CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The first week of America East men's basketball conference play resulted in several elite performances and a pair of players were rewarded for such efforts. Albany's Gerardo Suero earned his fourth Player of the Week honor while Vermont's Four McGlynn earned his second Rookie of the Week award of the season.
Suero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) continued his elite play averaging 24.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in helping Albany go 2-1 last week en route to earning his second straight America East Player of the Week award and fourth overall.
The junior transfer, who ranks fourth nationally averaging 22.5 points per game, started his week by contributing 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a win over Hartford on Monday. He followed that showing by scoring 22 points to go with seven boards in the Great Danes' win over UMBC on Thursday. Suero wrapped up his week by tallying a game-high 28 points at Stony Brook Sunday and added four rebounds and five assists. For the week, Suero shot 54.9 percent from the field from his guard position.
McGlynn (York, Pa.) led Vermont to a 2-1 week by averaging 14.3 points and 3.3 rebounds and picked up his second Rookie of the Week honor of the season as a result.
The freshman guard's best game of the week came in a win over Boston University on Wednesday. McGlynn scored a game-high 20 points and canned 4-of-7 three-point attempts. He then had 14 points and a career-high six rebounds in a win over Hartford on Sunday. McGlynn ranks 17th among league leaders and is second on Vermont averaging 11.5 points per game and is fourth in three-point percentage (.392).
Conference Notes
Some More Suero
In just two months at Albany, Suero has established himself as one of the top players in America East, if not the country. The junior transfer leads the league and ranks fourth nationally averaging 22.5 points per game. He has gone over the 20-point mark in nine straight games and 13 times overall this season. Suero also ranks 12th in rebounding, pulling down 5.6 boards per game, and is fifth in field goal percentage (.504) overall, which is tops among guards. The Dominican Republic native has gotten to the free throw line a whopping 146 times, and ranks fifth among league leaders sinking 81.5 percent of his attempts.
The Honor Roll
Several other America East players had top performances last week:
• Robert Mansell scored 22 and 21 points, respectively in losses to Stony Brook and Boston U.
• Boston University's Darryl Partin averaged 18 points in two games last week, scoring 19 against Vermont and adding 17 in a win over Binghamton on Sunday
• Hartford's Andres Torres averaged 17 points per game in three contests last week, including a career-best 27 points in a win over UNH Thursday.
• Maine's Alasdair Fraser averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two wins last week. Teammate Gerald McLemore scored a season-high 29 points in Saturday's win over UMBC.
• UMBC's Chase Plummer averaged 21.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in three games last week. He twice eclipsed his career high, scoring 21 in a win over UNH Monday and 25 against Albany Thursday.
• Tommy Brenton nearly averaged a double-double last week, contributing 10.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals to help Stony Brook get off to a 3-0 conference start.
League Play Underway
League play began last week with the 16-game round-robin schedule getting underway. If the first week in any indicator, it will be competitive year as only two teams remain unbeaten and only two are winless just a few games into the slate. Stony Brook (3-0) and Maine (2-0) got through the first week unscathed with the Seawolves posting wins over Albany, Binghamton and Vermont and Maine beating Binghamton and UMBC. The Seawolves' 3-0 start is just their second (2009-10) in their 11-year America East history, while the Black Bears' 2-0 start is their first since the 2004-05 campaign. Albany (2-1) and Vermont (2-1) each won a pair of games last week, while Boston U. (1-1), Hartford (1-2), UMBC (1-2), UNH (0-2) and Binghamton (0-3) round out the first week of action.
Surging Seawolves
Since starting its season 2-6, Stony Brook has turned things around, reeling off five straight wins with an average margin of victory of 10.8 points per game during that span. The Seawolves are playing their ever-steady defense again this season and rank second in America East in scoring defense, holding opponents to 62.7 points per game. Stony Brook is also much improved on the offense end and is averaging 67.7 points per game, which ranks third in the conference, a +6.7 ppg difference from last year.
Blazing Black Bears
Stony Brook is not the lone America East team to catch fire as Maine has also been hot of late. The Black Bears have won back-to-back games and five of their last six overall. The top offensive team in America East, Maine is averaging 76.2 points per game and shooting 47.7 percent from the field, both league bests. The Black Bears have also been stingy defensively and are holding foes to a league-best 41.9 percent shooting.
Conference Position Crucial
Finishing among the league's top two is paramount for teams with championship aspirations. Only twice in America East's 32 year history has a team finished outside the top two and gone on to win the league title. Delaware captured the crown as the No. 3 seed in 1999 while Holy Cross finished third in the league's inaugural year (1979-80) and went on to win the championship.
