BOSTON - Through two weeks of conference play, Stony Brook is the lone unbeaten team remaining and sits atop the conference standings at 4-0. Maine won twice last week, including dealing Albany its first conference defeat of the year.
Vermont's Ethan O'Day earned America East Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career and Maine's Devine Eke picked up Rookie of the Week presented by Under Armour accolades.
Read more about the weekly award winners and conference notes below:
Player of the Week
Ethan O'Day, Vermont - Sr., Forward, Mansfield, Conn.
- In his lone game last week, O’Day led Vermont to a win over Hartford by contributing a career-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
- He’s the first Catamount to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a game in eight seasons.
- Shot 10-of-13 from the field.
- This is his second career Player of the Week honor (2/16/14).
Rookie of the Week presented by Under Armour
Devine Eke, Maine - Fr., Forward, Plainfield, N.J.
- Averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Black Bears.
- Shot 70 percent from the field (14-of-20).
- Had a game-high 25 points and six rebounds in a win over UMass Lowell Wednesday.
- This is his second weekly honor of the season (12/7/15).
Notes
- Scoring is up considerably in conference play from a year ago with teams averaging 73.9 points through 32 games, 11.7 points more per game than through 32 games last year.
- Stony Brook sits atop the conference standings at 4-0.
- Stony Brook, which has a league-best RPI (79), is riding a nine-game win streak.
- The Seawolves are one of just two teams (Hawaii) to lead their conference in both scoring offense and defense.
- Maine snapped Albany’s seven game win streak with an 81-79 win Friday, the Black Bears first win in seven games against the Great Danes.
- The Black Bears’ six wins double their 2014-15 total.
- Albany has won seven of its last eight and 12 of of its last 14 games.
- Jameel Warney is one of just two players in the country (New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam) to lead his conference in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounding (10.7 rpg) and blocks (3.2 bpg).
- UMBC's Jairus Lyles is averaging 25.5 points per game in the eight games he's played in since becoming eligible as a mid-year transfer.
- Ethan O'Day became the 13th player in Vermont history to eclipse the 1,000-point, 500-rebound mark on Saturday.
- America East ranks 23rd out of 32 Division I conferences in RPI, according to the Jan. 18 College Basketball News RPI Report, a four-spot improvement from this time last year.
- America East teams combined for 55 regular-season non-conference wins, the most since the 2012-13 season and 11 more than a year ago.
Weekly Award Winners
Nov. 16 - Player of the Week: Iba Camara, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Ernie Duncan, Vermont
Nov. 23 - Player of the Week: Trae Bell-Haynes, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Issac Vann, Maine
Nov. 30 - Co-Players of the Week: Willie Rodriguez, Binghamton & Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: George Blagojevic, Hartford
Dec. 7 - Player of the Week: Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Devine Eke, Maine
Dec. 14 - Player of the Week: Will Darley, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Joe Sherburne, UMBC
Dec. 21 - Player of the Week: Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Everson Davis, Binghamton
Dec. 28 - Player of the Week: Carson Puriefoy, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Joe Cremo, Albany
Jan. 4 - Player of the Week: Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Joe Cremo, Albany
Jan. 11 - Player of the Week: Mike Rowley, Albany; Rookie of the Week: George Blagojevic, Hartford
Jan. 18 - Player of the Week: Ethan O'Day, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Devine Eke, Maine