Saturday Notebook

Cusworth Ends Career With Milestone, Victory

by Phil Kasiecki

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Brian Cusworth’s career at Harvard ended the way he wanted it to – with a Crimson win. The only blemish is that he wasn’t on the court at the end to celebrate it.

The Crimson held off a late barrage of three-pointers by Brown for a 92-88 win. Cusworth fouled out with 1:34 left and the game seemingly in hand after scoring 19 points on 7-8 shooting, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots.

Harvard led throughout the game, but never really put away the Bears, who saw five players foul out. They led by 14 in the first half at one point, as the Bears couldn’t stop them and they consistently broke through the 1-3-1 halfcourt trap to get easy baskets. That changed in the second, when the Crimson committed eight of their 15 turnovers and the Bears cashed them in for 14 points.

“We weren’t getting as many misses, so we weren’t in transition as much,” Harvard head coach Frank Sullivan said. “We couldn’t go at them and flatten them in transition. We lost our comfort zone against it, basically.”

Around the midpoint of the second half, the Bears rallied to within four on two occasions, but the Crimson had answers and eventually pushed the lead back into double digits, leading 74-63 at one point. They still led by ten with 57 seconds left, but the Bears came back with five straight points in 19 seconds, then got within three on a three-pointer by freshman Colin Aldridge with 29 seconds left. Brad Unger helped finish the game off with three free throws in the closing seconds.

“It was good to see the guys in at the end of the game finish the game without him,” said Sullivan.

Jim Goffredo led Harvard with 20 points after reaching double figures just once in the previous four games. Evan Harris, one player who will have to step up with Cusworth having finished his eligibility, added 18 points.

Cusworth’s situation came as a result of an injury during his sophomore year and Harvard’s unique rule of having to finish the coursework in eight semesters or less. He was injured at the beginning of his sophomore year and withdrew after the first semester. After playing all of last season, he had one semester of eligibility left. The most practical thing to do was to play the first semester, which had 18 games on the schedule; the second semester has just ten. Additionally, in playing the first semester, he was able to practice with the team from the beginning, which he would not have been able to do otherwise.

Cusworth surpassed 1,000 career points the night before, finishing his career with 1,042. In the 18 games, he averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He shot 51.5 percent from the field, a number that took a drop starting in December after partially tearing a ligament in his right (shooting) middle finger, still playing with that right to the end.

The Crimson must play the bulk of the Ivy League schedule without their best player, and with a young team remaining. That would be a major adjustment for any team to make.

“We have to guard,” said Sullivan of what they have to do to win from here on. “Our defense is not where it has to be. We’re not getting enough steals, our field goal defense is not overall where it needs to be to win in our league. Globally, our team defense has to improve dramatically. Even if Brian was here, that would be the case.”

Sullivan is happy with Harris’ progress, and he’ll be needed more than ever. They’ll also need role players like Unger and Brian Darcy to step up in the frontcourt, which is hurt more by the absence of Kenyon Churchwell as he is suspected of having a heart condition. The departing big man, who received an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational earlier in the week, is confident in what the team has remaining.

“They pulled off a tough one without me. I think that’s a good sign for what’s to come,” said Cusworth, who is headed back to St. Louis to work out in the interim.

Other Notable Games

North Carolina 92, Arizona 64: Look at this as a sign of just how good the Tar Heels can potentially be. Not everyone can put up a 28-point blowout at Arizona, even though the Wildcats have now lost four of five.

Georgetown 82, Cincinnati 67: Roy Hibbert’s double-double (26 points, 11 rebounds) helps the Hoyas stay right in the mix near the top of the Big East as they have now won four straight.

Ohio State 66, Michigan State 64: The Buckeyes had to hold on for this one, as the Spartans made a gallant effort to come back after being down 20 at halftime. Drew Neitzel did everything he could, scoring 24 of his game-high 29 points (and out of the Spartans’ 41 points) in the second half.

Indiana 76, Michigan 61: The Hoosiers bounce back from the loss at Illinois with this home win.

Arkansas 63, Alabama 57: The Razorbacks sweep the season series and move into a tie atop the SEC West – with a 3-4 SEC mark.

Oregon 77, Washington State 74 (OT): The Ducks salvage one game out of their trip north. Aaron Brooks’ return clearly made a difference, as he led the way with 31 points.

Vanderbilt 85, Mississippi 79: The Commodores have now won four straight and are right there in the mix for second to Florida – their next opponent, on Wednesday in Gainesville – in the SEC East.

Southern Illinois 73, Illinois State 62: Jamaal Tatum’s 22 points helps the Salukis keep pace with Creighton in the race for the top of the Missouri Valley.

Providence 84, Connecticut 72: The Friars get their first road win of the season and bounce back from Tuesday’s home loss. Meanwhile, the Huskies have now lost four straight.

VCU 75, Drexel 68: VCU becomes the second team in CAA history to start the season with ten consecutive wins in conference play, as the 1985-86 Richmond team won their first 11. The Rams improve to 18-3 overall and 9-0 on the road.

Memphis 67, Southern Miss 64: This game was nearly a monumental upset, as the Tigers had to rally late after being down six with over six minutes to go.

Brigham Young 61, Air Force 52: The Cougars know how to win at home – this is their 27th straight home win. This win makes the Mountain West a little more interesting, as they are now a half game behind the Falcons and even in the loss column.

UNLV 76, New Mexico 72 (OT): Also right on the Falcons’ heels in the Mountain West are the Runnin’ Rebels, winners of four straight with two road games ahead.

Wichita State 66, Evansville 61: Two straight for the Shockers as they climb within one game of .500 in Missouri Valley play.

Drake 74, Northern Iowa 61: A game the Bulldogs needed to win as they start a three-game homestand that could help them get some momentum again.

Purdue 64, Illinois 47: The Illini continue to struggle ever since winning their first seven games of the season, as they are 8-8 since then and 3-5 in Big Ten play with another road loss.

Missouri 71, Texas Tech 58: The Tigers finally get their first Big 12 win after losing several close ones that could have gone either way.

Rutgers 74, Seton Hall 70 (2 OT): The New Jersey holy war has another classic, with the home team winning both games this season.

George Washington 82, Rhode Island 78: The Colonials take over the top of the Atlantic 10 with this road win behind 27 points from Maureece Rice.

Xavier 83, Dayton 67: The Musketeers are quietly right there in the Atlantic 10 race, getting a good win here.

Fordham 62, La Salle 54: The Rams have won four straight and are quietly a game back in the Atlantic 10 at 5-2, getting 20 points from Marcus Stout in this road win.

George Mason 59, James Madison 41: The Patriots bounce back from Wednesday’s home loss to VCU and have now won six of seven.

Wright State 59, Loyola (Ill.) 47: The Raiders stay right on Butler’s heels in the Horizon League, as they are a half game behind the Bulldogs.

Bucknell 74, Army 49: The Bison stay a game behind Holy Cross in the Patriot League.

Austin Peay 66, Samford 48: Quietly, the Governors have run off ten straight and are a game and a half up on Samford in the Ohio Valley.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 78, Texas-San Antonio 63: The Islanders have now won nine straight heading into a showdown with Stephen F. Austin, which is a half game behind them in the Southland West Division.

Holy Cross Remains Undefeated

Crusaders Undefeated at Halfway Point

by Phil Kasiecki

WORCESTER, Mass. – The best place to be for a sports fan in Massachusetts on Friday night was about 50 miles west of Boston. It wasn’t for a Celtics or Bruins game, the Patriots are done for the season, and the Red Sox don’t report to training camp for a few more weeks. That probably didn’t stop the majority of fans who called sports talk shows from talking about the Red Sox or Patriots, but that also doesn’t change the scene on a big hill in Worcester.

Friday night during the college basketball season is the time for smaller schools to shine. There were just seven Division I games across the country on this night, with two coming in the Ivy League, which plays on that night. The Metro Atlantic also has games that night, and the Patriot League often has a game or two as well. The only Patriot League game on this night involved league leader Holy Cross, which remained undefeated with a 64-53 win over Lehigh.

The atmosphere was live even 30 minutes before tip-off. The crowd was already quite full and could be heard almost as soon as you walked into the arena. The Hart Center was packed, with plenty of people standing to watch the game unfold, and there were plenty of times where it was hard to hear even the person next to you. In other words, the atmosphere was one that sums up what a great college basketball game is all about.

The nearly 3,500 people who gathered (the Hart Center seats 3,600) got to see a desirable result not only in the victory, but a big night for senior guard Torey Thomas. In the first half, Thomas surpassed 1,000 career points, and the crowd went wild with the announcement. But he wasn’t finished by a long shot.

Thomas went on to lead the Crusaders with 18 points, but he added eight assists, six rebounds and a school record-tying seven steals. He also helped shut down Lehigh’s talented guard duo of Jose Olivero (18 points on 5-14 shooting) and Marquis Hall (4-14), the latter the clear top freshman in the league. The Crusaders held the Mountain Hawks to 35.4 percent shooting on the night.

Thomas and classmate Keith Simmons (16 points, six rebounds) once again made many key plays for the Crusaders, but the inside play held its own as well. The Crusaders had 16 second chance points and a 28-18 edge in points in the paint. Tim Clifford still has moments that can make one shake their head, but he had nine rebounds in the game and several were at key junctures in the final minutes, when the Crusaders made enough plays to pull this game out.

“Our team all year has shown the ability to make plays at crucial times,” said head coach Ralph Willard.

Holy Cross forced 15 turnovers in the first half, but had their struggles at the offensive end and was up by just six at the half. It was similar in the second half (the Crusaders shot just under 37 percent from the field on the night), when the Mountain Hawks made several mini-runs to come back but never tied or led in the latter frame.

Not only did Simmons make key plays, he did something else that the box score won’t show easily. With 18:43 left, he picked up his third foul, something that might normally land a player on the bench for a few minutes. Simmons stayed out there and never picked up his fourth foul until over 12 minutes later.

With the win, Holy Cross is now 16-6 and 7-0 in the Patriot League, maintaining their lead over Bucknell, which hosts Army on Saturday. Being undefeated right now is better than it might sound considering there isn’t much distance in talent and experience between many teams in the league, something Willard has stressed. Indeed, the Crusaders have simply won games.

“To get through the first half of the league undefeated is great,” said Willard. “You can’t do any better than the start we had, so I’m pleased with it.”

Before their next game, which is against American on Wednesday, the Crusaders will learn their opponent in the Bracketbusters event. They will be playing on the road, and thus far have made a good case to potentially get a televised game.

Don’t Bury The Eagles Yet

Eagles Survive And Are Alive and Well

by Phil Kasiecki

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Don’t schedule the funeral for the 2006-07 Boston College basketball season just yet.

There’s no question the Eagles face a major challenge after the well-documented personnel losses that came to pass last week. That was visible in Saturday’s 74-54 loss at Clemson, although that loss can’t just be pinned on personnel – Clemson is a tough place for visiting teams to win even when the Tigers aren’t very good, and this Clemson team is good. On Tuesday night, the Eagles returned home and survived for an 85-82 win over Florida State in a game that had no shortage of drama and not just on Sean Marshall’s game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

For Marshall, it was a great case of redemption. He was saddled with foul trouble earlier in the game, then missed a free throw in the final minute.

“I got kind of down on myself, because I’m a senior, this is my last year, I shouldn’t be missing shots like that,” the senior guard said of the missed free throw.

This game might be what we can expect from the Eagles the rest of the way if they are to make the NCAA Tournament. That’s not to say that if they still had Sean Williams and Akida McLain, this game would have been a blowout, but make no mistake about it: this team has a different look and has to do different things to win the rest of the way.

“We cannot allow a team to shoot 50 percent against us and expect to win. We have to be better defensively,” said head coach Al Skinner, leading a theme echoed by one of his captains.

“We have to keep these guards out of the middle,” said senior forward Jared Dudley. “We have to overplay them and make them go to the baseline. Our defensive execution has to get a lot better.”

There were times in this game where the Eagles looked to be in trouble. They struggled to attack Florida State’s 1-3-1 zone often in the first half and at times in the second, as they had a number of possessions where the ball simply moved horizontally well behind the three-point line before they would rush a shot at the end. On some occasions they managed to get a basket, but on others they rushed a bad shot, which makes their nearly-53 percent mark from the field in this game rather remarkable.

Tyrese Rice (26 points, six assists and just one turnover) bailed them out time after time with some amazing shots in traffic as the shot clock was running down. With 1:21 left and three seconds on the shot clock, he put up a three-pointer that hit the back rim, went dead and dropped in. Then with 32 seconds left, he drove and double-clutched a runner from the free throw line to put them up 82-80.

“That’s what he does,” said Dudley of the sophomore guard. “It’s like me down low, that’s what I do.”

Florida State star Al Thornton had 22 points and eight rebounds, with several clutch baskets during the back-and-forth final minutes. He scored eight straight Seminole points, including two free throws that gave them the lead against after Rice’s clutch three-pointer. In the final minutes leading up to Marshall’s shot, he matched almost every score by the Eagles save for a Seminole turnover on one possession and a short fade-away that fell short with 18 seconds left.

Rice, along with Dudley and Marshall, combined for 71 of the team’s 85 points. In sharp contrast, their opponent had five players score in double figures. As good as those three are, and as much as they need Rice to play more like last night instead of in the erratic fashion he has at times this year, the Eagles really need other players to step up in the event that one of those three has an off-night or gets in foul trouble, as Marshall did as he sat for nearly nine minutes with four fouls.