Home Sweet Home
Taking care of business at home has been a consistent theme for America East's top three teams. Stony Brook, Maine and Albany are a combined 17-0 at home this year. The Seawolves, who are 6-0, have won seven straight at Pritchard Gym dating back to last season. The Great Danes are 5-0 and are riding an eight-game home court winning streak. The Black Bears are 5-0 in Orono and are scoring 83 points per game while at home. A fourth team, Boston U., knows the importance of home court. The Terriers may be only 2-3 there this year but have won 13 straight at home against America East foes. Their last loss to a league opponent in Boston came to Vermont on Feb. 9, 2010.
It's TV Time
America East's broadcast package, which will feature 15 of the league's men's basketball games on ESPN networks or CBS Sports Network, begins this week. Stony Brook will visit Boston U. in a rematch of last year's epic America East Championship game on ESPN3 at 12 p.m. On Monday, CBS Sports Network will air its first-ever America East regular-season game when Boston U. hosts Albany at 7 p.m. Overall this season nine men's games will appear on ESPN3, including the Ameriac East Championship semifinals, four will be on CBS Sports Network, one will be on ESPNU and the league title game will be on ESPN2.
Offensive Firepower
America East boasts three of nation's top offensive threats. In fact, the league is the only Division I conference to have three players ranked among the nation's top 20 scorers. Albany's Gerardo Suero, who has scored 20-plus points in nine straight games, leads the league and ranks fourth nationally averaging 22.5 ppg. Maine's Gerald McLemore is 11th averaging 20.5 ppg, while Boston University's Darryl Partin ranks 20th in the country scoring 19.8 ppg. All together the group has combined for 28 20-plus point performances.
Youth is Served
There is a youth movement in America East. No teams regularly start more than two seniors while Albany and Binghamton are two of nine Division I programs without a senior on its roster. In fact, five of the conference's top 20 scorers, including four freshmen, are newcomers. Albany's Gerardo Suero leads the league and ranks fourth nationally (22.5 ppg). Four-time America East Rookie of the Week Justin Edwards ranks fifth among America East leaders averaging 15.6 points per game and is also 10th in rebounding (6.2 rpg). Binghamton's Ben Dickinson (12.1 ppg), Vermont's Four McGlynn (11.5 ppg) and Hartford's Wes Cole (10.5 ppg) rank 13th, 17th and 19th, respectively.
Team Notes
Albany Great Danes (10-7, 2-1 AE)
Albany went 2-1 to begin conference play this past week ... The Great Danes started out with a bang with two lopsided wins against Hartford, 88-63, and UMBC, 89-72, then recently fell to Stony Brook, 81-68 ... Gerardo Suero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Our Savior New American) scored 74 points and grabbed 20 rebounds last week ... Suero bumped his average up to 22.5 points per game and is fourth in the nation in scoring ... The junior guard has now scored 20-plus points in nine consecutive games in which the UAlbany is 6-3 ... Logan Aronhalt (Zanesville, Ohio/ Zanesville) was close behind Suero, scoring 57 points and tallying 14 rebounds ... Aronhalt has now started in 63 consecutive games ... Luke Devlin (Sydney, Australia/ Newington College) picked up right where he left off last season in conference play averaging 10 points and 7.5 rebounds in the first two contest this past week but went scoreless and grabbed four rebounds against Stony Brook ... UAlbany with two home slates this week look to stay undefeated at home with games against New Hampshire on Jan. 11 then against Maine on Jan. 14 ... The UNH game on Wednesday will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports
Binghamton Bearcats (0-15, 0-3 AE)
Binghamton dropped three games during the week to start conference play. The Bearcats were within striking distance of visiting Maine with five minutes to play before tailing off in a 15-point loss. Three days later, Binghamton pushed Stony Brook to the final minute in a six-point setback. On the road Sunday afternoon at defending champion Boston, the Bearcats didn't have enough firepower in a 19-point defeat ... Sophomore guard Robert Mansell (Philadelphia, Pa./Cheltenham) averaged 18.3 points in the three games. Mansell, the team's leading scorer at 14.3 ppg., shot 49% from the field (47 percent from 3-point range) and logged an average of 38 minutes per game... Freshman forward Ben Dickinson (Alexandria, Va./Gonzaga) averaged 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. Dickinson notched his second double-double of the season with an 18-point, 10-rebound showing against the Seawolves ... Binghamton plays five of its next seven games on the road, beginning with a tough test at Vermont. The Bearcats are 2-8 all-time at Patrick Gym and have lost four straight in the all-time series with the Catamounts.
