CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Three players that led their teams to
wins during the first week of conference play have earned America East
men's basketball weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 6. The honorees
were announced Monday afternoon.
University of Hartford's Mark
Nwakamma and University of Maine's Alasdair Fraser are key reasons their
teams are off to 2-0 starts in conference play and are Co-Players of the
Week as a result. Additionally, Jameel Warney paced Stony Brook
University to two wins to earn his fifth Rookie of the Week already this
year.
Nwakamma (Leander, Texas) averaged 18.0 points, 4.0
rebounds and 2.5 assists in wins over Binghamton and Boston U en route to Player of the Week recognition. The
sophomore forward, an America East All-Rookie choice last year, started
his week by scoring 23 points on nearly perfect 7-of-8 shooting in a
61-58 win over the Bearcats. He then had 13 points and four boards in a
77-74 win at Boston U. Saturday, Hartford first win over the Terriers in
Boston in 11 years. Nwakamma, who also earned Player of the Week honors
on Nov. 26, shot 75 percent for the week (12-for-16), is Hartford's
leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and has the Hawks off its best 15-game start
(9-6) in 16 seasons.
Fraser (Falkirk, Scotland) averaged 17
points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 assists to earn Player of the
Week accolades for the third time in his career. Fraser put up identical
17-point, six-rebound efforts in wins over Boston U. and UMBC last
week. He added three steals and three blocks in the 63-58 win over the
Terriers Wednesday, then had three assists and a pair of blocks in an
81-66 victory over UMBC Saturday. A third-team all-conference selection
last year, Fraser made 58 percent (14-for-26) of his shot last week and
has helped Maine win its last four games. He ranks eighth among league
leaders in scorin (13.5 ppg), second in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and leads
the league in blocked shots (8.9 rpg).
Warney (Plainfield, N.J.)
was instrumental in Stony Brook sweeping its pair of games last week en
route to earning Rookie of the Week accolades. The freshman forward
averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in wins over Manhattan
and New Hampshire last week. He scored only eight points in a 50-44 win
over the Jaspers Tuesday, but hit a pair of crucial layups with the
Seawolves nursing a one-point lead in the final minutes that helped seal
the victory. Warney then dominated in a 65-49 win over the Wildcats
Saturday, scoring a game-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and adding
four rebounds and as many blocks. He ranks 11th among America East
scoring leaders (11.9 ppg), is seventh in rebounding (6.9 rpg), second
in blocks (1.7 bpg) and leads in FG percentage (.613).
America East Notes... in 140 Characters or Less - #AEHOOPS
Hartford,
Maine and Vermont are off to 2-0 starts in conference play ... Stony
Brook won its opener Saturday and is 1-0 ... Positioning has proved
crucial over the years as just twice in the conference's 33 seasons has a
team finished lower than second in standings and won the league title
... The Hawks beat Binghamton and Boston U. last week ... Their win over
the Terriers was their first in Boston in 11 seasons ... The Hawks,
winners of four of their last five games, are off to their best 15-game
start since the 1996-97 season ... Maine had wins over Boston U. and
UMBC and has won four straight games ... Maine leads America East in
scoring (69.5 ppg) and FG percentage (.450) ... Vermont won its two
games by an average of 19 points, beating New Hampshire and Albany ...
UVM is 52-14 (.788) in conference play since the start of the 2008-09
season ... The Catamounts have already had seven different leading
scorers through 14 games ... Stony Brook won twice last week, at
Manhattan and home against UNH ... The Seawolves' 10-4 record is their
best through 14 games at the Division I level ... Stony Brook's RPI of
91 is the best in the conference ... Albany's Mike Black and Stony
Brook's Anthony Jackson are nominees for the Cousy Award, given to the
nation's top point guard ... Mike Black hit a layup with 3.2 seconds
left to lift Albany to a 63-62 win at reigning Pac-12 regular-season
champion Washington on Nov. 13 ... The win was America East’s 10th over a
BCS-conference program since 2008 Albany is ranked 24th in the latest
College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 while Stony Brook is receiving votes
... Albany and Vermont were selected for ESPN’s BracketBusters Pool on
Nov. 15 ... The conference office announced on Nov. 29 that Albany's
SEFCU Arena will host the 2014 America East Basketball Championship ...
America East ranked third out of 31 conferences in the NCAA’s latest APR
and GSR rankings in men’s basketball.
Upcoming Action - Tuesday, January 7
Albany at Binghamton, 7 p.m. (Time Warner Sports) -- Live Stats | Video | Binghamton Audio | Albany Audio