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 9 • January 23, 2006) Last Week’s Results School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. Streak Home Away Neutral 1. Sacred Heart 6-2 .750 9-8 .529 W3 6-2 3-6 0-0 Wednesday, January 18 Monmouth 6-2 .750 9-10 .474 W1 3-4 5-4 1-2 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 70, LONG ISLAND 67 3. Central Conn. St. 5-2 .714 9-7 .562 W3 4-3 5-4 0-0 Thursday, January 19 Robert Morris 5-2 .714 9-7 .562 L2 7-0 2-7 0-0 CCSU 79, QUINNIPIAC 69 Mount St. Mary's 5-2 .714 7-11 .389 L1 2-4 4-5 1-2 MT. ST. MARY’S 64, MONMOUTH 54 6. Fairleigh Dickinson 4-2 .667 7-8 .467 W1 4-1 2-6 1-1 SACRED HEART 73, ROBERT MORRIS 60 7. Wagner 2-4 .333 9-6 .600 W1 6-2 3-4 0-0 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 68, WAGNER 61 8. St. Francis (NY) 2-5 .286 5-11 .312 L1 3-5 2-6 0-0 Friday, January 20 9. Long Island 1-4 .200 4-10 .286 L2 2-3 2-5 0-2 FDU 64, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 55 10. Quinnipiac 1-6 .143 6-10 .375 L3 4-3 1-6 1-1 11. St. Francis (PA) 1-7 .125 3-15 .167 L1 2-5 1-8 0-2 Saturday, January 21 SACRED HEART 65, ST. FRANCIS (PA) 54 Top eight teams qualify for NEC Tournament CENTRAL CONN. ST. 59, MT. ST. MARY’S 57 (OT) MONMOUTH 80, QUINNIPIAC 74 (2 OT) WAGNER 75, ROBERT MORRIS 69 Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week Home Team Underlined Kibwe Trim, Sacred Heart Sr., C, 6-10, 240 lbs., San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s Choice Hotels Choice Hotels Trim, the NEC’s leading scorer, helped vault Sacred Heart into a first place tie as the Pioneers extended their winning streak to three NEC Player of the Week NEC Rookie of the Week games with a 73-60 win over previously unbeaten Robert Morris on Thursday and a 65-54 triumph over St. Francis (PA) on Nov. 21 Justin Chiera, CCSU Nov. 21 Cameron Tyler, FDU Saturday. Trim averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shot a scintillating 76.5 percent from the field to earn the first Nov. 28 Durell Vinson, WC Nov. 28 Whitney Coleman, MU weekly honor of his career. He posted his eighth double-double of the season against the Colonials with 23 points (7-9 FG), 10 Dec. 5 Obie Nwadike, CCSU Dec. 5 Grant Surprenant, SFPA rebounds and a season-high three assists. The San Juan native also played outstanding defense, leading a group effort to limit Robert Dec. 12 Jarrid Frye, SHU Dec. 12 Jeremy Chappell, RMU Morris’ A.J. Jackson - who ranks first in the conference in rebounding and second in scoring - to 10 points and three boards. Two Dec. 19 Derek Coleman, RMU Dec. 19 Jeremy Chappell, RMU Jan. 3 Mark Porter, WC Jan. 3 Jeremy Chappell, RMU nights later, he played just 26 minutes due to foul trouble, but scored 13 of his 16 points after the break as the Pioneers pulled away Jan. 9 Tony Lee, RMU Jan. 9 Sam Atupem, MSM from the Red Flash in the closing minutes. Trim finished the evening with 16 points (6-8 FG) and four rebounds. The 6’ 10” center Jan. 16 A.J. Jackson, RMU Jan. 16 Whitney Coleman, MU upped his scoring average last week to 18.6 ppg and now paces the circuit in field goal percentage, hitting 60.9 percent of his shots Landy Thompson, MSM Jan. 23 Sam Atupem, MSM from the floor. Trim is also fourth in the NEC with 7.9 rpg and is shooting at a 70.7 percent clip in conference play. Jan. 23 Kibwe Trim, SHU Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week Sam Atupem, Mount St. Mary’s Fr., F, 6-7, 230 lbs., Newport News, VA/Woodside The winner of two of the last three Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week awards, Atupem averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2006 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament shot 70.6 percent from the field in the Mount’s 1-1 week. He helped spark Mount St. Mary’s to its fifth straight victory and fourth in a row on the road - the program’s longest streaks since the 1998-99 season and 1995-96 campaign, respectively - last Thursday, All games at home of higher seed. Teams will be scoring all eight of his points in the second half as the Mountaineers defeated Monmouth, 64-54. In that contest, Atupem was a perfect reseeded after quarterfinals. 4-4 from the floor and scored six points in a 6-0 run as the Mount extended a four-point lead to ten early in the second half. Two Thursday, March 2 days later, he tallied a career-high 16 points (8-13 FG) and added five boards in a 59-57 overtime setback to CCSU in Emmitsburg. Quarterfinals On the season, the Newport News, VA product is averaging 8.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and hitting a team-best 56.2 percent of his field Times TBA goal attempts. Sunday, March 5 Semifinals This Week’s Schedule 1:00 pm (CN8), 4:00 pm (MSG) Monday, January 23 Saturday, January 28 Saturday, February 4 LONG ISLAND at QUINNIPIAC* 7:00 pm QUINNIPIAC at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm FDU at WAGNER 2:00 pm Wednesday, March 8 SACRED HEART at FDU 7:00 pm MONMOUTH at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm LONG ISLAND at SACRED HEART 2:00 pm Championship ST. FRANCIS (NY) at WAGNER 7:30 pm MT. ST. MARY’S at CENTRAL CONN. ST. 7:00 pm ST. FRANCIS (NY) at QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm 7:30 pm (ESPN2) WAGNER at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm CENTRAL CONN. ST. at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm Tuesday, January 24 FDU at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm ST. FRANCIS (PA) at MT. ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm ST. FRANCIS (PA) at ROBERT MORRIS^ 7:30 pm Upcoming Games Monday, February 6 NEC Website Thursday, January 26 MONMOUTH at WAGNER 7:00 pm For all the latest news, scores, statistics and notes, visit FDU at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm Thursday, February 2 ROBERT MORRIS at FDU 7:00 pm the NEC website at www.northeastconference.org MT. ST. MARY’S at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm LONG ISLAND at FDU 7:00 pm SACRED HEART at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm ROBERT MORRIS at MT. ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm * Televised live on MSG Network WAGNER at CENTRAL CONN. ST. 7:00 pm SACRED HEART at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Standings and statistics are updated daily. ^ Televised live on Fox Sports-Pittsburgh MONMOUTH at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm ST. FRANCIS (NY) at CENTRAL CONN. ST. 7:00 pm 2005-06 NEC Men’s Basketball Schedule Schedule Subject To Change. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Central Connecticut State Fairleigh Dickinson Long Island (9-7, 5-2 NEC) (7-8, 4-2 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) L 67-70 J 19 QUINNIPIAC W 79-69 J 20 ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 64-55 J 23 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm J 21 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S W 59-57 (OT) 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 (9-11, 6-2 NEC) (7-11, 5-2 NEC) (6-10, 1-6 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 L 69-79 J 14 at QUINNIPIAC W 85-82 (OT) J 19 at MONMOUTH W 64-54 J 21 at MONMOUTH L 74-80 (2 OT) J 19 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 54--64 J 21 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 57-59 (OT) J 23 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm J 21 QUINNIPIAC W 80-74 (2 OT) 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) (9-7, 5-2 NEC) (9-8, 6-2 NEC) (5-11, 2-5 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 L 60-73 J 14 at WAGNER W 70-62 J 18 LONG ISLAND W 70-67 J 21 at WAGNER L 69-75 J 19 ROBERT MORRIS W 73-60 J 20 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 55-64 J 24 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:30 pm J 21 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 65-54 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) (9-6, 2-4 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) L 61-68 J 12 LONG ISLAND L 70-73 (OT) J 21 ROBERT MORRIS W 75-69 J 14 ST. FRANCIS (NY) L 56-65 J 23 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:30 pm J 19 at WAGNER W 68-61 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 CCSU’s Chiera Sets School Three-Pointer Mark, Moves To 8th In NEC History NEC Men’s Basketball Notes: A pair of NEC sharpshooters continue to work their way up the NEC all-time made three (through games of January 21) pointers chart. CCSU senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) drilled nine trifectas in two games last week to establish a new school record with 243 for his career. He The World Turned Upside Down passed former NEC Player of the Year (1999-00) Rick Mickens, who tallied 238. Chiera also With the NEC regular season approaching the halfway point, it seems vaulted two spots to eighth place on the NEC’s career list, passing Mount St. Mary’s senior likely that most, if not all, pundits missed the boat on projecting the guard Landy Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) and former conference race: St. Francis (PA) bomber John Hilvert. Thompson hit two shots from beyond the arc last week Projected Current NEC and stands tenth in league annals with 238. Team Finish* Place Record NEC Career Leaders - Three-Pointers Made Sacred Heart 11th 1st 6-2 1. Chris McGuthrie Mount St. Mary's 300 1993-96 Robert Morris 10th 3rd-tie 5-2 2. Angel Santana St. Francis (NY) 294 1996-00 Mount St. Mary’s 8th 3rd-tie 5-2 3. Dedrick Dye Wagner 270 1999-03 Long Island 4th 9th 1-4 4. Kevin Booth Mount St. Mary's 265 1989-93 Wagner 2nd-tie 7th 2-4 5. Dave Calloway Monmouth 260 1987-91 Fairleigh Dickinson 1st 6th 4-2 6. Rob Monroe Quinnipiac 253 2001-05 7. John Hilvert St. Francis (PA) 247 1987-91 * NEC preseason coaches poll 8. Justin Chiera CCSU 243 2002-06 9. Danny Basile Marist 239 1992-96 Since 1987-88, the lowest ranked team by NEC head coaches to win the league championships was Mon- 10. Landy Thompson Mt. St. Mary’s 238 2002-06 mouth, which was tabbed sixth in 2000-01. With respect to the regular season crown, St. Francis (NY) was picked sixth in 2003-04, but then went on to finish in a first place tie with Monmouth. Streak Busters Off to its best start in NEC play in ten years, Mount St. Mary’s has broken long road losing Conversely, for teams predicted to finish first in the conference by head coaches, the lowest-ever finish went streaks to three different teams this season. On January 7, the Mount earned a 60-43 victory to Quinnipiac, which placed 10th in 2003-04. at St. Francis (NY ), the first at the Pope Center since 1997, a span of nine years. The The bizarre nature of the 2005-06 regular season may have reached a peak last Thursday, as St. Francis (PA) Mountaineers also broke a nine-year losing streak at St. Francis (PA) with an 84-56 victory went on the road snap a 12-game losing streak and pick up its first NEC win of the season by defeating a Wagner on January 10. The Mount had lost eight straight in Loretto since 1997. With a 64-54 triumph team that had won nine of its previous ten games at home, 68-61. Mount St. Mary’s, which had lost 12 in a row at Monmouth last Thursday, Mount St. Mary’s picked up its first win at Boylan Gym in six years. on the road entering the new year, won its fourth straight away from home by upending defending regular The Mount had dropped four straight to the Hawks since 2000. The longest current road season champion Monmouth, 64-54. That same night, in a battle of the two teams projected to finish 10th losing streak for the program is at Robert Morris. Mt. St. Mary’s hasn’t won at the Sewall Center (Robert Morris) and 11th (Sacred Heart) in the league, the Pioneers knocked the Colonials from the ranks since Jan. 18, 1999, a span of seven years. of the unbeaten with a 73-60 victory in Fairfield. Is It Possible? Two days later, Monmouth needed two overtimes to stop Quinnipiac, 80-74, in West Long Branch, while In CCSU’s 59-57 overtime win at Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday, the