CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Two players that averaged over 20 points per game last week and another that pulled down over 10 rebounds per contest have earned America East men's basketball Player of the Week honors. Albany's Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) and Binghamton's Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith) are Co-Players of the Week, while Vermont's Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) is the Rookie of the Week. The awards for the week ending Jan. 30 were announced Monday afternoon.
Aronhalt earned his second Player of the Week honor of the season after averaging 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a pair of games last week. A sophomore guard, Aronhalt helped Albany rally from a 14-point deficit at UMBC Wednesday by scoring 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. He made 10-of-16 shots, including 6-of-8 three-point tries and added seven rebounds and four assists. Saturday against Vermont, Aronhalt scored 12 points and added eight boards.
Aronhalt, who shot 58.3 percent from three-point territory for the week, ranks fifth among league leaders averaging 15.3 points per game and 16th with 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Jabbi continued his string of dominant play, averaging a double-double of 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds last week. A junior forward, Jabbi scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added 10 rebounds and four blocks in a loss at Boston U. Wednesday. He then contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds in a near-upset of Maine. Jabbi, who also added 3.0 blocks per game last week, shot 52 percent from the field (17-for-33) and 43 percent (6-for-14) from three-point land.
Jabbi, who has recorded four straight double-double, ranks ninth among America East leaders in conference play in scoring (13.3 ppg), is third in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and ranks second in blocks (2.1 bpg).
Voelkel picked up his fifth Rookie of the Week honor of the season after leading Vermont to a pair of wins and averaging 10.5 rebounds per contest. A freshman forward, contributed six points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a win over Hartford Tuesday. He then added 11 rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in a win at Albany Saturday, the Catamounts' fourth straight.
Voelkel, who has started all 21 games for the Catamounts this season, leads the league in rebounding with 10.0 per game, ranks second in assists with 4.6 per and second in steals with 2.1 per game.
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) averaged 20.5 points in two games last week and had 25 in a comback win over UMBC Wednesday.
• Binghamton's Jimmy Gray (Binghamton/Binghamton) scored 10 points and had an America East season-high 12 assists in a loss to Maine Saturday.
• Boston University's Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) averaged 17.0 points and scored 20 in a win over Binghamton Wednesday.
• Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield Prep/Panola College) averaged 13.5 and three steals in a pair of games last week, including a 17-point, five theft performance against Vermont Tuesday.
• Maine's Gerald McLemore (San Diego Calif./Worcester Academy) had season-highs of 23 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's come-from-behind win at Binghamton. He shot 7-of-11 from the floor including 5-of-7 from three-point land.
• Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) nearly recorded just the second triple-double in UMBC history, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a loss to Albany Wednesday.
• New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) continued his stellar play as he scored 26 points in UNH's win over Boston U. Saturday.
• Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) had his second straight strong outing, scoring 15 points in Stony Brook's win over Hartford Saturday.
• Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham) contributed 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in Vermont's wins over Hartford and Albany.
halfway home
Last week marked the halfway point in the conference season and with one half of the conference schedule in the books, Maine sits atop the conference standings with an 8-1 record. Vermont, winner in nine of its last 11 games, sits in second at 6-2 and Boston U. remains in third at 5-4. Hartford, which is 4-4, sits in fourth place, followed by Albany at 4-5 and Stony Brook at 3-5. Binghamton and New Hampshire are deadlocked at 3-6 and UMBC is at 2-6.
BEWARE OF BLACK BEARS
Maine is the hottest team in the league, having won seven straight games and 11 of its last 13. The win streak is the program's longest since the 1999-2000. The Black Bears, who sit in first place in the conference standings at 8-1, 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 64.2 points per game.
cruising catamounts
While Maine is the hottest team in America East, Vermont's not that far behind. The Catamounts have won four straight and 11 of 13. UVM, winner is 18 of its last 20 games at Patrick Gym, is one of the top rebounding teams in the country, ranking 22nd nationally with a +6.5 rebound margin.
Comeback Kids
Two team posted huge comeback wins last week. Albany trailed UMBC by 14 in the second half and rallied for a 66-63 win behind 20 second-period points from Logan Aronhalt, the league's Co-Player of the Week. The Great Danes, whose 14-point deficit was their largest ever overcome in the second half on the road in their Division I era, shot a blistering 58 percent from the field after intermission. Not to be outdone, Maine overcame a 22-point deficit and posted a 77-74 win at Binghamton Saturday. The Black Bears outscored the Bearcats, 45-29, in the second half en route to their seventh straight win.
