CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A pair of point guards are this week's America East men's basketball award winners. UMBC's Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena), one of the top assist men in the nation, earned Player of the Week honors for leading his team to a pair of wins, while Boston University's D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) earned his second Rookie of the Week honor of the year. The awards for the week ending Jan. 23 were announced Monday afternoon.
De La Rosa, a junior point guard, averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in three games last week and led UMBC to back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2008-09 season. He made 41.7 percent of his three-point tries (7-for-17), added three steals and a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The transfer from Siena started his week by contributing 23 points, three rebounds and five assists in a 71-67 win over Boston University Monday, the Retrievers' first league victory. De La Rosa scored just five points against Hartford Thursday, but played a key role in UMBC's 74-70 double-overtime win by collecting seven rebounds and eight assists. He finished his week with a 23-point, five rebound, seven assist performance in a loss to New Hampshire Sunday.
Irving put together a stellar week, averaging 9.3 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in three games.He shot 44 percent from the field (8-for-18) and canned 11-of-12 free throw attempts.
A freshman point guard, Irving dished out 10 assists in a loss at UMBC Monday, matching the most by a Terrier in 10 years. He contributed 13 points, three off his career high, and added six assists in a 67-62 win over Stony Brook Thursday. Irving concluded his week by totaling 13 points, including his team's first seven of the game, four rebounds and four assists in a loss at Hartford Saturday.
Irving has started 18 of 21 games for Boston U. this season. He's averaging 7.5 points, 3.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Also, named Rookie of the Week on Jan. 10, Irving ranks second in the league in free throw percentage (.873) and third in assists.
Conference Notebook
More Dishing De La Rosa
The junior point guard has become one of the top players in America East this season. De La Rosa ranks second among league leaders averaging 17.0 points per game and is 13th nationally with 6.3 assists per game, which also leads the league. He's been even better in conference play, averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists while averaging over 40 minutes per game (40.4 mpg). De La Rosa is one of just four players in the country who rank in the top-20 nationally in assists and the top-100 in scoring.
The Honor Roll
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
• Albany's Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) tallied a double-double of 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a 52-50 win at Stony Brook Monday. He averaged 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in a pair of league wins last week.
• Binghamton's Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith) racked up a pair of double-doubles last week, giving him three in his last five contests, and averaged 11.0 points and 10.3 rebounds over three games.
• Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) averaged 21.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in three games last week. He had 29, including 20 in the second half, Thursday's win over Stony Brook.
• Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) led Hartford to two wins in three games by averaging 20 points and 4.7 rebounds. He had 26 in a win over Binghamton Monday.
• Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Auburn) continued his strong play averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two Maine wins.
• New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) averaged 20.5 points 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in a pair of games. He totaled 22 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals, three blocks and zero turnovers in Sunday's win over UMBC.
• Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) scored a career-high 22 points and added seven rebounds off the bench in Stony Brook's loss to Maine Saturday.
• Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) continued his dominance on the glass, averaging 10.0 rebounds to go with 7.0 points for Vermont last week.
Nearly Halfway Home
This week marks the halfway point in the conference season and with nearly one half of the conference schedule in the books, Maine sits atop the conference standings with a 6-1 record. Vermont, winner in seven of its last nine games, sits in second at 5-2 and Hartford, winner in four out its last six games, is in third at 4-2. Boston U., which is 4-3, sits in fourth place, followed by Albany and Binghamton, which are both 3-4. New Hampshire, Stony Brook and UMBC are all deadlocked at 2-5.
Beware of Black Bears
Maine is the hottest team in the league, having won five straight games and nine of its last 11 games. The Black Bears, who sit in first place in the conference standings at 6-1, have wins at UMass and Penn State in that stretch. The Black Bears pace the league averaging 70 points per game and rank fourth holding opponents to 64.5 points per game. Maine also ranks among the nation's best shooting teams hitting 46.3 percent of its shots as a team, good for 66th nationally.
Retriever Believers
Further proof in the unpredictability of this season in America East, UMBC came in to the week with just one win in 17 games and doubled its win total with impressive wins over Boston University and Hartford. UMBC overcame a nine-point deficit with 4:20 remaining to earn a 71-67 win over the Terriers Monday and snapped a 10-game home court losing streak in America East games. The Retrievers then dealt Hartford just its second league loss of the year by shooting 50 percent (12-of-24) from three points land. The back-to-back wins were the Retrievers' first since the 2008 America East Championship.
