CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Top players from the top two teams in America East have earned men's basketball weekly awards. Boston University's John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) earned his second straight Player of the Week honor while University of Vermont's Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) picked up his sixth Rookie of the Week honor of the year. The awards for the week ending Feb. 13 were announced Monday afternoon.
Holland earned his second straight Player of the Week honor and seventh of his career after he averaged over 20 points and led the Terriers to a pair of wins last week.
Holland, a senior guard/forward, averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot 53.6 percent from the floor in helping Boston U. extend its win streak to four games. He scored 25 points, including 12 during his team's crucial 16-0 run that led to a 63-44 win over Albany Thursday. The league's active leading scorer with 2,053 career points, Holland scored 18 points and added five rebounds in Saturday's 61-50 victory over Hartford.He also averaged 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals last week, made 15-of-28 field goals, including 5-of-10 from three-point land. He leads America East averaging 19.0 points per game.
Voelkel earned his sixth Rookie of the Week honor after averaging a double-double of 15.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of Vermont wins last week. His six award is tied for the fourth most in league history.
A freshman forward, Voelkel scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds in a win at UMBC Wednesday and followed up with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in Sunday's victory over Binghamton. The league's leading rebounder with 9.9 per game, Voelkel shot 58.3 percent from the field and added 4.5 assists per game.
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) scored 13 points in a loss to Boston U. at Madison Square Garden Thursday.
• Binghamton's Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/CC of San Francisco) scored 15 points in a loss at Vermont Sunday.
• Boston University's Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) poured in a game-high 25 points, including 12 during his team's 17-0 run that led to a 61-50 Saturday
• Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa.) tied an America East season high with 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting and added nine rebounds in Hartford's win over Maine Thursday.
• Maine's Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) had 18 points and a season-high 15 rebounds at Stony Brook Saturday whileGerald McLemore (San Diego Calif./Worcester Academy) averaged 20.5 points and put up 23 against the Seawolves Saturday.
• Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) scored 20 points in UMBC's loss to Vermont Tuesday.
• New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) continued his strong play by averaing 21 points per game last week. He scored 25 in Saturday's win at UMBC.
• Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains/N.J./Scotch Plains) averaged 18 points in a pair of Stony Brook wins last week and scored 20 points, which all came in the second half, to lead his squad to a come-from-behind over Maine Saturday.
Exclusive Company for Holland
On Feb. 1, John Holland became just the 13th player in America East history to reach the 2,000-point plateau. He reached on the mark on a three-pointer from the right elbow extended in the second half as part of a 24-point effort in a win over Maine. Holland, who joined Tunji Awojobi as the only Terriers to ever reach the milestone, has also passed former stars T.J. Sorrentine, Speedy Claxton, Malik Rose and Mike Pegues and currently ranks eighth on the all-time list with 2,071 points.
Cruising Catamounts
Another year, another Vermont team has posted a 20-win season and won at
least a share of the America East regular-season title. The Catamounts
(21-5, 12-2 AE), whose RPI is a league-high 79, locked up at least a
share of the regular-season crown for the fifth time in the last 10
seasons with its win over Binghamton Sunday. Vermont, which has run off
nine straight victories and 14 in its last 16 games, has secured its
eighth 20-win season in the last 10 after totaling none in its first 87
seasons of basketball.
Terriers Turn it Around
After going through a stretch which it dropped three of five games,
Boston University has posted four straight wins for the first time this
season. The win streak has the Terriers in sole possession of second
place in the league standings at 9-4 and still alive for its first
regular-season title since the 2003-04 season. Boston U., which has held
opponents to just 47.6 ppg over its last three games, can earn the No. 1
seed for the conference tournament with a Vermont loss at Maine and
Wednesday and wins in its last three conference contests.
Jumbled in the Middle
While Maine, which has dropped four straight games, has a solid two-game lead for third place in the league standings, only a half game separates the next four teams in the middle of the standings. Stony Brook (6-7) and New Hampshire (6-8) have both lost a pair of starters to injuries but have run off wins in four of their last six games and sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Albany (5-7) and Hartford (5-7) are tied for sixth.