“I think what happened is Tyrelle (Blair), Shamari (Spears) and Marquez (Haynes) are seeing that they have to do more in order for us to be successful,” said Skinner of the response to the dismissals.

Clearly, the Eagles will have to ride their top players. Skinner isn’t worried about fatigue because he played every minute he could in college and expects good players to be ready to do the same thing. The Eagles are talking like a team capable of still winning the ACC. A fan or casual observer might think they’re a little crazy, but these Eagles have silenced critics before and nothing that happens in the world of college basketball nowadays is truly shocking.

America East Notebook

America East Notebook

by Phil Kasiecki

Coaches Agree It’s Wide Open

Through Sunday’s games, just a game and a half separates the top four teams, and three more are just another game behind. In the past week, just three games were decided by double digits. That makes one thing clear: the conference can go just about any way.

“This league this year is going to be like this – every game can go either way,” Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff said after his team came back to beat UMBC 59-53 on Sunday. “For two foul shots, we would be 6-0 in the league, but a couple of the games we’ve won could have gone the other way as well.”

His sentiments were echoed by his opposite number that day, and other coaches have noted how close the teams are as well.

“I think that’s the type of game you’re going to see in our conference,” UMBC head coach Randy Monroe said. “They’re going to be grind-it-out type of games from the opening tip until the end of the game.”

It’s not just coachspeak – the standings and close games back it up. There is no clear favorite right now, especially with conference leader Vermont having suffered its only conference loss at home and the conference getting its share of road wins in non-conference play.

Teams End Difficult Stretch

Albany head coach Will Brown may have been the only one to publicly make light of it, but many America East teams have just finished up a stretch with a number of games in a short time. From here on out, it gets a little lighter for everyone.

Brown’s Great Danes played four games in seven days, losing only at Vermont in that stretch. Binghamton also had four games in that same stretch, three of which came on the road, and they went 1-3. Boston University had four games in eight days and won the last three. Hartford went 1-3 in a four-game stretch played in eight days, while Maine went 3-1 including a win at Vermont on Thursday. UMBC just finished playing seven games in 19 days, one which started with two road wins. New Hampshire went 3-2 in a stretch of five games in ten days.

At this point, each team has played at least six conference games.

Terriers Come Alive

Young Boston University had some struggles in non-conference play, although they also had games where they flashed their potential. A good example of the latter was their 74-46 thumping of St. Bonaventure in Olean, in addition to close losses to UMass and St. John’s in overtime.

Head coach Dennis Wolff felt the Terriers had played well for most of December and simply had little to show for it due to their schedule. Now, the Terriers have come alive, having won four of their last five, including Sunday’s 59-53 win over UMBC.

Sunday’s win is a little more significant because the Terriers came from being down ten points early in the second half, and they also did it without freshman Corey Lowe, who sprained his right ankle in practice a couple of days before the game. He was in a boot, but that’s a precautionary measure and his status is day-to-day. Lowe has been the team’s best offensive player, though Tyler Morris continues to emerge as a scoring threat and Omari Peterkin tallied his third double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds) of the season in Sunday’s win.

The Terriers’ young group has clearly improved as the season goes along at both ends of the floor. They still make the kind of mistakes young teams will make, and they are 0-4 in overtime games, but this group is rounding into form and won’t be an easy out. Wolff said he’d like the team to be more confident, and now that they have some wins to show for their efforts, that may follow.

Retrievers Win on the Road

UMBC has had its share of trouble winning on the road since joining America East, but that may be changing despite Sunday’s road loss to the Terriers. Five of their seven wins are on the road thus far, and they opened conference play with two road wins. While they haven’t protected their home court as well, it is a step in the right direction.

The Retrievers looked to be in good shape in the second half on Sunday. After dodging a bullet in the first half, when three post players were in foul trouble and the Terriers didn’t do a lot of damage inside at that point, the Retrievers made five of the first six shots in the second half to build a 10-point lead. From there on, the Terriers rallied to gradually close in, then take the lead for good. The Retrievers got a lot of baskets in the game off good ball movement, but that wasn’t there at the offensive end later on.

“When things didn’t go our way, I thought we had a tendency to put our heads down a little bit,” head coach Randy Monroe said. “Those are the kind of things that you have to fight through when you’re on the road.”

Monroe feels improving on the boards is one key going forward. They were out-rebounded by the Terriers, allowing 16 offensive rebounds including two back-breakers late in the game. For the season, they have been out-rebounded, though not dominated on the glass.

Other Notes

• Former Rookie of the Year Jon Iati came up big for Albany last week. The junior, who led the nation in minutes played as a freshman, had 20 points against Stony Brook and 16 against Hartford. The Great Danes are right behind Vermont for the top spot.
• Maine is coming alive after two wins last week, including one at Vermont. The Black Bears had a few tough losses early, but last week is further proof that they won’t go away quietly. Kevin Reed is starting to play very well of late; take away his 1-12 outing against Albany and he’s had two weeks of very good games.
• The hard-luck team of the conference has to be Binghamton, which is 1-4 in conference games decided by five points or less.
• New Hampshire has had its struggles this year, but give the Wildcats credit for running off three wins last week after the previous week included a heart-breaking loss to Vermont and a 53-29 blowout at Boston University. Senior guard Jermaine Anderson had a big week to lead the Wildcats, garnering co-Player of the Week honors.

Saturday Notebook

Friars Get Back on Track Against Scarlet Knights

by Phil Kasiecki

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Early on, Providence’s 78-63 win over Rutgers looked like it could get ugly, but not quite in the way it almost did.

Fresh off two road losses, the Friars looked like they could dominate early on, running out to a 12-2 lead with 10 points in the paint. The Scarlet Knights got within 14-11, but were never very close after the Friars scored the next 12 points. Even when the Scarlet Knights made mini-runs in the second half that got the lead down to single digits, you never really got the sense that Rutgers was that close to tying the game or taking the lead.

With 2:07 left, an alley-oop from Sharaud Curry to Geoff McDermott looked like the exclamation point, as the Friars went up by 12 on the play. But the next time down, it got ugly as Providence guard Weyinmi Efejuku got hammered by Rutgers forward Frank Russell and hit the floor hard. Russell was called for an intentional foul and Efejuku was done for the night. That brought out the boo birds, while Russell was immediately taken out of the game. Rutgers head coach Fred Hill apologized to Providence head coach Tim Welsh after the game.

“I think it warrants a suspension,” said Welsh. “Freddy (Hill) apologized, and I don’t blame Freddy because he doesn’t teach things that way.”

Hill called the play a “momentary lapse in judgment” on Russell’s part and said that he told him to never go after a player like that.

The concerning thing for the Friars with Efejuku is that he went down in Wednesday night’s game at Seton Hall in the tailbone area, which is where he landed after he was fouled by Russell. He was laying on the floor for a good while before getting up and walking off under his own power, but not without a noticeable look of pain. Welsh said after the game that he missed a couple of days of practice leading up to Saturday’s game and wasn’t sure he would play in the game. An MRI showed that he had a bruise.

The Friars dominated the paint with a 46-24 edge in points in the paint. The trio of Herbert Hill (20 points on 9-18 shooting, 13 rebounds, five blocks), McDermott (19 points on 6-9 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists) and Jonathan Kale (13 points on 5-6 shooting) had their way with the Scarlet Knights all night long. They also held Rutgers’ leading scorer, J.R. Inman, to just five points on 2-12 shooting.

“I didn’t think Herbert Hill missed, I’m shocked he was 9-18,” said Fred Hill. “I didn’t think he missed a shot, that’s what it seemed like, anyway.”

A bright spot for the Friars was the second half play of Curry. After going 0-5 in the first half and having struggled in his first two games back from a suspension, the sophomore guard went 4-5 from the field in the second half and finished with 13 points.

“I think he got tight about shooting the ball because he hasn’t played at home in a while,” said Welsh. “He’s trying to get everything back, and every game I think he makes another step. The second half was terrific for him. He pressed a little in the first half, but in the second half he did a great job.”

The Friars now host a Villanova team on Tuesday that has played well of late and scored a nice win on Saturday. They are still winning at home, and soon they’ll have another chance to try to win on the road a two straight road games follow.

Other Notable Games

Clemson 74, Boston College 54: The critics are going to come out after this one, but let’s not get it twisted. Clemson is a tough place for a visiting team to win even when the Tigers have been down, and they played a solid game today. Don’t pin this one on the Eagles’ recent personnel losses.

Villanova 76, Texas 69: The best freshman on the court wasn’t Kevin Durant this time around, as he had just 12 points on 4-15 shooting. Instead, it was Wildcat guard Scotty Reynolds, who had 26 points to lead a solid victory for a Villanova team that had lost three of four and was without Curtis Sumpter (knee bruise).

UCLA 73, Arizona 69: UCLA stays with Oregon on the top of the Pac-10, while the Wildcats have lost three straight Pac-10 games for the first time since 1984.

Oregon 92, California 84: The Ducks hold up their end of the bargain and keep the two-way tie atop the Pac-10 going.

Arkansas 72, LSU 52: The Razorbacks look like an example of a team that plays to the level of its competition. They’re 2-3 in SEC play, but when they win, they win big: their other SEC win was an 88-61 win over Alabama.

Texas Tech 69, Kansas 64: The Jayhawks had won some close ones, looking like they weren’t about to dominate the Big 12 even though they’re the favorites. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders get a quality win.

Michigan 71, Purdue 55: The Wolverines haven’t exactly been giant-killers, but this is a good win for them. Now the big test is ahead: at Wisconsin on Wednesday, at Indiana three days later.

Vanderbilt 72, Kentucky 67: Suddenly, Vanderbilt seems to like playing in Lexington. This was their second straight win there after never winning in the first 28 tries at Rupp Arena. It’s also a solid win for the Commodores that snaps Kentucky’s 11-game winning streak.

Indiana 77, Connecticut 73: The Huskies have now lost four of five as Indiana gets a good road win. The Hoosiers have now won five straight.

Washington State 75, Washington 47: All of a sudden, this looks like a mismatch in favor of the Cougars instead of the Huskies. Washington is now 1-6 in Pac-10 play, having only knocked off winless Arizona State.

Cincinnati 96, West Virginia 83 (OT): This is a nice win for the Bearcats by itself, but it’s even better in light of the fact that they had to come back from a 17-point deficit.

Fordham 77, Saint Louis 68: Three straight wins have the Rams at 4-2 in Atlantic 10 play. Struggling Saint Louis is now 2-4 after being picked near the top of the conference in the preseason.

Bradley 78, Wichita State 63: Want proof of how deep the Missouri Valley is, as well as how difficult road wins are to come by there? The Shockers, who proved themselves in non-conference play, are just 3-6 in conference play after this loss.

Northern Iowa 74, Indiana State 64: The Panthers retain a slim lead atop the Valley with this win.

New Mexico State 80, Nevada 73: The Aggies, who had a 13-game winning streak snapped three days earlier, were thought to be the Wolfpack’s best challenger in the WAC entering the season, and they held serve at home on Saturday. The two teams are tied atop the WAC, which could setup a terrific regular season finale in Reno in early March.

Rhode Island 85, Temple 77: Who would have imagined the Rams being atop the Atlantic 10 after six games? They are 5-1 in conference play after their second straight road win.

Appalachian State 81, Davidson 74: It’s a shame this is the only meeting all season between two of the better Southern Conference teams. Here, the road team got the win to continue nipping at UNC-Greensboro’s heels in the North Division. It’s the first conference loss of the season for Davidson.

George Mason 78, Northeastern 53: The Patriots have hit their stride and are now 5-3 in CAA play after winning their fifth straight game.

Holy Cross 69, American 64 (OT): A nice road win for the Crusaders keeps them on top of the Patriot League standings at 5-0.

Mt. St. Mary’s 81, Robert Morris 78 (OT): This game, and the current records, aren’t what may figured would be the case before the season. The Mountaineers are now 6-2 in NEC play and in second play, while the host Colonials fall to 3-5 in NEC play with this loss.

Brown 76, Yale 71: The road team wins each game in this season’s matchups between the Bulldogs and Bears.

Spalding Hoophall Classic Recap

Plenty of Talent at Hoophall Classic

by Phil Kasiecki

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – We checked out games on Sunday at the 2007 Spalding Hoophall Classic, and they didn’t disappoint. In the six games, only one was a blowout, with one going to overtime and another ending on a buzzer-beater that capped off a frantic final minute.

Scoreboard
Cincinnati (OH) Harmony Community School 66, Winchendon (MA) School 43
Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy 99, Northfield (MA) Mt. Hermon 82
Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS 85, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s School 81
Philadelphia (PA) St. John Neumann-Goretti 81, Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha Catholic HS 71 (OT)
Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s Prep 79, Towson (MD) Catholic HS 76
Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep 72, Lenoir (NC) Patterson School 71

Stacked Harmony Wins Easily Without Stud Forward

Harmony Community School didn’t have Florida-bound forward Alex Tyus, but that wasn’t a problem against a stacked Winchendon team that hasn’t played well when we’ve seen them. Harmony scored the first 15 points of the game and didn’t allow a point until just over nine minutes into the game en route to a dominating 66-43 win. The box score does this game no justice, as the only category where they had a clear edge was in their 20-25 showing at the free throw line while Winchendon had just 12 attempts.

