CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- As the conference schedule reached the quarter pole last week, a trio of players have earned America East men's basketball weekly honors. Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) and New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) earned Co-Player of the Week honors while University at Albany's Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) picked up Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards for the week ending Jan. 16 were announced Monday afternoon.
Holland earned his first Player of the Week honor of the season and sixth of his career by leading Boston U. back from a 16-point deficit at Albany Saturday.
Holland, a senior guard/forward, scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half of the Terriers' 70-67 victory at Albany Saturday. He shot 9-of-18 from the field and made 6-of-12 three-point attempts. Holland also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. The 16-point comeback was the largest the Great Danes have allowed at the Division I level. Holland, who is just 105 points shy of 2,000 for his career, leads America East in scoring and ranks 13th among league leaders in rebounding with 5.4 per game.
Conley picked up his first career Player of the Week honor after scoring a career-high 33 points in a win over Hartford Tuesday. He averaged 23.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in a pair of games last week.
The senior guard started his week with a career performance against the Hawks, making 10-of-16 shots and 6-of-10 from three-point territory. Conley, whose 33 points were the most by an America East player this season, also added five rebounds, two steals and played all 40 minutes of the 57-54 win.
Conley, who had 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals in a loss to Stony Brook Saturday, ranks eighth among league leaders averaging 14.1 points per game.
Devlin picked up his third Rookie of the Week honor of the season by averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and shooting 61.5 percent from the field last week.
A freshman forward, Devlin nearly led Albany to a pair of victories last week. He scored 10 points and added six rebounds in Wednesday's heartbreaking 67-64 loss to Maine. In Sunday's 70-67 defeat to Boston U., Devlin contributed 11 points and four rebounds. For the week, he 8-of-13 shots he attempted.
Devlin, who registered his first back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts of the season, now has five for his career. He ranks 12th among league leaders in rebounding (5.7 rpg).
Conference Notes
The Honor Roll
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
• Albany's Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) scored a team-best 18 points in Saturday's loss to Boston U. and moved into 51st place on America East's all-time scoring list with 1,376 career points.
• Binghamton's Moussa Camara (Paris, France/The Rock School) racked up a career-high 28 points in a win over Stony Brook Jan 9.
• Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) totaled 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in Boston University's comeback win at Albany Saturday.
• Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) continued his strong play by scoring 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting against UNH Tuesday.
• Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Auburn) had 21 points and nine rebounds in Maine's decisive 77-51 win over Binghamton Saturday.
• UMBC's Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) tallied a career-high 31 points in a loss at Binghamton Saturday.
• Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) averaged 13.5 points last week and had a team-high 13 in Stony Brook's win over New Hamsphire Saturday.
• Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) had eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals in Vermont's win over UMBC Saturday.
At the Quarter Pole
With one-quarter of the conference schedule in the books, Maine sits atop the conference standings with a 4-1 record. Binghamton, which got off to a surprising 3-0 start, Boston University and Vermont are all tied for second place at 3-1. Hartford, which started 2-0 for the first time in four years, sits in fifth place at 2-1, followed by Stony Brook (2-2), Albany (1-4), New Hampshire (1-4) and UMBC (0-4)
Beware of Black Bears
Maine is the hottest team in the league, having won eight of its last 10 games. The Black Bears, who sit in first place in the conference standings at 3-1, have wins at UMass and Penn State in that stretch. The Black Bears pace the league averaging 69.9 points per game and rank fourth holding opponents to 65.2 points per game.
Catching the Injury Bug
Several of the league's top players have been hit with injuries. Two of America East's 10 returning all-conference players are out indefinitely. Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton and New Hampshire's Alvin Abreu, both second-team all-league choices last season, both suffered knee injuries that will threaten their seasons. Brenton's happened in September, while Abreu's injury came against Dartmouth Nov. 18. Additionally, Abreu's teammate, Ferg Myrick, an all-rookie selection last year, tore his patella tendon against Boston U. on Jan. 4 and is lost for the season. Binghamton's Greer Wright, Boston University's Jake O'Brien and Stony Brook's Chris Martin are all also currently sidelined with injuries.