Mount did not shoot a single Sacred Heart won its third straight game and fifth in its last six tries with a 65-54 win over visiting St. Francis free throw in regulation and finished just 2-3 for the game from the charity stripe. (PA). In a key battle between two surging teams, CCSU came away with an 59-57 overtime win at Mount St. Mary’s, and Wagner stopped a three-game slide with a 75-69 victory over Robert Morris in Staten Island. The Road Less Traveled At 5-4, Central Connecticut State and Monmouth are the only NEC teams with winning marks When the dust settled, Monmouth and Sacred Heart emerged tied for first with 6-2 marks, followed by a three- on the road. Likewise, Monmouth and Mount St. Mary’s are the lone conference members that way deadlock for third between CCSU, Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris, all with 5-2 conference ledgers. have posted a higher winning percentage away from home. As noted, the Hawks are 5-4 on Fairleigh Dickinson is just a half-game back of the pack in sixth place with a 4-2 record. the road, but just 3-4 at Boylan Gymnasium. The Mount has won four straight away from Knott Arena to move to 4-5 on the season, while winning just two of six games in Emmitsburg. Looking at the week ahead, Fairleigh Dickinson will enter a critical stretch as it attempts to regain its swagger after dropping five of its previous seven games. The Knights host red-hot Sacred Heart on Monday, then head NEC On The Air west for games at St. Francis (PA) on Thursday and Robert Morris on Saturday. Mount St. Mary’s will put its The NEC Television Network will air two games this coming week, beginning with Quinnipiac four-game road winning streak on the line with tilts at Quinnipiac on Thursday and CCSU on Saturday. After playing host to Long Island on Monday on MSG Network. Tipoff is at 7:00 pm. Dave Popkin a pair of road setbacks last week, Robert Morris returns home - where the Colonials are a perfect 7-0 this (play-by-play), Terry O’Connor (color) and Paul Dottino (sideline) will provide commen- season - to entertain FDU and Monmouth. tary. On Tuesday, western Pennsylvania rivals Robert Morris and St. Francis (PA) will meet at 7:30 pm in Moon Township. The game will air live on Fox Sports-Pittsburgh. Fox College Long Island To Debut New Athletic Facility Sports-Atlantic will also carry the broadcast live on digital cable systems with Popkin and After spending 42 years playing in the Schwartz Athletic Center - formerly known as the world famous Brook- O’Connor calling the action. The NEC will televise 25 men’s and women’s basketball games in lyn Paramount Theater - Long Island moves into its new digs this Thursday with a 7:00 pm tipoff against Sacred 2005-06 as part of an extensive regional network package. The league will reach the largest Heart. The $40 million, 100,000 square-foot Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center is the largest building coverage area in its history this year with multiple games slated to air on Madison Square project in the campus’ 78-year history, the centerpiece of which will be a 3,000-seat basketball arena. Garden Network, Fox Sports-New York, Fox Sports-Pittsburgh, CN8, Comcast SportsNet and Pioneer Push Fox College Sports. Sacred Heart has more than doubled its win total from a year ago, when the Pioneers finished 4-23 and fell Quotes of the Week to last place in the NEC. With a 9-8 mark heading into play this week, Sacred Heart needs four wins in its last Sacred Heart senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s), the NEC’s 10 conference games to establish a Division I school record for overall victories. The Pioneers concluded leading scorer, reflecting on his career: the 2003-04 season with a 12-15 mark. “ Two summers ago, I told myself that two years are going to fly, and I tried to come into Additionally, with a 65-54 victory over St. Francis (PA) on Saturday, Sacred Heart reached six conference wins last season positive,” he said. “It didn't translate into good things, but this summer, on the earliest date in its seven years in the NEC. In 2003-04, Sacred Heart claimed win #6 on February 7. That I think, even though I thought I worked pretty hard the summer before, this summer season, the Pioneers won a school-record eight NEC games. Finally, Sacred Heart has won a school Division I pushed myself even more.” I best six straight games at home and is 6-2 in the Pitt Center this season. “It was like, 'Hey, you've been at Sacred Heart for four years and you still haven't really LIU’s Williams Hits 1,000-Point Plateau; CCSU’s Chiera 13 Points Away proved to anybody that you're a good player.' People might say, 'Oh, he's got potential,' In last Wednesday’s 70-67 loss to St. Francis (NY), Long Island junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, but nobody said, 'That guy Trim, he's a good player.' It was all or nothing for me right TX/DeSoto) became the third player this season and 125th in NEC annals to reach the 1,000-point plateau now, leave it out on the court. Fortunately it's translated, not just for me but for all since the league began sponsoring basketball in 1981. The 26th player in school history to achieve the the guys, to play with a sense of urgency and win.” milestone, Williams finished the week with 1,001 points. Wagner head coach Mike Deane after Wagner broke a three-game losing streak on Satur- Mount St. Mary’s boasts the leading active scorer in the conference in senior guard Landy Thompson day by rallying in the second half for a 75-69 victory over Robert Morris: (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding), who has amassed 1,567 points, while FDU senior for- ward Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) is second with 1,312 points. “I said, 'We're a better team than we've been playing, and we're going to win tonight FDU senior guard Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) (1,099 points) and Sacred Heart no matter what,’” said Deane prior to the game. senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s) (1,069) also surpassed the 1,000-point Sacred Heart sophomore forward Brice Brooks (Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap), milestone this season. Other players with an opportunity to hit 1,000 this season include Central Connecticut State following the first place Pioneers’ 65-54 triumph over St. Francis (PA) on Saturday: senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) (987), St. Francis (PA) senior guard Rahsaan Benton (Cleveland Heights, OH/St. Ignatius) (956), Mount St. Mary’s senior forward Charles Cook “We feel we have something to prove as a team, being picked last in the preseason,” said (Upper Marlboro, MD/Bishop McNamara) (895), Monmouth senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Brooks. “We feel we have something to prove to every team, whether it's a last-place Lake, NJ/CBA) (869) and St. Francis (NY) senior guard Christian Brown (New York, NY/Rice) (825). team or a first-place team.” Central Connecticut State (9-7, 5-2 NEC) Last Week: CCSU 79, Quinnipiac 69; CCSU 59, Mt. St. Mary’s 57 (OT) This Week: vs. Wagner (Thursday); vs. Mount St. Mary’s (Saturday) CCSU has won three straight games for the first time this season after posting a 79-69 home win over Quinnipiac on Thursday and a 59-57 overtime triumph at Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday...The Blue Devils held the Mount without a free throw in regulation, and overcame only six second half field goals to earn their fifth road victory of the season...At 5-2, the Blue Devils are tied for the third spot in the NEC behind Monmouth and Sacred Heart, who are both 6-2 in NEC play...Senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) had a record-breaking week for the D22 Binhgamton W 72-68 Blue Devils. He averaged 21.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.5 apg and became the school’s career leader in three-point field goals after converting 9-22 for the week. Chiera eclipsed Rick Mickens’ D29 at Delaware L 73-79 mark of 238 in the win over the Mountaineers and enters play this week ranked eighth in NEC history with 243 trifectas...Chiera had 20 points, including four treys against Quinnipiac, then J7 at LONG ISLAND W 83-74 drained his first five shots from long range and scored a game-high 22 points in the overtime win over the Mount...Chiera has now matched his career-high with 66 three-point baskets this J9 at SACRED HEART L 71-74 season, and is chasing the single season school record of 79 held by Marc Rybczyk. Chiera is also 13 points shy of reaching the 1,000 point mark in his career...Senior guard Lenny Jefferson J12 MONMOUTH L 57-61 (Norwalk, CT/St. Thomas More), who averaged 15.5 ppg last week, has made nine of his last 16 three-point attempts. He scored a season-high 20 points vs. Quinnipiac and blocked J14 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 88-74 a three-point attempt with three seconds to play in overtime to preserve the victory against the Mount...CCSU has hit at least ten three pointers in five straight games. The Blue Devils now J19 QUINNIPIAC W 79-69 lead the NEC in 3PFG% at 38.9 percent and rank first in the conference with 9.3 3PFG/game in league play...Chiera paces the NEC with 4.1 triples per game and a 44.0 percent success rate J21 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S W 59-57 (OT) from outside the arc. On a national scale, he stood third nationally in made three pointers in the NCAA report released last Tuesday...Chiera is also third in the conference in scoring at 16.5 J26 WAGNER 7:00 pm ppg and has recorded a league-best eight 20+ point performances...Junior forward Obie Nwadike (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony’s) is the second-leading rebounder on the circuit J28 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm with 9.9 per game (14th nationally), and also ranks fourth in double-doubles with six and 10th in scoring at 13.6 ppg...CCSU sophomore guard Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Ontario/ F2 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm Eastern Commerce) ranks in the NEC top-seven in seven different categories, including first in free throw percentage (.905; 19th in nation), third in assists (4.6 apg) and assist-to-turnover F4 at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm ratio (1.78:1), fourth in three-pointers (2.5/game), sixth in 3PFG% (.398), and eighth in scoring (14.1 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg)...The Blue Devils return home for three straight games F10 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm starting with Wagner on Thursday and Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. Fairleigh Dickinson (7-8, 4-2 NEC) Last Week: FDU 64, St. Francis (NY) 55 This Week: vs. Sacred Heart (Monday); at St. Francis (PA) (Thursday); at Robert Morris (Saturday) The Knights returned home on Friday and found the Rothman Center to their liking with a 64-55 win over St. Francis (NY) in a game that aired on Fox Sports-NY...Senior guard Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) posted his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while junior center Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy/Long Island Lutheran) just missed one with 12 points and nine boards...FDU held St. Francis (NY) to 34.5 percent shooting from D17 Drexel L 49-54 the field, a season-low 10.0 percent (1-10) from three-point range and blocked ten shots...The Knights are 4-1 at home, but just 2-6 on the road...FDU began last season D22 at St. Peter’s L 77-82 with an identical 7-8 record, before winning 13 of its last 17 games and capturing the NEC Tournament...Senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National D28 at #10 Louisville L 66-89 Christian Academy) pushed his career totals to 1,312 points, 596 rebounds and 124 rejections. He is the leading active NEC rebounder and second on the scoring J5 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-64 