. 15, and will be giving away over $2,500 worth of prizes during the doubleheader with the women's game at 1 p.m. and the men following at 3 p.m.
UMBC (1-14, 0-2 America East) junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) led the hosts with 24 points and led all players with eight assists in the 82-67 loss to Maine on Jan. 8 ... It was the junior’s seventh straight game in double figures, a personal high, and fifth game of 20 or more points in a contest this season ... De La Rosa surpassed the 300-career assist mark (302) ... In his first two league games, he has scored or assisted on 31 of UMBC's 46 field goals (67.4 percent)... The Retrievers only have 14 turnovers in two league games... Freshman forward Chase Plummer (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick) came within a point of his season high with 13 points in 21 minutes vs. Maine ... He converted a season-best five free throws in the game ... UMBC hung close in the first 20 minutes vs. Maine, trailing 38-33 at intermission ... It was UMBC’s smallest deficit at intermission in the last seven games ... UMBC will play four of its next five America East games on the road, beginning with a Jan. 12 contest at Binghamton.
New Hampshire (6-9, 0-3 America East) dropped a pair of games last week, falling 61-54 at Boston U. on Tuesday before suffering a 66-61 defeat against Binghamton on Saturday ... UNH dropped more than a decision at Boston U. as it lost leading scorer Ferg Myrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) for the season with a knee injury ... It was the second leading scorer the Wildcats have lost for the year this season as Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) also went down with a knee injury in the second game of the season at Dartmouth ... The loss at home to Binghamton was just UNH's sixth defeat in the last 21 games at Lundholm ... The Wildcats also lost for the first time in six games that have been decided by five points or less this season and after dropping both games last week after leading at halftime, are 5-3 this season when leading at the break ... Senior co-captain Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) continues to lead the 'Cats in the wake of their two major injuries ... Conley did everything for UNH last week as he averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steal in 37.0 minutes per game.
Stony Brook (6-8, 1-1 America East) lost both of its games last week to slip under .500 for the season...the Seawolves played great defense in both games by holding both Vermont and Cornell under their season averages in scoring, but they were cold on offense, scoring a combined 101 points in the two contests...after a stretch of suspect free throw shooting, the Seawolves are back on a roll from the line...over the last three games, Stony Brook is shooting 80.1 percent over its last three games and is third in America East as a team at 68.9 percent...Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) had a career night against Vermont, scoring a personal best 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting...his four three-pointers made were also a career high...the sophomore guard has scored 15 or more points in three of the last five games...Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) did not connect on a three-pointer at Cornell, ending his consecutive games streak with at least one triple at 24 games...Dougher scored a team-high 12 points at Cornell and is now 32 points away from becoming just the fourth Stony Brook player in the Division I era to score 1,000 career points...Stony Brook plays Binghamton Monday night in a renewal of the Seawolves' oldest rivary...the two teams first met in 1967 and have played 50 times in Stony Brook's 51-year history...Saturday, the Seawolves host New Hampshire.
Vermont (11-4, 2-1 America East) went 2-1 last week as it opened league play with three games in six days ... The Catamounts opened America East action with a 55-49 win at Stony Brook on Tuesday ... Senior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) led Vermont with 17 points, while freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and a game-best 11 rebounds ... UVM held Stony Brook to shoot only 20.7 percent from the floor in the second half ... The Cats have now won 11 of their last 12 America East openers ... Vermont improved to 7-0 at home on the year with a 60-48 win over Albany on Thursday ... Sophomore Brendan Bald (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) and junior Matt Glass (Underhill Center, Vt./Northfield Mt. Hermon/UMass) each tallied 13 to pace Vermont ... The Cats shot 19-for-22 from the line ... Albany marked the fourth team this season that UVM has kept under 50 points in a game ... Vermont has a +11.4 scoring margin and +13.3 rebounding advantage at home this year … Bald led Vermont with 12 points, while Voelkel added a game-high 12 rebounds as Vermont fell to Boston U on Sunday, 74-65 ... The Catamounts return to action on Saturday when they host UMBC starting at 1 p.m.