BracketBuster Bound
For the fifth time in seven years, an America East men's basketball team will appear on national television as part of ESPN's BracketBusters series. Vermont has been chosen to face College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU as part of the event, which pits NCAA hopefuls against each other. The Catamounts' have made two previous BrackBuster TV appearnces beating Buffalo, 78-70, in front of a sold out Patrick Gym on ESPN2 in 2009 and falling to Nevada in 2005. In the other BracketBuster pool matchups, Boston University will host Canisius, Maine will visit Siena, New Hampshire will travel to Marist and Stony Brook will entertain Manhattan.
Retriever Believers
After losing 16 of its first 17 games this season, UMBC has won four of its last nine. The Retrievers latest victory came via a 17-point comeback at Maine Sunday in which the scored a season-high 84 points. UMBC is scoring 67.3 points per game in conference play, the second-best mark in the league.
1,000-Point Club
Vermont's Evan Fjeld became the fifth America East player to join the 1,000-point club this year two weeks, reaching the mark in a win over Stony Brook on Feb. 6. He joins Stony Brook University's Bryan Dougher, a second-team all-conference selection last season, who became the fourth player in Stony Brook's Division I history to reach the milestone vs. Albany on Jan. 17. Maine's Gerald McLemore, a first-team all-leaguer last year, followed suit by joining 28 other Black Bears in the esteemed club on Jan. 16. 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 Conley. 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, 143 players have scored 1,000 points in America East history.
Big Apple Battle Relived
For the first time ever, Madison Square Garden, the “World’s Most Famous Arena”, hosted an America East men’s basketball conference game when University at Albany and Boston University squared off on Thursday, Feb. 10 in the Big Apple Battle. Terrier senior John Holland scored a game-high 25 points to lead his team to a 63-44 win. The game, which was the first played in the arena by an America East team since Boston University appeared in the 2006 Aéropostale Holiday Festival, followed the St. John’s-UConn contest. Overall, it was the Terriers’ fourth appearance in the Garden, which also includes a win over UConn in the 1959 NCAA Tournament, and Albany's first-ever appearance in the famed arena.
Team Notebook
Albany (12-15, 5-7 AE) fell to Boston University, 63-44, in the Big Apple Battle on Feb. 10 … the Great Danes made their first appearance at Madison Square Garden … the contest was the second half of a college doubleheader with St. John’s and Connecticut … Tim Ambrose (Brentwood, N.Y./Our Savior New American) stands in fifth place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,494 points … the 6-foot senior needs 33 points to move up to the fourth position … Ambrose and former conference player of the year Jamar Wilson are the only players in program history to combine for 1,400 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists during a career … Ambrose is 11th in career assists (284) and tied for 15th in steals (113) … Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) had 12 points and six rebounds vs. Boston U., and has scored in twin figures 19 times this season … Aronhalt, who has a 3.78 grade point average in human biology, has been named to the Capital One District I Academic All-America Team … Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) is averaging 9.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over his last three starts … the freshman, who has won the America East weekly rookie award four times, has recorded four double-doubles this year … Blake Metcalf (Camby, Ind./Plainfield) has collected six-plus boards 11 times this season … the sophomore captain is averaging 7.3 caroms over his last four games … UAlbany has played in 11 games decided by four points or less this winter … the Great Danes are six wins better after 27 games than last year’s record … UAlbany and Stony Brook will meet for the 26th time at the Division I level on Feb. 14 … the Seawolves own a 13-12 edge in the series since both programs upgraded.
Binghamton (6-19, 3-9 AE) dropped its lone game of the week, 60-51 at Vermont. The Bearcats' losing skid has now hit nine, though the last five defeats have all come by single digits... The team was tied at Vermont with 8:42 to play before missing 13 straight shots. The first-place Catamounts ended the game with an 11-2 run for the final margin... Binghamton hit 8-of-16 from three-point range in the first half to stay close but converted just 7-of-27 field goals in the second half... The Bearcats shot 42% from three-point range but just 27% from inside the arc (7-for-26)... Senior forward Greer Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boca Raton Prep/City College of San Francisco) scored a team-high 15 points with five assists. Wright battled foul trouble in Burlington, as did the entire Binghamton team (20 fouls). He played just 29 minutes after being whistled for three charge calls and four overall fouls... Sophomore guard Jimmy Gray (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) added 11 points and four assists... Binghamton has two games this week: away at Hartford and home vs. Albany. The Bearcats will attempt to gain a split of the season series with each team after losing the first game last month.
