2005-06 MEN’SMEN’SMEN’S BASKETBALLBASKETBALLBASKETBALL NN EWSEWS && NN OTESOTES 200 Cottontail Lane, Vantage Court North, Somerset, NJ 08873 Men’s Basketball Contact: Ron Ratner, Associate Commissioner Phone: 732-469-0440/Fax: 732-469-0744 E-Mail: [email protected] Central Connecticut State • Fairleigh Dickinson • Long Island • Monmouth • Mount St. Mary’s Quinnipiac • Robert Morris • Sacred Heart • St. Francis (NY) • St. Francis (PA) • Wagner NEC Men’s Basketball Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Facts & Figures (Week 8 • January 16, 2006) Last Week’s Results School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. Streak Home Away Neutral 1. Robert Morris 5-0 1.000 9-5 .643 W5 7-0 2-5 0-0 Monday, January 9 Saturday, December 31 SACRED HEART 74, CCSU 71 Penn State 65, MT. ST. MARY’S 53 2. Monmouth 5-1 .833 8-9 .471 W3 2-3 5-4 1-2 Drexel 53, MONMOUTH 49 3. Mount St. Mary's 4-1 .800 6-10 .375 W4 2-3 3-5 1-2 Tuesday, January 10 onday, January 2 4. Sacred Heart 4-2 .667 7-8 .467 W1 4-2 3-6 0-0 MT. ST. MARY’S 84, ST. FRANCIS (PA) 56American 62, ST. FRANCIS (PA) 52 Miami (FL) 63, SACRED HEART 57 5. Central Connecticut State 3-2 .600 7-7 .500 W1 3-3 4-4 0-0 Thursday, January 12 ROBERT MORRIS 95, WAGNER 90 Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 .600 6-8 .429 L2 3-1 2-6 1-1 QUINNIPIAC 102, FDU 81 7. Wagner 1-3 .250 8-5 .615 L2 5-1 3-4 0-0 LONG ISLAND 73, ST. FRANCIS (PA) 70 (OT) Long Island 1-3 .250 4-9 .308 L1 2-3 2-4 0-2 MONMOUTH 61, CCSU 57 MT. ST. MARY’S 78, SACRED HEART 69 9. Quinnipiac 1-4 .200 6-8 .429 L1 4-3 1-4 1-1 ROBERT MORRIS 73, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 71 St. Francis (NY) 1-4 .200 4-10 .286 W1 2-5 2-5 0-0 11. St. Francis (PA) 0-6 .000 2-14 .125 L12 2-5 0-7 0-2 Saturday, January 14 CCSU 88, FDU 74 Top eight teams qualify for NEC Tournament MONMOUTH 85, QUINNIPIAC 82 (OT) SACRED HEART 70, WAGNER 62 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 65, ST. FRANCIS (PA) 56 Choice Hotels NEC Players of the Week ROBERT MORRIS 70, LONG ISLAND 66 Home Team Underlined A.J. Jackson, Robert Morris Jr., F, 6-6, 230 lbs., Monessen, PA/Monessen Jackson becomes the third Robert Morris player in the last four weeks to take home Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week accolades Choice Hotels Choice Hotels after leading the first place Colonials to a 73-71 win over St. Francis (NY) on Thursday and a 70-66 triumph over Long Island on NEC Player of the Week NEC Rookie of the Week Saturday. Jackson averaged 24.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and shot 54.8 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the charity Nov. 21 Justin Chiera, CCSU Nov. 21 Cameron Tyler, FDU stripe. He recorded 24 points and eight boards vs. the Blackbirds and posted his league-best eighth double-double of the season Nov. 28 Durell Vinson, WC Nov. 28 Whitney Coleman, MU with 25 points and 14 boards against the Terriers. The Monessen, PA product is currently one of two NEC players averaging a Dec. 5 Obie Nwadike, CCSU Dec. 5 Grant Surprenant, SFPA double-double with 17.3 ppg and 10.5 rpg. He leads the NEC in rebounding (13th nationally) and is second in scoring. Dec. 12 Jarrid Frye, SHU Dec. 12 Jeremy Chappell, RMU Landy Thompson, Mount St. Mary’s Dec. 19 Derek Coleman, RMU Dec. 19 Jeremy Chappell, RMU Jan. 3 Mark Porter, WC Jan. 3 Jeremy Chappell, RMU Sr., G, 6-1, 178 lbs., Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding Jan. 9 Tony Lee, RMU Jan. 9 Sam Atupem, MSM Serving as the offensive catalyst for a Mount St. Mary’s team that has won four straight games for the first time since the 1998-99 season, Jan. 16 A.J. Jackson, RMU Jan. 16 Whitney Coleman, MU Thompson claims the fourth Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week honor of his career. Thompson averaged 22.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, Landy Thompson, MSM 1.5 apg and shot 62.5 percent (15-24) from the floor and 64.7 percent (11-17) from three-point range in an 84-56 win at St. Francis (PA) on Thursday and a 78-68 conquest of Sacred Heart in Emmitsburg on Saturday. He hit 7-10 shots from outside the arc while collecting a game-high 25 points versus the Red Flash, then added a team-high 19 points and six rebounds against the Pioneers. Thompson, who hails from Germantown, MD, is the leading active scorer in the league with 1,549 career points and his 236 career three-point field goals rank him ninth of the NEC’s all-time list. He currently stands tenth in the conference in scoring with 14.2 ppg. Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week 2006 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Whitney Coleman, Monmouth All games at home of higher seed. Teams will be Fr., G, 6-2, 180 lbs., Salem, CT/East Lynne (St. Thomas More Prep) reseeded after quarterfinals. Coleman’s second Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week award of the season comes on the heels of two road victories for second place Monmouth, which improved to 5-1 in league play this season. Coleman averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and Thursday, March 2 hit 7-11 shots (.636) from the floor, including a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. He first logged five points, three rebounds and Quarterfinals a team-high five assists in the Hawks’ 61-57 victory over Central Connecticut State on Thursday, then followed up with 14 points, six Times TBA rebounds and three assists in an 85-82 overtime win at Quinnipiac on Saturday. He converted all three of his three-point attempts against the Bobcats, and was 5-7 overall from the field. Coleman, a native of Salem, CT, is averaging 8.5 ppg this season and also ranks Sunday, March 5 sixth in the NEC in field goal percentage at 54.4 percent and is sinking 53.3 percent of his shots from three-point territory (16-30). Semifinals 1:00 pm (CN8), 4:00 pm (MSG) This Week’s Schedule Wednesday, March 8 Wednesday, January 18 Saturday, January 21 Tuesday, January 24 Championship LONG ISLAND at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm ST. FRANCIS (PA) at SACRED HEART 4:00 pm ST. FRANCIS (PA) at ROBERT MORRIS# 7:30 pm CENTRAL CONN. ST. at MT. ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm 7:30 pm (ESPN2) Thursday, January 19 QUINNIPIAC at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm Thursday, January 26 QUINNIPIAC at CCSU 7:00 pm ROBERT MORRIS at WAGNER 7:00 pm FDU at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm NEC Website MT. ST. MARY’S at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm MT. ST. MARY’S at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm ROBERT MORRIS at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm Upcoming Games SACRED HEART at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm For all the latest news, scores, statistics and notes, visit ST. FRANCIS (PA) at WAGNER 7:00 pm Monday, January 23 WAGNER at CENTRAL CONN. ST. 7:00 pm the NEC website at www.northeastconference.org Friday, January 20 LONG ISLAND at QUINNIPIAC% 7:00 pm MONMOUTH at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm Standings and statistics are updated daily. ST. FRANCIS (NY) at FDU* 7:00 pm SACRED HEART at FDU 7:00 pm % Televised live on MSG Network ST. FRANCIS (NY) at WAGNER 7:30 pm * Televised live on Fox Sports-NY # Televised live on Fox Sports- Pittsburgh 2005-06 NEC Men’s Basketball Schedule Schedule Subject To Change. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
Central Connecticut State Fairleigh Dickinson Long Island (7-7, 3-2 NEC) (6-8, 3-2 NEC) (4-9, 1-3 NEC) Mohegan Sun Classic at CCSU at Guardians Classic (Morgantown, WV) N 22 Columbia L 63-80 N 18 Birmingham Southern W 76-67 N 12 vs. Wofford L 62-73 N 26 at Penn State L 64-80 N 19 Northeastern L 90-94 N 13 Lousiana Monroe W 74-58 N 29 at SMU L 62-74 N 22 at Florida International L 61-71 N 18 at #24 Maryland L 85-111 D 3 at New Hampshire W 59-56 N 28 at Binghamton W 69-66 N 26 Dowling W 96-50 D 10 Hartford W 85-80 D 3 at Harvard W 87-79 N 29 QUINNIPIAC W 76-70 D 14 at Harvard L 79-91 D 5 at St. Bonaventure L 56-85 D 2 at Canisius W 69-65 (2 OT) D 22 CCNY W 80-39 D 9 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 72-61 D 5 at Seton Hall L 57-65 at College of Charleston Classic D 18 La Salle L 106-107 (4 OT) D 10 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S W 71-68 D 29 vs. Rider L 59-63 D 22 Binghamton W 72-68 D 17 Drexel L 49-54 D 30 vs. Longwood L 69-86 D 29 at Delaware L 73-79 D 22 at St. Peter’s L 77-82 J 5 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 57-73 J 7 at LONG ISLAND W 83-74 D 28 at #10 Louisville L 66-89 J 7 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 74-83 J 9 at SACRED HEART L 71-74 J 5 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-64 J 12 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-70 (OT) J 12 MONMOUTH L 57-61 J 12 at QUINNIPIAC L 81-102 J 14 at ROBERT MORRIS L 66-70 J 14 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 88-74 J 14 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 74-88 J 18 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm J 19 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm J 20 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm J 23 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm J 21 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm J 23 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm J 26 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm J 26 WAGNER 7:00 pm J 26 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm J 28 WAGNER 7:00 pm J 28 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm J 28 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm F 2 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 2 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm F 2 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 4 at SACRED HEART 2:00 pm F 4 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 4 at WAGNER 2:00 pm F 9 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 10 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm F 6 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm F 11 MONMOUTH 4:00 pm F 12 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm F 9 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 13 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 16 at WAGNER 7:00 pm F 11 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 18 SACRED HEART 4:00 pm F 16 at SACRED HEART 7:30 pm F 16 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm F 22 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 18 at ESPN Bracket Buster opponent TBA F 18 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 4:00 pm F 25 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 1:00 pm F 20 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 22 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 27 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm F 22 WAGNER 7:00 pm F 24 at WAGNER 7:00 pm NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) F 27 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 27 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm M 2 Quarterfinals NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) M 5 Semifinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 8 Championship M 5 Semifinals M 5 Semifinals M 8 Championship M 8 Championship NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS
Monmouth Mount St. Mary’s Quinnipiac (8-9, 5-1 NEC) (6-10, 4-1 NEC) (6-8, 1-4 NEC)
N 21 at San Francisco L 66-70 N 18 at Virginia Tech L 62-74 at Columbia Tournament at Great Alaska Shootout (Anchorage, AK) N 21 Binghamton W 62-53 N 18 vs. Troy State L 83-94 (OT) N 24 vs. Southern Illinois W 80-68 N 26 at Old Dominion L 57-80 N 19 vs. New Hampshire W 64-62 N 25 vs. South Carolina L 56-62 N 30 at La Salle L 51-73 N 22 Concordia W 106-57 N 26 vs. Oral Roberts L 54-62 D 3 Loyola (MD) L 71-76 N 29 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 70-76 D 3 Rider L 67-75 D 7 at American L 60-80 D 2 at Cornell W 55-45 D 6 at St. Peter’s L 60-73 D 10 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 68-71 D 5 Colgate W 67-59 D 8 at Seton Hall L 45-61 at San Juan Shootout D 10 ROBERT MORRIS L 85-90 D 12 at Lehigh L 57-71 D 19 vs. Akron L 61-74 D 19 Dartmouth W 88-77 D 14 at Princeton W 41-21 D 20 vs. Liberty W 63-59 D 22 at Rhode Island L 72-87 D 18 SACRED HEART W 73-64 D 21 vs. UT-Chatanooga L 74-85 (OT) D 30 at #2 Connecticut L 75-111 D 28 at Hartford W 56-54 D 31 at Penn State L 53-65 J 5 at WAGNER L 63-81 D 31 Drexel L 49-53 J 3 Lafayette L 63-76 J 7 Brown L 60-64 J 3 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 66-59 J 5 at LONG ISLAND W 73-57 J 12 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 102-81 J 5 ROBERT MORRIS L 75-87 J 7 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 60-43 J 7 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 55-53 J 10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 84-56 J 14 MONMOUTH L 82-85 (OT) J 12 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE W 61-57 J 12 SACRED HEART W 78-69 J 19 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm J 14 at QUINNIPIAC W 85-82 (OT) J 19 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm J 21 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm J 19 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm J 21 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm J 23 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm J 21 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm J 26 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm J 26 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm J 26 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm J 28 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm J 28 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm J 28 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm F 2 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm F 2 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm F 4 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 4 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm F 4 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm F 6 at WAGNER 7:00 pm F 9 at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm F 10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm F 11 at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm F 11 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 12 at ROBERT MORRIS 2:00 pm F 13 WAGNER 7:00 pm F 13 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 18 WAGNER 2:00 pm F 18 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 1:00 pm F 18 MONMOUTH 1:00 pm F 20 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 20 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 20 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm F 25 at SACRED HEART 4:00 pm F 25 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm F 25 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm F 27 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 27 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 27 WAGNER 7:00 pm NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) M 2 Quarterfinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 5 Semifinals M 5 Semifinals M 5 Semifinals M 8 Championship M 8 Championship M 8 Championship NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS 2005-06 NEC Men’s Basketball Schedule Schedule Subject To Change. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