Rising up the Charts
A pair of America East standouts are charging up the league's all-time scoring list and will finish among the all-time greats. Boston University senior John Holland, a two-time first team all-conference selection, moved into 13th place all-time and currently has 1895 career points. Holland, who passed former teammate two-time America East Player of the Year Marqus Blakely last week, also moved by former Northeastern star Jose Juan Barea, who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks and former Indiana Pacer Norman Richardson earlier this season. Hartford's Joe Zeglinski, a two-time all-league choice, is currently 19th on the all-time list with 1,799 career points.
Milestone Win for Herrion
New Hampshire head coach Bill Herrion picked up his 300th career win on Dec. 4 when his Wildcats beat Colgate, 65-60. Herrion has earned 230 of those wins while coaching at an America East school. He won 167 games and three conference titles at Drexel in the 1990's and has 63 wins in five-plus seasons at UNH.
Maine gets Big (Ten) Win
The Black Bears upset the Big Ten's Penn State, 74-64, in Happy Valley on Dec. 22 for their second win against a major conference opponent in the last calendar year. Murphy Burnatowski led way with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Maine, which has won five of its last six straight games. The Black Bears downed Boston College from the ACC, 52-50, on Jan. 2, 2010 and also beat UMass from the Atlantic 10 earlier this season.
Letter Game: AE and the BCS
Maine's win over Penn State was America East's eighth over a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference school since 2008 and second against a Big Ten program in as many seasons. Boston U. downed Indiana last season and also knocked off Oregon St. of the Pac 10 in the College Basketball Invitational in March.
Black History Month
This
February, America East will celebrate Black History Month by profiling
distinguished African-American alumni and prominent figures from all nine
member institutions. Coverage will begin next month and can be found on the
official web site of the America East Conference, www.AmericaEast.com.
Team Notes
Albany (8-12, 1-4 AE) has lost four in a row following two tightly-contested contests against Maine (66-64) and Boston U. (70-67) in America East Conference play last week … Boston U. overcame a 16-point deficit at the intermission by shooting 59.1 percent in the final period on Jan. 15 … the halftime margin was the largest overcome by a UAlbany opponent at the Division I level … the Terriers have won four straight in the series … Maine’s Raheem Singleton made two free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining to lift the first-place Black Bears on Jan. 12 … UAlbany has been involved in five games decided by two points or less this season … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) has moved to 11th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,376 points … Ambrose, whose 30-footer at the buzzer against Maine hit the back of the rim, has also moved to 14th in assists (267) and 18th in steals (104), plus has 507 career rebounds … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick) handed out a season-high eight assists vs. Boston U. … Black, who has reached double-figure scoring in 13 of 15 games since returning from an ankle injury, tallied 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, against Maine … redshirt freshman Ralph Watts (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) matched a career night with seven points and six rebounds vs. Boston U. … Watts has played 20 or more minutes on five occasions this winter … Blake Metcalf (Camby, Ind. / Plainfield) has grabbed six or more rebounds eight times this season … Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) scored in twin figures for the fifth time as a freshman with 11 points (4-5 FGs) against Boston U. … the 6-foot-8 forward added 10 points and six rebounds in his previous start vs. Maine.
Binghamton (6-11, 3-1 AE) won two of three games on the week to position itself near the top of the standings one-quarter of the way through the conference schedule ... After knocking off Stony Brook and UMBC at home to become the last unbeaten AE team, the Bearcats were toppled at Maine by 26 points ... Binghamton played all three games without leading scorer and first team all-conference forward Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Grandview Prep/City College of San Francisco) and also were without junior center Kyrie Sutton (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls) for the Maine game ... In the three games, senior forward Moussa Camara (Paris, France/The Rock School) averaged 16.7 points - thanks primarily to a career-high 28 vs. Stony Brook ... Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith) averaged 10.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in the three games. Jabbi ranks third in the AE in three-point percentage (53 percent), third in field goal percentage (55 percent) and fifth in rebounding (8.3) in league play ... Binghamton hosts Hartford before facing its two biggest rivals- Albany on the road and Vermont at home to close out the week.