BracketBuster Bound
Five America East teams will learn their BracketBuster fates Monday night. Boston U., Maine, New Hampshire, Stony Brook and Vermont were all named to the 114-team field for ESPN’s three-day extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other. America East teams have been chosen for television games in four of the past six years with Vermont making three appearnces and Albany two. This year, 22 teams will be tabbed for television matchups.
Catching the Injury Bug
Several of the league's top players have been hit with injuries. Three of America East's 10 returning all-conference players are out indefinitely. Boston University's Jake O'Brien, a third-team all-league choice last year, will undergo season-ending foot surgery after hurting it at UMass on Dec. 31. Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton and New Hampshire's Alvin Abreu, 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.
1,000-point Club
A pair of junior standouts reached the 1,000-point milestone two weeks ago. 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. 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. Vermont's Evan Fjeld is on deck, as he's just 27 points shy of the mark Overall, 142 players have scored 1,000 points in America East history.
Team Notes
Albany (11-13, 4-5 AE) had its three-game win streak halted in a 63-54 loss to Vermont on Jan. 29 … the SEFCU Arena crowd of 3,754 was the second largest at home this season … UVM took the season series for the second year in a row after holding UAlbany to 33.9-percent shooting … UAlbany posted its third straight win against an America East opponent for the first time since January 2009 in a come-from-behind 66-63 win at UMBC on Jan. 26 … the Great Danes came from 14 down to match the largest road second-half comeback in the program’s Division I history …Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) had 20 of his 28 points after the intermission, as his team rallied from a double-digit deficit in the final period for the eighth time at the Division I level … Aronhalt has netted 20-plus points six times this season … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y. / Our Savior New American) totaled 25 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals at UMBC … Aronhalt and Ambrose became the 20th UAlbany Division I tandem to score 20-plus in the same game … Ambrose, who has reached the 20-point mark on 20 occasions as a collegian, has moved to seventh on the school’s career scoring list with 1,446 points and needs eight to move past UAlbany Hall of Famer Andre Duncan (1994-98) into the next position … Blake Metcalf (Camby, Ind. / Plainfield) tied a season-high with eight rebounds vs. Vermont and has grabbed six or more boards nine times this winter … the UMBC win provided UAlbany with consecutive road victories for the first time since December 2008 … the Great Danes have five more wins after 24 games than last year’s squad … UAlbany hosts the 14th annual Big Purple Growl on Saturday, Feb. 5 … the University’s Winter Homecoming has attracted 4,000-plus fans the last six years.
Binghamton (6-16, 3-6 AE) saw its losing skid hit six with two narrow defeats - each loss coming down to the final minute ... The Bearcats didn't surrender the lead to Boston U. until the final five minutes and had two shots in the final 15 seconds to send the game to overtime before falling to the Terriers, 71-66 Wednesday ... At home Saturday, Binghamton led Maine for 38+ minutes but gave way with 1:34 to play and again missed two three-point attempts in the final 22 seconds that could've pushed the game to an extra session become succumbing, 77-74 ... The team's five players on the floor at the pitoval end of the Boston game included three walk-ons, a freshman and a senior ... Binghamton played both games without leading scorer and all-conference forward Greer Wright, whose ankle injury has hampered him for three weeks now ... Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi (Serrekunda, Gambia/Alfred E. Smith/SUNY Oswego) continued to make a strong case for all-conference honors by averaging a double-double in the two games. Jabbi averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. He is averaging 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds against league foes ... Sophomore walk-on guard Jimmy Gray (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) averaged 10.0 points and 8.5 assists during the week. Gray contributed a career-high 12 assists vs. Maine and bumped his conference averages up to 8.3 points and 3.4 assists ... Junior center Kyrie Sutton (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls) maximized his time on the floor by averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 boards in 24.0 minutes per game. Sutton, the team's lone player 6-foot-9 or taller, is averaging just 23.1 minutes in conference play, but is producing 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds ... The Bearcats look to snap their winless streak with two games against AE teams they have already beaten this year in UMBC and New Hampshire as the second half of league play gets underway.