Nebraska commit Josh “Cookie” Miller (5’8″ Sr. PG) led the way with 12 points and five assists, while Nick Murphy was the only other Hurricane in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds. Miller is a blur going to the basket and can make some great plays, but he also looked erratic and seems to like the no-look pass a bit much. Murphy (6’3″ Sr. SG) has a good body and is very active, but struggled shooting the ball and also missed a few close shots. Nonetheless, he’ll be a good pickup for some mid-major program. Also impressing for Harmony were Tennessee-bound big man Brian Williams (6’9″ Sr. C), a thick post player who shows decent mobility and some post moves, as well as active forward Cordell Pope (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF).

Lots of Talent Impresses in Hargrave’s Win

There was no shortage of talent on the floor in the second game, where Northfield Mt. Hermon rallied to get within striking distance before Hargrave Military Academy pulled away for a 99-82 win. A number of players had nice stat lines, as the score might indicate, but a couple of players really stood out.

For the victors, Virginia Tech signee Jeff Allen (6’8″ Sr. PF) had 18 points on 8-12 shooting and 10 rebounds, generally dominating the paint and also showing some ball skills. He consistently backed defenders in for easy baskets and also ran the floor very well. You’re not going to move him out of the paint; he’s just too big and strong.

Northfield Mt. Hermon got a nice game from one of the better unsigned guards in Gary Correia (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG). Correia went for 19 points on 7-10 shooting, including 5-6 from long range. Though not a pure point guard, he can run a team, but his shooting is clearly his best asset. All 19 of his points came in the second half.

Helping Allen out on the winner’s side was Virginia signee Mike Scott (6’8″ Sr. PF) with 18 points and Allen’s future Hokie teammate, Dorenzo Hudson (6’4″ Sr. SG), who had 17 points. Scott doesn’t have an imposing or tremendously athletic body, but he plays the game well. Hudson is a well-built wing who struggled shooting from long range in this game but will give the Hokies some offense from that spot.

Correia’s main help came from La Salle-bound Terrell Williams (6’7″ Sr. SF), who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Williams is active and versatile and will fit with the type of players John Giannini has been recruiting since he took the job at La Salle. Notre Dame-bound Tyrone Nash (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF), a bouncy combo forward who’s deceptively athletic and really works inside, had 14 points.

Wright Takes Over, Out-Guns Sanders, St. Andrew’s

Early on, it looked like Boston College-bound Rakim Sanders (6’5″ Sr. SG) would have a huge game and St. Andrew’s could run away from St. John’s College. Sanders had 22 points in the first half on 9-15 shooting, and the Saints led by double digits for most of the first half. But that was before Georgetown-bound point guard Chris Wright got going and ultimately took the game over.

Wright, who finished with 39 points and five assists, helped the Cadets finish the first half on a 9-2 run, then took over in the second half en route to the victory. Wright sealed it with a fadeaway jumper with just over two minutes left. His primary help came from George Mason signee Vlad Moldoveanu (6’10″ Sr. PF-C), a skilled big man who went for 18 points and five rebounds.

Sanders finished with 36 points to lead the Saints. Joe Accaoui (5’10″ Sr. PG) had 21 points, but only five came in the second half.

Philly School Has the Scoop in Great Game

Arguably the best game of the day was a matchup of two stacked teams, St. John Neumann-Goretti against DeMatha Catholic. Both teams boast several future Division I players and the game was close throughout. A few future Big East players were most notable in this one, but none stood out more than two Syracuse-bound seniors for St. John Neumann.

In the extra session, Rick Jackson (6’8″ Sr. PF) took over at the defensive end with several key blocks to thwart numerous attempts. Though not known for his shot-blocking, Jackson denied every attempt that came near the basket en route to nine blocked shots for the game to go with 10 rebounds. His current and future Syracuse teammate, Antonio “Scoop” Jardine (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG), had numerous clutch baskets en route to a game-high 36 points.

A pair of underclassmen also impressed for the Saints. Active wing Jamal Wilson (6’5″ Jr. SF) had 20 points and six rebounds, while Tony Chenault (6’2″ Fr. SG) added 13 points and nine rebounds and generally impressed with how he contributed while not trying to do too much given his stellar veteran teammates.

Georgetown-bound Austin Freeman (6’5″ Sr. SG) led the Stags with 25 points, while Clemson signee Jerai Grant (6’10″ Sr. PF-C) had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Another future Hoya, Chris Braswell (6’9″ Jr. PF), had 17 rebounds but struggled at the offensive end, scoring just eight points on 4-16 shooting. A step forward for Braswell is that he mixed it up inside a lot more, as he’s known more for his face-up game on offense and at times not the presence defensively that he could be. He also looks to be filling out some.

Graybees Hang on for Dear Life

St. Benedict’s looked like it might be headed for a blowout win against Towson Catholic in the first half, as they led by double digits for most of the half and took a 44-30 lead into the locker room. But the Owls, led by Virginia Tech signee Malcolm Delaney (6’3″ Sr. SG), wouldn’t go quietly. They rallied to keep it close for much of the second half and had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a three-pointer as time expired missed the basket.

Delaney was terrific after intermission, scoring 24 of his game-high 32 points with a wide variety of baskets. He can flat-out score and shoot, making seven of nine from long range and already having a reputation for his shooting from mid-range and beyond. He and Syracuse-bound Donte Greene (6’10″ Sr. SF-PF), who had 23 points and 15 rebounds, did all they could to bring the Owls back.

St. Benedict’s was led by Villanova-bound Corey Stokes (6’5″ Sr. SG) with 24 points and Samardo Samuels (6’9″ Jr. PF) with 22. Both were 8-15 from the field. Zach Rosen (6’1″ Sr. PG) and Dwan McMillam (6’0″ Jr. PG) capably ran the show for the Graybees, combining for 12 assists with just four turnovers. McMillam also went 4-5 from the field for nine points.

Crusaders Win Wild Finish to the Day

Notre Dame Prep looked like it would break open the final game of the day against Patterson on a couple of occasions, but Patterson never went away. In the final minutes, the Crusaders had a 68-61 lead, but unforced turnovers helped Patterson come back again.

With 37.3 seconds left, Dwight Hardy (15 points) made a short jumper and got fouled, completing the three-point play for a 69-68 Patterson lead. The next trip down, Sedale Jones (6’4″ Sr. SG) made a baseline runner to put Notre Dame up 70-69 with 18 seconds left. An Anjuan Wilderness follow-up with 8.3 seconds left put Patterson back on top before the final drama.

The Crusaders got the ball up court quickly and had a close shot that missed. But Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee Deonte Roberts (6’2″ Sr. SG) got the loose ball and went up before time expired, and the shot went in to give the Crusaders a wild 72-71 victory over the Bulldogs.

Roberts finished with 11 points. Jamine Peterson (6’5″ Sr. SF) led the Crusaders with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Kansas State signee Michael Beasley (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF) had 12 points and seven rebounds. Peterson, like Roberts, is a live body who plays the game at a fast speed and is around the ball often. Beasley had his moments, but we’ll repeat what we’ve said about him before: he’s a tease with all the potential but hardly any consistency. Three of his future coaches were in attendance, including head coach Bob Huggins.

Tennessee signee Cameron Tatum (6’6″ Sr. SF) joined Hardy in leading Patterson with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Tatum should be a good fit at Tennessee, as he is active and played well in this game, showing a good overall skill level.

Other Players Who Caught Our Eye (and stat lines for some of them)
Jordan Crawford (6’4″ Sr. SG, Hargrave Military Academy): 15 points, 8 assists
Greg Echenique (6’9″ So. PF, St. Benedict’s Prep): 9 points, 11 rebounds
Leshon Edwards (6’5″ So. SF, Towson Catholic HS)
Brian Hanuschak (6’6″ Jr. SF-PF, St. Andrew’s School)
Mihai Petcu (6’7″ Sr. PF, St. John’s College HS): 10 points, six rebounds
Jeff Peterson (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, DeMatha Catholic HS): 11 points, 10 assists (committed to Princeton)
Rashad Savage (6’6″ Jr. PF, St. John Neumann-Goretti): 16 rebounds

Boston College Dealt A Blow

Eagles Dealt a Blow

by Phil Kasiecki

Boston College will have its full team for just one game in the 2006-07 season. That became certain on Wednesday, when juniors Sean Williams and Akida McLain were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules.

It could hardly have come at a worse time for the Eagles, who are 5-0 in the ACC and looking very much like a team that could finish in the top three of the conference. Tuesday night’s 82-63 win over Miami was the first time all season they had the entire team together, as a rash of injuries and suspensions have hit the team over the course of the season. Just as they looked like a team that had righted itself after some questionable non-conference home losses (Vermont in the second game of the season and Duquesne in late December), they lose one of their top players and a reserve who figured to help once he got healthy.

Williams has always been known for his shot-blocking, and was doing that in bunches this season. The school’s all-time leader in blocked shots had a school-record 12 blocks in his first game of the season, a loss at Providence, then broke that record in the loss at Duquesne with 13 as part of a triple-double. This season, he had become a force at the offensive end, which started with him demanding the ball more. He showed a much-improved game with his back to the basket and also showed an improving touch from around the foul line, while continuing to score on some offensive rebounds and running the floor.

McLain didn’t have nearly the star potential of Williams, but had the tools to be a solid reserve/spot starter at either forward spot. There were times last season where he looked very good in his role, but the consistency has never been there. This season, an academic suspension and a bad ankle sprain sustained in his first game back have kept him off the court save for a few minutes. In the sense that the Eagles never really had him this season save for practice (he practiced throughout the suspension), his loss is not a big one.

The departures mean the Eagles’ frontcourt needs more from role players like juniors John Oates and Loyola-Chicago transfer Tyrelle Blair. Oates isn’t the most physical player and is certainly not an enforcer, while Blair has had his moments but plays limited minutes for a reason. Shamari Spears has shown promise with a couple of nice rebounding efforts, but he’s undersized at 6’6″. The Eagles will almost certainly go small from time to time at the very least.

With this, the Eagles begin auditioning for the NCAA Tournament right now. Their 13-4 overall record and 5-0 mark in the ACC basically go out the window. Should they reach the NCAA Tournament, they will not have Williams or McLain, so how they play from here on out will dictate their postseason fate more than anything. Essentially, they are 1-1 with no ACC record, as that is how they fared without both in the lineup to start the season, blowing out New Hampshire and losing to Vermont.

Making it that far would seem a tall order. The Eagles still have the meat of the ACC schedule in front of them, including road games at Clemson (who they also have at home next month) on Saturday and Duke next Sunday, as well as a tough home stretch with Duke and North Carolina three days apart next month. They also have two meetings with Virginia Tech and Florida State in front of them and a road date with Georgia Tech to close the regular season. The lack of depth on the front line, which is compounded by Jared Dudley playing with a stress fracture in his foot, is a major hurdle for them to overcome.

Head coach Al Skinner won big in the Big East in 2000-01 with a relatively small team, so he has done it before. Whether he can do it again this time around remains to be seen.

Saturday, January 13 Recap

Bulldogs Snap Skid in Providence, Open Ivy League Play With Win

by Phil Kasiecki

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Craig Robinson didn’t see this one coming. Not from practice, not from prior games – no signs.

“We looked scared from the first minute of the game, and I was caught off-guard, really caught off-guard,” the Brown head coach said after his team lost 56-42 to Yale on Saturday night.

Yale was in control of the game throughout, scoring 12 unanswered points after Brown scored the first two. They built up a 30-15 lead before Brown scored the last six points of the first half and the first six of the second half, but the Bulldogs responded with the next 10 points and never led by single digits after that.

Yale dominated the game on the stat sheet, especially in the specialty stats. They beat the Bears on the glass by a 34-19 margin, allowing just one offensive rebound the entire game. They cashed in the Bears’ 18 turnovers for 21 points (the Bulldogs had 18 of their own, a nagging issue this season), had 14 second-chance points and a 30-20 edge in points in the paint.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bulldogs at Brown. Since they typically begin Ivy League play with the Bears, it’s also a change to how they start their league season. That becomes more important in light of their tough non-conference schedule not giving them much chance to get any momentum.

“It seemed like forever since the last time we won here,” said head coach James Jones. “It’s hard to build momentum with our schedule. You win a game and you play UMass; you win a game and you play Boston College. Now’s the time to start building.”

The Bulldogs’ seniors led the way as Casey Hughes had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while adding four steals, and Sam Kaplan had 10 points on 5-5 shooting and five rebounds. Kaplan hasn’t practiced or played much in the last month due to an ankle injury and a broken nose, but had a solid effort on Saturday.

“I thought he did an excellent job of being around the basket and finishing all the opportunities he had,” Jones said of Kaplan.

Junior guard Eric Flato struggled shooting the ball, as he went 2-9 from the field, but he ran the team well with six assists and one turnover. He let others like Travis Pinick and Nick Holmes, both of whom went 2-3 from long range, pick up the shooting slack and got the ball inside.

“That’s what Flato is really good at – if he’s not shooting the ball particularly well, he notices it and tries to do other things,” said Kaplan.

For Brown, junior Mark McAndrew was the only player in double figures with a game-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting. They shot under 40 percent from the field, struggling mightily at the offensive end. Robinson feels that the team has grasped his offensive system for the most part, and offense isn’t his big concern.

“We don’t have any problem getting wide-open shots, we just missed them,” he reflected.

Both teams will face off again next Saturday in New Haven.

Other Notable Games

Virginia Tech 94, North Carolina 88: In case anyone thought last Saturday’s win at Duke was just a fluke, the Hokies took out the Tar Heels.

UCLA 65, USC 64: The Trojans led for a good chunk of the game, but never put the Bruins away. UCLA won in front of the largest crowd ever at the Galen Center.