Boston University (8-10, 3-1 AE) rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to win at Albany, 70-67, in the Terriers' only game of the week ... They earned its first three-game win streak of the season and snapped an eight-game losing streak on the road dating back to last season's CBI semifinal loss at VCU ... Senior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) contributed 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and finished with a game-high eight rebounds ... He surpassed Marqus Blakely in career scoring in the America East for the No. 14 spot and now just needs 36 more to move past fellow Terrier Drederick Irving ('88), who has 1,931 career points and is the father of Duke freshman standout Kyrie Irving ... Junior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) recorded 16 points, while freshman D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) contributed seven assists against zero turnovers in the win against the Great Danes ... The victory marks the largest come-from-behind win under second-year head coach Patrick Chambers, who earlier in the season trailed by 12 in the middle of the second half against Saint Joseph's before pulling out the win ... The Terriers have three games this week, starting at UMBC on Monday ... They then host Stony Brook on Thursday and go to Hartford on Saturday for a CSN broadcast.
Hartford (5-11, 2-1 AE) dropped its only game last week, a 57-54 heartbreaker at New Hampshire ... the Hawks built up as much as a 16-point lead in the first half before the Wildcats caught fire from beyond the arc to overtake the visiting Hawks ... Hartford shot 40.0 percent for the game, including 8-for-20 (40.0 percent) from downtown, but it was not enough ... Senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) continued his hot streak with a 20-point performance, the 10th 20-plus-point performance of his career ... the loss prevented Hartford from achieving its first 3-0 conference start since 2002-03, and its first four-game winning streak since February, 2008 ... Hartford continued to display strong ball-handling skills, committing just eight turnovers while forcing 20 by the Wildcats ... the Hawks had five days off after the New Hampshire game before returning to the court on Monday at Binghamton ... Hartford will also take on UMBC and Boston University at home this week.
Maine (10-7, 4-1 AE) is riding a three-game win streak and has won four out of its last five games after defeating Albany 66-64 and Binghamton 77-51 ... In Albany, Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) converted two free throws with 3.6 second left to give the Black Bears the win ... Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) notched 18 points and seven rebounds while Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) had a game-high 19 points ... Singleton finished with nine points and a season-high 10 assists ... In Orono on Saturday, Barnies scored 21 points and added nine rebounds as the Black Bears jumped out to a 43-28 halftime lead en route to the victory ... McLemore added 15 points while freshman Alasdair Fraser (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk Clark Eriksson Fury) added nine points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks ... Barnies has now logged at least 18 points and five rebounds in five out of the last six games ... McLemore has scored at least 13 points in five-straight games ... Maine has outrebounded nine out of its last 11 opponents and gone 8-3 during the stretch ... Maine returns to action Tuesdat at Vermont in a game live on Comcast SportsNet New England.
UMBC (1-16, 0-4 AE) hit a season-high nine treys, but allowed a season-high 13 in an 83-75 loss at Binghamton on Jan.12 ... Junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) scored a career-high 31 points and added career bests in field goals (12) and 3-point field goals (4) ... He added 20 points at Vermont on Jan. 15 and is averaging 22.8 points per game in four league contests to date... De La Rosa became the fourth Retriever to post 100+ assists in back-to-back seasons ... Grad. student forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) tied a season-high with 16 points at Binghamton ... UMBC led Binghamton, 33-27, with 1:01 remaining in the first half and was down 29-27 at Vermont at intermission, but allowed 50 Bearcat second-half points and gave up 56 to the Catamounts to suffer the back-to-back road losses... Red-shirt freshman Jamar Wertz (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) made his first collegiate start at Vermont... He scored 10 points vs. Stony Brook and 9 at Binghamton, but has been blanked in games vs. Maine and at Vermont... UMBC continues its grueling stretch of four road trips in a 12 days ... After hosting Boston U. on Monday, UMBC has visits to Hartford on Jan. 20 and UNH on Jan. 23 ... The Retrievers won at Chase Family Pavilion and Lundholm Gym last season.