J12 at QUINNIPIAC L 81-102 chart behind Mount’s Landy Thompson. He is also is the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks...Crosariol is the league’s J14 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. L 74-88 leading shot blocker with 2.5 per game. Through games of last Monday, he stood 21st nationally in the category. Crosariol is also fourth on the circuit in field goal J20 ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 64-55 percentage (.556) and tenth in rebounding (6.1 rpg)...Sophomore guard Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater) has drained 8-15 shots (.533) from three- J23 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm point range over the last four games...Freshman guard Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Cardozo (Notre Dame Prep (MA))) missed the game against St. Francis J26 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm with an injury suffered on January 14 at CCSU...The Knights have blocked 6.3 shots per contest to lead the conference and rank 15th nationally...Klaiber, who tops the J28 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm F2 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm Knights with 13.1 ppg, has been a disruption on defense, ranking second on the circuit in blocks (1.6/game) and third in steals (1.9/game)...FDU welcomes Sacred Heart F4 at WAGNER 2:00 pm on Monday, then heads west to take on St. Francis (PA) on Thursday and Robert Morris on Saturday. Sacred Heart is the only NEC school that holds an edge over the F6 ROBERT MORRIS 7:00 pm Knights in the head-to-head series (5-4). Long Island (4-10, 1-4 NEC) Last Week: St. Francis (NY) 70, Long Island 67 This Week: at Quinnipiac (Monday on MSG Network); vs. Sacred Heart (Thursday); vs. Wagner (Saturday) The Blackbirds lost for the sixth time in their last seven outings, dropping a 70-67 decision at Brooklyn rival St. Francis (NY) on Wednesday...In that contest, junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) became the 26th player in Long Island history to reach the 1,000-point plateau when he hit a three-pointer with 11:55 to play in the second half. Williams, who finished the game with 15 points and now has 1,001 in two-plus seasons, is the third NEC player this season and 125th in league at College of Charleston Classic annals to reach the milestone...Trailing by 23 points early in the second half, the Blackbirds utilized a 23-7 spurt to close to within 60-53 with 9:17 to play, then narrowed D29 vs. Rider L 59-63 the margin 66-65 with 2:28 on the clock after sophomore forward Kellen Allen (Mansfield, TX/Summit) scored eight straight points. Williams’ three-point attempt D30 vs. Longwood L 69-86 to tie the contest in the waning seconds was off the mark...Allen, who had missed eight straight games with a sprained left MCL, came off the bench to score a game-high J5 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 57-73 17 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor. He added five boards and two blocks...Junior forward Eugene Kotorobai (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Cheshire (CT) J7 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE L 74-83 Academy) just missed a double-double with 10 points and eight boards...The game against St. Francis (NY) pitted LIU head coach Jim Ferry against his former college J12 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 73-70 (OT) roommate at Keene State and first year Terrier head coach Brian Nash...Williams is ranked in several NEC categories: scoring (16.3 ppg/fourth), assists (3.1 apg/11th), J14 at ROBERT MORRIS L 66-70 J18 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) L 67-70 free throw percentage (.800/ninth), three-point percentage (.420/fourth) and made three-pointers (3.0/second)...Senior guard Aubin Scott (Hempstead, NY/ J23 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Hempstead) is second in the league in field goal percentage, shooting at a 58.6 percent clip, and ranks ninth in rebounding with 6.5 per game...Sophomore forward J26 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania/Roanoke (VA) Catholic) is 14th in the league in rebounding with 5.4 per game...Sophomore guard Randy Jones J28 WAGNER 4:00 pm (West Palm Beach, FL/Notre Dame Prep (MA)) is seventh in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57:1) and eighth in assists (3.4 apg)...The Blackbirds play F2 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm at Quinnipiac on Monday in an MSG-televised contest, then open their brand new Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center on Thursday when they host Sacred Heart on F4 at SACRED HEART 2:00 pm Thursday and Wagner on Saturday. Monmouth (9-10, 6-2 NEC)

Last Week: Mt. St. Mary’s 64, Monmouth 54; Monmouth 80, Quinnipiac 74 (2 OT) This Week: at Robert Morris (Thursday); at St. Francis (PA) (Saturday)

Monmouth split a pair of home games last week, but moved into a first place tie with Sacred Heart at 6-2 in league play. The Hawks came up short in a 64-54 loss to Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday, then bounced back with an 80-74 double overtime victory over Quinnipiac on Saturday...The double-overtime win marked the first time the Blue and White have had to play two extra stanzas since a 73-72 win at Fairleigh Dickinson in the 1997 NEC Tournament semifinals...Junior guard Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) came D31 Drexel L 49-53 off the bench to score 22 points, and added four rebounds, three assists and four steals vs. Quinnipiac. His 14-14 effort from the charity stripe set a Monmouth single-game record for most J3 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 66-59 free throw attempts without a miss. The prior record of 12-12 was established by Alex Blackwell in December of 1990 and equaled by William Lewis in January of the same season. The J5 ROBERT MORRIS L 75-87 14 made free throws also ranks fifth on Monmouth's single-game list. Blake Hamilton owns the school record with 18 against St. Francis (NY) in 2004...The team’s 50 free throw attempts J7 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 55-53 in the game also set a single-game Division I record for the Hawks, while the 35 makes and 51 attempts are 2005-06 NEC season-highs...Senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Lake, NJ/ J12 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. W 61-57 CBA) broke out of a recent slump by averaging 12.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. He scored a team-high 14 points against the Mount...Junior center John Bunch (Randallstown, MD/ J14 at QUINNIPIAC W 85-82 (OT) Randallstown) blocked five more shots last week to boost his season total to 35, tying him for ninth on the school’s single-season chart. The school record is 58...Senior guard Tyler Azzarelli J19 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 54-64 (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant), who hit for 18 points against the Bobcats, has upped his career assist mark to 266, five shy of seventh place on Monmouth’s all-time list...Dave Calloway earned J21 QUINNIPIAC W 80-74 (2 OT) his 91st regular season NEC win on Saturday. With his next league victory, Calloway would tie Jarrett Durham for eighth place on the league’s career chart. After passing Durham, Paul Lizzo J26 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm (95) would be the next retired coach for Calloway to pursue...Monmouth is just 3-4 at home this season...Monmouth has held seven of its last 11 opponents to under 40 percent shooting J28 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm from the field and leads the NEC by allowing just 63.7 ppg and 40.3 percent field goal shooting...Delic leads the team and is 13th in the conference with 13.0 ppg. He is also seventh with F4 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:00 pm 2.3 3PFG/game...Junior forward Marques Alston (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) is second on the squad with 11.4 ppg and paces the team with 5.4 rpg...Freshman guard Whitney Coleman F6 at WAGNER 7:00 pm (Salem, CT/East Lynne (St. Thomas More Prep)) is sixth on the circuit in field goal percentage at 52.2 percent...The Hawks play four of their next five away from Boylan Gymnasium, F11 at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm beginning with a Thursday matchup at Robert Morris and a Saturday tilt at St. Francis (PA). Mount St. Mary’s (7-11, 5-2 NEC) Last Week: Mt. St. Mary’s 64, Monmouth 54; CCSU 59, Mount St. Mary’s 57 (OT) This Week: at Quinnipiac (Thursday); at St. Francis (NY) (Saturday) The Mount extended its win streak to five with a 64-54 win at Monmouth on Thursday, but fell at home two nights later with a 59-57 overtime setback to CCSU...The five-game streak was the longest for Mount St. Mary’s since 1998-99...The Mount’s 5-2 start in NEC play is tied for the best in program history, matching the 1992-93, 1994-95 and 1995-96 teams...The Mountaineers are 4-0 on the road in NEC play, winning all four games by double digits. The Mount has won four straight road games for the first time since a six-game streak in 1995-96. It is also the D31 at Penn State L 53-65 first time since the 1968-69 season that Mount St. Mary’s has won four in a row on the road by double figures...The win at Monmouth was the Mount’s first at Boylan Gym in six years. Mount J3 Lafayette L 63-76 St. Mary’s had dropped four straight to the Hawks since a victory on January 8, 2000...Senior forward Kiel Butler (Temple Hills, MD/Laurinburg Institute (NC)) scored a season- J5 at LONG ISLAND W 73-57 high 17 points against the Hawks, hitting 6-10 from the floor and 5-6 from the line...Freshman guard Joey Butler (Ft. Washington, MD/Massanutten Academy (VA)) tallied eight J7 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 60-43 points, seven assists and four steals in the win...Freshman forward Sam Atupem (Newport News, VA/Woodside) averaged 12.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg to win Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of J10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 84-56 the Week honors for the second time in three weeks. He hit 12-17 shots (.706) from the field, including 4-4 in an eight-point effort against Monmouth on his 19th birthday. He added a career- J12 SACRED HEART W 78-69 best 16 points and five boards vs. CCSU...The Mount is now 0-2 in overtime this year and 1-8 in OT in Milan Brown’s coaching career...Against CCSU, the Mountaineers held the Blue Devils J19 at MONMOUTH W 64-54 to 31 points over the final 36:17 of the game after falling behind 28-17. CCSU was 8-8 from three-point range in the opening 8:43 and just 2-19 the rest of the way...Senior guard Landy J21 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. L 57-59 (OT) J26 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) is the leading active scorer in the league with 1,567 career points and his 238 career three-point field goals rank him tenth on the J28 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm NEC’s all-time list...Junior guard Mychal Kearse (Charlotte, NC/Providence Day) is fifth in the NEC with 7.0 rpg...Thompson is ninth in the league in scoring at 13.7 ppg and fifth with F2 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm 2.4 3PFG/game...Senior guard Chris Sumner (Silver Spring, MD/Gonzaga) has posted a 4.17:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in conference outings, best in the NEC...In league games, the Mount F4 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm has held opponents to league-lows in scoring defense (58.4 ppg), shooting percentage (.379) and three-point defense (.269). The Mountaineers also pace the NEC in scoring margin (+10.7 F10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm ppg) in seven conference tilts...The Mount ventures from Knott Arena this week with games at Quinnipiac on Thursday and St. Francis (NY) on Saturday.