Florida 85, South Carolina 50: This game just goes to show that if the Gators are healthy, they are the team to beat. A 34-point win on a good team’s home court (although the Gamecocks have now lost three straight) is proof positive.

Maryland 92, Clemson 87: The last undefeated team loses for the first time as five Terrapins score in double figures.

Ohio State 68, Tennessee 66: The Buckeyes did what they were supposed to do: take advantage of Greg Oden’s presence. Against a small Volunteers team, the freshman big man had 24 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks as they pulled out a close one.

Pittsburgh 74, Georgetown 69: A solid win for the Panthers to stay unbeaten in Big East play.

Marquette 81, West Virginia 63: The Golden Eagles have started to get going, picking up two good wins in a row.

Boston College 78, Virginia 73: Not the prettiest win, but the Eagles are 4-0 in the ACC and on top after Clemson and North Carolina both lost on Saturday.

Air Force 58, Wyoming 56: Jacob Burtschi surely hasn’t scored two bigger points than he did as time expired to give the Falcons a good road win to go to 17-1 overall.

California 77, Washington 69 (OT): A good win for the Golden Bears, especially fresh off a home loss on Thursday night. The Huskies, meanwhile, didn’t find the Bay Area to their liking as they also lost at Stanford.

Stanford 71, Washington State 68 (OT): Meanwhile, the Cardinal took both games this weekend. They appear to be hitting their stride as they have now won three straight.

Louisville 78, Providence 63: Providence loses its first Big East road game in Sharaud Curry’s return to the lineup. The time off clearly hurt Curry, as he didn’t practice with the team until Friday and went 4-17 with six turnovers in this game.

Southern Illinois 76, Missouri State 56: A nice win for the Salukis against a very good team. Randal Falker is playing well, leading the way with 23 points after two straight double-doubles.

Northeastern 84, Hofstra 74: Just two nights after Hofstra picked up a big overtime win at Drexel, the Huskies take out the Pride in Boston for the second year in a row.

Old Dominion 84, Drexel 57: All of a sudden, the Dragons have gone from being an apparent favorite in the CAA to being in fourth place with two straight losses. This is a solid win for the Monarchs in Norfolk.

VCU 85, Towson 77: VCU is now the only undefeated team in CAA play, as Anthony Grant’s team just keeps winning.

Vermont 75, Albany 66: The Catamounts win an early America East showdown and spoil a great game from Albany guard Jason Siggers, who had a career-high 34 points. Vermont has now won seven straight and is the lone undefeated team in America East play.

UMass 88, Temple 77: UMass is alone atop the Atlantic 10 with a 3-0 mark after this win.

Rhode Island 86, Saint Joseph’s 81: A big win for the Rams, who are the surprise team near the top of the Atlantic 10 standings. With this win, the young Rams are 3-1 and just a half game behind UMass.

Illinois-Chicago 79, Loyola (IL) 73: Another emotional win for the Flames, who knocked off Butler earlier in the week as head coach Jimmy Collins recovers.

Wichita State 58, Evansville 56: The Shockers needed this one after losing six of seven. Having Sean Ogirri back in the lineup after a three-game suspension certainly didn’t hurt.

Boston University 53, New Hampshire 29: Don’t look now, but the Terriers are coming alive. This is their third straight win, while the Wildcats couldn’t carry over their play from Thursday night’s win.

Army 64, Lehigh 59: The Black Knights get a good win against one of the Patriot League’s better teams.

Cal State Northridge 90, Long Beach State 83: No one will go undefeated in Big West play this season, as preseason favorite Long Beach State had been 2-0.

Bucknell Rivalry

Crusaders Pull Out Another Great Game in Rivalry

by Phil Kasiecki

WORCESTER, Mass. – A great rivalry has a little of everything. It has one great game after another. It has great players, as well as relative unknowns, coming out of nowhere to make big plays that fans don’t soon forget. It has games that make one team’s fans ecstatic while ripping the hearts out of the opposing fans.

The rivalry between Bucknell and Holy Cross has certainly had some of each. Over the last couple of seasons, there have been a couple that ripped the hearts out of the Holy Cross faithful as the Bison came into Friday night’s game having won four straight in the series. The first of those four was the 2005 Patriot League championship game, where the Crusaders nearly made a miraculous comeback from a big second-half deficit before falling. Last year’s game in Worcester was one where the Crusaders had a 15-point lead with 16 minutes to play, but the Bison came all the way back to pick up the win en route to running the table in Patriot League play.

And for a minute, Friday night’s win by Holy Cross looked like it could be a repeat of last season’s game at the Hart Center. There were certainly moments in the final three minutes where the near-sellout crowd wondered if history would repeat itself.

The Crusaders led throughout the game, holding a 60-50 lead with 2:53 left and Bucknell forward Donald Brown (13 points, eight rebounds, three steals) having fouled out. It looked like they were in good shape, but back came the Bison. Bucknell would score the next five points as part of a 10-1 run to get within 61-60 with 57 seconds left.

But on a Torey Thomas missed free throw, Alex Vander Baan came up with a huge offensive rebound. That gave them more life with another possession and more time off the clock, but it wasn’t sealed until Thomas (13 points, five assists) made two free throws with eight seconds left after big defensive rebound to bring the score to the final margin of 65-60.

“We have to learn how to finish a lot better,” said senior guard Keith Simmons, who had a game-high 22 points. “That’s been a problem for us throughout the year. When we learn to do that, we can be a really good team.”

The win moves the Crusaders to 3-0 in Patriot League play, which head coach Ralph Willard is happy about since he thinks there isn’t much separation between teams in the league this year. When the league is as close as the teams appear to be this season, every win counts.

“To be 3-0 right now, with wins over Bucknell, a good win over Army, a good win over Lafayette, that gives us a lot of confidence going into Navy,” said Simmons.

The Crusaders did a very good job of taking away Bison star center Chris McNaughton. The senior big man had no field goal attempts and precious few touches in the first half and finished with just four points while also battling foul trouble. That was a focus of the defense, and it opened up some opportunities for Bucknell to shoot it. The Bison went 8-21 from long range, with Justin Castleberry (3-6 from long range en route to a team-high 16 points off the bench) being one of the primary beneficiaries.

The game had the atmosphere of a big game, as tends to happen with these two programs. A number of students even came back early from the semester break to be at the game, which had an attendance of over 3,100 (the Hart Center seats about 3,600).

“That’s the great thing about Holy Cross, you’ve got the students willing to come back about four days early off their winter vacation to support their team,” said Thomas.

But it also speaks to the rivalry between these two teams. Every game is hotly contested, and last night’s was no different. The two winningest programs in Patriot League history have met in 10 of the 16 Patriot League tournaments, including the last two title games. The Crusaders may have led throughout Friday’s game, but they were challenged several times and never really broke it open. The Bison aren’t as deep as they have been the past couple of years, and they don’t have as many players who can score the ball as well with the key losses of Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee, but they still play the same tough defense and clearly still have the parts to contend in the Patriot League. And the teams know each other, which adds one more element to the rivalry and can be an equalizer of sorts.

“This is the kind of game for both teams, where kids know each other so well – all your sets, all your looks,” said Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery. “Holy Cross does a lot of good things, Bucknell does a lot of good things. We know each other very well. The difference is who’s going to make a basketball play.”

There is also the respect factor, which both coaches talked about. These two may be arch-rivals with the noted recent history, but there’s no hatred between the teams by a long shot. They’re just trying to beat each other when they play, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they played for a third time this year in March.

“Bucknell has built a tremendous program the last couple of years. They’ve represented the Patriot League in an outstanding way, so I have the utmost respect for them,” said Simmons. “This is a lot of fun, you have to enjoy it. I won’t be able to play against Bucknell again ever in my life, so I’m trying to enjoy it.”

The players enjoy it, the fans clearly enjoyed it, and well they should. Friday night’s game was a typical Bucknell-Holy Cross game, and more are probably ahead in the times to come.

Notes

• Bucknell started out the season 0-4, but that record is a bit deceptive as none were against a bad team. The teams they had the last two seasons were pretty special. They were deep at every position and had great class balance, and last season’s team had the added benefit of being very experienced. The Bison are still one of the best teams in the league, but they’re far from unbeatable.
• Holy Cross big man Tim Clifford continues to progress, posting 13 points and eight rebounds. The players all know how important he is, as Simmons noted how good his second half play has been. If he can keep out of foul trouble, the Crusaders will remain in good shape inside.
• Holy Cross could have Lawrence Dixon back before long. The sophomore wing has been dogged by knee problems all season, but was dressed for last night’s game. He has practiced with the team in recent days and is getting better.

Huskies Defend Against Georgia State

Huskies Turn up Defense, Take Out Talented Panthers

by Phil Kasiecki

BOSTON – It’s easy to think Wednesday night’s 84-69 victory by Northeastern over Georgia State was a tale of two halves. In some sense, it was: the Huskies played no defense in the first half and stifled the Panthers in the second half. But there was a little more to the game than that.

Both teams came into the game at 1-3 in CAA play. Neither projects to finish in the top half of the conference this season; the Huskies have a short rotation and the Panthers have an inexperienced but talented backcourt. For each team, there was something evident in this game. The Huskies continue to look like a well-coached team, while the Panthers’ talent is as evident as the inconsistency that tends to come with having a backcourt as green as theirs is.

In the first half, it was all Georgia State, as the Panthers shot 61.5 percent from the field and made it look easy. There were several trips down the floor where the Panthers had a wide-open jumper (they made seven of eight from behind the three-point line in the opening frame) or an almost uncontested shot close to the basket. While the field goal percentage statistics would jump out at many, Northeastern head coach Bill Coen noticed something else.

“I think we had six fouls and they shot 62 percent and 87 percent from three,” Coen said. “That just tells us that you’re not playing hard enough.”

Everything changed in the second half, where the Huskies started on a 25-5 run to take the lead for good. The Huskies got up on the ball-handlers and forced them to make plays. They were physical inside. They played the passing lanes well, especially freshman Matt Janning, who had a stretch where he seemingly made a play every trip on defense. The highlight of the game was a play where he poked the ball loose, then dove around mid-court and recovered it before being tied up for a jump ball. That got the crowd going, and seemed to fire up his teammates even more.

“For me, that was the biggest play of the game when he dove for the ball,” said senior guard Adrian Martinez, who had 16 points and four assists.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the exclamation point came when Bennet Davis drove from the right wing to the hoop for a hard dunk that was followed by a little celebration to further fire up the crowd. With that, the comeback was complete: the Huskies had staged a 29-point turnaround in the second half to win going away.

“We decided to just get up in them and contest shots. That’s what changed the game,” said Davis, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers showed signs of frustration, especially leading scorer Lance Perique. One of the most improved players in the CAA thus far, Perique finished with a game-high 23 points, but slowed down in the second half considerably as he was just 2-9 from the field after the break. When called for a foul with 4:09 left, he showed his frustration by swinging his arm, and in the process he made contact with Northeastern’s Adrian Martinez. He surely didn’t mean to hit Martinez – he probably had no idea Martinez was even nearby as he wasn’t facing him beforehand, caught him on the backswing and there wasn’t much contact – but just swinging his arm to show his displeasure with the call earned him a technical foul. It could also get him in trouble with the conference office, which is to be determined.

The Huskies simply played solid basketball in the second half. Their defense may have turned the game around, but they continue to show how much they have bought into the importance of ball movement at the offensive end. There were a number of times where they made several passes in quick succession that led to an easy basket or a wide-open shot that went down, something even the successful teams of recent seasons was never very consistent with. It showed in that they shot over 58 percent from the field and had just three turnovers.

Lost in it all is the effort of Bobby Kelly, who quietly led the way with 22 points. The senior guard has had some struggles at times, but is among the nation’s leaders in minutes and comes to play every game. He seems to be finding a niche more and more in addition to being one of the team’s leaders.

Georgia State got 12 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore Rashad Chase and 13 points from Leonard Mendez. They are two of the team’s main building blocks, and although the numbers were respectable, you almost got the sense that they were invisible for stretches of the game. Chase has the talent to be one of the conference’s top players before his career is all said and done, and Mendez is their most experienced guard at the Division I level. The talent is apparent in players like Ron Larris, Ryan McBride and Trae Goldston, but all three are still relatively new to Division I.

“We need more consistency out of our guard play,” said head coach Michael Perry. “Every night in this league, it’s a war. In order to get separation, you need good guard play.”

Not helping the Panthers is Deven Dickerson continuing to battle tendonitis in his knee. The junior center didn’t play on Wednesday and has been limited all year, which was expected heading into the season. Perry said this wasn’t an ideal game for him to play, and Dickerson has also battled asthma attacks recently.

Wednesday night’s game showed something about both teams. It didn’t end as positively for the Panthers as it did for the Huskies, but with their talent some positive endings may be coming before very long.

Rhode Island Goes To 2-0 In A-10

Rams Pull Out Close One, Off to 2-0 Start

by Phil Kasiecki

KINGSTON, R.I. – While many were watching a football game played about an hour north, a few diehards came to the Ryan Center and saw their home team improve its nice start in Atlantic 10 play.

“They could have been elsewhere this afternoon if they wanted to, especially on a beautiful day,” Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron said after he thanked the fans who came out for the Rams’ 75-74 win over Dayton to improve to 2-0 in early Atlantic 10 play.

The young Rams pulled out a game that had eight ties and 16 lead changes. They also took good care of the ball, a major problem earlier in the season, as they had 17 assists with 11 turnovers. Even more impressive, their two primary point guards, Parfait Bitee and Keith Cothran, combined for 10 assists with just one turnover. They also won this game despite being out-rebounded for just the fifth time this season.