New Hampshire (7-10, 1-4 AE) split a pair of games last week, winning its first conference game of the season against Hartford, 57-54, Tuesday and dropping a 64-60, double-overtime heartbreaker at Stony Brook on Saturday ... senior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) had a career night against Hartford ... Conley poured in a career-high 33 points on 10 of 16 shooting, including 6 of 10 from behind the arc, and was also 7 of 8 from the free throw line ... the senior co-captain added five rebounds, two steals and a block in 40 minutes ... the 33 points are the most in America East this season, the eighth most points ever scored by a Wildcat and also the most points by a Wildcats since Nov. 25, 2000 when Austin Ganly netted 34 at Dartmouth ... Conley currently owns an 11-game double-digit scoring streak ... against Stony Brook, junior Brian Benson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena) ripped down a career-best 22 rebounds, which were five shy of the school record, matched the second most boards ever by a Wildcat and were the most for a 'Cat since Jan. 3, 1972 ... it is the first 20-rebound game for a 'Cat since Chris Brown recorded 20 boards at Boston University on Feb. 10, 2002.... the 22 boards are an America East season high, as well as the fifth most rebounds ever in an America East conference game ... the 'Cats shot 66.7 percent (12-18) against Hartford in the second half to erase a 16-point deficit ... Tt was their best field goal percentage in any half since Jan. 28, 2009 when they also hit at a 66.7 percent (14-21) clip in the second stanza to erase a nine-point deficit and earn a 71-60 victory at Stony Brook ... the Wildcats are 16-6 (.727) in their last 22 home contests dating back to 2008-09 ... After going 15-32 from 2005-06 through last season, the Wildcats are 6-2 this year in games decided by five points or less ... the 'Cats have yet to allow 80 or more points in a single game this season, the deepest any UNH team has made it into the schedule without allowing an opponent to reach the 80-point mark since 1985-86 when the ‘Cats went 23 games before relinquishing 95 points to Niagara ... No UNH team has gone an entire season without allowing 80 or more points in a game since the 1949-50 campaign.
Stony Brook (7-9, 2-2 AE) split a pair of games last week to remain at .500 in America East ... the Seawolves knocked off New Hampshire in double overtime to snap a three-game losing streak ... Stony Brook overcame a rough offensive start to win the game...after scoring only 16 points in the game's first 29 minutes, the Seawolves scored 28 in the final 11 minutes of regulation and then 16 more points in overtime ... Stony Brook snapped a five-game losing streak in games that have gone into overtime, winning its first OT game since March 2008 ... it was Stony Brook's longest game since a four-overtime affair at Boston University in January 2009 ... the Seawolves took 28 free throw attempts to UNH's 24, improving the team's record to 7-2 when it shoots more free throws than its opponent...Stony Brook continues to play strong defense, it ranks second in the league in scoring defense and first in field goal percentage allowed...Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) has led Stony Brook in scoring in each of its four conference games, including 13 points in the win over UNH ... Rouse hit three big free throws near the end of the first overtime to force a second extra period ... freshman Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) averaged 9.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals last week and has stepped up his rebounding efforts of late ... the 6'2 guard is averaging 6.0 over his last six games ... Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) connected on his 200th career three-pointer vs. UNH and is only 22 away from setting the Stony Brook record ... he is also only 17 points away from becoming the fourth Seawolf in the Div. I era to score 1,000 career points...he also has been dominant at the free throw line, making 25 of his last 26 attempts ... he is second in America East in free throw shooting at 87.8 percent ... Stony Brook plays three games this week, hosting Albany Monday and heading to Boston University Thursday and Maine Saturday.
Vermont (12-4, 3-1 AE) won its only game of the week, topping UMBC at home 85-48 on Saturday ... Brendan Bald (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) led UVM with 16 points and six rebounds, while seniors Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) and Joey Accaoui (Lincoln, R.I./St. Andrews) each added 15 points apiece ... Freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) had another solid game with eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals ... Vermont shot 60 percent in the second half, when it outscored the Retrievers 56-21 to break open a two-point halftime lead ... 12 of the 13 Catamounts that played, scored ... Vermont has now won 64 of its last 67 games when it has topped 80 points … UVM improves to 8-0 at home this season and has won 17 of its last 18 overall at Patrick Gym … The last time that Vermont beat a team by 30 points or more came on December 5, 2009 when it topped NJIT on the road 88-49 … The 85 points scored on Saturday were a season-best for the Cats … Vermont has now won six straight against UMBC … The Cats are a perfect 5-0 on Saturday this season … UVM has a busy week coming up starting on Tuesday when it hosts Maine on Comcast Sports Net New England ... The Cats will also travel to face New Hampshire on Thursday and Binghamton on Sunday.