Quinnipiac (6-10, 1-6 NEC) Last Week: CCSU 79, Quinnipiac 69; Monmouth 80, Quinnipiac 74 (2 OT) This Week: vs. Long Island (Monday on MSG Network); vs. Mt. St. Mary’s (Thursday); at St. Francis (NY) (Saturday) Quinnipiac fell to 1-6 in NEC play with a pair of road defeats last week. The Bobcats came up on the short end of a 79-69 decision at CCSU on Thursday, then lost to Monmouth, 80-74, in double overtime on Saturday. It marked the second time in a one-week span that Quinnipiac fell to Monmouth in overtime...Junior forward Chris Wehye (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay (Cecil CC)) averaged 14.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 1.5 spg last week. Wehye, who was a perfect 12-12 from the line in the two games, D30 at #2 Connecticut L 75-111 recorded 16 points and six boards vs. Monmouth...With the Bobcats trailing by one, sophomore center Karl Anderson (Chester, NY/Don Bosco Prep) had a J5 at WAGNER L 63-81 chance to win the game against the Hawks, but hit just one of two free throws with three seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. He finished the evening J7 Brown L 60-64 with 15 points and six rebounds. Anderson averaged 13.0 ppg for the week and converted 8-12 (.667) field goal attempts...Quinnipiac held Monmouth to a season- J12 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 102-81 J14 MONMOUTH L 82-85 (OT) low 32.2 percent shooting from the floor...The Bobcats shot 53.8 percent vs. the Blue Devils...Junior forward John Winchester (Stamford, CT/Milford Acad- J19 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. L 69-79 emy) led Quinnipiac with 14 points against CCSU...The Bobcats shot well from the line last week, hitting 33-40 (.825) from the charity stripe...Wehye is fifth in the J21 at MONMOUTH L 74-80 (2 OT) conference with 7.0 rpg...Junior guard Adam Gonzalez (Bronx, NY/Cecil CC) is seventh on the circuit with 3.6 apg...Quinnipiac ranks first in the league in scoring J23 LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm offense (75.9 ppg), free throw percentage (.743) and assists (15.6 apg)...Weyhe, Gonzalez and junior forward Victor Akinyanju (Ardmore, MD/Eleanor J26 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm Roosevelt (Cecil CC)) - all teammates the past two seasons at Cecil CC in Maryland - have combined to average 30.4 ppg and 16.9 rpg...Quinnipiac plays four of its J28 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm F2 SACRED HEART 7:00 pm next five games at the friendly confines of Burt Kahn Court, beginning with a MSG televised affair with Long Island on Monday. The Bobcats welcome Mount St. Mary’s F4 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 4:00 pm on Thursday, then visit St. Francis (NY) on Saturday. F10 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:00 pm Robert Morris (9-7, 3-2 NEC) Last Week: Sacred Heart 73, Robert Morris 60; Wagner 75, Robert Morris 69 This Week: vs. St. Francis (PA) (Tuesday on Fox-Pittsburgh); vs. Monmouth (Thursday); vs. FDU (Saturday) Robert Morris (5-2 NEC) dropped its first two league games of the season and had its season-high five game win streak snapped with a 73-60 defeat at Sacred Heart on Thursday and a 75- 69 setback at Wagner on Saturday...The five straight wins tied for the longest streak under fifth-year head coach Mark Schmidt. The Colonials also won five in a row during the 2004-05 campaign...Sophomore guard Tony Lee (Boston, MA/Charlestown) was the Colonials’ most consistent player on the road trip, averaging 19.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg while shooting 57.7 percent (15-26) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (5-10) from beyond the arc. Lee tallied team-high honors in scoring (17) and rebounds (eight) against the Pioneers before tying D29 Medaille W 109-36 for game-high honors in scoring with 21 points vs. Wagner... In four NEC road games, Lee is averaging 19.0 ppg and 8.3 rpg... Junior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, PA/Monessen) J2 WAGNER W 95-90 was held to 10 points and a season-low three rebounds against Sacred Heart, but rebounded to post his ninth double-double of the year with 21 points and 12 boards vs. Wagner...Junior guard J5 at MONMOUTH W 87-75 Derek Coleman (Dorchester, MA/Charlestown) continued to struggle for the Colonials, as he shot just 20.0 percent (4-20) from the field last week, including 16.7 percent (2-12) J12 ST. FRANCIS (NY) W 73-71 from beyond the arc. He is still fifth in the conference in three-point accuracy at an even 40 percent...Robert Morris received a solid contribution from sophomore forward Colson Sénat J14 LONG ISLAND W 70-66 (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) against the Pioneers, coming off the bench to supply 10 points and three rebounds in 18 minutes of action...Robert Morris’ up-and-down shooting J19 at SACRED HEART L 60-73 from beyond the three-point arc continued last week. After a three-game stretch in victories over Medaille, Wagner and Monmouth in which the Colonials shot 45.3 percent (34-75) from J21 at WAGNER L 69-75 long range, the next three outings saw Robert Morris hit on just 24.3 percent (17-70) of its tries from downtown, including a 6-28 (21.4 percent) showing against Sacred Heart. Robert J24 ST. FRANCIS (PA) 7:30 pm Morris had seemed to snap that three-point shooting funk at Wagner, converting on 9-15 attempts in the first half, including four trifectas from Jackson, but converted just 1-11 after the break J26 MONMOUTH 7:30 pm as the Colonials failed to hold a 17-point halftime advantage...On the season, Jackson is the only NEC player averaging a double-double with 17.1 ppg and 10.1 rpg. He leads the NEC in rebounding J28 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:30 pm (ninth nationally) and is second in scoring...Freshman guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) averaged 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 2.5 apg last week. He leads all NEC freshman F2 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm with 12.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.6 spg and 1.0 bpg...The Colonials are 4-0 in games decided by five points or less...Coleman is fourth in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74:1) and assists (4.6 apg), fifth in 3PFG% (.400), and sixth in 3PFG made (2.4/game) and free throw percentage (.819)...Lee leads the league with 2.3 spg and is eighth with 6.7 rpg and 12th with 3.1 apg...The Colonials F6 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm are first in the NEC with 8.3 3PFG/game...Robert Morris closes out the month of January with a three-game homestand beginning with a Fox Pittsburgh televised contest with in-state rival F10 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 7:30 pm St. Francis (PA) on Tuesday, before welcoming Monmouth on Thursday and FDU on Saturday. Sacred Heart (9-8, 6-2 NEC) Last Week: Sacred Heart 73, Robert Morris 60; Sacred Heart 65, St. Francis (PA) 54 This Week: at FDU (Monday); at Long Island (Thursday)

The Pioneers find themselves tied for first in the NEC after winning three straight and five of their last six games. Last week, Sacred Heart posted double digit home victories over Robert Morris (73-60) and St. Francis (PA) (65-54) ...The Pioneers have reached six conference wins on the earliest date in its seven years in the NEC. In 2003-04, Sacred Heart claimed win #6 on February 7. That season, the Pioneers won a school-record eight NEC games...The Pioneers have won a school Division I best six straight games at home, and are 6-2 in the Pitt Center this season...Saturday's game against St. Francis drew a school-record 1,808 fans...Sophomore guard Luke Granato (Rocky Hill, CT/Northwest Catholic) had a career-high 26 D18 at MONMOUTH L 64-73 points in the win over St. Francis (PA). In that game, he drilled a career-high seven three pointers on just ten attempts. The seven treys ties a Sacred Heart Division I mark set by Omar J2 at Miami (FL) L 57-63 Wellington against Columbia on December 2, 2003...Senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s), the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week, averaged 19.5 points, J7 WAGNER W 61-50 7.0 rebounds and shot 13-17 (.765) from the field and the free throw line. He notched his eighth double-double of the year against previously unbeaten Robert Morris with 23 points (7- J9 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. W 74-71 9 FG) and 10 rebounds. He added a season-high three assists, one block and one steal. Trim played just 26 minutes due to foul trouble vs. the Red Flash, but still finished with 16 points and J12 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 69-78 four rebounds...Sacred Heart has taken more free throws than its opponent in 13 of 17 games this season...The Pioneers have only been outrebounded three times in 2005-06 (Wagner, Boston J14 at WAGNER W 70-62 College and Yale)...Sacred Heart is a perfect 6-0 in games when it has a halftime lead...The Pioneers have played six doubleheaders with the women's team this season and are a perfect J19 ROBERT MORRIS W 73-60 6-0 in those games...Sacred Heart is just three wins away from tying the school Division I record of 12 wins established during the 2003-04 campaign...Senior walk-on guard Matt Looney J21 ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 65-54 (Maywood, NY/St. Joseph) recorded his first collegiate point with a free throw in the closing seconds against St. Francis...Trim increased his career totals to 1,069 points and 519 J23 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm rebounds...Junior guard Jarrid Frye (Maspeth, NY/Martin Luther) recorded his third double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Robert Morris...Over the last J26 at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm five games, the Pioneers are shooting 51.2 percent from the floor...Trim leads the NEC with 18.6 ppg and 60.9 percent shooting from the field, and is fourth in rebounding (7.9 rpg). He is F2 at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm hitting 70.7 percent of his field goal attempts in conference play...Frye is fifth in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg)...Junior guard Tavio Hobson (Seattle, WA/Seattle Prep) F4 LONG ISLAND 2:00 pm ranks second in the NEC in steals (2.3 spg) and assists (4.6 apg), and is sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.61:1)...Junior forward Joey Henley (Kent, WA/Kentride), a preseason all-NEC F9 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm selection, is out with an injury suffered during football season and has yet to play in 2005-06...Sacred Heart