Boston University (10-13, 5-4 AE) split its two games last week, earning a 71-66 victory at home against Binghamton before falling at New Hampshire, 60-48 ... Trailing by six with seven minutes remaining, the Terriers went on a 11-0 run and hit their free throws down the stretch to knock off the Bearcats ... Boston U. was 15-of-17 at the free throw line in the second half against Binghamton ... Junior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) had a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds in the victory, while freshman Dom Morris (Newark, Del./Friends Central (Pa.)) matched his season high with 15 points ... Boston U. fell to 1-10 on the road with the loss at UNH Saturday ... The game was tied 17-17 with a minute left in the first before before the Wildcats went on a 10-0 that extended into the second half ... The Terriers cut the deficit to five but could not get any closer ... Junior Matt Griffin (Narberth, Pa./Rider) had a strong week rebounding, combining for 15 boards in the two contests ... Senior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) had 26 points and now needs just 13 Tuesday against Maine in Agganis Arena to reach 2,000 ... Contest will mark Boston U.'s Coaches vs. Cancer game and will be televised on CSN ... The Terriers will also play at Stony Brook on Friday.
Hartford (7-14, 4-4 AE) suffered its first two-game losing streak since the turn of the new year last week as they dropped road contests to Vermont (72-51) and Stony Brook (69-35) ... the defeats left the Hawks at .500 in league play through the first half of the season, with a 2-3 record on the road ... Senior Milton Burton (Birmingham, Ala./Fairfield Prep/Panola College) was the team's leading scorer in both contests, contributing 17 points against the Catamounts and 10 points at Stony Brook ... Burton, who leads the conference in steals so far this year, added five thefts against Vermont and another one against the Seawolves ... Senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) finished one rebound shy of his sixth career double-double at Vermont, recording 12 points and nine rebounds ... On Saturday at Stony Brook, Sabia and senior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) were held without field goals, firsts for both of them this season ... Sabia had four points on free throws, but Zeglinski was held scoreless for the first time in his 125-game career ... the 35 points scored against Hawks since a 57-35 loss at Marist on Feb. 21, 2008 ... Sophomore Charles White (Philadelphia,Pa./Simon Gratz) the Seawolves marked the lowest output for the played a season-best 12 minutes on Saturday, scoring five points and adding a steal and two rebounds ... the Hawks will go right back up against Vermont on Thursday as they open the second half of the America East schedule at home against the Catamounts at 7 p.m. ... Hartford will also visit Albany on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the women's teams.
Maine (14-7, 8-1 AE) won its sixth- and seventh-straight games with a 64-50 decision over New Hampshire and a 77-74 at Binghamton last week ... Against the Wildcats, Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) notched 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Black Bears to the win...Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) was also in double figures with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range ... It was Barnies' fourth double-double and third 20+-point and 10+-rebound effort of the season ... In Binghamton, Maine overcame a 22-point deficit in the first half to pull out the win...McLemore led the Black Bears with a game-high 23 points while going 7-for-11 from the field ... Raheem Singlaton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) scored 17 to go with a team-high seven assists while Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) had 10 points and six rebounds ... Mike Allison (Lynden, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) had seven points and a game-high four blocks...McLemore has notched double-figures in nine-straight games, averaging 16 points per game in the stretch ... Barnies scored 11 points and seven rebounds at Binghamton, giving him 12-straight double-figure scoring efforts while notching seven or more rebounds in eight out of the last 10 games ... The last time the Black Bears won seven-straight games was the 1999-2000 season en route to a 24-win campaign ... Sean McNally's (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) 654 career rebounds put him 12th all-time at Maine while McLemore's 1,054 career points put him 22nd on the career points list.
UMBC (3-18, 2-6 AE) junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) leads America East with 6.4 assists per game and was ranked 10th in the nation entering play this week ... He has 288 assists in his 51 games as a Retriever (5.65 per game)-- UMBC all-time assists leader Jay Greene, whom De La Rosa replaced, averaged 5.60 per game in his 122-game tenure... De La Rosa came within one rebound of posting the second triple-double in UMBC’s 25-year NCAA Division I history with 14 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds at Coppin State on Nov. 23 and came close again vs. Albany on Jan. 26, with 15 points, 10 assists, and eight caroms ... UMBC squandered a 12-point halftime lead and De La Rosa's jumper with seven seconds left went in-and-out as the Retrievers fell to Albany, 66-63 ... The Retrievers lead the league in free throw percentage at a robust 80.0 percent (96-of-120) in conference games and are is second in league games (37.3 percent) from three-point range ... Grad. forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) is currently averaging 11.0 points per game in league play ... In league play, Fry is ranked fourth in America East in free throw percentage (89.3 percent), fifth in field goal percentage (47.7 percent) and tied for eighth in rebounding (6.3 rpg) ... He has moved into a tie for 11th place in school history with 110 games played ... UMBC faces a three-game week with contests at Stony Brook on Jan,. 31, home vs. Binghamton on Feb. 3 and at Maine on Feb. 6.
