New Hampshire Hopes Richmond Trip Leads to Success

RICHMOND, Va. – Although New Hampshire lost by a deceptive 13-point margin in the final of the Holiday on the Hardwood Classic to host VCU, the Wildcats come away in good shape. They finish non-conference play with a 6-6 mark, and the six wins are the most before January since they also had six in 1994-95. While in Richmond, there were some good things that they hope to take with them.

The Wildcats started off the final slowly, turning the ball over early and often. They had ten turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game, then gave it away just six times the rest of the way. With that, some offensive rebounding kept them somewhat in the game, although they never got closer than 13 points at any time in the second half. … Continue Reading

Win Over Wofford May Significantly Boost Cornell

RICHMOND, Va. – If Cornell’s season turns around and they contend in the Ivy League, as many projected before the season, Thursday night might prove to be something of a turning point. That’s not the case because their 86-80 win over Wofford broke an eight-game losing streak, or because they were white hot shooting the ball for a lot of the game. Of course, those certainly don’t hurt the cause.

The Big Red entered Thursday at 2-9, with six losses by five points or less. While each loss presents a teaching tool, at some point a team doesn’t need any more teaching tools like that. … Continue Reading

Richmond Trip Not Quite What Wofford Hoped For

RICHMOND, Va. – The end result undoubtedly isn’t what Wofford hoped for in coming to the Holiday on the Hardwood Classic. Losing to VCU, the host team, was one thing, but losing to a Cornell team that had lost seven straight and in the fashion they did left head coach Mike Young with a simple way of summing up what the two nights in Richmond told him.

“Not the way we wanted to go into league play, but that’s where we are,” said the veteran Wofford mentor after the 86-80 loss to the Big Red. “We have a good basketball team. We’ve got to get on the stick here.” … Continue Reading

Holiday on the Hardwood Classic – Semifinal Notes

RICHMOND, Va. – Wednesday night’s semifinal games in the Holiday on the Hardwood Classic are in the books. New Hampshire won the first game 68-66 over Cornell, and will take on host VCU in the title game after the Rams beat Wofford 75-66.

A few thoughts from Wednesday’s games:

• Cornell isn’t far away. The Big Red lost for the sixth time by five or fewer points, which means they’ve been right there. Cornell doesn’t have the star power of a year ago, but they do have veterans who have won like Chris Wroblewski (14 points, six assists), Errick Peck (game-high 19 points) and Adam Wire (team’s leading rebounder). But they’re all in different roles than before, an adjustment they haven’t quite made yet. … Continue Reading

Another Youth Movement For Saint Joseph’s

WORCESTER, Mass. – There’s a full-fledged youth movement at Saint Joseph’s for the second year in a row. If last season is any indication, as well as some of what the Hawks have gone through this season, one could be forgiven if they think it’s been a little taxing on the soul for the coaching staff. But despite the Hawks’ 4-8 record and a recent six-game losing streak that they ended on Tuesday night, that hasn’t quite been the case.

What was difficult for them was going a month without a win, as the Hawks last won on November 26 against Rutgers at the Palestra. At that time, the Hawks were 3-2 and had a three-game winning streak. Then a 12-point loss at Drexel started the six-game slide. While only one loss was at home and all six came against teams with postseason potential, that’s little consolation. … Continue Reading

Bucknell Comes Along in December

The Patriot League preseason poll was a close call, and understandably so. Just ten points separated first from fifth, with all five teams getting at least two first place votes. With last season’s champion, Lehigh, losing key seniors from that team, and plenty of teams bringing back several key players, the league looked wide open entering the season and the preseason poll reflected it. Bucknell was picked second, and right now the Bison look to be as good a pick to win as anyone. … Continue Reading

Bryant Ready to Pick Up Wins

One team that appears to have better days ahead as Christmas approaches is Bryant. Wins have been elusive for the Bulldogs, but that’s not entirely surprising considering who they have played and their inexperience. There is no denying the progress that has been made, not only since last season when they struggled mightily, but just in the last month.

“If you look a the production we’re getting out of our freshmen and sophomores, we’re a lot better,” head coach Tim O’Shea said.

In particular, the perimeter is driving this improvement. It was a given that Frankie Dobbs, who followed O’Shea over from Ohio and sat out last season as a transfer, would make an impact right away. He would give them some quickness at the point guard spot and be a difference-maker against a press. One could also figure that senior Cecil Gresham would provide an experienced scorer now that he’s healthy again. The pleasant developments have come from a couple of freshmen, and that’s not all. … Continue Reading

Boston College a Pleasant Surprise

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – No one expected Boston College to be where they are right now, save perhaps for the people in the locker room. But as Christmas approaches, the Eagles are 10-2, including at least one NCAA Tournament resume win, and look like they should be in the mix for a good ACC finish.