begins a three-game road swing at FDU on Monday, then competes at LIU on Thursday. St. Francis (NY) (5-11, 2-5 NEC) Last Week: St. Francis (NY) 70, Long Island 67; FDU 64, St. Francis (NY) 55 This Week: at Wagner (Monday); vs. Quinnipiac (Saturday) The Terriers won their second straight game on Wednesday with a 70-67 triumph over intraborough rival Long Island, then were stopped at Fairleigh Dickinson, 64- 55, on Friday in a game that aired on Fox Sports-NY...St. Francis (NY) raced out to a 50-30 lead at intermission against Long Island, but had to withstand a furious second half rally by the Blackbirds, who pulled to within one point with 2:28 to play. The 50 points marked the highest scoring half of the season for the Terriers, while the 20- D22 Hofstra L 57-73 point second stanza was their lowest second-half output in a game this year...Sophomore forward Allan Sheppard (New York, NY/A. Philip Randolph) D30 at Manhattan L 78-89 J3 MONMOUTH L 59-66 averaged 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and shot 14-25 (.560) from the field last week. He tallied a season-high 22 points (9-15 FG) in the win over the Blackbirds...The Terriers J7 MOUNT ST. MARY’S L 43-60 have used the same starting lineup for the last three games, the first time this season that they have gone this long without a change...Eleven different St. Francis players J12 at ROBERT MORRIS L 71-73 have started games this season and 11 are averaging at least 12 minutes per contest. Only senior guard Christian Brown (New York, NY/Rice) averages more J14 at ST. FRANCIS (PA) W 65-56 than 30 minutes per outing...After scoring only eight points and pulling down 25 rebounds in his first nine appearances of the season, sophomore forward James St. J18 LONG ISLAND W 70-67 Robert (Copiague, NY/Copiague) has tallied 45 points and 20 boards in the last four. He had 15 points and six rebounds in the setback to the Knights...Despite J20 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 55-64 leading the Terriers in rebounding in each of the last three contests, Brown failed to reach double figures in points in both games last week, the first time this season he J23 at WAGNER 7:30 pm J28 QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm was held below 10 in back-to-back outings...Brown leads the Terriers in scoring (12.6 ppg; 17th in NEC), rebounding (5.5 rpg; 12th in NEC), free throw percentage F2 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm (.754; 12th in NEC), steals (1.2 spg; 14th in NEC), three pointers (2.0/game; tenth in NEC) and three-point percentage (.390; seventh in NEC)...With 825 points, Brown F4 at QUINNIPIAC 4:00 pm has a chance to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career...Eleven St. Francis players hail from one of the five boroughs and 13 of the 15 on the roster are from the New F9 WAGNER 7:00 pm York Metro area...The Terriers make the short trip to Staten Island to take on Wagner on Monday, then return to the Pope Center for a Saturday matinee with Quinnipiac. St. Francis (PA) (3-15, 1-7 NEC) Last Week: St. Francis (PA) 68, Wagner 61; Sacred Heart 65, St. Francis (PA) 54 This Week: at Robert Morris (Tuesday on Fox-Pittsburgh); vs. FDU (Thursday); vs. Monmouth (Saturday) The Red Flash snapped a school-record 12-game losing streak and claimed their first conference win of the season with a 68-61 conquest of Wagner in Staten Island, then fell at Sacred Heart, 65-54...After trailing by six at intermission against the Seahawks, St. Francis (PA) utilized two second half runs to take control of the game. Freshman guard Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL/Palatine) scored eight straight points as the Red Flash climbed to within 38-36 with 16:30 to play, then St. Francis reeled off 13 consecutive points - seven by senior guard Garrett Farha (Concordia, KS/Concordia), including a pair of three pointers - to turn a five-point deficit into a 51-43 lead with 12:23 left on the clock. St. Francis shot 51.9 percent J2 American L 52-62 from the field in outscoring Wagner, 40-27, in the second half...The win snapped a six-game losing streak at the Spiro Sports Center, including four games against Wagner and two NEC J5 at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON L 64-73 Tournament setbacks...Senior guard Rahsaan Benton (Cleveland Heights, OH/St. Ignatius) scored 11 points against Sacred Heart to bring his career total to 956. He needs 44 J7 at MONMOUTH L 53-55 points to become the 37th 1,000-point scorer in school history...Benton was 2-2 from the foul line this week to bring his consecutive free throws made streak to 21. He has hit 36 of his last J10 MOUNT ST. MARY'S L 56-84 J12 LONG ISLAND L 70-73 (OT) 37 attempts from the line and is second in the conference and 18th nationally with a 90.0 percent success rate from the stripe...Freshman forward Steve Profeta (Carnegie, PA/ J14 ST. FRANCIS (NY) L 56-65 Chartiers) averaged 9.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg last week. He tallied a career-high 11 points and four rebounds, and played a pivotal role against Wagner when he put the game on ice with a J19 at WAGNER W 68-61 pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining. Profeta added eight points and three rebounds at Sacred Heart...Junior center J.R. Enright (Omaha, NE/Burke), who averages 11.9 J21 at SACRED HEART L 54-65 ppg and 7.3 rpg, has missed seven straight games with a broken foot...Senior forward Winston Robinson (Knoxville, TN/Bearden) sat out both games last week with a shoulder J24 at ROBERT MORRIS 7:30 pm injury...The injuries to Enright and Robinson left St. Francis with just seven eligible players on its roster...The Red Flash shot a season-best 10-11 (90.9%) from the foul line vs. Wagner...Farha J26 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm needs 12 assists for 300 in his career. He leads the NEC with 5.2 apg and a 2.54:1 assist-to-turnover ratio...Lawrence is third in the conference with 1.3 bpg...Surprenant is second among J28 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm NEC freshman with 9.4 ppg. He is eighth overall and first among freshman players with 2.1 3PFG/game...Benton is third in the league with 2.9 3PFG/game (28th in nation) and his 37.6 success F4 at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 7:00 pm rate from outside the arc stands ninth on the circuit. Benton is also seventh in scoring with 14.4 ppg...The Red Flash play at Robert Morris on Tuesday in a game that will be televised on Fox F10 QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm Sports-Pittsburgh and Fox Sports Atlantic. St. Francis will then entertain Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday and Monmouth on Saturday. Wagner (9-6, 2-4 NEC) Last Week: St. Francis (PA) 68, Wagner 61; Wagner 75, Robert Morris 69 This Week: vs. St. Francis (NY) (Monday); at CCSU (Thursday); at Long Island (Saturday) Wagner went 1-1 on the week, splitting a pair of games at home. St. Francis (PA) picked up a 68-61 win over the Seahawks on Thursday, but Wagner snapped a three- game losing streak by rallying for a 75-69 win over Robert Morris on Saturday...Wagner trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half against the Colonials, before shooting 63.0 percent (17-27) in the second half to help erase the deficit...Junior forward Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/St. Augustine’s Prep) amassed a career- D30 Stony Brook W 67-54 high 23 points and added 16 rebounds in the win over Robert Morris. He also added 20 points and 14 boards vs. the Red Flash. For the week, Vinson averaged 21.5 J2 at ROBERT MORRIS L 90-95 points, 15.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and shot 58.1 percent from the field...Vinson has recorded double-doubles in six of the past seven games and is third in the NEC with J5 QUINNIPIAC W 81-63 seven this season...Vinson is sixth in the NEC in scoring (15.2 ppg), third in rebounding (9.4 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.558) and blocks (1.3 bpg). In J7 at SACRED HEART L 50-61 league play, he is averaging 18.8 ppg and paces the conference with 12.2 rpg...Sophomore guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/St. Augustine’s Prep) had 15 J14 SACRED HEART L 62-70 second half points against the Colonials and 17 for the game. It was the sixth time this season he has scored in double figures in the second half. During the three-game J19 ST. FRANCIS (PA) L 61-68 losing skid Porter averaged just 5.3 ppg and shot 5-24 (.208) from the field...Wagner is 7-3 this season when Porter and Vinson score double figures in the same J21 ROBERT MORRIS W 75-69 game...Senior guard DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, NC/Cary) has dished out 21 assists, compared to just three turnovers the past three games. He is now second J23 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:30 pm in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.89:1. He improves that number to 2.92:1 against league competitors...Wagner has outrebounded six of its past seven opponents J26 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ST. 7:00 pm J28 at LONG ISLAND 4:00 pm and remains the league leader in rebound margin at +5.9 rpg...After ranking among national leaders in team three-point percentage for much of the season, Wagner has F4 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 2:00 pm shot just 21.1 percent (12-51) from beyond the arc in its last four games to drop its season figure to 37.8 percent...Porter is 14th in the league in scoring (12.9 ppg), F6 MONMOUTH 7:00 pm fourth in FT% (.865), sixth in assists (3.8 apg), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50:1) and 11th in blocks (0.7 bpg)...After winning nine in a row at home, the Seahawks F9 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 7:00 pm have now dropped two of their last three at the Spiro Sports Center...Wagner hosts St. Francis (NY) on Monday, then travels to CCSU on Thursday and Long Island 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 1/22) (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 190 +30 TBA Gonzaga (31) 7-2 Fairleigh Dickinson 250 +4 2. Creighton 7-0 Long Island 319 +3 3. East Tennessee State 7-2 Thursday, March 2 Sunday, March 5 Wednesday, March 8 Monmouth 214 -7 4. Wichita State 7-2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Mount St. Mary’s 244 +8 5. Southern Illinois 7-1 Times TBA 1:00 pm (CN8) 7:30 pm (ESPN2) Quinnipiac 284 +3 The Northeast Conference began a year-long 6. College of Charleston 6-1 4:00 pm (MSG) Robert Morris 191 -41 celebration of its 25th Anniversary in Septem- 7. Illinois-Chicago 9-2 Sacred Heart 149 +21 ber with the unveiling of its