Boston University (14-13, 9-4 AE) moved into sole possession of second-place in the league standings with a 63-44 victory over Albany and a 61-50 win against Hartford ... Losing a home game, the Terriers faced the Great Danes at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple Battle ... Senior John Holland (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict's Prep) tallied 25 points, including 12 during a 17-0 run in the middle of the second half, for the sweep against Albany ... Game marked the Terriers' fourth-ever visit to MSG and their first win since defeating UConn in the first round of the 1959 NCAA tournament ... Boston U. avenged an earlier loss against Hartford by going on an 18-0 run in the final eight minutes for the 11-point victory ... The Hawks went 0-of-7 during the stretch until hitting a 3-pointer with a few seconds remaining in regulation ... Junior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) had 25 points and six rebounds, while Holland contributed 18 points, five rebounds and two steals ... The Terriers will host their final two home regular season games this week at Agganis Arena, first with UMBC on Tuesday (Feb. 15) at 7:30 p.m. ... Then host Canisius in the BracketBusters pool game on Saturday (Feb. 19) at 2 p.m.
Hartford (8-17, 5-7 AE) split its two games last week, defeating Maine at home 74-65 and falling at Boston University, 61-50 ... the Hawks swept the season series from the Black Bears with the victory on Thursday night ... senior Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) scored a career-high 33 points in the victory, knocking down seven three-pointers and shooting 11-for-20 from the floor ... he added four steals and a game-high nine rebounds ... the Hawks shot a season-best 50.9 percent from the floor against Maine (27-for-53) ... additionally, Hartford outrebounded the Black Bears 35-25, holding Maine to just three offensive boards for the game ... the win, which marked the return of senior Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) from a bone bruise in his left knee, snapped a four-game losing streak for the Hawks ... Sabia finished with seven points and five rebounds ... he added 14 points and five boards in the Hawks' 61-50 loss at Boston University on Saturday ... the Hawks led that contest for much of the way, but went cold after taking a 47-43 lead with 8:10 on the clock, not scoring again until Sabia hit a three with 13 seconds remaining ... Hartford now has three of its final four regular season games at home, starting Wednesday with a visit from Binghamton at 7:00 p.m. ... the Hawks handled the Bearcats on the road earlier this year, 72-61 ... Hartford makes its final road trip of the season on Saturday, playing at UMBC at 7 p.m.
Maine (14-11, 8-5 AE) dropped a pair of contests, falling at Hartford 74-65 and at Stony Brook in overtime 71-69...At Hartford, Maine was led by Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) who had a team-high 18 points, going 4-for-8 from long range...Freshman Alasdair Fraser (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk Clark Eriksson Fury) added eight points while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field...At Stony Brook before an ESPNU audience, McLemore scored a game-high 23 points while Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) notched his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and a season-high 15 rebounds...Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner) continued to elevate his game as the season progresses, as he notched 14 points and six rebounds, giving him at least 11 points and six rebounds in two out of the last three games...McLemore has notched 13-straight double-digit games, and scored at least 23 points in three out of the last five games...McLemore is now 15th on the schoo's all-time scoring list with 1,136 career points...McNally is now 11th on the all-time rebounds list with 672...Maine returns to action on Wednesday when the Black Bears host Vermont at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to take on Siena in an ESPN BracketBusters game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
In losses to Vermont and UNH at home this week, UMBC (5-21, 4-9 AE) was outscored 84-33 in the first halves and outscored the visitors, 90-59, in the final 20 minutes... The 10 points scored vs. UNH was the fewest ever by the Retrievers in a Division I game... UMBC dipped below .500 at the RAC Arena against America East foes (31-32) for the first time since their 2008 loss to Maine... Junior guard Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) scored a game-high 20 points vs. Vermont, his 11th game of the season with 20 or more... He has already moved into seventh place on UMBC's all-time assist list with 321 helpers in 56 games and his single season number of 168 is fifth-most in school history... Grad. guard Travis King (New Haven, Conn./New Hyde Leadership/Geo. Washington) scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half vs. Vermont...It was the most points he has scored in an America East game...Grad. forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) has hit 36 of his last 39 free throw attempts (92.3%) since Dec. 18... Fry played in UMBC career game No. 115 vs. UNH, moving into sixth place on the Retrievers' all-time list... Freshman forward Chase Plummer (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick) scored 13 points in 13 second-half minutes vs. UNH after picking up two fouls in eight seconds and exiting the game in the first half... The Retrievers will attempt to sweep season series from Boston U. and Hartford this week, as they take on the Terriers at Agganis Arena on Feb. 15 and host Hartford on Feb. 19... King, Fry, graduate forward Laurence Jolicoeur (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross/ Manhattan) and senior Bakari Smith (Silver Spring, Md./Blake/Baltimore City CC) will be honored before the game against the Hawks.