Who saw this coming?

Sure, the Eagles had a clunker early on against Yale, one that surely had folks thinking, “Same old Eagles, losing to someone they shouldn’t.” And they have had to hang on in some games. But they have won those games, some of which they might not have in past years. … Continue Reading

Boston University Gets Back on Track

BOSTON – Boston University’s 85-79 win over Saint Joseph’s is a result the Terriers had been seeking for a while. The last time they won a game was nearly a month earlier, when they knocked off Cornell during Thanksgiving weekend. And while head coach Pat Chambers has felt this team being close to where he wants them to be, they had not broken through in a while and there’s one area that he, like many coaches, emphasizes for improvement.

“I’ll start off by saying, obviously, we need to play better defense,” said the second-year head coach. “And we’ll get there. These guys are committed to playing defense.” … Continue Reading

Rams Ready to Get Better For Atlantic 10

SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island’s first game after final exams was certainly not picture-perfect. The Rams’ 64-52 win over New Hampshire wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t textbook, and it was aided by the opponent’s best player losing his head in the heat of the battle. But it’s a start towards what will be a key stretch in more ways than one.

A lot of the first half was vintage Runnin’ Ram basketball, as they forced 16 turnovers that they cashed in for 14 points, many coming from the press. Early on, UNH did a reasonably good job of breaking the press, and they handled the Ram halfcourt defense well even though it was very active. The Wildcats moved the ball well and got some penetration that gave them scoring chances. Once the Rams forced turnovers, the game changed and they opened up as much as a 16-point lead. … Continue Reading

First Win Still Elusive for Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – There’s no way to put a pretty face on it, no positive way to spin it. Holy Cross is in a bad state at the moment, with their 0-8 mark the worst start in program history. It was one thing to lose the first game or two, and perhaps even another couple of games, but things are at a different point now.

“It is frustrating. You can’t ignore zero wins,” senior point guard Andrew Beinert said. “We want to win, and that’s what our goal is.”

Holy Cross hasn’t been out-classed all season. The Crusaders have been in position to win games, although only a couple of them might qualify as heart-breaking losses. While last season’s team struggled to stop opposing teams, they were able to score. This season’s team has struggled offensively while also struggling on the defensive end often, although if there is a silver lining it appears that they are making strides there of late. Most of all, they have been their own worst enemy. … Continue Reading

Fairfield Starts Well Amid Personnel Challenges

WORCESTER, Mass. – This was the chance for someone like Fairfield to unseat Siena atop the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints aren’t dead, but they lost the core of their team to graduation and the guy who coached them, although an assistant on those teams is now running the program. Meanwhile, Fairfield has some things coming together that might make their selection by many as the preseason favorites in the conference look like a good one.

Fairfield’s 71-60 win at Holy Cross improves the Stags to 7-3 on the season. Included in that record is a 5-2 mark away from home, and during their current six-game winning streak four of the wins have come away from home. Less than 48 hours before the Stags beat Holy Cross, they went to Loudonville and took care of Siena in convincing fashion. … Continue Reading

UMass Enters Finals on Bad Note

AMHERST, Mass. – This isn’t how Derek Kellogg wanted to go into final exams, nor his team. The record isn’t bad, but how they got there is the issue.

UMass enters final exam week with a 7-3 mark. That’s not bad, especially considering they have been searching for a consistent complement or two to Anthony Gurley, who is having a stellar season. They also don’t have a true point guard on the roster, starting Gary Correia at the position. While Correia can shoot and isn’t a bad ball handler, he is at best a combo guard. A few injuries haven’t helped.

But just over a week earlier, the Minutemen were 7-0 as they headed to the Boston Garden, a building where they had never lost. They dropped a tough one to Boston College, then lost to Maine before getting pounded by Seton Hall 104-79 on Saturday night. While losing to the Eagles wasn’t so bad given their start, losing at home to Maine was another story. Losing to Seton Hall might not be so bad, but losing the way they did is. … Continue Reading

Could Seton Hall Be Rounding Into Form?

AMHERST, Mass. – 104 points, a record for an opponent in the building they played in. Seven players scoring in double figures. 73 percent shooting in the second half, 11-22 from three-point range in the game.

Does this sound like a team that doesn’t have their best scorer? It was Seton Hall, playing without Jeremy Hazell, who averaged 24 points per game in three games before a broken wrist put him on the shelf. Those were some of the Pirates’ numbers in their 104-79 thumping of UMass on Saturday night.