Hawking a Comeback
Hartford looked to be heading to its second straight loss Saturday when it fell behind Boston U. 18-2 and still trailed by 16 (49-33) with 11:41 remaining in the contest. But after Dom Morris' dunk gave Boston U. a 15-point lead with 11:11 remaining, the Hawks held the Terriers without a field goal the rest of the way and outscored them the rest of the way, 26-4. Anthony Minor's layup with 1:31 left gave Hartford its first lead and Joe Zeglinski, who scored 15 points and added seven rebounds, hit a fall-away 15-foot jumper with the shot clock winding down to give Hartford a 58-55 advantage with 24 seconds left. John Holland's three-point try came up short and Milton Burton converted one of two free throws to give Hartford the come-back win, its fifth victory in its last seven games.
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. Boston University's Jake O'Brien and Stony Brook's Chris Martin are all also currently sidelined with injuries.
1,000-Point Club
A pair of junior standouts reached the 1,000-point milestone last week. Stony Brook University's Bryan Dougher, a second-team all-conference selection last season, became the fourth player in Stony Brook's Division I history to reach the milestone on Monday when he totaled 20 points against Albany. The next night, Maine's Gerald McLemore, a first-team all-leaguer last year, followed suit by joining 28 other Black Bears in the esteemed club. Earlier this season, Boston University's Jake O'Brien, a third-team all-conference selection last year, eclipsed the mark, as did UNH's Tyrone Con. That group is joined by Boston University's John Holland, Hartford's Joe Zeglinski and Albany's Tim Ambrose as active players to reach the mark. Overall, 142 players have scored 1,000 points in America East history.
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 1,936 career points. Holland, who passed former Terrier Drederick Irving 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. He is just 64 points away from becoming the 13th player in America East history to reach 2,000 points. Hartford's Joe Zeglinski, a two-time all-league choice, is currently 17th on the all-time list with 1,859 career points.
Big Apple Battle Beckons
For the first time ever, Madison Square Garden, the “World’s Most Famous Arena”, will host an America East men’s basketball conference game when University at Albany and Boston University face off on Thursday, Feb. 10 in the Big Apple Battle. The game, which will be the first played in the arena by an America East team since Boston University appeared in the 2006 Aéropostale Holiday Festival, will follow a St. John’s-UConn contest and tip off at approximately 9:35 p.m. Boston U. will serve as the home team. Overall, it will be the Terriers’ fourth appearance in the Garden, which also includes a win over UConn in the 1959 NCAA Tournament. This will be Albany’s first-ever appearance in the famed arena.
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 Notebook
Albany (10-12, 3-4 AE) recorded back-to-back wins in America East Conference play for the first time in nearly two years (Jan. 25 & 28, 2009) with victories over Stony Brook (52-50) and Binghamton (76-37) … the Great Danes ended a five-game skid in the Stony Brook series and have been involved in six games decided by two points or less this season … UAlbany set Division I program records for win margin (39), lowest point total by an opponent (37) and points by an opponent in one half (13) vs. Binghamton … the Bearcats shot 21.1 percent, the sixth opponent at the Division I level to be held under 30 percent … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) recorded his third career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at Stony Brook … the 6-foot senior’s rebounding total was one off the program’s Division I standard … Dave Schloss collected 15 boards on Jan. 17, 2000 … Ambrose has moved among the school’s top 10 in career scoring and along with Will Brand (1998-2002) is tied for ninth with 1,405 points … Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) had 12 points vs. Binghamton, his sixth game in double-figure scoring as a freshman … Devlin pulled down 10 rebounds at Stony Brook, his fourth time with 10-plus … John Puk (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West) equaled a career-high with four blocked shots vs. Binghamton, as his team posted its highest team total (11) since Dec. 13, 1999 … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick) had 15 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, vs. Binghamton … the sophomore has scored in twin figures 24 times as a collegian … redshirt freshman Ralph Watts (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) had a career-best 10 points off the bench against Binghamton … Albany has four more wins after 22 games than last year’s squad.
Binghamton (6-14, 3-4 AE) dropped all three games during the week and has now lost four straight after winning its first three conference games ... The Bearcats averaged just 50 points and gave up nearly 73 to its three America East opponents ... Junior center Kyrie Sutton (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls) averaged 12.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in the three games ... Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) averaged 11.0 points and 10.3 rebounds and recorded double-doubles in two of the three games. In conference play, Jabbi is averaging 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, strengthening his case for all-conference consideration ... The Bearcats are averaging 3,349 in attendance for their nine home games, well ahead of the league average. Binghamton has had the highest attendance average in the America East for seven consecutive seasons ... The Bearcats will face a tough late-night game at Boston on Wednesday (9:30 p.m.) before hosting league-leading Maine Saturday night.