Robert Morris Sacred Heart St. Francis (NY) (9-5, 5-0 NEC) (7-8, 4-2 NEC) (4-10, 1-4 NEC)
N 18 at St. Bonaventure L 61-80 N 19 at Rhode Island L 50-56 N 18 Fairfield W 69-64 N 23 at Pittsburgh L 59-86 N 21 at Albany W 63-61 N 22 at St. John’s L 50-64 N 26 Lock Haven W 100-64 N 25 Harvard L 72-75 N 26 at Fordham W 66-60 N 28 Maine W 62-53 N 28 at Yale L 67-72 N 29 at Pittsburgh L 58-79 D 3 at Duquesne L 58-73 N 30 Columbia L 59-61 D 3 Binghamton L 56-64 D 6 at New Hampshire L 65-71 D 3 at #8 Boston College L 66-77 D 6 at Lafayette L 81-89 (OT) D 10 at QUINNIPIAC W 90-85 D 5 Army W 76-62 D 9 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 61-72 D 17 Charleston Southern W 97-85 D 7 Lehigh W 66-55 D 18 Hartford W 55-45 D 22 at #25 Iowa L 51-73 D 10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 74-72 D 22 Hofstra L 57-73 D 29 Medaille W 109-36 D 18 at MONMOUTH L 64-73 D 30 at Manhattan L 78-89 J 2 WAGNER W 95-90 J 2 at Miami (FL) L 57-63 J 3 MONMOUTH L 59-66 J 5 at MONMOUTH W 87-75 J 7 WAGNER W 61-50 J 7 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 43-60 J 12 ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 73-71 J 9 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE W 74-71 J 12 at ROBERT MORRIS L 71-73 J 14 LONG ISLAND W 70-66 J 12 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 69-78 J 14 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 65-56 J 19 at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm J 14 at WAGNER W 70-62 J 18 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm J 21 at WAGNER 7:00 pm J 19 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm J 20 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm J 24 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:30 pm J 21 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 4:00 pm J 23 at WAGNER 7:30 pm J 26 MONMOUTH 7:30 pm J 23 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm J 28 QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm J 28 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:30 pm J 26 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 2 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 2 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 2 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm F 4 at QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm F 4 LONG ISLAND 2:00 pm F 6 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 9 WAGNER 7:00 pm F 9 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 10 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:30 pm F 11 SACRED HEART 4:00 pm F 11 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm F 12 QUINNIPIAC 2:00 pm F 16 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm F 16 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:30 pm F 16 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 18 ROBERT MORRIS 4:00 pm F 18 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 4:00 pm F 18 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm F 21 at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm F 21 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 8:00 pm F 21 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm F 25 QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm F 25 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 25 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:30 pm F 27 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) M 2 Quarterfinals NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) M 2 Quarterfinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 5 Semifinals M 5 Semifinals M 8 Championship M 5 Semifinals M 8 Championship M 8 Championship NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS
St. Francis (PA) Wagner (2-14, 0-6 NEC) (8-5, 1-3 NEC)
at Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (at Syracuse) N 19 John Jay W 86-44 N 8 vs. Cornell L 54-75 N 22 American W 75-59 N 9 vs. Bethune-Cookman L 52-63 (OT) N 26 at Vermont L 67-71 N 19 Youngstown State W 71-58 N 29 at Brown W 72-59 N 21 Lock Haven W 74-54 D 3 at Yale W 73-69 N 26 at Ohio L 61-77 D 6 Columbia W 83-71 N 30 at #19 George Washington L 68-85 D 17 at Rhode Island W 63-61 D 3 at St. Bonaventure L 65-69 D 21 at #12 UCLA L 72-74 D 10 SACRED HEART L 72-74 D 30 Stony Brook W 67-54 D 18 at Penn State L 74-88 J 2 at ROBERT MORRIS L 90-95 D 28 at LaSalle L 55-85 J 5 QUINNIPIAC W 81-63 J 2 American L 52-62 J 5 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 64-73 J 7 at SACRED HEART L 50-61 J 7 at MONMOUTH L 53-55 J 14 SACRED HEART L 62-70 J 10 MOUNT ST. MARY'S L 56-84 J 19 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm J 12 LONG ISLAND L 70-73 (OT) J 21 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm J 14 ST. FRANCIS (NY) L 56-65 J 23 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:30 pm J 19 at WAGNER 7:00 pm J 26 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm J 21 at SACRED HEART 4:00 pm J 28 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm J 24 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm F 4 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 2:00 pm J 26 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 6 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm J 28 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 9 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm F 4 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 13 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F 10 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm F 16 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 12 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm F 18 at QUINNIPIAC 2:00 pm F 16 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm F 22 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm F 18 at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm F 24 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F 21 ROBERT MORRIS 8:00 pm F 27 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm F 25 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 1:00 pm NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) NEC Tournament (all games at higher seed) M 2 Quarterfinals M 2 Quarterfinals M 5 Semifinals M 5 Semifinals M 8 Championship M 8 Championship NEC Games in CAPS NEC Games in CAPS LIU’s Ferry & SFNY’s Nash: Teammates, Roommates & Rivals NEC Men’s Basketball Notes: Not only will Wednesday’s clash between neighborhood rivals Long Island and St. Francis (through games of January 14) (NY) be the first of two regular season battles for Division I supremacy in Brooklyn, but it will also serve as a reunion of sorts for respective head coaches Jim Ferry (LIU) and Brian Nash Pioneers, Mountaineers & The Colonial Period (SFNY). Ferry and Nash were college roommates when they both played for Keene State in The NEC is down to just one unbeaten team in conference play as the late 1980s and early 1990s. Robert Morris moved to 5-0 against league competitors with home wins over St. Francis (NY) (73-71) and Long Island (70-66) last Sudden Impact: A.J.’s Arrival Sparks Colonial Resurgence week. Though the Colonials were picked to finish tenth in the confer- Robert Morris junior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, PA/Monessen), a transfer ence by NEC head coaches in the annual preseason poll after losing their top three scorers - Chaz McCrom- from East Tennessee State, has stood out as a dominant figure in the NEC this season and one mon (16.7 ppg in 2004-05), Mark Anderson (13.5 ppg) and Maurice Carter (10.7 ppg) - to graduation, this of the reasons the Colonials are the league’s lone unbeaten team in league play at 5-0. The 6’ doesn’t appear to be the season to take stock in the coaches’ prognostications. 6”, 230 lb. Jackson, who leads the conference with eight double-doubles, is second in the league in scoring at 17.3 ppg and ranks first in rebounding with 10.5 per contest. If Jackson Mount St. Mary’s was tabbed eighth in the preseason poll, and coming off a 5-13 NEC season a year ago, has were to finish the year as the league leader in both categories, he would be the first to turn the trick jumped out to a 4-1 mark in conference play for its best start in 11 years. The Mount extended its win streak since Long Island’s Joe Griffin, who tallied 25.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg en-route to NEC Player of the to four last week with victories over St. Francis (PA) (84-56) and Sacred Heart (78-69) (see related note below). Year honors in 1994-95. The biggest turnaround has come from possibly the least likely source, as Sacred Heart has posted a 4-2 NEC record after being picked to finish dead last by league coaches. The Pioneers have already exceeded their NEC Bullseye! Misses Are Rare For CCSU’s Blackwood win total from 2004-05 when a 3-15 ledger translated into an 11th place finish. Last week, Sacred Heart won CCSU sophomore guard Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Canada/Eastern Com- two out of three games, including a three-point win over in-state rival CCSU (74-71) and its second conquest merce) ranks in the NEC top-15 in all three shooting categories. He is second in the league of Wagner in a week (70-62). in free throw percentage (.895), and ranks sixth in thee-point percentage (.419) and 14th Robert Morris also improved to 7-0 at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season and the team’s five in field goal percentage (.455). The last NEC player to finish among league leaders in all three straight victories ties the longest win streak i n the tenure of fifth-year head coach Mark Schmidt. shooting categories was Robert Morris’ Chaz McCrommon ,who placed eighth in free throw and three-point accuracy, and 10th in field goal percentage in 2003-04. Looking at the week ahead, play begins on Wednesday with a battle of neighborhood rivals as St. Francis (NY) hosts Long Island. The following evening features another regional battle as Quinnipiac makes the short hop Mount’s Thompson Continues Chart Climb to Central Connecticut State. The feature game of the week pits first place Robert Morris at fourth place Sacred After becoming the 44th player in NEC history to crack the 1,500-point plateau on January Heart. The Pioneers have won four straight at home, while the Colonials are 10-5 in their last 15 NEC road games. 7th against St. Francis (NY), Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (German- town, MD/Archbishop Spalding) has since raised his career point total to 1,549 points. Wins Beginning To Mount Thompson, the league’s leading active point producer, is tied with Wagner’s Milan Rikic (1991- After opening the season with just two wins in its first 12 games, Mount St. Mary’s has turned its season around, 95) for 38th on the NEC’s career scoring chart. reeling off four straight victories in convincing fashion, including an 84-56 victory at St. Francis (PA) and a 78- 69 conquest of Sacred Heart in Emmitsburg last week. With the Mount nestled in third place in the NEC with Statistical Improvements a 4-1 mark, a number of superlatives have already been achieved by the program as noted below: With league play in full swing, it seems an opportune time to examine which players among - the Mount has won four straight games for the first time since winning five in a row during the 1998-99 season. league leaders have made the most significant strides in their game compared to last season - the program’s 4-1 start in NEC action matches the 1992-93 and 1994-95 teams for the school’s best-ever and how they stand among their peers in a variety of categories. CCSU sophomore guard opening in league play. Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Canada/Eastern Commerce) can certainly lay - the Mountaineers have won three consecutive road games for the first time since the 1995-96 team won six claim to being one of the most improved players in the conference by virtue of his league- in a row. It also marks the second time in school history the program has started conference play with a 3- leading statistical jumps in scoring and three-point percentage. 0 record away from home. - the Mount has won each of the past four games by at least nine points, the longest such streak since a 10-game Most Improved 2004-05 to 2005-06 (improvement/current NEC ranking in category) run in 1995-96. Scoring: Tristan Blackwood (CCSU) - 5.2 ppg to 14.6 ppg (+9.4 ppg/ranks 7th in NEC) - after failing to shoot 50 percent from the floor in each of the first 12 games of the season, Mount St. Mary’s Rebounding: Obie Nwadike - 7.5 rpg to 10.4 rpg (+2.9 rpg/ranks 2nd in NEC) has hit at least half their field goal attempts in three of its last four outings Assists: Justin Chiera (CCSU) - 1.9 apg to 3.4 apg (+1.5 apg/ranks 7th in NEC) and Tony - after winning just two games over the first 48 days of the season, the Mount won four games in a span of eight days. Lee (RMU) - 1.8 apg to 3.3 apg (+1.5 apg/ranks 7th in NEC) - the 28-point margin of victory over St. Francis (PA) was the program’s largest since a 93-58 win over Long Island on March 1, 1996, in the opening round of the NEC Tournament. FG%: Aubin Scott (LIU) - .432 to .615 (+.183/ranks 1st in NEC) - the win at St. Francis (PA) was the Mount’s first in Loretto since 1997, snapping an eight-game losing streak 3PFG%: Tristan Blackwood (CCSU) - .312 to .419 (+.107/ranks 6th in NEC) at the Stokes Center. FT%: Allan Sheppard (SFNY) - .453 to .745 (+.292/ranks 15th in NEC) - the Mountaineers spotted Sacred Heart the first 12 points of the game before turning things around with a 36-11 run. In that stretch, the Mount hit 12 straight field goals and scored on 13 consecutive possessions. Bombs Away! Mount’s Thompson, CCSU’s Chiera Crack NEC Top-10 - Senior guard Landy Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) has sparked the In Career Three-Pointers team’s resurgence with his hot shooting. Last week, he averaged 22.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, and shot 62.5 A pair of NEC sharpshooters hit the top-10 on the NEC’s career three-pointers list last week. percent (15-24) from the field and 64.7 percent (11-17) from three-point range. Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) drained 11 trifectas in two games to move into ninth place with 236, while CCSU SHU’s Trim Reaches 1,000-Points/500 Rebounds; LIU’s Williams Approaching Milestone senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) netted 16 treys in three outings to In Thursday’s 78-69 setback at Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, reach tenth place with 234. Trinidad/St. Mary’s) became the second player this season and 124th in NEC annals to reach the 1,000- point plateau since the league began sponsoring basketball in 1981. The second player in school history to NEC Career Leaders - Three-Pointers Made achieve the milestone at the Division I level - joining Maurice Bailey, who played from 2001-04 - Trim finished 1. Chris McGuthrie Mount St. Mary's 300 1993-96 the week with 1,030 points. In that same contest with the Mount, he also cracked the 500-rebound plateau 2. Angel Santana St. Francis (NY) 294 1996-00 and now has 505 boards over the course of his career, second among active league players. 3. Dedrick Dye Wagner 270 1999-03 4. Kevin Booth Mount St. Mary's 265 1989-93 Mount St. Mary’s boasts the leading active scorer in the conference in senior guard Landy Thompson 5. Dave Calloway Monmouth 260 1987-91 (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding), who has amassed 1,549 points. FDU senior guard Chad 6. Rob Monroe Quinnipiac 253 2001-05 Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) (1,084 points) also surpassed the 1,000-point milestone 7. John Hilvert St. Francis (PA) 247 1987-91 this season, joining his teammate, senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Chris- 8. Danny Basile Marist 239 1992-96 tian Academy) (1,302), as the only other 1,000-point scorers currently competing in the NEC. Other 9. Landy Thompson Mount St. Mary’s 236 2002-06 players with an opportunity to hit 1,000 this season include Long Island senior guard James Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) (986), Central Connecticut State senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/ 10. Justin Chiera CCSU 234 2002-06 Colonia) (945), St. Francis (PA) senior guard Rahsaan Benton (Cleveland Heights, OH/St. Igna- 11. Harkeem Dixon St. Francis (PA) 231 1987-92 tius) (940), Mount St. Mary’s senior forward Charles Cook (Upper Marlboro, MD/Bishop Mc- 12. Charles Jones Long Island 225 1996-98 Namara) (881), Monmouth senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Lake, NJ/CBA) (845) and St. Francis 13. Steve Paterno Marist 224 1987-91 (NY) senior guard Christian Brown (New York, NY/Rice) (814). 14. Dave Masciale Long Island 219 1993-97 15. Dean Borges Wagner 218 1986-91 Wagner Home Win Streak Snapped At Nine Gregory Harris Mount St. Mary’s 218 1996-00 Wagner had its nine-game home winning streak - the 21st longest in the nation - snapped on Saturday in a 70- Aaron Thomas Robert Morris 218 2000-04 62 setback to Sacred Heart. The streak was the longest by an NEC team since Monmouth reeled off 15 straight 18. Maurice Carter Robert Morris 217 2001-05 wins at Boylan Gymnasium from February 27, 2002 to December 12, 2004. Wagner has posted a 59-26 19. Jared Grasso Quinnipiac 216 1998-02 (.694) record all-time in the Spiro Sports Center, which opened in 1999. 20. Dwayne Byfield Monmouth 214 2001-05 Central Connecticut State (7-7, 3-2 NEC) Last Week: Sacred Heart 74, CCSU 71; Monmouth 61, CCSU 57; CCSU 88, FDU 74 This Week: vs. Quinnipiac (Thursday); at Mount St. Mary’s (Saturday) The Blue Devils are even again at 7-7 overall and moved to 3-2 in NEC play after a 1-2 week. Following close losses to Sacred Heart (74-71) and Monmouth (61-57), the Blue Devils rebounded to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 88-74, in New Britain on Saturday in a game that aired on CN8...The Blue Devils received solid efforts from all eight players who saw action in the FDU victory, including 20+ point performances from sophomore guard Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Ontario/Eastern Commerce) (23) and senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/ D22 Binhgamton W 72-68 Colonia) (22) in the victory. Blackwood added career-highs with 10 assists, five three-pointers (in eight attempts), eight made field goals and five boards (tied career-best)...Chiera was D29 at Delaware L 73-79 6-9 from three-point range against the Knights and is now one three-point basket shy of tying for second place all-time on the CCSU career list (235) an four shy of tying Rick Mickens’ school- J7 at LONG ISLAND W 83-74 record of 238. His 234 career trifectas place him 10th on the NEC all-time list...Chiera has averaged 20.8 points and shot 22-43 (.511) from downtown over the last four games to raise his J9 at SACRED HEART L 71-74 season percentage to 44.5 percent, second in the conference. He also leads the NEC and ranks sixth nationally with 4.1 treys per game...As a team, the Blue Devils posted 24 assists against J12 MONMOUTH L 57-61 FDU, the most in a game since December 12, 2001 when they had 26 in a win at Long Island...CCSU also set a new mark under head coach Howie Dickenman with 14 three pointers vs. J14 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 88-74 J19 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm the Knights. It represented an NEC season-high and was the third-highest single-game total in school history. The 14 made triples were the most in a game since January 11, 1994 when J21 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm CCSU matched a school-record with 16...Junior forward Obie Nwadike (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony’s) recorded his fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season with 16 points and J26 WAGNER 7:00 pm 11 boards against Sacred Heart and 16 points and 17 boards vs. Monmouth...Nwadike is eighth in the NEC in scoring (14.6 ppg), second in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and third in double-doubles J28 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm (six)...Blackwood currently ranks in the NEC top-seven in seven different categories, including second in free throw percentage (.895), assists (4.6 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96:1), F2 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm fifth in three-pointers (2.6/game), sixth in 3PFG% (.419), and seventh in scoring (14.6 ppg) and steals (1.4 spg)...In conference play this season, the Blue Devils have dished out 81 assists, F4 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm turned the ball over only 59 times and have posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in six straight games...The Blue Devils are off until Thursday, when they host Quinnipiac in the third game F10 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm of a three-game homestand. CCSU takes to the road on Saturday at Mount St. Mary’s, before returning to Detrick Gymnasium for three more games. Fairleigh Dickinson (6-8, 3-2 NEC) Last Week: Quinnipiac 102, FDU 81; CCSU 88, FDU 74 This Week: vs. St. Francis (NY) (Friday on Fox Sports-NY) After winning their first three NEC games, the Knights suffered two conference setbacks last week, falling at Quinnipiac, 102-81, on Thursday, and 88-74 at CCSU on Saturday...FDU has now dropped five of its last six games...Senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) posted his second straight double-double and second of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Quinnipiac. He also added three blocks and a pair of steals...Senior guard Chad D17 Drexel L 49-54 Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) tallied 18 points, five rebounds, four points and two steals vs. the Bobcats, then contributed nine points and six assists D22 at St. Peter’s L 77-82 against the Blue Devils...FDU matched a season-high with 11 three pointers in the loss to CCSU and shot 55.0 percent from beyond the arc in the contest...Junior center D28 at #10 Louisville L 66-89 Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy/Long Island Lutheran) came off the bench to record 17 points, six boards and three blocks vs. the Blue Devils, while J5 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-64 sophomore guard Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater) scored 12 points and registered career-highs with four three pointers (in six attempts) and seven J12 at QUINNIPIAC L 81-102 J14 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. L 74-88 assists in a 37-minute reserve stint...Freshman guard Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Cardozo (Notre Dame Prep (MA))) scored 15 points in 21 minutes J20 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm against Quinnipiac...The Knights have blocked 6.1 shots per contest to lead the conference and rank 18th nationally...Klaiber, who tops the Knights with 13.3 ppg, has J23 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm been a disruption on defense, ranking second on the circuit in blocks (1.5/game) and third in steals (1.9/game)...With 1,302 points, 589 rebounds and 121 rejections J26 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm in his career, Klaiber is the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. He is the second-leading active scorer in the NEC...Tyler J28 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm ranks second among NEC freshman with 2.7 apg...Crosariol, the NEC’s top shot blocker with 2.5/game, stood 30th in the nation in the latest NCAA rankings...The Knights F2 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm F4 at WAGNER 2:00 pm host St. Francis (NY) on Friday in a game to air live on Fox Sports-NY at 8:00 pm. F6 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm Long Island (4-9, 1-3 NEC) Last Week: Long Island 73, St. Francis (PA) 70 (OT); Robert Morris 70, Long Island 66 This Week: at St. Francis (NY) (Wednesday) The Blackbirds picked up a split on their annual visit to western Pennsylvania, defeating St. Francis (PA), 73-70, in overtime on Thursday before falling to first place Robert Morris, 70-66, on Saturday...Junior forward Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland/Forssan Yhteislyseo) blocked a potential game-tying three-point shot by the Red Flash’s Rahsaan Benton with two seconds remaining in overtime to seal Thursday’s win...Junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) averaged 19.5 at College of Charleston Classic points and 4.5 rebounds in the two road games, pacing the team in scoring in both contests. He netted 21 vs. the Red Flash and 18 against the Colonials. With the Blackbirds D29 vs. Rider L 59-63 trailing Robert Morris by 11, Williams scored 11 points in the final 2:10 as the Blackbirds closed to within two with two seconds to play...Wiliiams has raised his career D30 vs. Longwood L 69-86 point total to 986, and is now just 14 shy of the becoming the 26th player in LIU history to reach 1,000...Williams is ranked in several NEC categories: scoring (16.4 ppg/ J5 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 57-73 J7 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 74-83 third), assists (3.2 apg/12th), free throw percentage (.800/ninth), three-point percentage (.424/fifth) and made three-pointers (3.0/third)...Senior guard Aubin Scott J12 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-70 (OT) (Hempstead, NY/Hempstead) paces the league in field goal percentage, shooting at a 61.5 percent clip, and ranks ninth in rebounding with 6.7 per game. He shot J14 at ROBERT MORRIS L 66-70 6-9 (.667) on the Pennsylvania swing while grabbing 10 rebounds...Sophomore forward Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania/Roanoke (VA) Catholic) J18 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and tied a personal-best with 12 rebounds against St. Francis (PA). He also set a career-high by making 14 trips J23 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm to the charity stripe...Morkeliunas averaged 11.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg on the week. He is 12th in the league in rebounding with 5.5 per game...Sophomore guard Randy J26 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm J28 WAGNER 7:00 pm Jones (West Palm Beach, FL/Notre Dame Prep (MA)) is seventh in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48:1) and tenth in assists (3.3 apg)...The Blackbirds F2 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm travel a little over a mile to borough rival St. Francis (NY) on Wednesday in a contest which pits LIU head coach Jim Ferry against his former college roommate at Keene F4 at SACRED HEART 2:00 pm State and first year Terrier head coach Brian Nash. Monmouth (8-9, 5-1 NEC)
Last Week: Monmouth 61, CCSU 57; Monmouth 85, Quinnipiac 82 (OT) This Week: vs. Mount St. Mary’s (Thursday); vs. Quinnipiac (Saturday)
Monmouth has now won three straight and sits in second place with a 5-1 NEC record after securing road wins over CCSU (61-57) and Quinnipiac (85-82 in overtime) last week...The Hawks have now won five in a row over the Blue Devils...Monmouth is 7-3 in games in which junior center John Bunch (Randallstown, MD/Randallstown) has played, including 5-0 in NEC play. Last week, he came off the bench to average 18.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 3.0 bpg. He scored 17 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and added seven rebounds and a block in just 23 minutes of action against CCSU, then amassed a career-high 20 points (10-12 FT), and chipped in with eight boards, five blocks and two assists vs. Quinnipiac. With the Hawks trailing D31 Drexel L 49-53 the Bobcats, 73-71, Bunch hit a pair of free throws to knot the game with 39 seconds remaining and eventually send it to overtime...Freshman guard Whitney Coleman (Salem, CT/East Lynne J3 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 66-59 (St. Thomas More Prep)) averaged 9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 4.0 apg last week to win his second Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week award this season. He drained 7-11 from the field, including J5 ROBERT MORRIS L 75-87 3-3 from three-point territory. Coleman contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three assists against Quinnipiac, and logged five points and five assists vs. CCSU...The Hawks are also 5-2 in games J7 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 55-53 in which senior guard Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) has suited up. He averaged 14.