It was hardly a textbook win, as the Rams also allowed the Flyers to shoot nearly 56 percent from the field for the game. Defense is clearly one area for improvement, as opponents shoot over 46 percent against them. But watching this team, it’s clear that there are some strides being made overall, and they have something to show for it with two early conference wins. That’s sure to help them out.

“It’s the beginning of the conference schedule. You want to get wins in the beginning to build your confidence, so I think this is a big win for us,” said junior forward Will Daniels, who scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second half.

The Rams have just one senior, center Darrell Harris. They start two juniors and bring one off the bench in Joe Mbang, who contributed 14 points in Sunday’s win. Two sophomores start, and three freshmen come off the bench, and the Rams certainly need them to produce. Cothran, who sat out the first ten games before the NCAA cleared him to compete on December 7, has acquitted himself well all in all. He couldn’t practice until he was cleared, and when he first got on the court he tried to do too much at times, but he’s clearly made strides. He had five assists with just one turnover on Sunday to give him a 3:1 assist/turnover ratio, and averages over two steals per game.

They could be deeper, as they expected to also have point guard Jon Lucky and freshman small forward Delroy James. Lucky is done for the season due to an ankle injury that required surgery. James’ future is uncertain save for knowing that he won’t play this season. The NCA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse still hasn’t cleared him to play, and even if they did just that tomorrow, they won’t play him this season because it makes no practical sense to do so. The question now is his status and how it affects his aid, as well as his immediate future.

But right now the Rams are going forward with a team that shows some potential. Jimmy Baron, who made the game-winning shot in the final seconds, has adjusted well since moving into the starting lineup last month. In the last eight games, all of which he has started, he has scored in single digits just one and made at least three three-pointers in all but Sunday’s game (he made two en route to 14 points). He is shooting nearly 54 percent from long range in those games. Certainly, there aren’t many who would have imagined him scoring a game-winning basket on a drive and layup in traffic, as he did on Sunday.

“That’s one of the moves he’s been working in the driveway with,” his father said, which drew a few chuckles in the press conference. “I think that’s the next part of his game, being able to take it off the dribble.”

Two early wins in conference play can boost a team forward, especially in a year like this in a wide-open conference. No team distinguished itself in non-conference play as a clear favorite, as many teams had a good showing but none truly stood out. The Rams don’t project as a contender, but finishing well above where they were projected (down in the second division of the Atlantic 10) isn’t out of the question. They need to win on the road, and they’ll get a chance to do that soon as they travel to Saint Louis and Saint Joseph’s for their next two games. They’ve picked up a boost from winning their first two games; now we’ll see how much of a carryover effect they may have.

America East Notebook

America East Notebook

by Phil Kasiecki

The first week of America East play is in the books, and the top of the conference has a look that surely no one expected in the preseason. Tied at 2-0 atop the standings are Hartford and UMBC, while Vermont is 1-0. Also noteworthy is that home and road teams have split thus far, each going 4-4.

The conference has had a number of key players at both ends of the experience scale, as seniors and freshmen seem to dominate the landscape. Boston University has had freshmen play a prominent role throughout the season, while Vermont might have the conference’s top freshman in Joe Trapani and two solid senior post players in Chris Holm (the conference’s top rebounder by far) and Martin Klimes. Albany has been keyed by the senior backcourt of Jamar Wilson and Jason Siggers, while freshman Brett Gifford has started ten games at center. Seniors Steve Proctor and Troy Hailey have helped lead Binghamton, while freshman Lazar Trifunovic has been their best post player. Hartford has one of the top freshmen in Joe Zeglinski. Maine is led by senior guards Kevin Reed and Jon Sheets, while redshirt freshman Junior Bernal has shown a lot of potential.

It all adds up to an improvement for the conference thus far (reflected in more non-conference wins this year), and one that should continue in the foreseeable future as the young talent matures.

Brown Suspended

Albany did not have head coach Will Brown in Saturday’s 83-72 loss at Binghamton. Brown was suspended for the game due to a violation of the conference’s Ethical Conduct policy for comments made about the team’s early schedule. The Great Danes play five games in ten days, including four in eight starting on Tuesday. Brown will be back with the team in Tuesday’s game at UMBC.

Team Notebooks

Albany (8-6, 1-1 America East)

The Great Danes split last week’s opening America East games and are at the beginning of the aforementioned tough stretch of games. Jamar Wilson, the conference’s leading scorer, led the way in the win over New Hampshire on Wednesday with 20 points. His primary support has come from improving forward Brent Wilson and senior guard Jason Siggers, who has done well since moving into the starting lineup. As more depth develops outside of the starting lineup, especially up front, they will get better and remain a contender for the top.

Albany starts its stretch of four games in eight days this week with road dates at UMBC (Tuesday) and Vermont (Saturday) sandwiched around a home game against Maine on Thursday.

Binghamton (8-6, 1-1)

The Bearcats have been a streaky team, putting together two three-game winning streaks with a three-game losing streak in between them. The perimeter has been a source of strength, with juniors Mike Gordon and Richard Forbes and seniors Steve Proctor and Troy Hailey leading the way, while freshman Lazar Trifunovic has been the top post player thus far and has garnered a Rookie of the Week honor. In Saturday’s win over Albany, Forbes led the way with 25 points. The Bearcats’ main questions are up front, where Ian Milne has played in just five games due to injury and only Trifunovic and Duane James average more than 20 minutes per game.

This week, the Bearcats begin a stretch of four games in eight days with a home game against Boston University (Thursday) sandwiched around road dates with Stony Brook (Tuesday) and Maine (Saturday).

Boston University (3-10, 0-1)

It’s been an up-and-down season with flashes of potential at times for the Terriers, one of the least experienced teams in the country. Dennis Wolff’s team starts three or four freshmen each time out, and the growing pains are evident. Uncharacteristic of recent Terrier teams, this one has struggled at the defensive end, where opposing teams are shooting nearly 45 percent from the field against them.

In Saturday’s double-overtime loss at Hartford, the Terriers committed 23 turnovers, another trouble spot as only Vermont turns it over more among America East teams. On the bright side, Corey Lowe had 23 points with some clutch shooting in the second half, while Carlos Strong showed some of the potential he first showed in the early part of the season with 18 points on 6-7 shooting from long range. Lowe and Tyler Morris have been the best of the freshmen, while Scott Brittain has moved into the starting lineup.

The Terriers have two home games (Maine on Tuesday and New Hampshire on Saturday) along with a road game (Binghamton on Thursday) this week.

Hartford (8-6, 2-0)

The Hawks are probably the most pleasant surprise thus far, with a winning overall record and a 2-0 start in conference play. With the heavy personnel losses from last season, this looked like a major rebuilding year, but new head coach Dan Leibovitz has already made noticeable progress building this program. Not only do they have an 8-6 overall record, but after Saturday’s double-overtime thriller against Boston University, the Hawks are 2-0 in overtime games and 5-1 in games decided by five points or less.

The Hawks won their first two America East games with a senior and a freshman leading the way in scoring. Senior Bo Taylor had a game-high 15 points as they held on for a 62-60 win at Maine last Wednesday, while freshman Joe Zeglinski was Mr. Clutch on Saturday en route to 22 points in their win over Boston University.

Hartford begins a stretch of four games in eight days on Thursday when they travel to New Hampshire, followed by a home date Saturday with Stony Brook.

Maine (5-9, 0-2)

The Black Bears have hit a rough patch, ending the week with four straight losses after losing their first two conference games at home. Their struggles begin at the offensive end, where they have been streaky shooting the ball and have more turnovers than assists. They have yet to win when allowing more than 70 points in a game, meaning that they have to win low-scoring games. Their defense has been fine to this point, for the most part.

Maine led at the half in each of their last two games, and by the same score (35-30). Hartford simply took better care of the ball on Wednesday, turning it over just four times to win despite four Black Bears scoring in double figures. New Hampshire shot nearly 47 percent from the field on Saturday to spoilt a 23-point, nine-rebound effort from Reed.

It doesn’t get any easier this week for the Black Bears, who first hit the road to play at Boston University and Albany before returning home to host Binghamton on Saturday.

New Hampshire (4-10, 1-1)

The Wildcats had their struggles in non-conference play, especially at the offensive end. They have rebounded to win three of five, splitting last week’s conference openers. Only two teams are shooting worse and only Vermont has a worse turnover margin, and the Wildcats are also getting beat badly on the glass.

Seniors Blagoj Janev (13.7) and Jermaine Anderson (13.4) and junior Mike Christensen (13.7) are carrying this team’s scoring load. The three combined for 42 of their 52 points in the loss at Albany on Wednesday, then Christensen’s career-high 28 points led the way in their win over Maine as the three combined for 62 of their 73 points (Janev and Anderson each had 17).

The Wildcats finally get to return home after an eight-game road trip, hosting Vermont (Tuesday) and Hartford (Thursday) before hitting the road again to take on Boston University on Saturday.

Stony Brook (5-9, 0-2)

The non-conference slate was a bit up and down for this developing squad, which ended the week with their second three-game losing streak of the season. They had a nice road win at Penn State to highlight non-conference play.

Last week, the Seawolves led at the half in each game, but didn’t get the job done defensively in the second half. Leading scorer Ricky Lucas had 18 in Wednesday’s loss at Vermont, while Mike Popoko and Mitchell Beauford led the way against UMBC. The Seawolves have had issues at the point, where they are last in the conference in assists and assist/turnover ratio.

The Seawolves host Binghamton on Tuesday before traveling to Hartford on Saturday.

UMBC (6-9, 2-0)

Since joining America East, the Retrievers have had their struggles away from home, but that may be changing. After sweeping the opening week, they are 2-0 on the road in conference play and 5-6 overall. Junior Brian Hodges has become the kind of go-to guy he looked like he could be as a freshman, leading the team in scoring in nine of the last 11 games and scoring over 15 per game on the season. Floor leader Jay Greene has developed into one of the top playmakers in the conference, as the sophomore is second in assists and assist/turnover ratio. The frontcourt, a question mark entering the season, has been better than expected. Senior Mike Housman, who is second in the conference in rebounding, leads the way, while freshman Justin Fry has worked his way into the starting lineup.

The Retrievers get a chance to come home this week for games against Albany (Tuesday) and Vermont (Thursday).

Vermont (9-5, 1-0)

Vermont finished a good non-conference run at 8-5, then started America East play with an 80-69 win over Stony Brook on Wednesday. They are the only team in the conference with a positive scoring margin thus far and look every bit a contender behind the excellent play of Mike Trimboli, who leads the conference in assists, stud freshman Joe Trapani, who is third in scoring and led the way with 23 points against Stony Brook, and Chris Holm inside. One possible area of concern is taking care of the ball, as no team turns it over more than the Catamounts.

The Catamounts have a challenging slate this week, as they hit the road to play New Hampshire on Tuesday and UMBC on Thursday before returning home to take on Albany on Saturday.

Saturday Notebook

Hawks Win Thriller, Snap Skid Against Terriers

by Phil Kasiecki

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Dan Leibovitz stayed calm, outside of picking up a technical foul at least. That made all the difference for his Hartford Hawks in their 80-75 double overtime win over Boston University.

“It starts from the head coach,” said freshman guard Joe Zeglinski, who scored 22 points to lead the Hawks, several coming on clutch shots. “When we were down 16, he stayed calm, the whole stayed calm. We knew we had a shot the whole time.”

The Hawks’ press had something to do with the Hawks’ comeback as well, especially since the technical foul came before the Terriers were done building their lead. Down 46-28 in the second half, the Hawks forced seven turnovers to ignite a 14-0 run to get back into it. They pressed the Terriers seemingly into submission at times, out-hustling them for steals and loose balls and also leading to some unforced turnovers.

“Every time we’ve come back in a game like this, the press turns the game,” said Leibovitz.

The teams traded spurts of momentum throughout the game. Boston University scored the first eight points, then Hartford scored the next seven. After the Hawks went up 19-13, the Terriers scored the next ten points. In the second half, the Terriers heated up from long range and opened up their 46-28 lead before the Hawks rallied.

The Terriers would later go up 60-51, but back came the Hawks again, and once again turnovers by the Terriers were the catalyst. With 16.1 seconds left, Zeglinski hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Hawks up 61-60, capping a 10-0 run. Brian Macon drove to the basket in the final seconds and drew a blocking foul when he got hip-checked near the basket, then made the second of two free throws to send it to overtime.

In the first extra session, they again went back and forth, with the Hawks looking like they might fully grab the momentum they had before overtime and take it. But Tyler Morris hit a clutch three-pointer to tie it in the final minute, and it was on to the second overtime.

The Hawks forced 23 turnovers and went 25-37 from the foul line to win despite allowing the Terriers to shoot 15-29 from long range and being out-rebounded 43-36. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Terriers, a streak that included some huge blowouts. It also puts the Hawks at 2-0 in America East play, which is a good start for a team picked by most to finish near the bottom of the conference.

Other Notable Games

Oregon 68, UCLA 66: The Ducks knock the Bruins from the ranks of the undefeated. Aaron Brooks capped off a huge 25-point effort with a clutch jumper to win it.

Georgetown 66, Notre Dame 48: If Georgetown’s perimeter players shoot like they did in this game, the Hoyas just might live up to their preseason billing.

Arkansas 88, Alabama 61: A big win for the Razorbacks, as they dominated the Crimson Tide from start (first 14 points) to finish.