Silver Anniversary St. Francis (NY) 275 -14 logo8. and Utah the State announcement of promotions, 5-1 9. Murray State 8-1 St. Francis (PA) 322 +7 web-based activities and flashbacks through- 2006 NEC Tournament Men’s Championship Bracket Wagner 175 -36 out10. the Bradley 2005-06 campaign as the league 7-3 pays tribute to its history. March 2 March 5 March 8 NEC 27 Even 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 3-4 A.J. Jackson, RMU 9 Tournament TBA Kibwe Trim, SHU 8 Automatic Bid Fairleigh Dickinson 2-2 (#3 vs. #6) 2nd Highest Remaining Seed Long Island 3-3 Durell Vinson, WC 7 Monmouth 4-2 Obie Nwadike, CCSU 6 TBA Jarrid Frye, SHU 3 Mount St. Mary’s 1-3 TBA 3rd Highest Remaining Seed Kevin Jolley, QU 3 (#4 vs. #5) Quinnipiac 1-3 Chris Wehye, QU 3 Robert Morris 4-0 Victor Akinyanju, QU 2 Sacred Heart 3-3 J.R. Enright, SFPA 2 St. Francis (NY) 2-1 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 91-59 .607 119-116 .506 Big Sky 0-0 NAIA 0-0 Tom Green (FDU) 1984 234-152 .606 365-288 .559 Big South 3-0 Ohio Valley 0-0 Howie Dickenman (CCSU) 1997 93-62 .600 147-129 .532 Big Ten 0-4 Pac 10 0-1 Mark Schmidt (RMU) 2001 44-37 .543 59-72 .450 Big-12 0-0 Patriot 4-4 Mike Deane (WC) 2003 22-20 .524 378-259 .593 Big West 0-0 SEC 0-1 Bobby Jones (SFPA) 1999 52-68 .433 70-114 .380 Colonial 0-6 Southern 0-2 Southland 1-0 Milan Brown (MSM) 2003 18-25 .419 24-50 .324 Conference USA 0-1 Division II 4-0 SWAC 0-0 Joe DeSantis (QU) 1998 53-86 .381 98-167 .370 Division III 3-0 Sun Belt 0-2 Jim Ferry (LIU) 2002 22-37 .373 139-82 .629 Horizon 1-0 WCC 0-1 Dave Bike (SHU) 1999 38-82 .317 425-378 .529 Independent 0-1 WAC 0-0 Brian Nash (SFNY) 2005 2-5 .286 5-11 .313 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 Feb. 27 St. Francis (NY) at LIU FSN-NY 7:00 pm Corey Hallett Monmouth Jr Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada Mar. 5 Men’s Tournament semifinal CN8 1:00 pm Colson Senat Robert Morris So Montreal, Quebec, Canada Mar. 5 Men’s Tournament semifinal MSG, FCS-Atlantic 4:00 pm Esa Maki-Tulokas Long Island Jr Forrsa, Finland Sami Pekkola St. Francis (NY) So Lahti, Finland Carrier Region Andrea Crosariol FDU Jr Abano T., Italy MSG MSG Network Three states in NY metro area Deki Delic Monmouth Jr Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro FSN-New York Fox Sports Net-New York Three states in NY metro area Kibwe Trim Sacred Heart Sr San Juan, Trinindad FSN-Pittsburgh Fox Sports Net-Pittsburgh Western PA, portions of West Virginia FCS-Atlantic Fox College Sports-Atlantic Eastern U.S. Network on digital cable systems 13 players representing seven countries. CN8 CN8, The Comcast Network Eight states from Maine to Maryland 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 Announces 2006-07 Early Signees NEC Men’s Basketball The Northeast Conference has announced the men's basketball signees of its 11 NCAA Statistics member institutions. Twenty student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in November, including five at Mount St. Mary's, along with four at St. Francis (NY), three at Quinnipiac, two each at Monmouth, Sacred Heart NEC In NCAA Statistics and St. Francis (PA) and one apiece at Central Connecticut State and Wagner. (Top-30 - through games of January 16)

Central Connecticut State Ind. Category Rank Player School Statistics Jeremy Myers G 6-1 180 Fort Washington, MD/Bullis School Rebounds 9th A.J. Jackson RMU 10.5 rpg Fairleigh Dickinson 14th Obie Nwaike CCSU 10.4 rpg None Blocks 21st Andrea Crosariol FDU 2.5 bpg FG% 30th Kibwe Trim SHU .593 Long Island FT% 18th Rahsaan Benton SFPA .896 None 19th Tristan Blackwood CCSU .895 Monmouth 25th Drew Shubik SHU .884 Rickie Crews F 6-7 195 Deptford, NJ/Deptford 3PFG/Game 3rd Justin Chiera CCSU 4.1/game Adam Dobriansky C 6-10 225 Winnipeg, Manitoba/MBCI 28th Rahsaan Benton SFPA 3.1/game 29th James Williams LIU 3.0/game Mount St. Mary’s 3PFG% 26th Justin Chiera CCSU .445 Kelly Beidler F 6-6 Virginia Beach, VA/Tallwood Jean Cajou G 6-3 Fairfax, VA/Paul VI Team Category Rank School Statistics Jeremy Goode G 5-9 Charlotte, NC/Providence Day Will Holland G/F 6-4 Houston, TX/Lamar 3PFG% 23rd Wagner .400 Tayvon Jackson F/C 6-8 Indian Head, MD/Lackey 3PFG 30th Long Island 8.4/game Blocks 15th FDU 6.1 bpg Quinnipiac Casey Cosgrove G 5-8 Andover, MA/Andover Ind. Game Highs Rank Player School Statistics James Feldeine G 6-3 New York, NY/Cardinal Hayes FG% 20th Kibwe Trim SHU .833 (10-12) vs. CCSU (1/9/06) Etienne Labrecque G/F 6-5 Montreal, Quebec/Montmorency College 3PFG% 17th Justin Chiera CCSU .700 (7-10) vs. Harvard (12/3/05) Robert Morris 17th Derek Coleman RMU .700 (7-10) vs. Wagner (1/2/06) None 17th Landy Thompson MSM .700 (7-10) vs. St. Francis (PA) (1/10/06)

Sacred Heart Team Game Highs Rank School Statistics Chauncey Hardy G 6-0 Xavier/Middletown, CT FT% 22nd Quinnipiac .938 (15-16) vs. Rhode Island (12/22/05) Ryan Litke G 6-3 Windsor/Windsor, CT

St. Francis (NY) Stat Central David Burton G/F 6-6 Philadelphia, PA/Philadelphia Lutheran Below is a listing of NEC players who have turned in 20 and 30- point efforts thus far in 2005- Robert Hines F 6-4 Trenton, NJ/Arizona Western CC 06. Central Connecticut State senior guard Justin Chiera (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), who Rain Rickards G 6-5 Corona, NY/Florida Prep ranks third in the league in scoring with 16.5 ppg, has posted a league-high eight 20+ point Bass Yessoufou C 6-8 Ivory Coast/Palm Beach CC outings this season.

St. Francis (PA) 30+ Point Games Kurt Hoffman F 6-5 205 Johnstown, PA/Greater Johnstown 1 Derek Coleman (RMU) Chris McFarland G 6-0 180 Largo, MD/Riverdale Baptist 20+ Point Games Wagner 8 Justin Chiera (CCSU) TJ Czeski G 6-3 190 Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam 7 Jarrid Frye (SHU) 6 Kibwe Trim (SHU) Reunion For LIU’s Ferry, St. Francis (NY)’s Nash 5 A.J. Jackson (RMU) When St. Francis (NY) secured a 70-67 win over neighborhood rival Long Island last Wednesday, it served 4 Rahsaan Benton (SFPA), Durell Vinson (WC), James Williams (LIU) as a reunion of sorts for respective head coaches Jim Ferry (LIU) and Brian Nash (SFNY). Ferry and 3 Tristan Blackwood (CCSU), Derek Coleman (RMU), Deki Delic (MU), Landy Thompson (MSM), Nash grew up in neighboring towns in Long Island, then were college roommates at Keene State in New John Winchester (QU) Hampshire. After graduating in 1990, Ferry coached one season at his alma mater, while Nash finished up 2 Christian Brown (SFNY), Jason Hickenbottom (CCSU), Tony Lee (RMU), Mark Porter his studies in 1992. (WC), Allan Sheppard (SFNY), 1 Victor Akinyanju (QU), Marcus Alston (MU), Tyler Azzarelli (MU), Craig Benson (QU), FDU To Take Part In eBay BracketBuster John Bunch (MU), Jeremy Chappell (RMU), Charles Cook (MSM), Andrea Crosariol (FDU), Fairleigh Dickinson will become the first NEC team to compete in the eBay BracketBuster, when the Knights Garrett Farha (SFPA), Luke Granato (SHU), Corey Hallett (MU), Andre Harris (FDU), Lenny travel to an opponent to be determined on February 18. The actual BracketBuster pairings - featuring some Jefferson (CCSU), Gordon Klaiber (FDU), Javier Mojica (CCSU), Joey Mundweiler (WC), Jamal of the nation’s top mid-major programs - will be announced on January 30. FDU’s opponent will return a Smith (WC), Grant Surprenant (SFPA), Chad Timberlake (FDU) home game to the Knights during the 2006-07 campaign. Ball Hawks Mount’s Thompson Continues Chart Climb Utilizing its trademark matchup-zone, Monmouth perennially ranks among the league leaders After becoming the 44th player in NEC history to crack the 1,500-point plateau on January 7th against St. in scoring defense. In fact, Monmouth has led the NEC in the category in 12 of the last 17 years, Francis (NY), Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (Germantown, MD/Archbishop including the last three in a row and five out of the last six. In winning eight of their last 11 games, Spalding) has since raised his career point total to 1,567 points. Thompson, the league’s leading active the Hawks have yielded an average of 60.7 ppg to once again take over the league lead in scoring point producer, is now 37th on the NEC’s career scoring chart. defense at 63.7 ppg, and have held seven of these opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor in that span. On December 14, in the lowest scoring Division I game since the intro- RMU’s Jackson Shooting For Rare NEC Double duction of the three-point line for the 1986-87 season, Monmouth held Princeton to just 21 Robert Morris junior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, PA/Monessen), a transfer from East Tennes- points in a 41-21 victory. see State, has stood out as a dominant figure in the NEC this season and one of the reasons the Colonials are tied for third place in the conference at 5-2. The 6’ 6”, 230 lb. Jackson, who leads the conference with nine Hi-Five For Colonials double-doubles, is second in the league in scoring at 17.1 ppg and ranks first in rebounding with 10.1 per Five players from Robert Morris are averaging in double figures this season and rank among contest. If Jackson were to finish the year as the league leader in both categories, he would be the first to turn the the league top-25 in scoring. The last NEC teams to finish a season with five players scoring in trick since Long Island’s Joe Griffin, who tallied 25.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg en-route to NEC Player of the Year honors double digits were Quinnipiac and St. Francis (NY) back in 2001-02. in 1994-95. CCSU’s Dickenman Moving Up NEC Ladder Record Setting Non-Conference Season For Wagner Now in his tenth year at the helm of the Central Connecticut State men’s basketball program, Howie With a 67-54 win over Stony Brook on December 30, Wagner finished the regular season with a 7- Dickenman is just three wins shy of becoming the sixth coach in league history to reach 150 overall 2 mark in non-league play. Excluding possible postseason competition, Wagner’s .778 winning per- victories since the conference was formed in 1981. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tom Green is the all-time centage against out-of-conference opponents matches the best mark in league history. Marist also leader with 365 wins, nearly double the total of former St. Francis (NY) coach Ron Ganulin, who is compiled a 7-2 record in non-conference outings back in 1995-96. Monmouth (1991-92) and St. second with 187. Francis (PA) (1990-91) hold the NEC record for non-league victories with nine apiece. Wagner’s seven wins outside the conference also equals the most ever for the Seahawks in 29 years of the All-Time Wins (while coaching in NEC) Seasons Division I era. The Seahawks previously went 7-4 during the 1991-92 and 1986-87 seasons. 