New Hampshire (12-14, 6-8 AE) split a pair of games last week, falling at home to Stony Brook on Wednesday, 63-56, before responding with a 63-46 victory at UMBC on Saturday ... the Wildcats' fourth win in six games gave them their first regular-season sweep of the Retrievers since the 2005-06 season ... they won both games this year by an average margin of 18.5 ppg ... the 46 points are the fewest the Wildcats have allowed in a game against a Divison I opponent since they held UMBC to 45 at RAC Arena on Jan. 25, 2007 ... UNH used a 21-0 run to close the first half with a 39-10 advantage ... the 29-point halftime lead is the Wildcats' largest of the season, while the 39 points are a first-half season high, surpassing the 38 they put up in the opening half of their 80-60 win against the Retrievers on Jan. 23 at Lundholm Gymnasium ... the 10 points are also a season low for a UNH opponent in any half this season and a program-record low for UMBC since they began playing in Division I ... UNH extended its run to 23-0 to start the second half and take a 41-10 lead ... the 31-point margin is UNH's largest against a Division I opponent this season ... the Retrievers went 10:49 without a basket during UNH's run ... with three blocks in the contest, the 'Cats have moved into a third-place tie with the 2008-09 squad on the program's single-season blocks list with 84.
Stony Brook (12-14, 5-7 AE) won both of its games last week to climb up the conference standings into fourth place and get within one game of .500...the Seawolves have now won four of their last six games...3-pointers have been a big part of their game...in their last four wins, the Seawolves have connected on 41 triples and shot 42 percent from behind the arc...Stony Brook tied a season high with 11 3-pointers in both wins last week over UNH and Maine...after committing a season-high 24 turnovers at Vermont on Feb. 6, the Seawolves have since turned the ball over only 15 times, including a season-low six at UNH...Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) has picked up his scoring of late...he averaged 18.0 points last week, leading the team in both victories...he had 20 points in the nationally televised win over Maine, all coming after halftime...it was his layup and free throws in the game's final minute that clinched victory...he made seven three-pointers last week as he adds to his Stony Brook career record...Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) is starting to come into his own...he is averaging 11.3 points over his last seven games and is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range in that span...he had 11 points at UNH and then had 16 points in the win over Maine, including six in the overtime period to lift the Seawolves to victory...Stony Brook also had strong play from a pair of freshman guards last week...Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) was 5-for-10 from the field coming off the bench and scored eight points in each victory...it was his eight points in less than five minutes in the first half against Maine that helped the Seawolves overcome a 14-2 deficit...Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) averaged 6.5 points off the bench last week and had a big basket later in the win at UNH...he was 5-for-8 from the field in the two games...Stony Brook will take on Albany Monday night and then take on Manhattan Saturday as part of ESPN's BracketBusters.
Vermont (21-5, 12-2 AE) swept its two league games on the week, downing UMBC and Binghamton … The Catamounts opened the week with an 80-67 victory at UMBC behind 19 points from both sophomore Brendan Bald (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) and freshman Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) … Voelkel added 10 rebounds and four assists, as he went 12-for-14 from the free throw line … All five Catamount starters recorded double figures in the win as Vermont jumped out to a 45-23 halftime lead and would go on top by as many as 29 … The win was number 20 on the season, as Vermont has now won 20 or more games in eight of the last 10 seasons after not accomplishing the feat in the first 87 years of the program … Vermont is tied for second in the nation in road wins with nine … Voelkel earned his second double-double of the week with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists against the Bearcats … The win was the ninth straight for the Catamounts, which is tied for the fifth longest active winning streak in the nation and clinched at least a share of the America East Regular Season Championship … The Cats improved to 12-1 at home this season and 9-0 against teams from New York … Vermont hits the road for a pair of road games this week at Maine on Wednesday and then at Charleston on Saturday as part of the ESPN BracketBusters.