New Hampshire (9-11, 3-6 AE) split a pair of game last week, falling 64-50 on the road at Maine on Tuesday and recording a 60-48 victory at home against Boston U. on Saturday ... the Wildcats snapped their seven-game losing streak against the Terriers ... UNH’s previous win against its Boston rival came in a 60-55 victory Feb. 11, 2007 at Lundholm ... the 12-point margin of victory was the Wildcats’ largest against the Terriers since their 73-60 win at home Feb. 9, 1995, while BU’s season-low 48 points were the fewest it had scored against the ‘Cats since a 48-38 win during the 1941-42 season ... the Wildcats held the Terriers to just 26.9 percent (14-52) shooting from the floor, matching their lowest opponent field goal percentage since Jan. 2, 2005 when the ‘Cats held UMBC to the same 14 of 52 performance in a 60-41 road win ... the 14 field goals Boston U. made also match a season low for a Wildcat opponent this season (Sacred Heart) ... Senior Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) carried the 'Cats to victory with 26 points on 8 of 19 shooting, including 4 of 10 from behind the arc ... Conley added five rebounds, an assist and a block in 38 minutes ... Conley has been red-hot over his last 15 games ... During that stretch, which includes a career-best 13-game double-digit scoring streak, as well as a career-high 33-point performance against Hartford on Jan. 11, Conley is averaging 15.8 ppg ... After turning the ball over more than their opponent in eight consecutive games from Dec. 18-Jan. 11 (-6.3 TO margin), the Wildcats have now gone five straight games without doing so (+2.6) ... the Wildcats are 7-4 when scoring first, 7-4 when leading at halftime, 4-1 when outscoring their opponent in the paint and 5-2 when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor, including 3-0 when shooting over 50 percent ... Defensively, the ‘Cats are 7-2 when holding their opponent to 60 points or less ... The Wildcats are 18-7 (.720) in their last 25 home contests dating back to 2008-09.
Stony Brook (8-12, 3-6 AE) won its only game last week to break a three-game losing streak and move up in the conference standings ... the Seawolves had their best defensive effort nearly two decades Saturday when it held Hartford to 35 points, the fewest points Stony Brook has allowed to an opponent in its Division I era (beginning in 1999) ... Overall, it's the fewest points the team has allowed since giving up 32 to Lehman on Nov. 30, 1992 ... Stony Brook remains second in America East in scoring defense and first in field goal percentage allowed ... the team is also in the top 50 in the country in both categories ... the Seawolves shot 43.6 percent from the field and connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers ... Five of those triples came from junior guard Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.), who is tied for first in the league in three-pointers made per game ... He is now six three-pointers away from becoming Stony Brook's all-time leader in the category ... He finished with a game-high 15 points, as did sophomore guard Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.), who shot 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range ... Hayes is averaging 18.5 points over his last two games ... Stony Brook outrebounded Hartford 41-29, and it was a team effort as six Seawolves grabbed at least four caroms, led by Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.), who had a game-high six ... Joyner was also 3-for-4 from the field for seven points and now has made 15 of his last 21 shots ... Stony Brook will host UMBC Monday night and Boston University Friday night before traveling to Vermont for a Sunday afternoon tilt.
Vermont (16-5, 7-2 AE) won a pair of conference games last week and has now won four straight overall ... The Cats opened the week with a 72-51 win at home over Hartford on Tuesday ... Senior Evan Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) paced three Cats in double figures with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore Brendan Bald (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) added 14 points ... UVM outscored the Hawks 42-25 in the second half and held a 46-28 rebounding edge on the night ... Vermont followed that up with a 63-54 road win against Albany on Saturday night ... Bald led the Cats with a career-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting overall and 4-for-5 from three ... Fjeld chipped in with 19, as Vermont used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to pull out the victory ... Freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) averaged 10.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the two wins ... The Cats are now 7-0 against teams from the state of New York this year ... In the Cats' seven conference wins this season they have held each team to 54 points or less … Vermont is back in action with three games this week, starting Monday night vs. New Hampshire ... The Cats travel to Hartford on Thursday and then return home to host Stony Brook on Sunday.