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg last week...Azzarelli moved into fourth place on Monmouth’s career steal J12 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. W 61-57 list with 153. He now trails only John Giraldo (260), Mustafa Barksdale (209) and Rahsaan Johnson (169)...In the unusual stat of the week, Monmouth has won 15 of 18 tipoffs this season...Through J14 at QUINNIPIAC W 85-82 (OT) 10 games of play, Bunch has 30 blocks and is quickly approaching #9 Andre Williams (32 in 1998-99) and #8 Kevin Owens (35 in 1999-2000) on Monmouth’s single-season chart. Despite missing J19 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm seven games, Bunch is on pace to swat 66 shots during the regular-season which would better Steve Wreidt’s school record of 58...Coleman is averaging 8.5 ppg and is on pace to score 246 points J21 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm during the regular-season. In a system in which freshmen don’t generally see much playing time, Coleman is on pace to put up the most points by a Monmouth freshman since Alpha Bangura J26 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm scored 467 to earn NEC Rookie of the Year honors in 1998-99...Junior forward Marques Alston (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) scored 19 points and had seven rebounds against Quinnipiac. He J28 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm scored eight of the Hawks’ 12 points in the overtime period...Leading scorer Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) (13.0 ppg) missed his third straight game F4 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm with a right knee injury...In winning seven of their last nine games, the Hawks have yielded an average of 58.9 ppg to once again take over the league lead in scoring defense at 63.1 ppg, and have F6 at WAGNER 7:00 pm limited their opponents to 36.4 percent (185/508) shooting from the floor in that span...Coleman is sixth in the NEC in field goal percentage (.544)...Alston is second on the squad with 11.6 ppg F11 at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm and ranks 10th in the NEC in field goal shooting (.490)...Monmouth returns home this week for games with Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday and Quinnipiac on Saturday. Mount St. Mary’s (6-10, 4-1 NEC) Last Week: Mt. St. Mary’s 84, St. Francis (PA) 56; Mount St. Mary’s 78, Sacred Heart 69 This Week: at Monmouth (Thursday); vs. CCSU (Saturday) With an 84-56 victory at St. Francis (PA) and a 78-69 conquest of Sacred Heart in Emmitsburg, the Mount has won four straight games for the first time since winning five in a row during the 1998- 99 season...Mount St. Mary’s is off to a 4-1 start in NEC action, matching the 1992-93 and 1994-95 teams for the school’s best-ever start in league play...The Mountaineers have won three consecutive road games for the first time since the 1995-96 team won six in a row. It also marks the second time in school history the program has started conference play with a 3-0 record away from home...The D31 at Penn State L 53-65 Mount has won each of the past four games by at least nine points, the longest such streak since a 10-game run in 1995-96...After failing to shoot 50 percent from the floor in each of the first 12 games of the season, Mount St. Mary’s has hit at least half their field goal attempts in three of its last four outings...After winning just two games over the first 48 days of the season, the Mount won J3 Lafayette L 63-76 four games in a span of eight days...The 28-point margin of victory over St. Francis (PA) was the program’s largest since a 93-58 win over Long Island on March 1, 1996, in the opening round J5 at LONG ISLAND W 73-57 of the NEC Tournament...The win at St. Francis (PA) was the Mount’s first in Loretto since 1997, snapping an eight-game losing streak at the Stokes Center...The Mountaineers spotted Sacred Heart J7 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 60-43 the first 12 points of the game before turning things around with a 36-11 run. In that stretch, the Mount hit 12 straight field goals and scored on 13 consecutive possessions...Mount St. Mary’s has J10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 84-56 beaten Sacred Heart five straight times...Senior guard Landy Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) averaged 22.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, and shot 62.5 percent (15-24) J12 SACRED HEART W 78-69 from the field and 64.7 percent (11-17) from three-point range in the two games to earn Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week honors. He hit 7-10 shots from downtown while collecting a J19 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm game-high 25 points vs. the Red Flash. It was the 26th time he has scored 20 or more points in a game during his career and the 77th time in 99 career games he has reached double figures. J21 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm Thompson added a team-high 19 points and six rebounds against the Pioneers...Thompson has paced the Mount in scoring in 11 of 16 games this year and in 55 of 99 career games...Thompson J26 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm is the leading active scorer in the league with 1,549 career points and his 236 career three-point field goals rank him ninth of the NEC’s all-time list...Junior guard Mychal Kearse (Charlotte, J28 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm NC/Providence Day) posted 18 points and 13 rebounds against St. Francis (PA), his seventh career double-double...Junior forward Gus Durr (Pasadena, MD/Archbishop Spalding) F2 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm scored the Mount’s first eight points and had 12 of his season-high 14 in the first half vs. Sacred Heart...Senior guard Chris Sumner (Silver Spring, MD/Gonzaga) had seven assists against F4 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm the Pioneers. He has recorded 20 assists and just four turnovers in four NEC games for a league-leading 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio...In NEC games, the Mount has held opponents to 59.2 ppg, F10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm 38.0 percent shooting from the field and 26.3 percent shooting from three-point range...Thompson is ninth in the NEC in scoring (14.2 ppg) and Kearse is fifth in rebounding (7.2 rpg)...The Mount resumes play after a seven-day layoff with a game at Monmouth on Thursday, followed by a home tilt against CCSU on Saturday. Quinnipiac (6-8, 1-4 NEC) Last Week: Quinnipiac 102, FDU 81; Monmouth 85, Quinnipiac 82 (OT) This Week: at CCSU (Thursday); at Monmouth (Saturday) The Bobcats snapped a four-game losing streak and earned their first conference victory of the season on Thursday with a 102-81 win over defending league champion Fairleigh Dickinson in Hamden. Quinnipiac then concluded a three-game homestand by taking second place Monmouth to overtime, before falling, 85-82...The FDU game marked the first time Quinnipiac has scored 100+ points against a Division I opponent since February 14, 2002 when the Bobcats posted 102 against Sacred Heart...Senior guard Craig Benson (Hamden, CT/Hamden) led five Bobcat players in double figures with a season-high 25 points against FDU...Quinnipiac trailed D30 at #2 Connecticut L 75-111 by double digits in both halves against Monmouth, but fought back to send the game into overtime...Junior forward John Winchester (Stamford, CT/Milford J5 at WAGNER L 63-81 Academy) was moved out of the starting lineup last week, and responded with two of his best performances as a Bobcat. He scored 21 points, including 3-6 from long J7 Brown L 60-64 range, and added three assists against FDU, then recorded 17 points and five rebounds vs. Monmouth. For the week, he shot 50.0 percent (14-28) from the floor and J12 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 102-81 J14 MONMOUTH L 82-85 (OT) 46.2 percent (6-11) from three-point territory...Benson has raised his career point total to 783...The Bobcats recorded a season-high 25 assists against the Knights...After J19 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm missing five games with an injury, junior forward Victor Akinyanju (Ardmore, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt (Cecil CC)) returned against FDU to contribute four J21 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm points and four rebounds in 10 minutes. He followed with 10 points and five boards in a 17-minute stint vs. Monmouth...Sophomore forward Karl Anderson J23 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm (Chester, NY/Don Bosco Prep (NY)) recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. the Knights...Junior guard Adam Gonzalez (Bronx, NY/ J26 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm Cecil CC) averaged 15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 4.5 apg for the week...The Bobcats shot 54.9 percent against FDU, their best single-game mark since hitting at a 58.1 percent J28 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm clip against Concordia on November 22...Gonzalez is now seventh in the NEC with 3.4 apg, while freshman guard Job Casimir (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk (The F2 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm Dublin School)) leads all NEC freshman with 2.9 apg...Junior forward Chris Wehye (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay (Cecil CC)) is second on the Bobcats with 12.6 F4 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm ppg and leads the team with 7.1 rpg (sixth in NEC)...Weyhe, Akinyanju and Gonzalez - all teammates the past two seasons at Cecil CC in Maryland - have combined to average F10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm 30.8 ppg and 17.1 rpg...Quinnipiac makes a short trip to CCSU on Thursday, then travels to Monmouth on Saturday. Robert Morris (9-5, 3-0 NEC) Last Week: Robert Morris 73, St. Francis (NY) 71; Robert Morris 70, Long Island 66 This Week: at Sacred Heart (Thursday); at Wagner (Saturday) Robert Morris improved to 9-5 overall and 5-0 in NEC play by protecting its home court last week with a 73-71 win over St. Francis (NY) on Thursday and a 70-66 victory over Long Island on Saturday...The Colonials’ 9-5 start is the best for the program through 14 games since the 1989-90 campaign, when Robert Morris started 10-4...Robert Morris also improved to 7-0 at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season...The five straight victories ties the longest win streak under fifth-year head coach Mark Schmidt. The Colonials also won five in a row during the 2004- 05 campaign...Robert Morris held double-digit leads in the last five minutes of the game against both St. Francis and LIU, but had to sweat out late comebacks by both rivals. The Colonials combined D29 Medaille W 109-36 to shoot 77.8 percent (14-18) from the charity stripe in the last five minutes of the victories...Junior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, PA/Monessen), the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the J2 WAGNER W 95-90 Week, averaged 24.5 ppg and 11.0 rpg, while shooting 54.8 percent from the floor and 76.5 percent from the line. He recorded 24 points and eight boards vs. the Blackbirds and posted his league- best eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 14 boards against the Terriers...On the season, Jackson is one of two NEC players averaging a double-double with 17.3 ppg and 10.5 J5 at MONMOUTH W 87-75 rpg. He leads the NEC in rebounding (13th nationally) and is second in scoring...Jackson is looking to become just the second player in RMU's 30-year Division I history to average over 10.0 rpg J12 ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 73-71 for a season, joining Earl Cureton, who averaged 10.4 rpg during the program’s inaugural Division I season in 1976-77...Sophomore forward Cori Boston (Boston, MA/Charlestown) J14 LONG ISLAND W 70-66 averaged 14.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg last week, and established a career-high with 19 points against the Terriers...Freshman guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) averaged J19 at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm 11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.0 spg last week. He had a sense of deja vu in both outings, as he was left standing at the free throw line with less than a second left in both games, hitting on three J21 at WAGNER 7:00 pm of his four opportunities, with his lone miss on purpose against the Terriers to help run out the clock ...Sophomore forward Colson Sénat (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) is slowly growing J24 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:30 pm into his role as a reserve for Robert Morris. During the club's five-game winning streak he is averaging 4.6 ppg and 3.2 rpg in just 14.8 minutes per contest...Robert Morris played its best defensive J26 MONMOUTH 7:30 pm game against an NEC opponent this season vs. Long Island, holding the Blackbirds to 36.9 shooting from the floor...Thanks to its win over Long Island, the Colonials improved to 45-15 (.750) under J28 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:30 pm Schmidt when holding opponents under 70 points, including 4-0 on the 2005-06 campaign...Robert Morris is 10-5 in its last 15 league road tilts...The Colonials are 4-0 in games decided by five F2 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm points or less...Chappell leads all NEC freshman with 11.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 spg and 1.1 spg...Junior guard Derek Coleman (Dorchester, MA/Charlestown) is third in the NEC in 3PFG% (.434; F6 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm 14th nationally), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65:1) and assists (4.4 apg), sixth in 3PFG made (2.6/game) and seventh in free throw percentage (.814)...Lee leads the league with 2.3 spg F10 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:30 pm and is eighth with 6.8 rpg and tenth with 3.3 apg...The Colonials are second in the NEC with 8.4 3PFG/game (16th nationally) and third in 3PFG% (.380; 26th nationally)...Robert Morris will look to match its best league start in school history on Thursday at Sacred Heart. The Colonials also visit Wagner on Saturday, before closing out the month with a three-game homestand. Sacred Heart (7-8, 4-2 NEC) Last Week: Sacred Heart 74, CCSU 71; Mt. St. Mary’s 78, Sacred Heart 69; Sacred Heart 70, Wagner 62 This Week: vs. Robert Morris (Thursday); vs. St. Francis (PA) (Saturday)