Boston University (9-12, 4-3 AE) had a tough week, posting a 1-2 record as the road woes continued ... Two days after a thrilling 16-point come-from-behind victory at Albany on Jan. 15 to snap a seven-game road losing streak, the Terriers rallied from 13 down to take a nine-point lead (64-55) at UMBC with 4:45 remaining ... The Retrievers came back for the 71-67 victory, as Boston U. missed two open potential game-winning 3-pointers with a few seconds left in regulation ... Returning to Case Gym on Thursday, the Terriers rallied from 10 back to knock off their fifth squad of the season to be coming off a 2009-10 postseason bid in Stony Brook, 67-62 ... On Saturday, they returned to the road with a visit to Hartford ... Boston U. had a 16-point lead in the second half but didn't hit a field goal in the final 11 minutes and didn't score a single point in the last seven for the 59-55 loss ... Senior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) averaged 21.7 ppg and 4.3 rpg over the three games and had 20 points in the second half for the win over SBU ... He now has 1,961 career points ... Freshman D.J. Irving had 10 assists at UMBC, marking the most by a Terrier in 10 seasons ... Added 13 points and six assists vs. SBU ... Recorded team-high 13 points at UH ... Terriers next host Binghamton on Wednesday at Agganis Arena.
Hartford (7-12, 4-2 AE) went 2-1 during a busy week, grabbing a convincing road victory at Binghamton and coming from behind to knock off Boston University ... the Hawks also fell in double overtime to UMBC during the week ... the Hawks were led by senior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan), who averaged 20.0 points in leading the team in scoring all three contests ... Zeglinski finished 7-for-11 from three at Binghamton, burying seven of his first nine shots ... he scored 26 total points to help Hartford to a 31-point lead and eventual 72-61 victory at Binghamton ... against UMBC, led the Hawks with 19 points as they fell in double overtime, 74-70 ... senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) powered Hartford with 17 points and a career high-tying 17 rebounds against the Retrievers ... Sabia also rejected three UMBC shots ... Against Boston University, the Hawks fell behind 13-0 and 18-2 before they hit their first field goal, but clamped down on the defensive end in the second half ... the Terriers did not convert a field goal after a dunk made it 51-36 Terriers with 11:11 to play ... They would score four more points off free throws, none after the 7:16 mark ... senior Anthony Minor (Philadelphia, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) followed his own blocked shot with a putback to give Hartford its first lead of the game with 1:29 to play ... Zeglinski secured a big defensive rebound and his teardrop put Hartford up three with less than 30 seconds to play, two of his team-high 15 points ... it was the Hawks' first victory over Boston University since the semifinals of the 2008 America East Championship ... This week, Hartford will be back on the road for games at Vermont on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and at Stony Brook on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Maine (12-7, 6-1 AE) won its fourth- and fifth-straight games with wins over defending America East champion Vermont and defending America East regular-season champion Stony Brook ...In Burlington, Gerald McLemore (San Diego Calif./Worcester Academy) scored 14 points, including becoming the 29th player in Maine history to notch 1,000 career to lead Maine to a 72-58 win at Vermont...Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) added 14 as well ... In Orono, Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Maine to a 70-59 win over Stony Brook ... Barnies added a team-high 17 while McLemore added 15 and Singleton 12 and a game-high seven assists ... Senior Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) has 647 career rebounds, and is two away from moving into the top-15 in school history and is already fifth on the career blocks list with 106 ... McLemore's 1,018 points put him in 26th place on the all-time list at Maine and is second with 219 career three-pointers and second with 586 three-point attempts... Maine returns to action on Tuesday to host New Hampshire at 7 p.m. before traveling to Binghamton for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday.
UMBC (3-17, 2-5 AE) snapped a 10-game America East home losing slide by virtue of the 71-67 Jan. 17 victory over Boston U ... Then, the Retrievers won on the road for the first time this season (10 losses) at Hartford (74-70, 2ot) on Jan. 20 ... The Retrievers also fell at UNH (80-60) on Sunday ... UMBC won back-to-back games for the first time since winning the America East Tournament quarter and semifinal games on March 7 and 8 of 2009 ... Over the last four-plus seasons, UMBC is 28-15 (.651) in games decided by five points or less ... UMBC's 12 treys converted at Hartford (of 24) are the most for a Retriever squad since UMBC buried a school-record 17 at Ohio State on Dec. 29, 2007... UMBC was 22 of 45 (48.9 percent) from behind the arc in wins vs. Boston U. and at Hartford... UMBC’s double-overtime win at Hartford on Jan. 20 was the Retrievers’ first extra-session victory since the March 7, 2009 America East quarterfinal OT win over Boston U ... UMBC is 6-1 in extra time vs. America East opponents and 0-4 vs. non-conference opponents in since joining America East in 2003-04 ... Seven hours before the Retrievers knocked off Hartford in double overtime, the UMBC women’s basketball team defeated Hartford at the RAC Arena--in double overtime... Entering play last week, junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) was one of four Division I players in the nation to be ranked in the top 20 in assists and in the top 100 in scoring ... He posted his seventh and eighth 20+-point games of the season with 23 points vs. Boston U. and at UNH... De La Rosa is averaging 19.9 ppg in his last 12 outings, playing 473 of possible 490 minutes... He has moved into 11th place in school history with 278 assists in just 50 games played... He scored 20 or more points in four straight games, one shy of Darryl Proctor’s UMBC DI record posted in 2009 ... Grad. forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) scored in double figures in four consecutive games for the first time in his career, capped by an 18-point, 11-rebound effort at Hartford... Four of five career double-doubles have occurred in America East play ... He hit all four free throw attempts in final 2:40 vs. Boston and all four in the final 2:49 plus overtime at Hartford and is 22 of 24 (91.7 percent) in conference play ... Sophomore guard Brian Neller (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Bros. Acad.) exploded for a career-high 24 points with a career-best six treys at Hartford ... It was the most 3-point field goals for a Retriever since Ray Barbosa hit seven at Maine on Feb. 28, 2008 ... UMBC completes the first half of the America East season by hosting Albany on Wednesday.