Boston U. Terriers (5-11, 1-1 AE)
Boston University opened the America East schedule by splitting the first two games ... The Terriers lost at Vermont, 83-69, and then followed with a 68-49 victory over Binghamton ... The win against the Bearcats snapped a seven-game losing streak, which was the longest since the 1999-2000 season ... Boston U. led at Vermont, 13-8, on Thursday with 13:13 remaining in the first half before the Catamounts scored the next nine points to take the lead for good ... The Terriers pulled within six, 51-45, at 12:14 remaining in regulation, but the Catamounts went on a 13-4 run ... On Sunday against the Bearcats, the Terriers never trailed for their fifth straight victory in the series ... Leading 15-10 with 9:39 remaining in the first half, Boston U. went on a 14-5 run and would lead by as many as 27 in the second half ... Sophomore D.J. Irving (Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) made his first appearance at home since Dec. 10 and tallied eight assists against zero turnovers, while senior Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash./La Salle) recorded a team-high 17 points in the win ... Partin now has 993 career points with 174 coming at La Salle ... Senior Patrick Hazel posted a total of six blocks this past week to move into fourth place all-time at Boston U. with 94 career blocks ... The Terriers will next travel to Maine on Wednesday (Jan. 11) before hosting Stony Brook on Saturday (Jan. 14) with ESPN3 broadcasting the contest.
Hartford Hawks (1-14, 1-2 AE)
Hartford opened up America East play with a trio of games last week, finishing 1-2 ... After dropping their league opener at Albany with an 88-63 decision on Monday, the Hawks went on to score their first win of the season with a 56-49 triumph over the visiting New Hampshire Wildcats ... Senior point guard Andres Torres (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Adianez) scored nearly half of the team's points that night with a career-high 27, marking the highest offensive output for a Hawk this season, including an impressive 14-of-17 effort from the charity stripe to lead the Hawks to the come-from-behind victory ... He also pulled down six rebounds, tying rookie Mark Nwakamma (Leander, Texas/Leander) for the team lead ... Nwakamma added 10 points for the Hawks in the win ... In the opening week of America East play, Torres averaged 17.0 points-per-game and added 3.0 assists and 4.7 boards to lead the team ... Despite leading early on Sunday, Hartford came up empty against Vermont and closed out the week with a 72-59 setback at Chase Arena ... Four players reached double figures for Hartford in that outing, led by Torres, Wes Cole (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) and Yolonzo Moore II (Austin, Texas/Akins) who each netted 11 points ... Junior Ryan Baker (Cypress, Texas/Cy-Fair/Genesis One Christian Academy) came off the bench to score 10 points, a season-best, and added five rebounds in the defeat ... The Hawks are off for seven days before their next contest, a Sunday afternoon matinee at Binghamton on Jan. 15 (2:00 p.m.).
Maine Black Bears (8-5, 2-0 AE)
Maine, winner of five out of its last six games, opened up conference play with a pair of victories at Binghamton 76-61 and at home over UMBC, 89-70 ... At Binghamton, Alasdair Fraser (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk Clark Eriksson Fury) notched a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way ... Freshman Justin Edwards (Whitby, Ontario/Anderson CVI) had a great overall game with 15 points, nine rebounds and a career-high six assists...Mike Allison (Lynden, Ontario/National Elite Development Academy) had five blocks ... Against UMBC in Orono, Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif./Worcester Academy) scored a season-high 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting to lead Maine to the win...Fraser notched his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds ... Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass./Monroe Community College) scored a season-high 17 points and gave out four assists while Edwards scored 11 points, including a highlight-reel alley-oop reverse dunk from Andrew Rogers (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan), who finished with seven assists ... Edwards has notched double-figures in 11 games this season ... McLemore now has seven 20-point games this season and has 1,445 career points ... He is 25 three-pointers away from the school record...Maine continues play at home on Wednesday against Boston University before embarking on a road trip to Albany on Saturday and Vermont on Monday.
UMBC Retrievers (2-13, 1-2 AE)
UMBC won its opening America East contest for the first time since the championship season of 2008, defeating host UNH, 82-76, on Jan. 2.. Junior guard Brian Neller’s (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Bros. Acad.) 3-point field goal with 31 seconds remaining restored a UMBC lead and junior guard Ryan Cook (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) hit four consecutive free throws to ice the victory ... The 82 points scored is a season high ... The Retrievers hit eight of 12 shots from behind the arc for the game... Five Retrievers posted double figures- Neller finished with 17 points, Cook scored all 12 of his points in the second half and sophomore guard Jamar Wertz (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) added 11 points, which tied his career best... Senior post Jake Wasco (Philadelphia, Pa./Franklin Learning Center) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 caroms ... Wasco added 12 points vs. Albany, scoring in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career ... The Retrievers improved to 4-5 in both America East openers and in games at Lundholm Gymnasium ... UMBC got off to a hot start vs. Albany, taking a 23-9 lead in the first 6:30 of the game ... But the Retrievers were whistled for 16 fouls in the final 13:30 of the half and Albany scored 42 points in that span to take a 51-40 halftime lead ... Sophomore forward Chase Plummer (Plainfield, N.J./St. Patrick), who set career highs in field goals (10) and points (23) at UNH, topped that with 25 points against the Danes... Plummer fouled out in the game, recording the 25 points in 20 minutes of action... He entered the week with three 3-point field goals and hit 6 (of 9) during the week ... UMBC boarded a pair of planes 12 hours after the 89-72 loss to Albany, bound for Maine ... The Retrievers fell, 89-70, as Maine hit better than 50 percent from the floor and 27 of 29 from the charity stripe... Plummer averaged 21.7 points in three games, hiting 24 of 48 shots from the floor and 6-of-9 from behind the arc ... Freshman forward Chandler Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) scored all 14 of his points in the second half vs. Maine, his most productive game since a season-high 23 points at VMI on Nov. 19 ... The Retrievers will now only play once in the next nine days- they entertain Stony Brook on Wed., Jan. 11.