365 Tom Green (FDU) 23 187 Ron Ganulin (SFNY) 14 25 Best Non-Conference Records In NEC History 169 Paul Lizzo (LIU) 14 Wagner 7-2 2005-06 168 Wayne Szoke (MU) 11 Marist 7-2 1995-96 167 Jim Phelan (MSM) 14 Monmouth 9-3 1991-92 157 Jarrett Durham (RMU) 12 Monmouth 8-3 1990-91 147 Howie Dickenman (CCSU) 10 Long Island 8-3 1986-87 CCSU 7-3 1999-00 Won NEC Title IMDB Profile: CCSU Hoops St. Francis (PA) 7-3 1997-98 Over the last seven seasons, Central Connecticut State has had an affinity for the bright lights, specifically Quinnipiac 6-3 2002-03 when featured as part of the NEC’s Television Network package. Despite suffering a pair of televised CCSU 6-3 1998-99 losses to Monmouth last year, the Blue Devils have posted a 19-3 mark in league produced games Robert Morris 8-4 1989-90 Won NEC Title since the 1998-99 season, including an 88-74 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. From Fairleigh Dickinson 8-4 1987-88 Won NEC Title January, 1999 to February, 2003, CCSU won 12 straight televised games, excluding any locally pro- St. Francis (PA) 9-5 1990-91 Won NEC Title duced or national broadcasts. The Blue Devils’ average margin of victory over their last 22 televised Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1997-98 Won NEC Title outings: +9.5 ppg. St. Francis (PA) 7-4 1991-92 CCSU On NEC-TV (1998-06) Wagner 7-4 1991-92 CCSU 88, FDU 74 1/14/05 Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1989-90 Monmouth 54, CCSU 53 3/3/05 (NEC Tournament Quarterfinals) Marist 7-4 1989-90 CCSU 75, Quinnipiac 70 2/21/05 St. Francis (PA) 7-4 1989-90 CCSU 78, Sacred Heart 68 2/11/05 Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1986-87 Monmouth 70, CCSU 53 1/24/05 Wagner 7-4 1986-87 CCSU 86, Robert Morris 79 1/15/05 Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 1985-86 CCSU 95, Sacred Heart 83 2/21/04 Siena 7-4 1983-84 CCSU 84, Quinnipiac 58 2/16/04 Quinnipiac 6-4 1999-00 CCSU 80, Mount St. Mary’s 68 1/12/04 Robert Morris 6-4 1986-87 Quinnipiac 68, CCSU 66 2/24/03 Marist 6-4 1982-83 CCSU 80, Mount St. Mary’s 66 2/8/03 CCSU 58, St. Francis (NY) 54 3/2/02 (NEC Tournament Semifinals) CCSU’s Blackwood Raises Profile On Hardwood CCSU 63, Monmouth 62 (OT) 2/9/02 CCSU sophomore guard Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Ontario/Eastern Commerce) has CCSU 76, UMBC 58 1/19/02 quietly put together one of the top campaigns - statistically speaking - in the NEC. Blackwood currently CCSU 76, Sacred Heart 47 1/12/02 ranks in the NEC top-seven in seven different categories, including first in free throw percentage CCSU 79, Quinnipiac 68 2/11/01 (.905), third in assists (4.6 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.78:1), fourth in three-pointers (2.5/ CCSU 86, FDU 80 1/21/01 game), sixth in 3PFG% (.398), and eighth in scoring (14.1 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg). CCSU 65, UMBC 58 3/3/00 (NEC Tournament Quarterfinals) CCSU 88, FDU 84 (OT) 1/29/00 Scoring Turnover CCSU 88, Long Island 58 1/15/00 Of the top-10 scorers in the NEC thus far in 2005-06, only two - Long Island senior guard James CCSU 82, UMBC 72 2/28/99 (NEC Tournament Semifinals) Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) and Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (Ger- CCSU 81, Wagner 69 1/30/99 mantown, MD/Archbishop Spalding) - finished in the top-10 a year ago. Knights Reign Supreme Standing Tall On The Glass With Fairleigh Dickinson off to a 3-2 start in NEC play, it serves as a reminder of the success the While rebounding is an area often dominated by the big man, the NEC features a host of players 6-4 program has enjoyed against the remainder of the conference over the last 25 years. The Knights own and under who rank among the top glass sweepers in the conference. CCSU junior forward Obie the second-highest winning percentage against NEC competitors in league history, capturing 61.4 Nwadike (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony’s), who measures 6-4, leads the Blue Devils and is percent of their contests (255-160). Only Rider - a five-year member of the conference from 1992- currently second in the NEC with 9.9 rebounds per contest. He ranks third among active NEC players 97 - can boast of a better mark, winning at a 70.0 percent clip (63-27). FDU is ahead in the all-time with 505 boards over the course of his career. Sacred Heart’s Jarrid Frye (Maspeth, NY/Martin series against all but one team in the NEC (Sacred Heart, 4-5). The Knights maintain the advantage Luther) is a 6-4 guard who hits the boards with tenacity. He paces the Pioneers and stands fifth in against CCSU (13-8), Long Island (44-37), Monmouth (30-24), Mount St. Mary's (22-13), Quin- the league with 7.0 rpg. Mount St. Mary’s junior guard Mychal Kearse (Charlotte, NC/Provi- nipiac (13-5), Robert Morris (26-25), St. Francis (NY) (49-27), St. Francis (PA) (34-32) and dence Day) has topped the Mount in rebounding the last two seasons and currently ranks fifth on Wagner (45-35), though many of those series date back prior to the inception of the NEC in 1981. the circuit with 7.0 per game. At 6-4, Kearse has upped his career total to 463, fourth on the NEC’s active list. Long Island junior guard Aubin Scott (Hempstead, NY/Hempstead) leads the NEC Announces 25th Anniversary Men’s Basketball Team Blackbirds and is the ninth-best glass sweeper in the league with 6.5 rpg despite measuring just 6-2. As part of its year long Silver Anniversary celebration, the Northeast Conference 25th Anniversary The smallest of the bunch is Robert Morris sophomore Tony Lee (Dorchester, MA/Charles- Men’s Basketball Team was announced on Thursday. The ten-member team was voted on by a blue town), a 6-0 guard who led all NEC freshman in rebounding a year ago and is eighth in the conference ribbon panel consisting of current and former NEC coaches, administrators and media members. with 6.7 rpg in 2005-06. Other top-20 rebounders whose prowess on the boards belies their actual Long Island and St. Francis (PA) had two players selected to the team, with one honoree apiece from size include CCSU junior guard Javier Mojica (Auburn, MA/Auburn) (6-3; 4.8 rpg), Mon- Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, Wagner and former NEC members Loyola mouth junior forward Marques Alston (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (6-4; 5.4 rpg) and Robert (MD) and Marist. The NEC’s 25th Anniversary Men’s Basketball Team, in alphabetical order, is as Morris freshman guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) (6-3, 4.9 rpg). follows: Player School Years Hometown Hawk Heave Shocks Red Flash Joe Anderson St. Francis (PA) 1987-91 Alexandria, VA Monmouth freshman guard Mike Shipman (Middletown, DE/Middletown), who checked Terrance Bailey Wagner 1983-87 Trenton, NJ in for a disqualified Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) with 4.9 seconds remaining, Alex Blackwell Monmouth 1989-92 Toms River, NJ connected on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to lift Monmouth to a 55-53 win over St. Francis (PA) on Corsley Edwards CCSU 1998-02 Baltimore, MD January 7th in West Long Branch. With 4.9 seconds showing on the clock, St. Francis (PA) freshman Mike Iuzzolino St. Francis (PA) 1989-91 Altoona, PA guard Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL/Palatine) missed the front end of a one-and-one and Charles Jones Long Island 1996-98 Brooklyn, NY Monmouth senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Lake, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) Mike Morrison Loyola (MD) 1985-89 Takoma Park, MD secured the defensive carom and fed Shipman along the right wing. Monmouth, on a night in which Carey Scurry Long Island 1982-85 Brooklyn, NY it celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its 1996 NCAA Tournament Team that featured its own miracle Rik Smits Marist 1984-88 Eindhoven, Holland shot - a Mustafa Barksdale four-point play in the waning seconds gave the Hawks a 57-56 win over Marist Desi Wilson Fairleigh Dickinson 1988-91 Glen Cove, NY in the NEC semifinals - found some more magic as the freshman drained the 45-footer as time ran out. Wagner Takes #12 UCLA To Wire In Two-Point Loss One of Nation’s Oldest Rivalries Renewed After traveling 3,000 miles and finding itself trailing by just two points with 14 seconds remaining on When Mount St. Mary’s and Loyola (MD) tipped off on December 3rd in Emmitsburg, it marked the 160th the clock at #12 UCLA, Wagner head coach Mike Deane’s plan was to go for the win. A play designed meeting between the two schools. Despite a 76-71 setback to the Greyhounds, the Mount still holds a 93- to go to sharpshooter Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmunds) for a potential game-winning 67 advantage in a series that dates back to 1909 and is the longest running Division I rivalry in the state three-pointer went array when the Bruins swarmed point guard DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, of Maryland. One of the classic games between the two programs was a 99-93 overtime win for the NC/Cary) as he brought the ball up the court and the upset-minded Seahawks were unable to get a Mountaineers in the championship game of the Mason-Dixon Conference Tournament on March 5, shot off in time, resulting in a 74-72 setback on December 21. 