The Pioneers are now 4-2 in NEC play after winning two of three games a week ago. Sacred Heart downed in-state rival CCSU, 74-71, on Monday in Fairfield, then split a brief two-game road swing with a 78-69 setback to Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday and a 70-62 victory over Wagner on Saturday...Sacred Heart has already exceeded its NEC win total from a year ago, when it finished 3-15. This is also the earliest the Pioneers have accumulated four wins in NEC play, beating the previous best in 2003-04 by nine days. That season, Sacred Heart recorded a program best eight conference victories...The win over Wagner was the first time the Pioneers had defeated the Seahawks in the Spiro Center. It also marked the first time Sacred Heart has swept D18 at MONMOUTH L 64-73 a season series from Wagner...Senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s) averaged 19.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg last week. He shot a blistering 75.0 percent from the field J2 at Miami (FL) L 57-63 (21-28). Trim tallied 24 points (10-12 FG) and nine rebounds vs. CCSU, then posted his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points (7-11 FG) and a career-high 12 rebounds against J7 WAGNER W 61-50 Mount St. Mary’s. Saddled with four trouble against Wagner, Trim scored six of the Pioneers’ final 12 points and finished with 10 points and five boards...In the loss to the Mount, Trim became the second player this season and 124th in NEC annals to reach the 1,000-point plateau since the league began sponsoring basketball in 1981. The second player in school history to reach J9 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. W 74-71 the milestone at the Division I level - joining Maurice Bailey, who played from 2001-04 - Trim finished the week with 1,030 points. In that same contest with the Mount, he also cracked J12 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 69-78 the 500-rebound plateau and now has 505 boards over the course of his career, second among active league players...Sophomore forward Brice Brooks (Silverdale, WA/Central J14 at WAGNER W 70-62 Kitsap) had a season-high ten points in the victory over Wagner...Going into the final five minutes of the Wagner game, Trim and junior guard Jarrid Frye (Maspeth, NY/Martin Luther) J19 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm had just four points apiece. The duo then combined to score the last 12 points of the game for the Pioneers, including two Frye three pointers in the final 1:14 to put the Seahawks away...In J21 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 4:00 pm two games with Wagner, the Pioneers limited the top three-point shooting team in the conference to 5-26 (.192) from beyond the arc...Sophomore guard Drew Shubik (Stoystown, J23 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm PA/North Star) had a career-high eight assists against CCSU, and then recorded a career-best 17 points vs. Wagner...The Pioneers shot 51.0 percent from the field in the three games last J26 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm week...The Pioneers have only been outrebounded in three of 15 games this season...Head coach Dave Bike worked his 800th game on the bench for the Pioneers on Thursday against the F2 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Mount...Trim’s next game will be his 100th in a Pioneer uniform...Frye leads the NEC with seven 20+ point games on the year...Trim leads the NEC with 18.5 ppg, while Frye ranks fourth with F4 LONG ISLAND 2:00 pm 16.2 ppg. Trim is also second in FG% (.593) and fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg). Frye is fifth in rebounding (6.9 rpg)...Junior guard Tavio Hobson (Seattle, WA/Seattle Prep) ranks F9 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm second in the NEC in steals (2.2 spg), third in assists (4.5 apg) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47:1)...Junior forward Joey Henley (Kent, WA/Kentride), a preseason all-NEC selection, is out with an injury suffered during football season and has yet to play in 2005-06...Sacred Heart hosts first place Robert Morris on Thursday and St. Francis (PA) on Saturday. St. Francis (NY) (4-10, 1-4 NEC) Last Week: Robert Morris 73, St. Francis (NY) 71; St. Francis (NY) 65, St. Francis (PA) 56 This Week: vs. Long Island (Wednesday); at FDU (Friday on Fox Sports-NY) After coming up just short in a 73-71 loss at first place Robert Morris on Thursday, the Terriers put the brakes on a five-game losing streak with a 65-56 triumph at St. Francis (PA) on Saturday...Senior guard Christian Brown (New York, NY/Rice) found his rhythm from the floor last week, hitting 13-19 field goal attempts (.684), including 5-9 from beyond the arc (.556). He averaged 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Brown notched his first double-double of the season with 18 points D22 Hofstra L 57-73 (6-8 FG) and 11 rebounds in the win over the Red Flash...Sophomore forward James St. Robert (Copiague, NY/Copiague) received his first extended playing D30 at Manhattan L 78-89 time of the season last week, and responded by averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in two games. He scored 11 points in each outing and shot 62.5 J3 MONMOUTH L 59-66 percent from the field. The 11 points against the Colonials was his highest single-game total since netting 20 at Binghamton on November 30, 2004, a stretch of 34 J7 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 43-60 games...St. Francis shot 15-31 (.484) from long range last week, including five trifectas in an 18-5 run that trimmed a 12-point deficit against Robert Morris with 1:17 J12 at ROBERT MORRIS L 71-73 to play down to one on two occasions...Sophomore guard Nick Jones (St. Albans, NY/Hillcrest) came off the bench against Robert Morris to score a season-high J14 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 65-56 19 points in 23 minutes. He hit 2-3 from outside the arc and 8-11 overall from the floor...Freshman guard Jamaal Womack (Bronx, NY/Our Saviour Lutheran) J18 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm scored 15 points (5-7 FG) against St. Francis (PA)...The Terriers shot a season-high 56.8 percent from the field vs. the Red Flash, the first time the team cracked the 50 J20 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm percent mark this season...Brown leads the Terriers in scoring (13.6 ppg; 11th in NEC), free throw percentage (.804; ninth in NEC), three pointers (2.2/game; eighth J23 at WAGNER 7:30 pm in NEC) and three-point percentage (.419; sixth in NEC)...Eleven different St. Francis players have started games this season and 11 are averaging at least 12 minutes per J28 QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm contest. Only Brown averages more than 30 minutes per outing...With 814 points, Brown has a chance to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career...Eleven St. Francis F2 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm players hail from one of the five boroughs and 13 of the 15 on the roster are from the New York Metro area...The Terriers return home briefly to host local rival Long F4 at QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm Island on Wednesday, then head to Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday in a game airing live on Fox Sports-NY at 7:00 pm. The LIU game pits head coach Brian Nash against F9 WAGNER 7:00 pm former college roommate (Keene State) and current Blackbird head coach Jim Ferry. St. Francis (PA) (2-14, 0-6 NEC) Last Week: Mt. St. Mary’s 84, St. Francis (PA) 56; Long Island 73, St. Francis (PA) 70 (OT); St. Francis (NY) 65, St. Francis (PA) 56 This Week: at Wagner (Thursday); at Sacred Heart (Saturday) The Red Flash have now lost 12 straight contests and remain winless in NEC play following three home setbacks last week. St. Francis (PA) fell to red-hot Mount St. Mary’s (84-56) on Tuesday, then lost to Long Island in overtime (73-70) on Thursday and St. Francis (NY) (65-56) on Saturday...The 12 consecutive defeats marks the longest losing streak in school history. The Red Flash had lost 10 straight games on two previous occasions...Senior guard Rahsaan Benton (Cleveland Heights, OH/ St. Ignatius) averaged 14.0 points and went 9-9 from the line last week. His best game was a 20-point, three-assist outing vs. the Terriers...Benton raised his career J2 American L 52-62 scoring total to 940 points. He is looking to become the 37th player in school history to reach 1,000 points...Over the last eight games, Benton is 33-34 from the free J5 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 64-73 throw line - including 19 straight heading into play this week - and has taken over the league lead with an 89.6 success rate from the stripe...Senior forward Winston J7 at MONMOUTH L 53-55 Robinson (Knoxville, TN/Bearden) suffered a sprained left shoulder early in the second half against St. Francis (NY) and will be evaluated day-to-day. The loss J10 MOUNT ST. MARY'S L 56-84 of Robinson left the Red Flash with just seven players in uniform...In the loss to the Terriers, freshman guard Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL/Palatine) was held J12 LONG ISLAND L 70-73 (OT) J14 ST. FRANCIS (NY) L 56-65 scoreless for the first time since the season-opener against Cornell. He had contributed 13 against the Mount and 11 vs. LIU earlier in the week...Benton’s game-tying J19 at WAGNER 7:00 pm three point attempt with two seconds remaining in overtime against LIU was blocked...The Red Flash have now dropped five in a row at home...Junior forward Jelani J21 at SACRED HEART 4:00 pm Lawrence (Richmond, VA/Blue Ridge) averaged 14.3 ppg and 1.3 bpg last week...Benton now has 182 career three pointers, fifth on the Red Flash all-time list. J24 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm He is second in the league with 3.1 3PFG/game and his 38.0 success rate from outside the arc stands ninth on the circuit. Benton is also sixth in scoring with 15.2 J26 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm ppg...Senior guard Garrett Farha (Concordia, KS/Concordia) leads the NEC with 5.1 apg. He also paces the circuit with a 2:44:1 assist-to-turnover ratio...Junior J28 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm center J.R. Enright (Omaha, NE/Burke), who averages 11.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg, has missed the last five games with an injury...Lawrence is the third-leading shot blocker F4 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm in the conference with 1.4 per game...Surprenant is second among NEC freshman with 9.6 ppg. He is ninth overall and first among freshman players with 2.2 3PFG/game...The F10 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Red Flash begin a three-game road trip with tilts at Wagner on Thursday and Sacred Heart on Saturday. Wagner (8-5, 1-3 NEC) Last Week: Sacred Heart 70, Wagner 62 This Week: vs. St. Francis (PA) (Thursday); vs. Robert Morris (Saturday) Wagner dropped a 70-62 decision to Sacred Heart on Saturday in its lone game last week...The loss ended a nine game home winning streak for the Seahawks at the Spiro Sports Center dating back to January 17, 2005. It also marked the first-ever loss to Sacred Heart in the building (5-1)...Wagner had not lost back to back games since January 24 and 29th of last year, a span of 25 contests...Junior forward Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/St. Augustine’s Prep) continued his scoring assault, posting D30 Stony Brook W 67-54 a game-high 19 points on 9-14 shooting against the Pioneers. In the last five game, Vinson is averaging 17.6 ppg and 11.0 rpg while shooting 56.1 percent from the J2 at ROBERT MORRIS L 90-95 J5 QUINNIPIAC W 81-63 field...Senior guard DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, NC/Cary), who recorded 12 points and six assists on Saturday, has also been solid during the five-game stretch J7 at SACRED HEART L 50-61 with averages of 12.0 points, 5.0 assists and 88.9 percent (16-18) shooting from the foul line...Wagner is 0-4 when allowing over 70 points this season...The Seahawks J14 SACRED HEART L 62-70 led 35-34 at the half against Sacred Heart, marking their first loss when ahead at intermission this season (6-1)...Wagner, which ranked 12th nationally in three-point J19 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm shooting in the latest NCAA statistics report, hit just 3-12 from beyond the arc vs. the Pioneers. The Seahawks still lead the NEC in long range shooting at 40.0 J21 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm J23 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:30 pm percent...Freshman guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/Olathe East) paces the NEC in 3PFG% at 45.5 percent...The Seahawks top the NEC in scoring margin J26 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm (+6.9 ppg), field goal percentage (.470), 3PFG percentage (.400) and rebound margin (+4.5/game)...Sophomore guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/St. J28 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm Augustine’s Prep) is 14th in the league in scoring (13.1 ppg), fourth in FT% (.859), sixth in assists (3.8 apg) and 10th in blocks (0.7 bpg) and assist-to-turnover ratio F4 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 2:00 pm (1.36:1), while Vinson is third in rebounding (8.5 rpg), fourth in FG% (.553), blocks (1.4 bpg) and double-doubles (five), and tenth in scoring (14.2 ppg)...The F6 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm F9 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm Seahawks will play for just the second time in 12 days when they host St. Francis (PA) on Thursday, before welcoming first place Robert Morris on Saturday. NEC Men’s Basketball 2006 NEC Basketball Tournament Facts/Figures Schedule
NEC In RPI Rankings College Insider Mid-Major Poll 2006 NEC (through games of 1/15) (December 22) Men’s Basketball Tournament School Rank Change School Record all games to be held at home of higher seed teams will be reseeded following quarterfinals CCSU 220 -13 TBA Gonzaga (31) 7-2 Fairleigh Dickinson 254 -52 2. Creighton 7-0 Long Island 322 +2 3. East Tennessee State 7-2 Thursday, March 2 Sunday, March 5 Wednesday, March 8 Monmouth 207 +26 4. Wichita State 7-2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Mount St. Mary’s 252 +14 5. Southern Illinois 7-1 Times TBA 1:00 pm (CN8) 7:30 pm (ESPN2) Quinnipiac 287 -4 The Northeast Conference began a year-long 6. College of Charleston 6-1 4:00 pm (MSG) Robert Morris 150 +6 celebration of its 25th Anniversary in Septem- 7. Illinois-Chicago 9-2 Sacred Heart 170 +34 ber with the unveiling of its Silver Anniversary St. Francis (NY) 261 +31 logo8. and Utah the State announcement of promotions, 5-1 9. Murray State 8-1 St. Francis (PA) 329 -8 web-based activities and flashbacks through- 2006 NEC Tournament Men’s Championship Bracket Wagner 139 -26 out10. the Bradley 2005-06 campaign as the league 7-3 pays tribute to its history. March 2 March 5 March 8 NEC 27 -1 TBA (#1 vs. #8) Highest Remaining Seed
TBA Close Games Double-Doubles TBA Lowest Remaining Seed (five points or less) (top-10) (#2 vs. #7)
Teams will 7:30 PM School Rec. Player Total be reseeded for semifinals (ESPN2) NCAA Central Connecticut State 2-4 A.J. Jackson, RMU 8 Tournament TBA Kibwe Trim, SHU 7 Automatic Bid Fairleigh Dickinson 2-2 (#3 vs. #6) 2nd Highest Remaining Seed Long Island 3-2 Obie Nwadike, CCSU 6 Monmouth 4-2 Durell Vinson, WC 5 TBA Kevin Jolley, QU 3 Mount St. Mary’s 1-2 TBA 3rd Highest Remaining Seed Chris Wehye, QU 3 (#4 vs. #5) Quinnipiac 1-3 Victor Akinyanju, QU 2 Robert Morris 4-0 J.R. Enright, SFPA 2 Sacred Heart 3-3 Jarrid Frye, SHU 2 St. Francis (NY) 1-1 Mychal Kearse, MSM 2 St. Francis (PA) 0-4 Gordon Klaiber, FDU 2 NEC Men’s Basketball Wagner 2-3 Tony Lee, RMU 2 vs. the competition Aubin Scott, LIU 2 NEC vs...