New Hampshire (8-11, 2-5 AE) split a pair of games at home last week, dropping a 61-53 decision to Vermont on Thursday before handing UMBC an 80-60 loss on Sunday ... Sophomore Chandler Rhoads (Berryville, Va./Air Force Prep) and senior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) led the 'Cats with 20 and 19 points, respectively, against Vermont ... the Wildcats shot 93.8 percent (15-16) from the line, their best mark with more than five attempts since Feb. 23, 2006 when they were also 15 of 16 at home against Albany ... the 80 points against UMBC were the most UNH has scored in a single game this season ... the 14 3-pointers and 51.9 percentage from deep are both season bests ... the Wildcats 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 ... junior Brian Benson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena) recorded his first career double-double against UMBC with a career-high 15 points and 16 rebounds ... he also matched his career-high with five blocks in the contest ... Conley filled the box score with 22 points, six rebounds, a career-high seven assists, three blocks, which matched a career best, and two steals ... Rhoads recorded 15 points, four boards and two assists ... Conley, the owner of a career-best 13-game double-digit scoring streak, is averaging 22.0 ppg over his last four and 15.8 ppg during his streak ... Rhoads has a career-best five-game double-digit scoring streak, during which he is averaging 14.2 ppg, and is scoring at an 11.0 ppg clip over his last nine ... Benson is averaging 8.9 boards per game over his last 13 ... the Wildcats are 17-7 (.708) in their last 24 home contests.
Stony Brook (7-12, 2-5 AE) lost its three games last week by a combined 18 points ... the Seawolves lost a five-point game at Boston U. and a two-point game vs. Albany, the eighth and ninth games this season decided by five points or less ... Despite the defeats, Stony Brook still sports the second-ranked scoring defense in America East and is first in the league in field goal percentage allowed and three-point field goal percentage allowed ... Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) scored 20 points vs. Albany and became the 21st Seawolf to score 1,000 career points ... he is only the fourth Stony Brook player to reach the milestone during the program's Division I era...the 20-point effort was his third of the season and 13th of his career...Dougher is now only 11 three-pointers away from setting a new Stony Brook all-time record ... Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds at Maine ... Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) enjoyed his best game of the year at Boston U., scoring 15 points and making all five of his field goal attempts ... he was 10-for-15 from the field in three games last week ... Stony Brook will play at home for the next two weeks, beginning Saturday vs. Hartford.
Vermont (14-5, 5-2 AE) went 2-1 on the week in America East play ... The Catamounts earned a pair of road wins at New Hampshire and Binghamton, while falling at home to Maine ... Vermont opened the week with a 72-58 loss vs. the Black Bears, which snapped the Cats' perfect 8-0 start at Patrick Gym this season ... Senior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) recorded his third double-double of the year with a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Joey Accaoui (Lincoln, R.I./St. Andrew's) added 15 and freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds ... The Cats bounced back with a 61-53 win at UNH on Thursday behind 13 from Accaoui and 12 points from freshman Sandro Carissimo (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Iona Prep) ... Vermont shot 52 percent in the second half and held the Wildcats to only 30 percent for the game ... The Catamounts wrapped up the week with a 70-52 win over Binghamton behind a career-best 13 points from freshman Luke Apfeld (Wolfeboro, N.H./Brewster) ... In Vermont's five America East wins it has not allowed an opponent to score more than 53 points … UVM improves to 6-0 against teams from the state of New York this season … The Cats return to action this week with a home game vs. Hartford on Tuesday (7 p.m.) and a trip to Albany on Saturday (7 p.m.).