1955. That was former head coach Jim Phelan’s first of 49 seasons spent as head coach at the Mount. “To be in position to win this game, that's a good statement,” said Deane after the game. “We were equal with UCLA tonight. For us as a program to compete at UCLA, it's a testament of how far our team has Monmouth Finishes Fourth At Great Alaska Shootout come as a program.” Monmouth spent its Thanksgiving holiday in Anchorage, Alaska taking fourth place at the Great Alaska Shootout from November 24-26. The first NEC team to compete in the Shootout, the Hawks opened “I'm glad we got that win,” said UCLA head coach Ben Howland. “That's a tough, hard-nosed team that with an 80-68 win over a Southern Illinois team that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each came in determined to beat us on our home court. We were fortunate to come away with a victory.” of the last four years, including a second round appearance in 2005, and is ranked #16 in the College Sophomore guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/St. Augustine’s Prep) led the Seahawks Insider Mid-Major poll. Senior guard Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) led Monmouth with 19 points - including 3-3 from beyond the arc - and five assists. Four Wagner players scored in and was named the Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and double figures as the Seahawks shot 53.8 percent from the floor and hit a scorching 10-16 from three- three steals, but suffered a foot injury and missed the next two games. In the semifinals the following point range, a 62.5 percent success rate. evening, the Hawks led South Carolina, 42-25, with 16 minutes left to play, but the Gamecocks fought their way back with an 18-2 run and pulled out a 62-56 win despite junior forward Dejan Delic’s One For The Ages: CCSU & La Salle Take It To 4 OT (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) 17 points. Monmouth took on Oral In what is believed to be longest game in the history of both programs, LaSalle hit a pair of free-throws Roberts in the third place game , and despite trimming a 16-point second half deficit to five on a number with no time remaining in the fourth overtime to give the Explorers a 107-106 victory over Central of occasions, suffered a 64-56 setback. Junior forward Corey Hallett (Shelburne, Nova Scotia/ Connecticut State in New Britain on December 18. The Blue Devils had a shot to win the game at the Shelburne (Central Michigan)) scored a career-high 20 points in the loss. end of regulation play and in each of the first three overtimes, but each attempt came up short and would force an additional overtime. Trailing by one with five seconds remaining in the fourth extra That’s Why You Play The Game session, LaSalle got the ball to Darnell Harris, who was then fouled on a three-point attempt as time Sacred Heart’s 63-61 road win over Albany on November 21 may have seemed unlikely to anyone expired. After reviewing the replay, the officials declared that time had expired with the foul and Harris who takes stock in preseason coaches polls. The Pioneers were picked to finish 11th in the NEC, while had three attempts to win the game. After missing the first free-throw, Harris hit the final two to give the Albany was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the American East title. Sacred Heart, which led Explorers the one-point victory. The game, which lasted just under three hours, saw a combined 213 by 13 points midway through the second half and withstood at late charge by the Great Danes, was led points, 156 shots, 94 rebounds and only 33 turnovers. It was the longest game involving an NEC team by senior center Kibwe Trim (San Juan, Trinidad/St. Mary’s), who established a new career- since Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Sacred Heart, 133-130, in four overtimes on December 1, 2001. high with 29 points (10-17 FG, 9-11 FT).

Monmouth Holds Princeton To NCAA Record Low 21 Points In Lowest Scoring Preseason All-NEC Team Game In Three-Point Era Three returning all-stars from a year ago landed a spot on the 2005-06 NEC Preseason All-Confer- In the lowest scoring Division I game since the introduction of the three-point line for the 1986-87 ence team as voted by league head coaches. Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber season, Monmouth went on the road to defeat Princeton, 41-21, on December 14th to snap a six-game (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) is a two-time first team selection, while Long losing streak. The previous record for fewest combined points since 1987 was 67, which happened Island junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, TX/DeSoto) and Sacred Heart junior forward twice. SMU beat Texas-Arlington, 36-31, on December 16, 1989, and Wisconsin-Green Bay defeated Joey Henley (Kent, WA/Kentride) were both picked to the second team in 2004-05. Joining Northern Michigan, 46-21, on November 22, 1996. Princeton’s 21 points tied the NCAA record for them on the preseason team were Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Landy Thompson (German- the lowest team point total in the three-point era. Georgia Southern also finished with 21 in a 61-21 town, MD/Archbishop Spalding) and Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Chad Timberlake loss to Coastal Carolina on January 2, 1997. Likewise, it was the fewest points allowed to a Division (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht). I opponent by Monmouth since the Hawks elevated to Division I in 1983-84. Monmouth limited Division III Medgar Evers to 17 points in a 75-17 win in 1988-89. For Princeton, it marked the NEC Preseason Poll program’s lowest point total since a 44-21 loss to Penn in 1935-36. Monmouth held the Tigers to 22.0 With three returning starters, including preseason all-NEC picks Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, percent shooting from the floor (9-41), including 10.0 percent (2-20) from three-point range and MD/National Christian Academy) and Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht), induced 19 turnovers. Princeton was held scoreless for a 14:52 span in the second half as the Hawks defending tournament champion Fairleigh Dickinson has been chosen as the 2005-06 NEC men’s stretched a five-point lead to 21 with 2:39 to play. basketball preseason favorite, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches taken prior to the league’s 25th anniversary season. Looking to become the first league team since Rider in 1993 and Ironman Azzarelli Goes Down 1994 to repeat as NEC champion, Fairleigh Dickinson earned nine of a possible ten first place votes Before sitting out Great Alaska Shootout games against South Carolina and Oral Roberts with a foot from league head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team. Monmouth, last year’s injury, Monmouth senior guard Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant), who remains side- NEC regular season champion, finished tied for second in the poll with Wagner, which reached the lined, was on pace to become the first player in the Dave Calloway era to play in every game at the school. 2005 NEC title game. The Seahawks received one first place vote, as did Long Island, which was picked Azzarelli had appeared in all 92 games and had strung together 90 consecutive starts. Azzarelli led the fourth. CCSU and St. Francis (NY) finished tied for fifth in the poll, followed by Quinnipiac, Mount St. Hawks in minutes played in both 2003-04 and 2004-05. Mary’s, St. Francis (PA), Robert Morris and Sacred Heart. 1. Fairleigh Dickinson (9) FDU’s Klaiber Scales NEC Recordbook 2. Monmouth A two-time first team all-NEC selection, Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Green- Wagner (1) belt, MD/National Christian Academy) will look to put a stamp on his career in 2005-06 as he 4. Long Island (1) attempts to lead the Knights to back-to-back conference championships. He entered the season as the 5. Central Connecticut St. NEC’s leading active rebounder and second-leading scorer and currently has recorded 1,312 points St. Francis (NY) and 596 boards in his career. He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 7. Quinnipiac 500 rebounds and is on pace to become just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 8. Mount St. Mary’s 500 rebounds and ninth player to hit 1,500 points and 750 rebounds. 9. St. Francis (PA) 10. Robert Morris Enright’s Evolution 11. Sacred Heart St. Francis (PA) junior center J.R. Enright (Burke, NE/Burke) could be one of the league’s most improved players this season. After averaging 3.6 ppg and 1.7 rpg a year ago after transferring from Monmouth’s Golden Era Of Hoops Nebraska, an assertive and more confident Enright has upped those numbers to 11.9 ppg and 7.3 Monmouth’s 91 wins over the last five seasons (2000-05) is not only the best in the NEC, but also a rpg after his first 11 outings of 2005-06. In a 63-52 loss to Bethune-Cookman on November 9, he program-high for a five-year period. The previous best at the school was 87 victories from 1987-88 exploded for 19 points and 17 rebounds, both career-highs in his first-ever double-double perfor- to 1991-92. The league record for a five-year stretch is held by Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 102- mance. 47 from 1984-89. The Knights are the only NEC program in league history to average 20 wins over a five-year span. New York State of Mind Eleven St. Francis (NY) players hail from one of the five boroughs and 13 of the 15 on the roster are Long Island To Debut New Athletic Facility; Construction Continues At Quinnipiac from the New York Metro area. After spending 42 years playing in the Schwartz Athletic Center - formerly known as the world famous Brooklyn Paramount Theater - Long Island moves into its new digs this winter. The $40 million, 100,000 square-foot Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center is the largest building project in the 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. Long Island is not the only NEC school with a new athletic facility in the works. Quinnipiac broke ground on its new Athletic Center a year ago, and is slated to open the building in January, 2007. The new Athletic Center will consist of a 157,000 square foot facility containing a basketball arena and a hockey arena joined by a common lobby area for concession stands and ticket sales.

Crashing The Party Below is a look at each of the 11 NEC school’s success rate in reaching the conference tournament over the last five years. Qualified For NEC Tournament • Last Five Years (2001-05) All 5 Years: CCSU, Monmouth, St. Francis (NY), Wagner 4 Years: Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner 3 Years: Long Island, Robert Morris, St. Francis (PA) 2 Years: Quinnipiac 1 Year: Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart (ineligible one year)

Knights Rule Garden State Fairleigh Dickinson not only stood tall as NEC champion last season, but also carried the banner for the entire state of New Jersey. The Knights were the only one of the seven Division I teams (FDU, Monmouth, Princeton, Rider, Rutgers, St. Peter’s and Seton Hall) in the Garden State to qualify for the postseason in 2004-05. FDU also finished as the only 20-win team in the state.

Red Hot Red Flash Shooters In 2004-05, St. Francis (PA) nearly became the first team in NEC history to lead the conference in all three team shooting categories. The Red Flash led the circuit in field goal percentage (.474) and three- point field goal percentage (.388), and despite finishing 27th nationally in free throw percentage (.737), finished second behind Monmouth (.771) in the league. St. Francis (PA)’s 47.4 percent success rate from the floor was the highest in the NEC since Monmouth hit 47.7 percent in 1996-97, and the 38.8 percent mark from beyond the arc was the best in the conference since Robert Morris drained 39.2 percent, also in 1996-97.

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).