Virginia Tech 69, Duke 67 (OT): At first, it looked like Duke might crush the hearts of the Hokies again with a late comeback, as they rallied in the final minute to force overtime. But the Hokies pulled it out in overtime at Cameron.

Clemson 75, Georgia Tech 74: The Tigers are the last undefeated team left with UCLA falling on Saturday. For good measure, it includes a 2-0 ACC start with wins at Florida State and this one, both good wins.

LSU 66, Connecticut 49: The Tigers won this one going away. It’s a game that will hopefully help the Huskies, who are very young and have now only played two road games all season (they have lost both).

Providence 91, Seton Hall 69: The Friars pull away in the second half to improve to 2-0 in Big East play on a night where Dave Gavitt and Joe Mullaney were honored.

Washington State 77, Arizona 73 (OT): The jury was out on the Cougars after a nice non-conference run, although they did beat Gonzaga. Well, they are now 3-1 with this win, and the only loss in Pac-10 play was a three-point setback at UCLA last week.

Boston College 74, NC State 58: Think the Eagles missed Jared Dudley? They went 2-1 without him, but in his return to action, he had a typical day at the office with 20 points and eight rebounds as the Eagles handled the very thin Wolfpack. This game also showed once again how good the Eagles can be when Sean Marshall (23 points, 14 rebounds) plays a good game and is aggressive.

Texas A&M 69, Kansas State 65: The Aggies win the Big 12 opener for both teams by holding off the Wildcats. Kansas State didn’t have Bill Walker for much of the game after a knee injury in the first half.

Northern Iowa 66, Southern Illinois 61: The Panthers continue to not miss a beat, winning this battle of MVC unbeatens to go to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Missouri Valley. They are now the only team currently undefeated in MVC play.

Old Dominion 65, George Mason 63: The string has been broken, as the Patriots had alternated wins and losses all season until dropping their second straight on Saturday. The Monarchs, meanwhile, are 3-0 in CAA play.

DePaul 73, Villanova 65: The Blue Demons bounce back from their recent loss at St. John’s with a good road win.

Duquesne 73, Saint Louis 63: This is an impressive win by itself, but even better considering the Dukes were down by 14 points at one point in the first half.

Ohio 77, Akron 72: The Bobcats hold serve at home in a great MAC opener for two teams that should battle it out for the top of the conference.

Princeton 51, Rice 28: Talk about turning the tables. A year ago, it was the Tigers who were scoring in the 20s. They let Rice’s senior star Morris Almond get just eight shots and nine points.

Savannah State 54, Southern Miss 52: Need any more proof that the gaudy record Southern Miss owns means they haven’t beaten anyone? (Okay, they did beat Auburn, at home.)

San Francisco 103, San Diego 100 (2 OT): Antonio Kellogg has found a home. The former Connecticut guard had a career-high 37 points, 35 coming after halftime as the Dons outlasted the Toreros in a dandy West Coast opener for both teams.

UMBC 72, Stony Brook 53: The Retrievers have had trouble winning on the road in recent seasons, so two straight road wins (they won at Binghamton on Wednesday) is a good way to start their America East road slate.

Colgate 73, Army 71 (OT): After a nice non-conference run, Army drops its first Patriot League game.

Loyola (Md.) 75, Iona 66: Iona remains winless, falling to 0-12.

UMass Enters Atlantic 10 Play

Where Is UMass After Non-Conference Play?

by Phil Kasiecki

AMHERST, Mass. – Travis Ford said it all right away in the post-game press conference, right after he told his two players to head back to the locker room after fielding just two questions from the media.

“We just got dominated by their guards,” the UMass head coach said after Miami beat the Minutemen 72-71 on Tuesday night. “And we can’t make free throws.”

That was the story of the game, anyway. The larger story was still to be told.

The Minutemen were just 13-25 at the foul line and couldn’t stop Miami guards Anthony Harris (career-high 33 points on 13-19 shooting) and Jack McClinton (15 points), the latter of whom wasn’t 100 percent and wasn’t even a given to play that night due to a sprained left knee that kept him out of the previous game. Denis Clemente added 11 points, all in the first half, to keep them right with UMass. Miami shot 9-15 from three-point range, and for the first time all season won when they were out-rebounded as UMass had a 37-29 edge on the glass.

“What I saw was their guards driving by shooting layups or threes,” said Ford. “That’s all I saw. Their guards were scoring every time I turned around.”

UMass is now 10-4 as Atlantic 10 play beckons. Ford scheduled for the NCAA Tournament in non-conference play, as they played their share of good teams. But their best win came at Louisville, and that win may not look so good in the end because the jury is out on the Cardinals. Every other game against a school from a BCS conference that they played was a losing effort, and while there’s no shame in losing to Pittsburgh, Boston College and Kentucky, the Miami loss may be questionable in the eyes of the NCAA committee since the young Hurricanes are just 8-7 (although they have knocked off Georgia Tech).

That means the Minutemen will likely have to have a very good run in Atlantic 10 play to have a good chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. If Tuesday night is any indication, their coach might not be sold on that as a likely possibility based on current results.

Ford expressed a lot of concern after Tuesday’s game about his team’s attitude and work ethic. From some of what he said, one might wonder if his feeling is that the players have read the proverbial press clippings.

“Guys think it’s going to come easy,” Ford said. “You’ve got to work at this game to get better, realize your weaknesses and really focus in on those weaknesses and try to get better at them, rather than thinking, ‘I’ll do better next time.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Prior to the season, the Minutemen were talked about a good deal nationally. They got a lot of press saying that this team could be very good, especially if the transfers that sat out last season can blend in with the returning cast. They were picked second in the Atlantic 10′s preseason poll, although Ford has said they don’t deserve that. In short, they were a trendy sleeper pick entering this season and many felt this could be the year UMass re-emerges into prominence outside of its home state.

There were certainly bright spots in this game. The bench has been productive of late and that was true on Tuesday night, and they cut down on their turnovers. But there were also some question marks, like Rashaun Freeman getting just one shot in the second half after scoring 13 points in the first half on 6-10 shooting, and Brandon Thomas not getting off the bench in the second half after burying two straight three-pointers in five minutes off the bench in the first half. Stephan Lasme wasn’t his usual self save for seven blocked shots, but even that stat was surprising because one could easily get the feeling he wasn’t even on the floor for much of the game.

“We battled, but I think at the end, they wanted it a little bit more,” said Freeman.

The Minutemen have the talent and depth to win a lot of games in Atlantic 10 play. They’re two deep at the point guard spot, have capable shooters, and a dynamic duo up front in Freeman and Lasme along with options there off the bench. They need it all to come together on something resembling a consistent basis. Ford noted that this hasn’t happened yet this season; no doubt, he feels that starting with this weekend’s Atlantic 10 opener at La Salle, now would be a good time for that to happen.

Colonial Notebook

Colonial Athletic Association Notebook

by Phil Kasiecki

Late Surge Leads to Even Record

As conference play begins in earnest save for the BracketBusters games in February, now is a good time to look back at the CAA’s non-conference showing.

Overall, it’s been decidedly a mixed bag. After Sunday’s games, the overall record is 62-62. There have certainly been some good wins, with Drexel posting a couple of them at Villanova and Syracuse and Old Dominion knocking off Georgetown, but there have also been some head-scratching losses along the way. The overall record is helped by a late surge, as the conference had a sub-.500 record for some of the first couple of months.

One reason for optimism is a surge in recent weeks after a relatively slow start. Conference teams had posted a sub-.500 record in non-conference play for a while, but some good wins in recent weeks pushed them over the top, for now.

New Favorites Emerge

Prior to the season, most prognosticators (and that includes us) picked Hofstra to win the conference, with George Mason right behind. The Pride and the Patriots still look like good picks at the top, but right now Drexel (who was picked third by us and others who voted in the CAA preseason poll) looks like an even better one. They aren’t alone, as VCU and Old Dominion also had two of the better runs in non-conference play.

VCU looks as good as anyone entering conference play, as new head coach Anthony Grant has quickly made an impact with his team at both ends of the floor. The Rams lead the CAA in scoring and are second in scoring defense, while they also take care of the ball and force the most turnovers in the conference. Old Dominion was steady in non-conference play, getting wins at Georgetown and against UAB while dropping a tough one to 12-0 Clemson and also losing to good teams in Marist, Virginia Tech and Winthrop.

Team Capsules

Delaware (2-10, 0-1 CAA)

We figured the Blue Hens would have their struggles in Monte Ross’ first season at the helm, and that has been the case. They lost their first nine games and are near the bottom in the CAA in a number of statistical categories. That’s not to say there haven’t been bright spots, notably Herb Courtney starting to play to his potential and freshman point guard Brian Johnson impressing. Two straight wins at the La Salle Invitational last week will help, but playing three of the next four CAA games on the road won’t.

Drexel (9-2, 1-0)

The Dragons were probably the most impressive team in non-conference play and enter the new year with a seven-game winning streak. They stubbed their toe at Penn and at Rider in November, but they’ve been on a roll with good wins since that time. Bruiser Flint’s club is clearly playing like they’re a year more mature after some tough losses last season, with Frank Elegar playing like a star, Bashir Mason being the senior leader he was expected to be, and Dominick Mejia keeping defenses from keying on Elegar. They’re also getting plenty of contributions from role players, as this team looks very deep. All in all, the Dragons look like they may have emerged as the favorite.

George Mason (6-5, 0-1)

The Patriots have alternated wins and losses this season and are a team trying to find an identity. They have played a tough schedule with just three home games, and they’ve had little adventures that have added to the difficulty, such as the team bus breaking down en route to Durham for their game at Duke last month. The pieces are there, led by juniors Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell and redshirt sophomore John Vaughan, but there’s been a learning curve of sorts with regard to new roles and for the newcomers. Things don’t get any easier in the immediate: this week the Patriots host a hot William & Mary team before heading to Norfolk to take on Old Dominion.

Georgia State (4-7, 0-1)

The Panthers’ non-conference slate can be summed up rather simply: they won the games they were supposed to win and lost against the teams that should beat them (notably the three ACC opponents with a combined 36-5 record entering this week). Head coach Michael Perry was high on the talent of his guards, and while they have shown that, they have also shown their inexperience. The Panthers lead the conference in turnovers and have struggled to score, with little help for top scorer Lance Perique. If the Panthers are to be competitive, the guards must grow up quickly and Rashad Chase must be more like the offensive threat he’s capable of. Chase is fourth in the CAA in rebounding but hasn’t likewise thrived offensively just yet, shooting just 41 percent from the field.

Hofstra (8-4, 1-0)

When the Pride lost the first three games of the season, the doubts were flying, even though they were by a combined nine points and all were away from Hempstead. Then they got it in gear, winning six straight and eight of nine heading into CAA play. The three super guards have done their part, but helping in the recent run that included winning the Aeropostale Holiday Festival in New York is the return of Chris Gadley to good health. Gadley’s return has helped solidify the frontcourt, the biggest question mark heading into the season, and makes them look like a top contender once again.

James Madison (3-8, 0-1)

Does anyone get the Dukes? We know they’re young and that head coach Dean Keener is in the process of trying to build this program, but that alone can’t explain the often head-scratching non-conference performance. On one hand, they give Wake Forest a good battle on the road and were close until the final minutes at Old Dominion; on the other hand, they have lost three straight at home, including a double-digit loss to Youngstown State while also losing by 13 to Texas-Pan American. There’s no lack of talent, especially at the offensive end, but the Dukes have to defend to have a chance to win games. Allowing teams to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field means you’re not defending.

Northeastern (3-9, 1-0)

Since the start of the season, there is probably not a team that has improved as much as Northeastern with so little to show for it. The Huskies don’t possess a gaudy record, but they’ve played a very difficult schedule and have competed consistently. That was quite apparent in Sunday’s loss at Boston College, where they battled back in the second half to tie the game on multiple occasions. Matt Janning shot them back in it, while Eugene Spates has started to emerge as a recent addition to the starting lineup. The Huskies aren’t deep and don’t look like a contender for the top half of the conference, but this club is well-coached and won’t be an easy out for many teams in CAA play.

Old Dominion (8-4, 1-0)

Early on, the Monarchs looked like the best team in non-conference play, especially after their win over Georgetown. The big question was if one player would become a go-to guy, and at first it was thought that senior point guard Drew Williamson might be that guy. While Williamson has scored more, it’s classmate Valdas Vasylius who has stepped up to become the team’s top scoring threat. Vasylius has done it inside and out all season and leads the team in rebounding as well. Brandon Johnson has supported Williamson well, and Brian Henderson has come along on the wing. The Monarchs have the best rebounding margin in the conference and look solid all-around as they enter CAA play.

Towson (6-5, 1-0)

The Tigers were challenged in non-conference play, and like Georgia State, they basically won the games they were supposed to. Gary Neal is doing plenty, but no other Tiger is averaging in double figures. The real concern for this team figured to be defense, but it’s the offense that is lagging. Opponents are shooting 42 percent against the Tigers, but they’re only shooting 42 percent from the floor, have more turnovers than assists and are in the bottom half in the CAA in scoring. Neal is the only Tiger to start every game, so clearly the non-conference slate was one of learning the best combinations. If Pat Kennedy has found that out, and the Tigers improve at the offensive end, they could be contenders when it’s all said and done.