NEC Coaching Records America East 11-3 Mid-American 0-2 ACC 0-3 Mid-Con 0-1 Year Conf. Games Overall Record Atlantic Sun 0-0 MEAC 0-1 Missouri Valley 1-0 Coach (School) Hired Rec. Pct. Rec. Pct. Atlantic 10 2-10 Big East 0-8 Mountain West 0-0 Dave Calloway (MU) 1998 90-58 .608 118-115 .506 Big Sky 0-0 NAIA 0-0 Tom Green (FDU) 1984 233-152 .605 364-288 .558 Big South 3-0 Ohio Valley 0-0 Howie Dickenman (CCSU) 1997 91-62 .595 145-129 .529 Big Ten 0-4 Pac 10 0-1 Mark Schmidt (RMU) 2001 44-35 .557 59-70 .457 Big-12 0-0 Patriot 4-4 Mike Deane (WC) 2003 21-19 .525 377-258 .594 Big West 0-0 SEC 0-1 Bobby Jones (SFPA) 1999 51-67 .432 69-113 .379 Colonial 0-6 Southern 0-2 Southland 1-0 Milan Brown (MSM) 2003 17-24 .415 23-49 .319 Conference USA 0-1 Division II 4-0 SWAC 0-0 Joe DeSantis (QU) 1998 53-84 .387 98-165 .373 Division III 3-0 Sun Belt 0-2 Jim Ferry (LIU) 2002 22-36 .379 139-81 .632 Horizon 1-0 WCC 0-1 Dave Bike (SHU) 1999 36-82 .305 423-378 .528 Independent 0-1 WAC 0-0 Brian Nash (SFNY) 2005 1-4 .200 4-10 .286 Ivy 7-7 Overall 40-64 MAAC 2-6 NEC Past Champions NEC Men’s Basketball 2005 Fairleigh Dickinson 1997 Long Island 1989 Robert Morris Streaks vs. NEC Opponents 2004 Monmouth 1996 Monmouth 1988 FDU 2003 Wagner 1995 Mount St. Mary's 1987 Marist 2002 Central Connecticut St. 1994 Rider 1986 Marist Winner Loser Streak Winner Loser Streak 2001 Monmouth 1993 Rider 1985 Fairleigh Dickinson FDU Long Island 7 FDU Mount St. Mary’s 5 CCSU Long Island 7 Monmouth CCSU 5 2000 Central Connecticut St. 1992 Robert Morris 1984 Long Island St. Francis (NY) Sacred Heart 5 Mount St. Mary’s Sacred Heart 5 1999 Mount St. Mary’s 1991 St. Francis (PA) Robert Morris Sacred Heart 4 Monmouth St. Francis (NY) 4 1998 Fairleigh Dickinson 1990 Robert Morris Wagner CCSU 5 NEC Men’s Basketball 2005-06 NEC Basketball Preseason Poll/All-Conference Teams Composite Schedule Of Men’s Television Broadcasts
Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll The Northeast Conference will televise 18 men’s basketball games in 2005- 06 as part of an extensive regional network package. The league will reach 1. Fairleigh Dickinson (8) 7. Quinnipiac the largest coverage area in its history this year with multiple games slated 2. Monmouth (1) 8. Mount St. Mary’s to air on Madison Square Garden Network, Fox Sports-New York, Fox Sports- Wagner 9. St. Francis (PA) Pittsburgh, CN8, Comcast SportsNet and Fox College Sports this coming 4. Long Island (1) 10. Robert Morris season. The 2005-06 package, which guarantees each men’s team two 5. Central Connecticut State 11. Sacred Heart appearances, includes 11 prime time contests and two NEC Tournament St. Francis (NY) games. In total, over 50 million homes will be able to view NEC basketball this season.
Northeast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team Date Matchup Carrier Time Nov. 22 Columbia at LIU FSN-NY, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm Name School Pos. Class Dec. 9 CCSU at St. Francis (NY) MSG, FCS-Atlantic, Cox 7:00 pm Joey Henley Sacred Heart F Jr Dec. 10 Sacred Heart at St. Francis (PA) WWCP, CV-Norwalk 3:00 pm Gordon Klaiber Fairleigh Dickinson F Jr Jan. 14 FDU at CCSU CN8 1:00 pm Landy Thompson Mount St. Mary’s G Jr Jan. 20 St. Francis (NY) at FDU FSN-NY, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm Chad Timberlake Fairleigh Dickinson G Sr Jan. 23 LIU at Quinnipiac MSG, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm James Williams Long Island G Jr Jan. 24 St. Francis (PA) at Robert Morris FSN-Pitt, FCS-Atlantic 7:30 pm Feb. 6 Monmouth at Wagner MSG, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm NEC Men’s Basketball Feb. 9 Mt. St. Mary’s at Sacred Heart Comcast SportsNet, CV-Norwalk 7:00 pm Foreign Born Players Feb. 12 Quinnipiac at Robert Morris CN8 2:00 pm Feb. 16 FDU at Sacred Heart MSG, FCS-Atlantic 7:30 pm Name School Cl Hometown, Country Feb. 18 Wagner at Quinnipiac MSG, FCS-Atlantic 2:00 pm Alex Nunner Monmouth Fr Leibnitz, Austria Feb. 18 Monmouth at Mt. St. Mary’s CN8 (men only),WJAL 1:00 pm Nicola Traykov St. Francis (NY) So Sofia, Bulgaria Feb. 20 FDU at Monmouth MSG, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm Tristan Blackwood CCSU So Toronto, Ontario, Canada Feb. 21 Robert Morris at St. Francis (PA) FSN-Pitt, FCS-Atlantic 8:00 pm Jemino Sobers CCSU Jr Scarborough, Ontaio, Canada Feb. 24 LIU at Wagner FSN-NY, FCS-Atlantic 7:00 pm Eugene Kotorobai Long Island Jr Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Feb. 25 St. Francis (PA) at CCSU CN8, WWCP 1:00 pm Tyrone Mattison Long Island Fr Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mar. 5 Men’s Tournament semifinal CN8 1:00 pm Corey Hallett Monmouth Jr Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada Mar. 5 Men’s Tournament semifinal MSG, FCS-Atlantic 4:00 pm Colson Senat Robert Morris So Montreal, Quebec, Canada Esa Maki-Tulokas Long Island Jr Forrsa, Finland Carrier Region Sami Pekkola St. Francis (NY) So Lahti, Finland MSG MSG Network Three states in NY metro area Andrea Crosariol FDU Jr Abano T., Italy FSN-New York Fox Sports Net-New York Three states in NY metro area Deki Delic Monmouth Jr Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro FSN-Pittsburgh Fox Sports Net-Pittsburgh Western PA, portions of West Virginia Kibwe Trim Sacred Heart Sr San Juan, Trinindad FCS-Atlantic Fox College Sports-Atlantic Eastern U.S. Network on digital cable systems CN8 CN8, The Comcast Network Eight states from Maine to Maryland 13 players representing seven countries. Comcast SportsNet Comcast SportsNet-Mid Atlantic Portions of five states, plus Washington D.C. Cox Cox Cable Connecticut & Rhode Island NEC Men’s Basketball WWCP WWCP-Fox 8 Local Fox affiliate in western PA, MD, WV 2004-05 Standings WJAL WJAL-Family TV 68 Local affiliate in MD, PA, VA, WV CV-Norwalk Cablevision of Norwalk Fairfield County, CT School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. 1. Monmouth* 14-4 .778 16-13 .552 2. Fairleigh Dickinson*^ 13-5 .722 20-13 .606 NEC Men’s Basketball Broadcast Team 3. Robert Morris* 11-7 .611 14-15 .483 4. St. Francis (PA)* 10-8 .556 15-13 .536 Dave Popkin Play-By-Play 6th year Long Island* 10-8 .556 14-15 .483 Tim Capstraw Color 7th year Wagner* 10-8 .556 13-17 .433 Terry O’Connor Color 4th year 7. St. Francis (NY)* 9-9 .500 13-15 .464 Paul Dottino Play-By-Play, Sideline 7th year 8. Central Connecticut State* 8-10 .444 12-16 .429 9. Quinnipiac 6-12 .333 10-17 .370 Amy Lundy Sideline 4th year 10. Mount St. Mary's 5-13 .278 7-20 .259 Pam Roecker Color 4th year 11. Sacred Heart 3-15 .167 4-23 .148 Kevin Connors Play-By-Play, Sideline 1st year
* NEC Tournament participants ^ NEC Tournament champion NEC On The Air NEC Men’s Basketball The next game in the NEC television package takes place on Friday as Fairleigh Dick- NCAA Statistics inson plays host to St. Francis (NY) in the second half of a women-men double- header airing on Fox Sports-NY. Tipoff is at 7:00 pm. Paul Dottino (play-by-play), Terry O’Connor (color) and Amy Lundy (sideline) will provide commentary. The NEC In NCAA Statistics NEC will televise 25 men’s and women’s basketball games in 2005-06 as part of an (Top-30 - through games of January 9) extensive regional network package. The league will reach the largest coverage area in its history this year with multiple games slated to air on Madison Square Garden Ind. Category Rank Player School Statistics Network, Fox Sports-New York, Fox Sports-Pittsburgh, CN8, Comcast SportsNet and Fox College Sports. Rebounds 13th A.J. Jackson RMU 10.5 rpg 21st Obie Nwaike CCSU 10.0 rpg FDU To Take Part In Bracket Buster Saturday Blocks 30th Andrea Crosariol FDU 2.3 bpg Fairleigh Dickinson will become the first NEC team to compete in ESPN’s Bracket FT% 25th Tristan Blackwood CCSU .889 Buster Saturday, when the Knights travel to an opponent to be determined on Feb- 3PFG/Game 6th Justin Chiera CCSU 3.8/game ruary 18. The actual Bracket Buster pairings - featuring some of the nation’s top 17th Rahsaan Benton SFPA 3.2/game mid-major programs - will be announced on January 30. FDU’s opponent will 25th James Williams LIU 3.1/game return a home game to the Knights during the 2006-07 campaign. 3PFG% 14th Derek Coleman RMU .472 29th Justin Chiera CCSU .442 IMDB Profile: CCSU Hoops Over the last seven seasons, Central Connecticut State has had an affinity for the bright lights, specifically when featured as part of the NEC’s Television Network package. Team Category Rank School Statistics Despite suffering a pair of televised losses to Monmouth last year, the Blue Devils 3PFG% 12th Wagner .409 have posted a 19-3 mark in league produced games since the 1998-99 season, 26th Robert Morris .398 including an 88-74 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. From January, 3PFG 16th Robert Morris 8.8/game 1999 to February, 2003, CCSU won 12 straight televised games, excluding any locally 24th Long Island 8.6/game produced or national broadcasts. The Blue Devils’ average margin of victory over Blocks 18th FDU 5.9 bpg their last 22 televised outings: +9.5 ppg.
