CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- With conference play starting last weekend, two players who helped their respective team win its league opener have earned the first weekly honors of 2011. University of Maine's Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) earned Player of the Week honors while University at Albany's Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) took home Rookie of the Week accolades. The winners for the week ending Jan. 2 were announced Monday afternoon.
Barnies averaged a double-double of 19.5 points and 10.0 rebounds for Maine last week, which won its league opener for the first time in six seasons.
The senior forward nearly led his team to a comeback win against Columbia Thursday by tallying a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds. He then contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists in a 65-52 win over Boston U. Sunday. The win over the Terriers was Maine's first in a league opener since it beat UMBC, 62-51, on Dec. 9, 2004.
Barnies, who shot 55.6 percent from the floor on the week (15-of-27), leads Maine with 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. Those totals rank 17th and fourth among league leaders, respectively.
Devlin earned his second Rookie of the Week award of the season by contributing 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over three games last week. He also earned the honor on Nov. 29.
A freshman forward, Devlin recorded his second career double-double at Wagner Thursday. He scored a career-best 16 points, 14 of which came in the first half, and added 10 rebounds. He also had eight points and four rebounds in Albany's conference-opening win over New Hampshire Sunday. The Great Danes' 69-44 victory over the Wildcats was their first in a league opener since 2006.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Devlin has started all 16 games for Albany this season and is averaging 6.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, which ranks 10th among conference leaders.
Conference Notebook
The Honor Roll
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
• Albany's Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American), the only player in America East to net double figures in every game this season, averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in three games last week. He tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and five helpers in the Great Danes' win over UNH Sunday.
• Binghamton's Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) averaged 16.0 points in three games last week and eclipsed the 20-point barrier twice. He scored 22 points at Morehead State Thursday and had 20 at La Salle Sunday. Wright has reached the 20-point mark six times this season, which is tied for the league lead.
• John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) tallied 31 points and nine rebounds in a heart-breaking 82-81 last-second loss to Quinnipiac Tuesday. The league's leading scorer (17.8 points per game) became the 18th player in league history to surpass the 1,800 point barrier.
• Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) returned home last week when Hartford went west to take on California and St. Mary's. He responded by scoring a career-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a loss to the Gaels Friday.
• UMBC's Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) continued his strong play averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a pair of games last week. He tallied 21 points, four boards and four dimes in his team's 68-67 win over Niagara Thursday, the Retrievers' first of the season.
• New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) averaged 12.7 points in three games last week and became the 28th Wildcat in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• Stony Brook's Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains) averaged 11.5 points in a pair of wins last week, including a 64-56 victory over UMBC in the Seawolves' league opener Sunday.
• Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) scored a game-high 20 points in Vermont's overtime win over Mount St. Mary's Wednesday, its 15th in 16 games at Patrick Gym.
Albany, Maine, SBU Win Openers
Albany, Maine and Stony Brook each won their America East openers over the weekend in impressive fashion. The Great Danes held UNH to just 30.2 percent shooting in a 69-44 win, their first in a conference opener since 2006. The Black Bears held Boston U. to just 52 points in a 65-52 victory, its first in a conference opener since 2004, and fifth win in last six games overall. Stony Brook, the reiging America East regular-season champions, upended UMBC, 64-56, to win its third straight league opener. Overall, the win was the Seawolves' 11th in their last 12 America East contests dating back to last last season. While the league slate is 16 games, the opener is more important than you'd think. Just twice in 31 seasons has a team lost its opener and gone onto to win the league title.
1,000-Point Club
A pair of standouts reached the 1,000-point milestone last week. Boston University's Jake O'Brien, a third-team all-conference selection last year, eclipsed the mark on Tuesday against Quinnipac. UNH's Tyrone Conley joined him in the exclusive group Sunday at Albany. The tandem 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, 140 players have reached 1,000 points in America East history.
TV time
America East's television slate kicks off this week when New Hampshire visits Boston University. The game, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be broadcast throughout New England on Comcast SportsNet and ESPN3 (blackout restrictions apply). It will also be available to ESPN FullCourt subscribers and streamed for free at AmericaEast.com
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: AEand 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.
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 16th place all-time and currently has 1,825 career points. Holland, who passed former teammate Corey Lowe 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 currenlty 21st on the all-time list with 1,756 career points.