UNC Wilmington (3-7, 0-1)

It’s been a time of growing pains for the Seahawks, especially with T.J. Carter out due to injury. They have scored points but also turned the ball over (only Georgia State has turned it over more) and struggled at the defensive end. The two biggest bright spots have been junior forward Vladimir Kuljanin, one of the most improved players in the conference and among the leaders in the CAA in scoring and rebounding, and senior point guard Temi Soyebo, who leads the CAA in assists. Things don’t get any easier in the foreseeable future, with Hofstra at home and then tough road games at Drexel and George Mason ahead.

VCU (9-3, 1-0)

The well-balanced Rams were thought to be a dark horse prior to the season, but their impressive non-conference run has them looking like a top contender. They lead the CAA in scoring and turnover margin and are second in both major defensive categories. Sophomore point guard Eric Maynor has made several teammates better, as he’s second in the conference in assists while also being second on the team in scoring. The Rams have one of the conference’s top freshmen in T.J. Gwynn, who won the league’s Rookie of the Week honor in consecutive weeks last month. If the Rams continue to win on the road (they are 4-0 on the road thus far), that will serve them well since three of their next four are away from home.

William & Mary (7-4, 0-1)

The surging Tribe is perhaps the most pleasant surprise coming out of non-conference play, especially considering senior forward Corey Cofield has struggled. They finished their slate by winning six of seven, aided by better offense while the defense remained solid (they are second in the CAA in field goal percentage defense). While none of the wins were against national powers and all were at home, it has to give them a good confidence boost heading into CAA play. Three times in this winning streak, they have shot over 47 percent, including a 51.2 percent showing against Hampton to win despite 24 turnovers. Speaking of turnovers, they are a concern for this team: only three regulars have more assists than turnovers.

BC Starts ACC Play With Win

Eagles Start ACC Better Second Time Around

by Phil Kasiecki

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – This time around, the start of the ACC season is a little better for Boston College.

Last season, the Eagles started off ACC play with a tough December loss at Maryland, then lost two more a month later to start off 0-3. Sunday night’s 73-62 win over Maryland puts the Eagles at 1-0 in ACC play and extends their winning streak to five games.

“It’s good to get a good start in the ACC,” said junior center Sean Williams, a key player in the victory.

The Eagles also won in good fashion, as the game didn’t seem as close as the score was at times. They led by single digits for most of the game, but you got the sense that Maryland wasn’t quite that close. The Terrapins were quite erratic most of the night at the offensive end (16 turnovers, a good number of which were unforced) and even made some bad decisions defensively. Several times, such plays helped kill mini-runs they made that could have turned into game-changing runs. And for most of the night, the Eagles were simply tougher and made plays from having the will to win. It showed in out-rebounding the Terrapins by seven and scoring 20 second-chance points.

“We need to learn some things from tonight’s game about how aggressive you have to be against a veteran team that rebounds well,” said Maryland head coach Gary Williams. “I thought early, we had to fight just to stay in there, and it shouldn’t be that way. I thought we could come out a little harder than we did.”

The other big factor for Boston College was the frontcourt, especially Sean Williams in the second half. He blocked seven shots, six coming in the second half and two coming on one play when it looked like the Terrapins had a fast break that would produce a basket. He swatted the first one from behind, then was a little away from the play right after it and reached to his right and swatted another one away to thwart the Terrapins once again. Williams had 10 points and 11 rebounds, joining Jared Dudley (20 points, 11 rebounds) in the double-double column.

Sophomore point guard Tyrese Rice didn’t have his best shooting night, as he was 5-13 from the field, but he helped them grab a lead in the first half. He also added four assists and continues to look better.

“He has to get a lot better for us to get to that next level,” Dudley said of Rice. “For us to take that next step, he and Marquez (Haynes) have to get a lot better, not only in decision-making, but basically being a leader on the court.”

Right now, the Eagles are in a better place in the ACC than they were a year ago. After a tough loss to the Terrapins in College Park, they were 0-1, then two more losses had them at 0-3 and the questions were flying. Dudley noted the similarity of that time to the questions about the team earlier this year after two straight losses, and thinks the team knows how to deal with that adversity.

“It’s good to see where we came from,” the senior forward said. “I guarantee you people were writing us off when we were 1-2, losing to Vermont and Providence. We’re going to keep working here.”

Notes

• Three Terrapins were in familiar territory on Sunday night. Williams was the head coach at Boston College before Conte Forum was built, and assistant coach Michael Adams is also an alum of the school. Senior guard Mike Jones grew up in Dorchester and played high school ball at Snowden High School, where he scored 32 points in the city championship as a true freshman, then Thayer Academy in Braintree.
• Dudley’s stat line, while it is what we’ve come to expect, is made more impressive by the fact that he didn’t practice much this past week due to a nagging left foot injury. He played all 40 minutes through it, saying it has gotten better since he landed on another player’s foot Wednesday night against Fairfield.
• Dudley surpassed Adams on BC’s all-time scoring list, moving into tenth place all-time with his 20 points. He entered the game needing 16 to tie Adams.
• James Gist quietly had a nice night for the Terrapins, scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. He has all the tools to make this a big breakout season.

Saturday Notebook

Rams Hang on in Overtime

by Phil Kasiecki

KINGSTON, R.I. – Ray Giacoletti had never seen anything like it. The Utah head coach wasn’t referring to the photo finish of regulation in his team’s loss at Rhode Island on Saturday.

He was referring to the finish of overtime, when super sophomore big man Luke Nevill tried to go up for a shot in the closing seconds and appeared to have it swatted away by Rhode Island’s Darrell Harris. There was a good deal of contact as the whole play developed, but no foul was called – and that was exactly what set Giacoletti off for a good chunk of his post-game press conference.

“In 21 years of coaching, that was the most gutless… those three officials – D.J. (Carstensen), Mike (Eades) and George (Harry) – print it,” said Giacoletti, who later said one of the Rams apologized to him after the game. “If someone can raise their hand in here and tell me that (Nevill) didn’t get fouled, I’d call you a liar.”

It was an unfortunate end to a great game, though one the Utes trailed for most of. The Rams made their first six shots, four of which were from downtown, and it wasn’t until 5:06 in the second half that the game was ever tied. Shaun Green’s three-pointer as time expired in regulation went in to send the game to overtime, where the Utes had some momentum for the first couple of minutes.

The Rams got a big effort from Harris, a senior center who played 36 minutes and didn’t put up huge numbers. Where he came through was with his defense in making Nevill work for his 25 points and 16 rebounds. Harris had 11 points, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals.

“I was waiting for this game, because last year they beat us, and we wanted to come back and beat them,” said Harris.

You could tell this was two young teams playing, as there were a number of loose ball fouls called. There also wasn’t the best of defense, although that belonged a bit with the Utes, who entered the game ninth in the Mountain West in field goal percentage defense. That’s clearly an area for improvement with this team, one that has just one senior but clearly has the pieces to be a contender before long.

“We need to get better defensively in order for us to be able to win on the road and win at home, bottom line,” Giacoletti said. “Until we take more pride in that, we’re going to find ourselves in that situation. Until we have pride defensively, it’s not going to get any better.”

Said junior Johnnie Bryant, who had an uncharacteristic struggle from long range (4-13) en route to 18 points: “We just have to do the little things on defense.”

Besides getting the win in a close game, the Rams had a big positive on the stat sheet: 18 assists, eight turnovers. The Rams entered the game averaging almost 18 turnovers per game and have the worst turnover margin in the Atlantic 10 by a good margin. Freshman guard Keith Cothran made a nice contribution to that stat line with three assists and no turnovers in his first game after being cleared to play by the NCAA.

“We’ve been waiting to play him,” said Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron. “He gives us another athlete off the bench. He’s another piece to the puzzle of having athletic guards.”

The Rams, who now are off for the next week with final exams, were 11-24 on three-pointers. Jimmy Baron led the charge in going 5-8 from downtown en route to 21 points. He took just two shots in the first half, but got more opportunities in the second half.

Other Notable Games

UCLA 65, Texas A&M 62: The Bruins stay perfect by holding off the formidable Aggies.

Pittsburgh 70, Buffalo 67: The Panthers chose the right time to lead the game, as they trailed for all but a couple of minutes of it.

Texas Tech 98, Centenary 64: Bob Knight is almost there – two more wins to Dean Smith’s record.

Wichita State 83, Wyoming 69: Four straight Saturday road wins for the 7-0 Shockers. This also led the way in a 7-0 showing on Saturday for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Duke 69, George Mason 53: The Blue Devils continue to look solid, while the Patriots continue to win one, then lose one as they go to 4-4.

Gonzaga 97, Washington 77: That thud you heard was the Huskies’ winning streak as it ended in a bad way against the Bulldogs.

Wisconsin 70, Marquette 66: The Badgers take a close one against their in-state rivals.

Purdue 79, Missouri 62: The Boilermakers hand the Tigers the first loss under Mike Anderson, who has started off well in Columbia.

Washington State 66, Idaho 54: The Cougars’ excellent start continues, as Tony Bennett’s team is now 9-1 with this road win.

UNLV 58, Nevada 49: Nick Fazekas did play, and he played well in posting a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds. But only four came in the second half, when the Wolfpack rallied but fell short.

Indiana State 72, Butler 64: Butler’s first loss of the season is another highlight of the Valley’s big Saturday. That said, the fans in Terre Haute have to tell me something, though: if a team is “overrated”, as they chanted near the end of the game, why is a win over them worthy of rushing the court?

Southern Illinois 75, Western Kentucky 70: A great matchup goes to the visiting Salukis, who are now 7-1.

Creighton 73, Xavier 67: The Bluejays win a dandy matchup despite being out-rebounded 41-29.

Kansas State 83, North Dakota State 81: For a while, it looked like the Bison would pull off another one. But the Wildcats rallied to take a close one.

UCF 87, Florida Atlantic 65: The Knights are quietly undefeated at 6-0 heading into Tuesday’s game at Minnesota, their first road contest of the season.

Oregon 68, Nebraska 56: The Ducks stay undefeated as Bryce Taylor breaks out of a season-long shooting slump.

Drexel 81, Villanova 76: Don’t look now, but the Dragons have quietly won four straight. Frank Elegar posted his second double-double in three games.

Providence 94, Maine 79: A tale of two halves as the host Friars win going away. In the first half, Maine was 10-17 on three-pointers and had just two turnovers. The Friars took control in the second half, shutting down the Black Bears’ offense and getting their own offense in gear.

West Virginia 85, Duquesne 54: Rebuilding, you say? The Mountaineers are now 7-1 with several new players in key roles. The undermanned Dukes, on the other hand, have now lost six straight after winning their first two games.

VCU 68, Richmond 54: New head coach Anthony Grant is getting it done, as VCU wins the cross-town rivalry game to improve to 7-2.

Utah State 69, Utah Valley State 65: The Aggies are now 8-1, as Stew Morrill’s team just keeps on winning after key players move on.

San Diego 72, California 67: The Toreros take home the Golden Bear Classic from the hosts.

Davidson 79, Charlotte 51: The young Wildcats score a blowout win over the struggling 49ers to snap a three-game losing streak in the annual Hornet’s Nest game.

Arkansas-Little Rock 67, Minnesota 66: Another setback for the Golden Gophers.

Yale 70, American 53: A good win for the Bulldogs, just their second of the season but against an underrated Eagles team.

Wagner 72, Robert Morris 60: Wagner looked like the favorites last season before conference play started, then fell apart. They draw first blood this year, knocking off Robert Morris, which looks like the favorites this season.

Fairfield Coach Ed Cooley

Cooley Always Had the Coach In Him

by Phil Kasiecki

Ed Cooley has had an eye for basketball talent for a long time. The Fairfield first-year head coach is one who definitely started early.

The Providence native was a star at Central High School, which was by far the best team in the state in his high school days. But even in those days, he was not only talented, but he knew the game. Providence Journal writer Paul Kenyon, who was hired to cover high school sports and is now the beat writer for the University of Rhode Island, remembers how Cooley first showed his knack for knowing the landscape during his junior year of high school.

“I’m in the office one day and the guard at the front door calls the sports department to say I had a visitor – one Ed Cooley,” Kenyon recalls, noting that the office is just down the street from Central High School.

Cooley came in and started to talk about basketball with him, which he did a few more times over the next couple of years. The two formed a rapport, and it was one that certainly helped Kenyon with what he called “the toughest part of the job”, which was picking the all-state team. When his senior year came up, Cooley came by the office and told Kenyon about some other players, making it clear who he thought was good and who he thought was over-rated.

Kenyon felt comfortable with and was impressed enough with Cooley to let him help pick the team. He remembers Cooley saying that he wanted to be a basketball coach, and describes him as one of his favorites.

Cooley is now a college head coach after a long, productive run as an assistant coach for Al Skinner at Rhode Island and Boston College. You can see the heritage of his days under Skinner in how his team plays, from the flex offense to the persistence against the opposition when they seem to break the game open. In the times to come, that will surely be even more evident as the program will consist of more and more kids he and his staff recruit. Cooley’s talent evaluation skills helped Boston College land a number of players who have been important to their recent success.

He had two homecomings of different sorts this week. On Monday, the Stags played at Providence, where he is originally from and lived while coaching at Rhode Island and Providence. He still owns a home there, and Providence head coach Tim Welsh noted that Cooley’s son goes to his summer basketball camp. Then on Wednesday night, Cooley returned to Boston College as the Stags took on the Eagles. He got a warm welcome from the crowd, and after Wednesday’s game, he could be seen embracing his former colleagues and players.

The Stags lost both games, but as they have for much of the season, they impressed with their style of play. The Stags have played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in America, but have played several of the best teams close. Cooley was happy to see his team pull Providence out of its zone defense, and on a couple of occasions it looked like the Friars were going to pull away for a blowout, but it never happened.