CCSU On NEC-TV (1998-06) Ind. Game Highs Rank Player School Statistics CCSU 88, FDU 74 1/14/05 FG% 17th Kibwe Trim SHU .833 (10-12) vs. CCSU (1/9/06) Monmouth 54, CCSU 53 3/3/05 (NEC Tournament Quarterfinals) 3PFG% 17th Justin Chiera CCSU .700 (7-10) vs. Harvard (12/3/05) CCSU 75, Quinnipiac 70 2/21/05 17th Derek Coleman RMU .700 (7-10) vs. Wagner (1/2/06) CCSU 78, Sacred Heart 68 2/11/05 Monmouth 70, CCSU 53 1/24/05 CCSU 86, Robert Morris 79 1/15/05 Team Game Highs Rank School Statistics CCSU 95, Sacred Heart 83 2/21/04 FT% 18th Quinnipiac .938 (15-16) vs. Rhode Island (12/22/05) CCSU 84, Quinnipiac 58 2/16/04 Home Win Streak 21st Wagner 9 games CCSU 80, Mount St. Mary’s 68 1/12/04 Quinnipiac 68, CCSU 66 2/24/03 CCSU 80, Mount St. Mary’s 66 2/8/03 Quotes of the Week CCSU 58, St. Francis (NY) 54 3/2/02 (NEC Tournament Semifinals) Robert Morris junior guard Derek Coleman (Dorchester, MA/Charleston), on relating CCSU 63, Monmouth 62 (OT) 2/9/02 the competitiveness of NEC play to the Colonials’ first year players: CCSU 76, UMBC 58 1/19/02 CCSU 76, Sacred Heart 47 1/12/02 “Every team in our league is good -- from the last place team to the first place team,” CCSU 79, Quinnipiac 68 2/11/01 Coleman said. “It's almost weird. In high school, you always had a couple teams you CCSU 86, FDU 80 1/21/01 knew you were going to beat and you always had a couple teams you knew were good. CCSU 65, UMBC 58 3/3/00 (NEC Tournament Quarterfinals) That's not the case in the parity-laden NEC. In our league, if you don't come to play that CCSU 88, FDU 84 (OT) 1/29/00 night, you will lose. That's the biggest thing I've learned about this league. It's very CCSU 88, Long Island 58 1/15/00 competitive. Sometimes, with new guys, [they] don't really learn unless [they] go through CCSU 82, UMBC 72 2/28/99 (NEC Tournament Semifinals) it personally. So you can talk and talk, but [when they] play those first couple games in CCSU 81, Wagner 69 1/30/99 conference, that's when they realize, 'Well, dang, every team is good.' I can explain it to them and they can listen, but until they actually experience it, they [don't] know the full Ball Hawks effect.” Utilizing its trademark matchup-zone, Monmouth perennially ranks among the league leaders in scoring defense. In fact, Monmouth has led the NEC in the category in 12 of the last 17 years, including the last three Mount St. Mary’s head coach Milan Brown after the Mount won its fourth straight game last in a row and five out of the last six. In winning seven of their last nine games, the Hawks have yielded an average Thursday - a 78-69 victory over Sacred Heart - following a 2-10 start: of 58.9 ppg to once again take over the league lead in scoring defense at 63.1 ppg, and have limited their opponents to 36.4 percent (185/508) shooting from the floor in that span. On December 14, in the lowest “When things aren't going good for you, you have to draw a line and say enough is scoring Division I game since the introduction of the three-point line for the 1986-87 season, Monmouth enough,” said Brown. “Everybody said enough was enough, not five guys or not seven held Princeton to just 21 points in a 41-21 victory. guys, not just the coaches. It was a collective effort.” CCSU’s Dickenman Moving Up NEC Ladder “I saw a quote that said, 'Sometimes it's good to spend 15 minutes in hell so you know Now in his tenth year at the helm of the Central Connecticut State men’s basketball program, Howie Dick- [how] good heaven is.’ We're just much more focused on what we're trying to do. We're enman is just five wins shy of becoming the sixth coach in league history to reach 150 overall victories since trying to build our program to be a night-in, night-out winning program.” the conference was formed in 1981. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tom Green is the all-time leader with 364 wins, nearly double the total of former St. Francis (NY) coach Ron Ganulin, who is second with 187. Knights Reign Supreme With Fairleigh Dickinson off to a 3-2 start in NEC play, it serves as a reminder of the success the All-Time Wins (while coaching in NEC) Seasons program has enjoyed against the remainder of the conference over the last 25 years. The 364 Tom Green (FDU) 23 Knights own the second-highest winning percentage against NEC competitors in league history, 187 Ron Ganulin (SFNY) 14 capturing 61.4 percent of their contests (254-160). Only Rider - a five-year member of the 169 Paul Lizzo (LIU) 14 conference from 1992-97 - can boast of a better mark, winning at a 70.0 percent clip (63-27). 168 Wayne Szoke (MU) 11 FDU is ahead in the all-time series against all but one team in the NEC (Sacred Heart, 4-5). The 167 Jim Phelan (MSM) 14 Knights maintain the advantage against CCSU (13-8), Long Island (44-37), Monmouth (30- 157 Jarrett Durham (RMU) 12 24), Mount St. Mary's (22-13), Quinnipiac (13-5), Robert Morris (26-25), St. Francis (NY) 145 Howie Dickenman (CCSU) 10 (48-27), St. Francis (PA) (34-32) and Wagner (45-35), though many of those series date back prior to the inception of the NEC in 1981. Stat Central Hi-Five For Colonials Below is a listing of NEC players who have turned in 20 and 30- point efforts thus far in 2005-06. Five players from Robert Morris are averaging in double figures this season and rank among the Sacred Heart junior guard Jarrid Frye (Maspeth, NY/Martin Luther), who had scored 20 league top-25 in scoring. The last NEC teams to finish a season with five players scoring in double digits points or more in a game just one time over his first two years, has already posted a league-high seven were Quinnipiac and St. Francis (NY) back in 2001-02. this season. CCSU’s Blackwood Raises Profile On Hardwood 30+ Point Games CCSU sophomore guard Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Ontario/Eastern Commerce) has 1 Derek Coleman (RMU) quietly put together one of the top campaigns - statistically speaking - in the NEC. Blackwood currently ranks in the NEC top-seven in seven different categories, including second in free throw percentage 20+ Point Games (.895), assists (4.6 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96:1), fifth in three-pointers (2.6/game), 7 Jarrid Frye (SHU) sixth in 3PFG% (.419), and seventh in scoring (14.6 ppg) and steals (1.4 spg). 6 Justin Chiera (CCSU) 5 Kibwe Trim (SHU) Scoring Turnover 4 Rahsaan Benton (SFPA), A.J. Jackson (RMU), James Williams (LIU) Of the top-10 scorers in the NEC thus far in 2005-06, only two - Long Island senior guard James 3 Tristan Blackwood (CCSU), Derek Coleman (RMU), Landy Thompson (MSM), John Winchester (QU) Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) and Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (Ger- 2 Christian Brown (SFNY), Deki Delic (MU), Jason Hickenbottom (CCSU), Mark Porter (WC), mantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) - finished in the top-10 a year ago. Durell Vinson (WC) 1 Victor Akinyanju (QU), Marcus Alston (MU), Tyler Azzarelli (MU), Craig Benson (QU), John Standing Tall On The Glass Bunch (MU), Jeremy Chappell (RMU), Charles Cook (MSM), Andrea Crosariol (FDU), Corey Hallett While rebounding is an area often dominated by the big man, the NEC features a host of players 6-4 (MU), Andre Harris (FDU), Gordon Klaiber (FDU), Tony Lee (RMU), Javier Mojica (CCSU), Joey and under who rank among the top glass sweepers in the conference. CCSU junior forward Obie Mundweiler (WC), Allan Sheppard (SFNY), Jamal Smith (WC), Grant Surprenant (SFPA), Chad Tim- Nwadike (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony’s), who measures 6-4, leads the Blue Devils and is berlake (FDU) currently second in the NEC with 10.4 rebounds per contest. He ranks third among active NEC players with 495 boards over the course of his career. Sacred Heart’s Jarrid Frye (Maspeth, NY/ NEC Announces 25th Anniversary Men’s Basketball Team Martin Luther) is a 6-4 guard who hits the boards with tenacity. He paces the Pioneers and stands As part of its year long Silver Anniversary celebration, the Northeast Conference 25th Anniversary seventh in the league with 6.9 rpg. Mount St. Mary’s junior guard Mychal Kearse (Charlotte, NC/ Men’s Basketball Team was announced on Thursday. The ten-member team was voted on by a blue Providence Day) has topped the Mount in rebounding the last two seasons and currently ranks ribbon panel consisting of current and former NEC coaches, administrators and media members. fifth on the circuit with 7.2 per game. At 6-4, Kearse has upped his career total to 453, fourth on the Long Island and St. Francis (PA) had two players selected to the team, with one honoree apiece from NEC’s active list. Long Island junior guard Aubin Scott (Hempstead, NY/Hempstead) leads the Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, Wagner and former NEC members Loyola Blackbirds and is the ninth-best glass sweeper in the league with 6.7 rpg despite measuring just 6-2. (MD) and Marist. The NEC’s 25th Anniversary Men’s Basketball Team, in alphabetical order, is as The smallest of the bunch is Robert Morris sophomore Tony Lee (Dorchester, MA/Charles- follows: town), a 6-0 guard who led all NEC freshman in rebounding a year ago and is ninth in the conference Player School Years Hometown with 6.8 rpg in 2005-06. Other top-20 rebounders whose prowess on the boards belies their actual Joe Anderson St. Francis (PA) 1987-91 Alexandria, VA size include CCSU junior guard Javier Mojica (Auburn, MA/Auburn) (6-3; 5.1 rpg), Mon- Terrance Bailey Wagner 1983-87 Trenton, NJ mouth junior forward Marques Alston (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (6-4; 5.5 rpg) and Robert Alex Blackwell Monmouth 1989-92 Toms River, NJ Morris freshman guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) (6-3, 5.0 rpg). Corsley Edwards CCSU 1998-02 Baltimore, MD Mike Iuzzolino St. Francis (PA) 1989-91 Altoona, PA Hawk Heave Shocks Red Flash Charles Jones Long Island 1996-98 Brooklyn, NY Monmouth freshman guard Mike Shipman (Middletown, DE/Middletown), who checked Mike Morrison Loyola (MD) 1985-89 Takoma Park, MD in for a disqualified Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) with 4.9 seconds remaining, Carey Scurry Long Island 1982-85 Brooklyn, NY connected on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to lift Monmouth to a 55-53 win over St. Francis (PA) on Rik Smits Marist 1984-88 Eindhoven, Holland January 7th in West Long Branch. With 4.9 seconds showing on the clock, St. Francis (PA) freshman Desi Wilson Fairleigh Dickinson 1988-91 Glen Cove, NY guard Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL/Palatine) missed the front end of a one-and-one and Monmouth senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Lake, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) Record Setting Non-Conference Season For Wagner secured the defensive carom and fed Shipman along the right wing. Monmouth, on a night in which With a 67-54 win over Stony Brook on December 30, Wagner finished the regular season with a 7- it celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its 1996 NCAA Tournament Team that featured its own miracle 2 mark in non-league play. Excluding possible postseason competition, Wagner’s .778 winning per- shot - a Mustafa Barksdale four-point play in the waning seconds gave the Hawks a 57-56 win over Marist centage against out-of-conference opponents matches the best mark in league history. Marist also in the NEC semifinals - found some more magic as the freshman drained the 45-footer as time ran out. compiled a 7-2 record in non-conference outings back in 1995-96. Monmouth (1991-92) and St. Francis (PA) (1990-91) hold the NEC record for non-league victories with nine apiece. Wagner’s Wagner Takes #12 UCLA To Wire In Two-Point Loss seven wins outside the conference also equals the most ever for the Seahawks in 29 years of the After traveling 3,000 miles and finding itself trailing by just two points with 14 seconds remaining on Division I era. The Seahawks previously went 7-4 during the 1991-92 and 1986-87 seasons. the clock at #12 UCLA, Wagner head coach Mike Deane’s plan was to go for the win. A play designed to go to sharpshooter Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmunds) for a potential game-winning 25 Best Non-Conference Records In NEC History three-pointer went array when the Bruins swarmed point guard DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, Wagner 7-2 2005-06 NC/Cary) as he brought the ball up the court and the upset-minded Seahawks were unable to get a Marist 7-2 1995-96 shot off in time, resulting in a 74-72 setback on December 21. Monmouth 9-3 1991-92 Monmouth 8-3 1990-91 “To be in position to win this game, that's a good statement,” said Deane after the game. “We were equal Long Island 8-3 1986-87 with UCLA tonight. For us as a program to compete at UCLA, it's a testament of how far our team has CCSU 7-3 1999-00 Won NEC Title come as a program.” St. Francis (PA) 7-3 1997-98 “I'm glad we got that win,” said UCLA head coach Ben Howland. “That's a tough, hard-nosed team that Quinnipiac 6-3 2002-03 came in determined to beat us on our home court. We were fortunate to come away with a victory.” CCSU 6-3 1998-99 Robert Morris 8-4 1989-90 Won NEC Title Sophomore guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/St. Augustine’s Prep) led the Seahawks Fairleigh Dickinson 8-4 1987-88 Won NEC Title with 19 points - including 3-3 from beyond the arc - and five assists. Four Wagner players scored in St. Francis (PA) 9-5 1990-91 Won NEC Title double figures as the Seahawks shot 53.8 percent from the floor and hit a scorching 10-16 from three- Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1997-98 Won NEC Title point range, a 62.5 percent success rate. St. Francis (PA) 7-4 1991-92 Wagner 7-4 1991-92 One For The Ages: CCSU & La Salle Take It To 4 OT Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1989-90 In what is believed to be longest game in the history of both programs, LaSalle hit a pair of free-throws Marist 7-4 1989-90 with no time remaining in the fourth overtime to give the Explorers a 107-106 victory over Central St. Francis (PA) 7-4 1989-90 Connecticut State in New Britain on December 18. The Blue Devils had a shot to win the game at the Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1986-87 end of regulation play and in each of the first three overtimes, but each attempt came up short and Wagner 7-4 1986-87 would force an additional overtime. Trailing by one with five seconds remaining in the fourth