New Hampshire Wildcats (5-8, 0-2 AE)
New Hampshire dropped a pair of losses to UMBC (Jan. 2) and Hartford (Jan. 5) in the opening week of conference play ... Last time out the Wildcats fell to Hartford, 56-49, on Thursday evening at Chase Arena ... Brian Benson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) registered eight points and 14 rebounds, earning America East Player of the Game honors ... He finished the evening 3-for-6 from the floor, 2-for-5 from the line while also tallying a block in 35 minutes of action ... Ferg Myrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) led the Wildcats with 12 points, two boards and one assist ... Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) was the only other 'Cat to score in double-digits, registering 10 points, seven boards and three helpers ... The 'Cats opened up conference action with an 82-76 loss to UMBC on Monday night at Lundholm Gymnasium ... Patrick Konan (Gainesville, Fla./The Rock School) scored a career-high 20 points to pace five players in double figures, picking up America East Player of the Game honors ... Konan finished the contest with five boards, one assist and one block ... He shot 7-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe ... Chandler Rhoads (Berryville, Va./Air Force Prep) registered 15 points, four boards and three assists in 40 minutes ... Abreu added 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one assist ... Myrick and Jordon Bronner (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Iona Prep) rounded out UNH's double-digit scorers, as the duo chipped in with 10 points apiece ... Bronner also added five assists ... The Wildcats continue their two-game road stretch when they face off against the University at Albany on Wednesday, Jan. 11 (7 p.m.) at SEFCU Arena.
Stony Brook Seawolves (8-6, 3-0 AE)
Stony Brook, winner of five straight games, have opened the conference season 3-0 for the second time in program history ... the 2009-10 also went 3-0 and went on to win the regular season championship with a 13-3 record ... the Seawolves defeated Vermont at home, went to Binghamton and won on the road and then finished the week with a home victory over Albany ... the win over Binghamton was the team's first ever at the Events Center and first in Binghamton since 2002...SBU has now won eight straight home games and is 7-0 at home this season ... the Div. I program record for consecutive home victories is 12...four different players averaged 10 or more points in three wins last week ... Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) was the most balanced of the four, averaging 10.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals ... he had 17 points and 13 rebounds at Binghamton while shooting 7-for-8 from the field...he then had seven assists against Albany, which is one off a career high ... Brenton averaged a double-double in the previous week and now in his last five games is averaging 10.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 3.8 APG...Brenton's 17-point game made him the team's eighth leading scorer of the season ... Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) averaged 14.7 points and made 11 three-pointers in the three games last week ... he has scored in double figures in 11 straight games...Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) had his third career double-double with a 15-point, 11-rebound effort against Albany ... Stony Brook hits the road for a Wednesday game at UMBC and Saturday game at Boston University.
Vermont Catamounts (8-9, 2-1 AE)
Vermont opened America East play last week with three conference clashes, as the Catamounts went 2-1 on the week … The Cats dropped their league opener at Stony Brook on Monday 65-59 … Sophomore Luke Apfeld (Wolfeboro, N.H./Brewster Academy) led the way with 18 points, while classmate Sandro Carissimo (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Iona Prep) added a season-high 16 … Apfeld went 4-for-4 in the game to follow up an 11-for-11 performance, as he made 15 straight shots … Vermont shot only 30.8 percent in the second half … The Catamounts picked up their first league win on Thursday when they knocked off the preseason favorites Boston U, 83-69 at home … Freshman Four McGlynn (York, Pa./Dallastown) netted a game-high 20 points, while senior Matt Glass (Underhill Center, Vt./UMass) added 19 … Sophomore Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Iona Prep) matched a career-high with 16 rebounds to go with six assists … Vermont led by as many as 19 in the contest … The Cats had only won one of their last six at home dating back to last season prior to Thursday … UVM wrapped up the week with a 72-59 win at Hartford on Sunday … Glass led the way with a game-high 15, while McGlynn added 14 … The Cats owned the boards 43-25 and have now defeated the Hawks in 19 of their last 20 meetings … Vermont returns to action this week when it hosts Binghamton on Thursday and then travels to face New Hampshire on Saturday.