Team Notes
Albany (8-8, 1-0 America East) won its America East Conference opener in Sunday’s 59-44 decision against New Hampshire …The Great Danes ended a three-game skid in league openers and a string of four straight losses in the UNH series … UAlbany held the Wildcats to 30.2-percent shooting, the second-lowest total by an opponent this season … The Great Danes held a conference opponent to its lowest point total since a 61-42 win over Hartford on Jan. 27, 2005 … UAlbany shot better than 50 percent for the sixth time this year … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) extended his double-figure scoring streak to 16 consecutive games … Ambrose accounted for 16 points, five assists and a season-high nine rebounds vs. UNH … Ambrose is now 12th in career scoring with 1,332 points and 16th in career assists (252) … John Puk (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West) turned in his best outing in two weeks with a career-high nine points and seven rebounds … Ambrose struck for 24 points at Xavier on Dec. 28 and scored 20-plus for the 19th time as a collegian … UAlbany played before a crowd of 10,000 (10,004) or more for the 22nd time as a Division I program … The Musketeers shot a season-best 56.9 percent by an opponent to end the Great Danes’ three-game win streak … UAlbany finished one off the program’s Division I record of eight non-league wins after losing at Wagner (80-65) on Dec. 30 … freshman Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) recorded his second double-double with a career-best 16 points and 10 rebounds in that contest … Mike Black (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick) has scored in twin figures in 10 of 11 games since returning from an ankle injury … UAlbany had a 5-11 record at this point in the season last year.
Binghamton (3-10, 0-0 America East) concluded non-conference play with three losses on the week ... The Bearcats took their longest trip of the season - an eight-day, three-state, three-game stretch and despite averaging 66 points on offense, saw their losing streak hit four ---. The 3-10 record marks the worst non-conference win-loss record in the program's 10 seasons of Division I play ... Senior forward Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) averaged 16.0 points and classmate Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) averaged 15.0 points and shot 67 percent in the three games ... Picked to finish seventh in the America East Coaches' Preseason Poll, Binghamton begins conference play at New Hampshire this Saturday ... The Bearcats are 4-5 all-time in AE openers, including a 4-3 mark on the road ... This is the second time Binghamton begins its conference schedule at UNH, having posted an 80-50 win back in the 2002-03 season ... The Bearcats are playing their AE opener on the road for the third straight season and seventh time in nine seasons since joining the America East in 2001 ... Binghamton owns a commanding 14-5 lead in the all-time series against UNH, having won seven of the last eight games. The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on its home floor ... Since joining the America East Conference in 2001-02, Binghamton enjoys the third-best win percentage in league play (54.7 percent). Vermont (74.1 percent) and Boston University (70.9 percent) are the only teams with a higher win percentage than the Bearcats, who are 81-67 in nine seasons ... Binghamton has never finished lower than its preseason pick, having met or surpassed the opposing coaches’ predictions all nine years – the only America East team to do so.
Boston University (5-10, 0-1 America East) continued its difficult non-conference schedule with preseason Northeast Conference favorite Quinnipiac and its fourth Atlantic 10 opponent in Massachusetts before heading north to Maine to open the league schedule ... Playing three games in five days, the Terriers dropped all three, starting with an 82-81 loss to the Bobcats, who won with a tip-in with four seconds left on the clock ... Senior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) tallied 31 points points and nine rebounds to become just the 10th player in America East history to have at least 1,800 points and 600 rebounds ... UMass led 49-47 with 10 minutes remaining before going on a 13-0 run to pull out the victory ... With junior and preseason all-conference honoree Jake O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass./BC High) and freshman Dom Morris (Newark, Del./Friends Central (Pa.)) out due to injury, Boston U. cut a 17-point first half deficit to one in the second at Maine but didn't have enough fire power, falling 65-52 ... Junior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) led all players with 20 points ... Freshman D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) had a solid week, averaging 11.3 ppg and 4.3 apg, while junior Jeff Pelage (Pompano, Fla./Pine Crest School) averaged 6.7 rpg while still regaining his form after missing the first 11 games of the season ... With a 0-7 record on the road, Terriers next host UNH on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Case Gym ... The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.