extra Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1985-86 session, LaSalle got the ball to Darnell Harris, who was then fouled on a three-point attempt as time Siena 7-4 1983-84 expired. After reviewing the replay, the officials declared that time had expired with the foul and Harris Quinnipiac 6-4 1999-00 had three attempts to win the game. After missing the first free-throw, Harris hit the final two to give the Robert Morris 6-4 1986-87 Explorers the one-point victory. The game, which lasted just under three hours, saw a combined 213 Marist 6-4 1982-83 points, 156 shots, 94 rebounds and only 33 turnovers. It was the longest game involving an NEC team since Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Sacred Heart, 133-130, in four overtimes on December 1, 2001. Monmouth Holds Princeton To NCAA Record Low 21 Points In Lowest Scoring (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) is a two-time first team selection, while Long Game In Three-Point Era Island junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) and Sacred Heart junior forward In the lowest scoring Division I game since the introduction of the three-point line for the 1986-87 Joey Henley (Kent, WA/Kentride) were both picked to the second team in 2004-05. Joining season, Monmouth went on the road to defeat Princeton, 41-21, on December 14th to snap a six-game them on the preseason team were Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (German- losing streak. The previous record for fewest combined points since 1987 was 67, which happened town, MD/Archbishop Spalding) and Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Chad Timberlake twice. SMU beat Texas-Arlington, 36-31, on December 16, 1989, and Wisconsin-Green Bay defeated (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht). Northern Michigan, 46-21, on November 22, 1996. Princeton’s 21 points tied the NCAA record for the lowest team point total in the three-point era. Georgia Southern also finished with 21 in a 61-21 NEC Preseason Poll loss to Coastal Carolina on January 2, 1997. Likewise, it was the fewest points allowed to a Division With three returning starters, including preseason all-NEC picks Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, I opponent by Monmouth since the Hawks elevated to Division I in 1983-84. Monmouth limited MD/National Christian Academy) and Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht), Division III Medgar Evers to 17 points in a 75-17 win in 1988-89. For Princeton, it marked the defending tournament champion Fairleigh Dickinson has been chosen as the 2005-06 NEC men’s program’s lowest point total since a 44-21 loss to Penn in 1935-36. Monmouth held the Tigers to 22.0 basketball preseason favorite, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches taken prior to the percent shooting from the floor (9-41), including 10.0 percent (2-20) from three-point range and league’s 25th anniversary season. Looking to become the first league team since Rider in 1993 and induced 19 turnovers. Princeton was held scoreless for a 14:52 span in the second half as the Hawks 1994 to repeat as NEC champion, Fairleigh Dickinson earned nine of a possible ten first place votes stretched a five-point lead to 21 with 2:39 to play. from league head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team. Monmouth, last year’s NEC regular season champion, finished tied for second in the poll with Wagner, which reached the Ironman Azzarelli Goes Down 2005 NEC title game. The Seahawks received one first place vote, as did Long Island, which was picked Before sitting out Great Alaska Shootout games against South Carolina and Oral Roberts with a foot fourth. CCSU and St. Francis (NY) finished tied for fifth in the poll, followed by Quinnipiac, Mount St. injury, Monmouth senior guard Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant), who remains side- Mary’s, St. Francis (PA), Robert Morris and Sacred Heart. lined, was on pace to become the first player in the Dave Calloway era to play in every game at the school. Azzarelli had appeared in all 92 games and had strung together 90 consecutive starts. Azzarelli led the 1. Fairleigh Dickinson (9) 2. Monmouth Hawks in minutes played in both 2003-04 and 2004-05. Wagner (1) 4. Long Island (1) FDU’s Klaiber Scales NEC Recordbook 5. Central Connecticut St. A two-time first team all-NEC selection, Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Green- St. Francis (NY) belt, MD/National Christian Academy) will look to put a stamp on his career in 2005-06 as he 7. Quinnipiac attempts to lead the Knights to back-to-back conference championships. He entered the season as the 8. Mount St. Mary’s NEC’s leading active rebounder and second-leading scorer and currently has recorded 1,302 points 9. St. Francis (PA) and 589 boards in his career. He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 10. Robert Morris 500 rebounds and is on pace to become just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 11. Sacred Heart 500 rebounds and ninth player to hit 1,500 points and 750 rebounds. Monmouth’s Golden Era Of Hoops Enright’s Evolution Monmouth’s 91 wins over the last five seasons (2000-05) is not only the best in the NEC, but also a St. Francis (PA) junior center J.R. Enright (Burke, NE/Burke) could be one of the league’s most program-high for a five-year period. The previous best at the school was 87 victories from 1987-88 improved players this season. After averaging 3.6 ppg and 1.7 rpg a year ago after transferring from to 1991-92. The league record for a five-year stretch is held by Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 102- Nebraska, an assertive and more confident Enright has upped those numbers to 11.9 ppg and 7.3 47 from 1984-89. The Knights are the only NEC program in league history to average 20 wins over rpg after his first 11 outings of 2005-06. In a 63-52 loss to Bethune-Cookman on November 9, he a five-year span. exploded for 19 points and 17 rebounds, both career-highs in his first-ever double-double perfor- mance. Long Island To Debut New Athletic Facility; Construction Continues At Quinnipiac After spending 42 years playing in the Schwartz Athletic Center - formerly known as the world famous New York State of Mind Brooklyn Paramount Theater - Long Island moves into its new digs this winter. The $40 million, Eleven St. Francis (NY) players hail from one of the five boroughs and 13 of the 15 on the roster are 100,000 square-foot Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center is the largest building project in the from the New York Metro area. campus’ 78-year history, the centerpiece of which will be a 3,000-seat basketball arena. Long Island will debut the facility for the public in January. One of Nation’s Oldest Rivalries Renewed Long Island is not the only NEC school with a new athletic facility in the works. Quinnipiac broke When Mount St. Mary’s and Loyola (MD) tipped off on December 3rd in Emmitsburg, it marked the 160th ground on its new Athletic Center a year ago, and is slated to open the building in January, 2007. The meeting between the two schools. Despite a 76-71 setback to the Greyhounds, the Mount still holds a 93- new Athletic Center will consist of a 157,000 square foot facility containing a basketball arena and a 67 advantage in a series that dates back to 1909 and is the longest running Division I rivalry in the state hockey arena joined by a common lobby area for concession stands and ticket sales. of Maryland. One of the classic games between the two programs was a 99-93 overtime win for the Mountaineers in the championship game of the Mason-Dixon Conference Tournament on March 5, Crashing The Party 1955. That was former head coach Jim Phelan’s first of 49 seasons spent as head coach at the Mount. Below is a look at each of the 11 NEC school’s success rate in reaching the conference tournament over the last five years. Monmouth Finishes Fourth At Great Alaska Shootout Monmouth spent its Thanksgiving holiday in Anchorage, Alaska taking fourth place at the Great Alaska Qualified For NEC Tournament • Last Five Years (2001-05) Shootout from November 24-26. The first NEC team to compete in the Shootout, the Hawks opened All 5 Years: CCSU, Monmouth, St. Francis (NY), Wagner with an 80-68 win over a Southern Illinois team that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each 4 Years: Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner of the last four years, including a second round appearance in 2005, and is ranked #16 in the College 3 Years: Long Island, Robert Morris, St. Francis (PA) Insider Mid-Major poll. Senior guard Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) led Monmouth 2 Years: Quinnipiac and was named the Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and 1 Year: Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart (ineligible one year) three steals, but suffered a foot injury and missed the next two games. In the semifinals the following evening, the Hawks led South Carolina, 42-25, with 16 minutes left to play, but the Gamecocks fought Knights Rule Garden State their way back with an 18-2 run and pulled out a 62-56 win despite junior forward Dejan Delic’s Fairleigh Dickinson not only stood tall as NEC champion last season, but also carried the banner for (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) 17 points. Monmouth took on Oral the entire state of New Jersey. The Knights were the only one of the seven Division I teams (FDU, Roberts in the third place game , and despite trimming a 16-point second half deficit to five on a number Monmouth, Princeton, Rider, Rutgers, St. Peter’s and Seton Hall) in the Garden State to qualify for the of occasions, suffered a 64-56 setback. Junior forward Corey Hallett (Shelburne, Nova Scotia/ postseason in 2004-05. FDU also finished as the only 20-win team in the state. Shelburne (Central Michigan)) scored a career-high 20 points in the loss. Red Hot Red Flash Shooters That’s Why You Play The Game In 2004-05, St. Francis (PA) nearly became the first team in NEC history to lead the conference in all Sacred Heart’s 63-61 road win over Albany on November 21 may have seemed unlikely to anyone three team shooting categories. The Red Flash led the circuit in field goal percentage (.474) and three- who takes stock in preseason coaches polls. The Pioneers were picked to finish 11th in the NEC, while point field goal percentage (.388), and despite finishing 27th nationally in free throw percentage Albany was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the American East title. Sacred Heart, which led (.737), finished second behind Monmouth (.771) in the league. St. Francis (PA)’s 47.4 percent by 13 points midway through the second half and withstood at late charge by the Great Danes, was led success rate from the floor was the highest in the NEC since Monmouth hit 47.7 percent in 1996-97, by senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s), who established a new career- and the 38.8 percent mark from beyond the arc was the best in the conference since Robert Morris high with 29 points (10-17 FG, 9-11 FT). drained 39.2 percent, also in 1996-97.
Preseason All-NEC Team Three returning all-stars from a year ago landed a spot on the 2005-06 NEC Preseason All-Confer- ence team as voted by league head coaches. Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber The Comforts Of Home Over the last three seasons (2002-05), St. Francis (PA), Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth and St. Francis (NY) were the league’s most dominant programs on their respective home courts. St. Francis (PA) led the pack with a 30-7 mark (.811) since the start of the 2002-03 season. Fairleigh Dickinson, the defend- ing NEC champion, is right on St. Francis (PA)’s tail with a 33-8 (.805) record at the Rothman Center during the same time frame. St. Francis (NY) went 24-9 (.727) over the last three years, while Monmouth stood at 28-11 (.718), including a 15-game win streak that was snapped last December. St. Francis (PA) was also a league-best 21-3 (.875) at home the last two seasons, while Monmouth is 22-5 (.815) and Fairleigh Dickinson were 22-6 (.786). St. Francis (NY) has traditionally been the NEC’s toughest team at home, having amassed a 71-22 (.763) record at the Pope Center since 1997-98.
Long Island Wins NEC’s Most Improved Award Long Island was the big winner in the Most Improved sweepstakes a year ago, going from eight wins in 2003-04 to 14 wins in 2004-05. The Blackbirds’ six-game improvement was the biggest year-to- year jump for the program since a 12-game leap from nine victories in 1995-96 to 21 in 1996-97. Below are the greatest improvements in the NEC from one season to the next over the last five years: NEC Most Improved Teams From 2000-05 +13 CCSU 2001-02 14 wins to 27 wins +11 Fairleigh Dickinson 2002-03 4 wins to 15 wins +9 Monmouth 2000-01 12 wins to 21 wins +8 St. Francis (PA) 2002-03 6 wins to 14 wins +8 Mount St. Mary’s 2002-03 3 wins to 11 wins +8 Quinnipiac 2001-02 6 wins to 14 wins
Top Returning Scoring Duos The NEC will feature three schools with duos that combined to score at least 25.0 ppg last season. Topping the list is the FDU tandem of Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake. The duo, led by Klaiber’s 16.0 ppg, combined for 29.1 points per contest in 2004-05. School Player PPG Player PPG Total PPG FDU Gordon Klaiber 16.0 Chad Timberlake 13.1 29.1 MSM Landy Thompson 14.4 Charles Cook 12.2 26.6 LIU James Williams 16.3 Randy Jones 9.4 25.7
Mount’s Thompson Climbs NEC Scoring Chart With 1,321 career points in his first three seasons, Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thomp- son (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) is the NEC’s leading active scorer entering play in 2005-06. If Thompson were to average 16.7 points over the course of a 27-game regular season, he would vault from 62nd place on the NEC career chart all the way into the top-ten. As a junior, Thompson averaged 14.4 ppg to lead the Mount in scoring for a third consecutive season.
Consistency Lands St. Francis (NY) In NEC Recordbook St. Francis (NY) has finished at or above .500 in NEC play eight straight seasons, the longest active streak in the conference and tied with Fairleigh Dickinson (1981-89) and Marist (1982-90) for the longest stretch in league history. The Terriers finished 9-9 against conference competition in 2004- 05 and qualified for the NEC Tournament for the 15th consecutive season (second to FDU’s league record 18 from 1984-01).