The Pirates struggled early on without Hazell, who was 11-17 from long range in the first three games. They went 1-3 in the first four games without him, scoring no more than 69 points; twice they scored below 60. There is plenty of offensive talent on the team, but Hazell was the one who it largely was built around. If Saturday night is any indication, they may be turning a corner, and in quite a fashion. … Continue Reading

Young Friars Learning and Winning

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It’s fair to say that the young Providence Friars are learning, despite some formidable obstacles placed in their path. They went 5-1 during a recent stretch of six games in less than two weeks, with the last game being a nice bounce-back from the only loss in that stretch. With that, they enter a break for final exams with a 10-2 mark that might not have been expected by many.

To be sure, the Friars haven’t exactly played a schedule full of world-beaters. Their strength of schedule is just barely in the top half entering this week, hence the 10-2 mark gets them an RPI just inside the top 60. But for a team with so little experience entering the season, the important things were to get better and ideally do that through wins, which is largely what has happened. The idea was for the team to build confidence by the time they reach the Big East at the end of the month. … Continue Reading

La Salle’s Giannini Not Surprised By His Team

BOSTON – John Giannini doesn’t know why people are surprised by his team playing well this year. There is a reason why casual fans might feel that way, but his point is well-taken. After his team’s 84-81 win at Boston University on Thursday night, he brought that up.

“It drives me crazy when people are surprised that we’re doing well, because we finished in the top half of our league when those kids were sophomores and juniors, and we just had the worst injuries in America,” Giannini said, referring to last year’s group of seniors. “We were missing 2,900 points.” … Continue Reading

Stony Brook May Turn a Corner With Close Win

WORCESTER, Mass. – It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Tuesday becomes a turning point for Stony Brook. The Seawolves have had to overcome their share of adversity, which lately has included some tough losses late in games. But on Tuesday, they came out on the winning end of a close game as they pulled out a 54-53 win at Holy Cross, another team that has had plenty of adversity early on as the Crusaders are now 0-7.

Stony Brook started out auspiciously after a season-opening loss at Connecticut, winning their next three games. Two came on the road at Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson, the former a nationally televised game that started at 6 a.m. as part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. But then they lost the aforementioned three straight, all by five points or less including an overtime loss to Lehigh, before pulling out Tuesday night’s win. … Continue Reading

A Look at Sunday of the Hoop Mountain Prep Classic

THOMPSON, Conn. – The place to be on Sunday was Marianapolis Prep for the last day of the Hoop Mountain Prep Classic. The event was spread out over four days, with full days of action on both Saturday and Sunday. While games ran late on Sunday, most were very competitive with the last game proving to be well worth the wait for those who stayed around.

Sunday Scoreboard

Newark (NJ) NIA Prep 76, North York (Ont.) Phase I Academy 52

New York (NY) Satellite Academy 66, Hamilton (Ont.) REDA 62

Worcester (MA) Academy 75, Saltsburg (PA) Kiski School 61

Putnam (CT) Science Academy 64, Winchendon (MA) School 63

Thompson (CT) Marianapolis Prep 75, North Bridgton (ME) Bridgton Academy 67

Salisbury (CT) School 62, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s School 51

Wilbraham (MA) Wilbraham & Monson Academy 73, Chestnut Hill (MA) Brimmer & May School 68

South Kent (CT) School 79, Groton (MA) Lawrence Academy 44

Ashburnham (MA) Cushing Academy 76, Saxtons River (VT) Vermont Academy 70 … Continue Reading

Huskies’ Start Looks A Little Familiar

BOSTON – It’s hard not to notice the similarities. While the players are different, Northeastern appears to be at a similar point now to a year ago.

Last year, the Huskies started out 2-7 with a number of close losses and against a tough schedule. This time around, through six games they are 2-4, having lost four straight after dropping Saturday’s CAA opener to Drexel by a score of 63-58. While they aren’t far from being 5-1, with three of the losses coming by two, five and five points, they’re also not far from being 0-6 since both wins were by a combined three points. … Continue Reading

Hoosiers Get a Learning Experience on the Road

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – This game was bound to be a learning experience, in more ways than one. Although the end result wasn’t what they hoped for, as Indiana dropped an 88-76 decision to Boston College, the Hoosiers certainly walked out of Conte Forum Wednesday night with something to learn from, something Tom Crean emphasized several times.

“We’ll learn from this,” the Indiana mentor said. “When do we learn? I don’t know. We may learn by the next game, it may take three weeks.” … Continue Reading