Hartford (2-10, 0-0 America East) got back to work last week on the West Coast, visiting California and St. Mary's after a 17-day layoff ... The Hawks went cold at California, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field, falling 74-56 ... senior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and junior Genesis Maciel (Los Angeles, Calif./Compton Centennial/Worcester Academy) led the team with 11 points each, while senior Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield Prep/Panola JC) added 10 points ... The Hawks forced 20 turnovers in the game, but could not get closer than 16 points down in the final 10 minutes due to the cold shooting ... Things improved dramatically at St. Mary's on Friday afternoon, where the Hawks put up their best shooting day of the season (24-of-57, 42.1 percent) ... Senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) put up a career high 26 points in front of a large contingent of family and friends ... He went 10-for-16 from the field, 5-for-8 from downtown ... Despite the strong offensive numbers, Hartford could not hang with the high-powered Gaels offense, falling 87-63 ... the Hawks will wrap up their non-conference schedule on Monday evening, hosting St. Francis (N.Y.) ... They will then get to work in conference, visiting Maine on Wednesday before hosting Albany on Sunday afternoon.
Maine (7-6, 1-0 America East) had its four-game win streak snapped by Columbia, but rebounded for a 65-52 win over Boston University ... Against Columbia, the Black Bears stormed back from a 17-point deficit, but ran out of time to fall 74-71 ... Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) had a career- and game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead Maine ... Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) added 11 points and four assists while Andrew Rogers (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) had seven assists ... Barnies scored 14 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds and three steals as Maine opened up a 31-18 halftime lead and withstood a Boston rally to win 65-52 ... Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif/Worcester Academy) scored 16 while Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla./Faulkner State Community College) added 15 ... Mitchell has notched double-figure scoring efforts in five out of his last six games while Barnies has logged four-straight games in double figures ... Freshman Alasdair Fraser (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk Clark Eriksson Fury) has shot better than 66 percent from the field in five out of the last six games while grabbing seven or more rebounds in three out of the last four games ... McLemore is 74 points away from 1,000 for his career ... Maine finishes its three-game homestand on Wednesday against Hartford before traveling to UMBC on Saturday.
UMBC (1-13, 0-1 America East) played its 700th game in 25 years at the NCAA Division I level against Stony Brook on Jan. 2... UMBC’s dramatic 68-67 win over Niagara on Dec. 30 broke a 13-game losing streak (dating back to Feb. 24, 2010) and a school record 17-game home losing skein (dating back to March 1, 2009)... Prior to the come-from-behind win over Niagara on Dec. 30, 2010, UMBC’s last triumph when trailing by double digits occurred on March 7, 2009 when they trailed by 11 points in the second half before rallying for a 79-75 victory over Boston University in the America East quarterfinals...The win over Boston U. was also UMBC’s last victory recorded when they trailed at halftime... Niagara led UMBC, 40-30, at intermission... The comeback from 16 points down was UMBC’s largest to overcome since rallying from a 17-point first half deficit in an 84-78 win over Binghamton on Jan. 28, 2009... UMBC outscored Niagara, 30-8, in the paint in the second half and 14-5 on second-chance points... The Retrievers committed only two second half turnovers... With the 64-56 loss to Stony Brook on Jan. 2, UMBC is now 3-5 in eight America East lid-lifters and also 3-5 in their seasonal league debuts at the RAC Arena... UMBC again mounted a rally from 16 points down in the second half and got to within one point (41-40 and 51-50) of the Seawolves, but could not complete the comeback... Junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) posted his third 20-point game in five outings with a 21-point effort in UMBC's 68-67 victory over Niagara on Dec. 30... Has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, averaging 18.8 points per game in that span.. He hit career-high three treys in the win over the Purple Eagles... De La Rosa has averaged 6.8 assists per game in the same span and played 79 of 80 minutes in the two games this week... He Is directly responsible for over 50 percent of UMBC's field goals, recording 76 and adding 90 assists on 328 UMBC field goals (50.6%)... He needs six assists for 300 in his collegiate career and his 5.52 assists per game as a Retriever is second in school history behind Jay Greene's 5.60 per contest... Red-shirt freshman wing Jamar Wertz (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) had a season-best seven rebounds vs. Niagara and made the game-saving play, as his leaping save of an errant shot found its way to Justin Fry, who was fouled and hit the two game-winning free throws with four seconds left in the 68-67 victory... The lone Retriever to hit 50 percent from the floor vs. Stony Brook, he contributed 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, scoring 8 second half points as UMBC rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to bring the margin to one point on two occasions... Sophomore Adrian Satchell (Windsor, Conn./Windsor) had a season-high 12 points vs. Niagara and has averaged 8.0 rebounds per game in his last three games... UMBC faces Maine at the RAC Arena on Saturday in its only action of the week.
New Hampshire (6-7, 0-1 America East) went 1-2 last week, splitting a pair of games with Cornell and VCU at the VCU's Richmond Marriott Holidays on the Hardwood Classic on Dec. 29-30 before dropping the conference opener at Albany on Jan. 2, 59-44 ... with their 68-66 win against Cornell, the 'Cats reached six wins before New Year's Day for the first time since the 1994-95 season ... they also ran their record to a perfect 5-0 this year in games decided by five points or less, as well as 5-1 when leading at halftime ... with the loss to Albany, the Wildcats dropped below .500 for the first time all season ... it marked the longest the 'Cats had stayed at or above .500 to open a season since the 1994-95 campaign when they were never less than one game above .500 ... senior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) became the 28th member of UNH's 1,000 point club at Albany ... sophomore Ferg Myrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter), who has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games this season and 15 of 17 dating back to last year, handed out a career-best five assists against Cornell ... his previous high was one, which he reached seven times ... junior Brian Benson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena) is having the best season of his career on the glass ... Benson, who is second on the team and eighth in the conference at 6.5 caroms per game, is averaging 7.6 rpg over his last seven, which includes a career-high 11 boards at VCU ... sophomore Chandler Rhoads (Berryville, Va./Air Force Prep) had quite the homecoming at VCU ... Rhoads netted 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 2 from behind the arc, matched his career high with eight rebounds and handed out five assists in the first game against Cornell and then against VCU in the championship game the next night, Rhoads poured in a season-best 15 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists.
Stony Brook (6-6, 1-0 America East) won both its games last week to get back to the .500 mark overall and start out America East play 1-0...the Seawolves topped Colgate at home last Wednesday and then triumphed over UMBC for their fourth road victory of the season...the Seawolves have now won 11 out of their last 12 conference games and 21 out of their last 27...Stony Brook also has now won each of the last three conference openers, all three on the road ... Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led the team last week by averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists ... The junior guard extended his personal three-point make streak to 23 consecutive games, and he continues to lead America East in three-pointers made at 3.1 per game...he is 23 three-pointers away from the Stony Brook all-time career record...Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) matched his career high in points with 17 at UMBC in front of family and friends...Rouse grew up only 40 miles away from the UMBC campus...he was 6-for-12 from the field in the game and connected on three triples...Danny Carter (Windsor, England) scored all 10 of his points at UMBC in the final 11 minutes of the game to help stop a pair of UMBC runs...After three consecutive poor performances at the free throw line, the Seawolves rebounded to make 13 of 17 from the line at UMBC, including all eight attempts in the game's final minute to preserve the victory ... As a team, Stony Brook is fourth in the league in free throw shooting (.671), and individually, Dougher is second in the league (.844) ... Stony Brook will take on Vermont at home Tuesday and then return to non-conference play Saturday at Cornell.
Vermont (9-3, 0-0 America East) won its only game of the week, defeating Mount St. Mary's at home 68-61 in overtime ... Senior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) led the Cats with 20 points, while junior Matt Glass (Underhill Center, Vt./Northfield Mt. Hermon/UMass) had a nice game off the bench with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists ... Senior Joey Accaoui (Lincoln, R.I./St. Andrews) added 10 points, including six in overtime, while freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) added 10 rebounds and a team-high four assists ... The Cats improved to a perfect 6-0 at home this season, as they have now won 15 of their last 16 at Patrick Gym ... UVM has won 16 straight against Northeast Conference teams and is 32-12 all-time against the league ... Wednesday marked UVM's first overtime game of the season and first since it defeated New Hampshire 85-76 at home last season on February 14 … Vermont wraps up the 2010 calendar year with a 25-8 record … Fjeld has now topped 20 points five times this year … Vermont has won 10 of its last 11 America East openers ... Vermont has been the top team in America East over the last nine years in terms of wins, as the Catamounts are 113-35 in regular season league play ... Vermont returns to action with a busy week that includes three games in six days ... The Cats are at Stony Brook on Tuesday (7p.m.), host Albany on Thursday (7 p.m.) and then are at Boston U on Sunday (1 p.m.).