“His team is playing hard, and he’s doing a real good job as a first-year coach,” said Welsh. “That team’s 2-7 and they’re in here playing their hearts out.”

Boston College did pull away, and after the game Eagles head coach Al Skinner noted that he’s not fond of playing a former assistant.

“I’m not excited about playing him,” said Skinner, who also spoke of the very difficult schedule the Stags have played thus far. “It’s a loss for him.”

The Stags are 2-9 against this tough schedule, but with the way they play and the MAAC being wide-open save for Marist being the favorite, they will be a team to keep an eye on. They are young, as they start three freshmen, but the talent and coaching are certainly there. The future bodes well given the youth of the team, and in the fall signing period they landed a good class. The class for next year shows the reach Cooley and his staff have, as the three players range geographically from the northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital to Georgia.

With the knowledge he showed as a high school player, it’s no surprise that Ed Cooley has become a Division I head coach. When his team wins game after game in the years ahead, that won’t be a surprise, either.

Family Affair In URI Win

Rams Win Family Affair

by Phil Kasiecki

KINGSTON, R.I. – Tuesday night might have seemed an odd time for a family affair at the Ryan Center. A rather small crowd gathered to see the last in-state battle of the season in Rhode Island, but those who came got their money’s worth.

The Rams gave the home crowd a 72-68 victory over Brown in a game that featured, but wasn’t limited to, the spectacular shooting of two wing guards. Brown junior Damon Huffman, playing in just his third game of the season, scored a career-high 30 points on 9-12 shooting, including 8-11 on three-pointers. His opposite number, sophomore Jimmy Baron, scored a career-high 28 on 8-10 shooting, going 8-9 from three-point range. Several of their shots weren’t from right behind the line.

They weren’t trying to compete with one another by themselves, but at times it almost looked like it was a game to see who could top the other. It’s not often you see two shooters combine to go 16-20 from long range in a game. Brown head coach Craig Robinson remembers games like this only from his professional days; Baron, who has long been known for his shooting, remembers going at it for a few years in high school with Jeff Xavier, who is sitting out this year at Providence after transferring from Manhattan. (That means they will have at it two more times the next two seasons.)

“I don’t remember a college game like this,” said Robinson, who is in his first season as head coach of the Bears.

Baron is the son of Rams head coach Jim Baron, and it’s not hard to tell. The younger Baron, known for his shooting (Robinson called him a “spectacular shooter”), plays like the son of a coach with his knowledge of the game, although he is certainly not beyond needing more instruction.

“After the PC game, I told him, ‘there’s no way you can do what you did’ against Providence,” said the elder Baron after Jimmy took just three shots in a blowout loss to the Friars two days earlier. “You have to be aggressive attacking the bucket. You have to continue to take it off the dribble once in a while. You’re too good of a player.”

Jimmy made his first start of the season a good one, scoring 14 points in the first half and staking the Rams to a 35-29 halftime lead. There were stretches in the second half where he didn’t get the ball much, but when the Rams went back to him, he was up to the task. His last shot, a three from the right corner with 4:15 left, put the Rams up 64-59 and stopped a 9-0 run by the Bears, who still had a chance to tie in the final seconds.

After the game, there were some good father-son moments. They don’t happen often, at least not for public consumption, and it’s not because they aren’t close. Jimmy is a good young man and good student; indeed, for those who know his father, one can see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But the elder Baron isn’t one to talk about his son much, and it all goes to the difficulty for any honest person like him of coaching a son. Part of that challenge is not playing favorites or even giving the appearance of it, something that on the surface would not seem difficult for him to do since he will suspend or not start a player for things that others may let slide.

“It’s very challenging, but I know how hard he works at it, his teammates know how hard he works at it, my assistants know how hard he works at it,” the elder Baron said of his son. “He puts in the time. That makes it a lot easier.”

Indeed, for all we know Baron may even try too hard to avoid the appearance of playing favorites with his son. In a light moment during the post-game press conference, Jimmy said, with a smile, “For the first time in my career, he made a positive comment in the locker room in front of the teammates, so that was a step in the right direction, I think.”

That and a few other comments from them made for a light atmosphere, especially since Baron understandably tends to keep the family aspect close to home. So when Jimmy was still around and the last question asked was if he would get another start, there were a few laughs as Jimmy said he stayed in the room to hear the answer to that question.

“He’s going to have to be consistent,” was all his father would offer.

National Prep Showcase Recap

Plenty of Talent at National Prep Showcase

by Phil Kasiecki

WORCESTER, Mass. – The 2006 National Prep Showcase was the latest pre-Thanksgiving event of its kind. It was three days full of good matchups and plenty of Division I talent, both signed and unsigned among seniors and with good underclassmen. Although a couple of games were blowouts, a number of games were close and one went to overtime.

Friday Scores
Oakdale (CT) St. Thomas More 67, Fork Union (VA) Military Academy 63
Winchendon (MA) School 80, Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy 72
Lee (ME) Academy 100, Centereach (NY) Our Savior New American 56
Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep 98, Simi Valley (CA) Stoneridge Prep 95
North Bridgton (ME) Bridgton Academy 96, Lenoir (NC) Patterson School 85

Saturday Scores
Northfield (MA) Mt. Hermon 92, Our Savior New American 39
New Hampton (NH) School 67, Champlain St. Lambert (Quebec) 56
Patterson School 86, St. Thomas More 82
Winchendon School 69, Fork Union Military Academy 51
South Kent (CT) School 75, Pittsfield (ME) Maine Central Institute 54
Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy 94, Woodstock (VA) Massanutten Military Academy 65
Bridgton Academy 96, Aston (PA) American Christian Academy 82
Stoneridge Prep 96, Lee Academy 83

Sunday Scores
Patterson School 104, New Hampton School 81
Brewster Academy 101, American Christian Academy 78
Northfield Mt. Hermon 67, Champlain St. Lambert 39
South Kent School 87, Massanutten Military Academy 57
Blairstown (NJ) Blair Academy 76, Tilton (NH) School 45
Maine Central Institute 82, Stoneridge Prep 79 (OT)

Peterson Fits in With Notre Dame

Notre Dame Prep head coach Bill Barton loves to press and play up-tempo. That suits Jamine Peterson just fine, and it showed this weekend as Peterson put forth a couple of big scoring games.

An active 6’5″ athlete on the wing, the Brooklyn native scored 33 points on 14-24 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in Friday’s win, then followed it up 24 points (11-17 shooting) and nine more rebounds in Saturday’s win. Peterson scored often on the break, but also got to the basket and finished with a variety of reverse layups and moves through traffic.

Peterson isn’t a shooter, but he knows not to take them as he didn’t attempt one three-pointer this weekend. He also gets a little too fancy and tries to do too much at times, but when he plays within his strength as he did much of this weekend, he’s a major asset to his team.

Bridgton Impresses

Whit Lesure has won with teams that didn’t have as much talent as this year’s, so it’s safe to say that Bridgton Academy will be a formidable opponent this season given the talent they showed this weekend.

On Friday night, Greg Hill lit up Patterson for 23 points in the first half, draining several three-pointers. He was silent in the second half and was quiet Saturday, but he’s shown himself to be a solid combo guard with a good feel for the game.

Delaware wing Paris Horne also looked good, especially in the second half of Friday’s win. The thin athlete went for 19 points and 10 rebounds, then added 15 more on Saturday night, scoring often on driving layups. He didn’t score on jumpers much, but did knock one down from long range.

St. John’s signee Justin Burrell is someone Norm Roberts would surely love to have right now. Burrell is athletic and solid and really comes to play every time out, running the floor well and going to work inside. He scored 40 points in the two games and was a constant presence on the boards, and Red Storm fans are going to love the way he plays the game.

Two less-heralded players who impressed are New York area wing Rashard Green, the younger brother of North Carolina sophomore Danny, and Ronnie Moss. Green isn’t overly quick or athletic, but he makes plays at both ends of the floor. Moss, a 6’2″ native of Fort Worth, Texas, shot the ball well in a reserve role and could be a nice pickup for a mid-major. He was better Saturday, when he was more active at both ends of the floor.

Gillenwater Returns Home, Plays Well in Defeats

Boston native Troy Gillenwater had a homecoming of sorts, playing about 50 miles west with some family and friends present. His Stoneridge Prep team lost two of three, but he had three big games to lead the talented group.

The highlight was his 37-point effort in Saturday’s win over Lee Academy, which followed a double-double on Friday of 27 points and 11 rebounds. When he gets the ball inside, the well-built forward is almost automatic, and he battles inside throughout the game. His ball skills are a little iffy right now as he looks to expand his offensive game, but his overall offensive game away from the post looks improved.

Most notable among his teammates was Minnesota native Angelo Johnson, a 5’10″ fifth-year junior point guard who really scored the ball well. He was driving to the basket at will and absorbing contact to score before he was hurt and struggled on Sunday. Another we liked was Valparaiso signee Howard Little, a 6’4″ athletic slasher who should do well as they move to the Horizon League.

Correia Can Shoot It

One player who boosted his stock perhaps as much as anyone is Northfield Mt. Hermon combo guard Gary Correia, who put on a fine shooting display in his team’s two blowout wins. The 6’1″ Providence native may be the latest guard to boost himself while playing for Bill Batty, as he was one of the better available mid-major guards at the event.

Correia started Saturday by scoring 14 points, including 4-6 on three-pointers, then repeated those numbers on Sunday. He did a nice job as the floor leader as well and should have his recruitment improve from his showing here.

Patterson’s Wings Impress

Chris Chaney’s team at Patterson has plenty of athleticism on the wing in the form of Kansas State signee Dominique Sutton and Tennessee signee Cameron Tatum, and Seton Hall-bound Jeremy Hazell showed his shooting ability. For good measure, Tirrell Baines, who is more of a power forward, isn’t lacking athletically as he showed in his team’s games.

Sutton got off to a fast start Friday night en route to 18 points and eight rebounds, while Tatum was very active in transition. Tatum didn’t score much save for his 15 points on Saturday, but was a factor each time out. Hazell, who’s not as athletic, lit up the scoreboard in a big way on Sunday morning, scoring 21 of his 34 points in the first half of their win over New Hampton. Hazell went 12-31 from long range in the three games en route to 74 points, getting five steals on Saturday and three on Sunday.

Baines didn’t put up the biggest numbers, but he certainly boosted his stock. He doesn’t look skilled enough to play the wing, but he certainly has the athleticism and really used it to his advantage from the power forward spot. Athletic and with a good body, he rebounded and got out in transition several times, finishing a few breaks with dunks that grabbed attention. He posted a double-double on Saturday with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Some high-major might take a flyer on him, though he could be very good at the right mid-major.

Negedu Plays Right

Brewster Academy junior forward Emmanuel Negedu is a refreshing player to watch. He has a solid body for the low post, is athletic and runs the floor. But best of all, he doesn’t take a play off, going with effort and intensity every minute he’s on the floor. Although statistics don’t show his full value, he did pretty well in the stat lines this weekend.

Negedu went for 16 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Massanutten Military Academy, then followed it with 28 points on 13-18 shooting and 13 more rebounds in Sunday’s blowout of American Christian. On a team loaded with talent, from Iowa State-bound forward Craig Brackens (who had 29 points Saturday) to Idaho signee Andre McFarland (who had a double-double on Sunday), Negedu shines in large part because of how he plays.

Other Players of Note

Darryl Ashford, Jr. (6’3″ Sr. SG, New Hampton (NH) Prep)   The General got a good one, as the Texas Tech-bound wing is simply a solid player. He’s athletic and active at both ends of the floor.

Kodi Augustus (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Pittsfield (ME) Maine Central Institute)   He had a nice spurt on Sunday where he looked like the high-major prospect we’ve thought him to be, but overall he wasn’t a big factor for his team. The Mississippi State signee has good talent to play both forward spots, but didn’t impress much overall this weekend.

Chris Baez (6’5″ Sr. SG, Lee (ME) Academy)   His sweet stroke was on display in two games, as he went for 16 and 20 points on a combined 7-11 shooting from long range.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning (6’9″ Sr. PF, South Kent (CT) School)   He’s athletic and runs the floor well, and he did that this weekend for a few breakaway dunks. Where he gets into trouble is when he tries to be a small forward, as he simply doesn’t have the ball skills for it. He committed 10 turnovers in the two games, many coming when he would try to drive to the basket or otherwise handle the ball more than a post player should.

Devin Ebanks (6’7″ Jr. SF, Oakdale (CT) St. Thomas More)   Talented wing has been well-traveled in just the past year. He scored 20 points in each game, getting 13 rebounds in the second one, and scored mostly in transition and on drives to the basket. If he shoots it better, we’ll be talking about an elite prospect.

Keenan Ellis (6’11″ Sr. C, Aston (PA) American Christian Academy)   The UAB signee showed a nice touch on short and mid-range jumpers. He’s still very thin but athletic and with plenty of upside at that size.

Joseph Fulce (6’7″ Sr. SF Woodstock (VA) Massanutten Military Academy)   He struggled against South Kent, although he did grab seven rebounds and hit his only three-pointer. The day before, he went for 17 and went 2-2 from behind the arc. Though not a great athlete, he’ll be a nice addition to Texas A&M.

Michael Glover (6’6″ Sr. PF, Aston (PA) American Christian Academy)   The younger brother of former St. John’s forward Anthony is a similar type of player. He has a good body, is skilled and plays very hard, and while not a great athlete, he’s not entirely lacking in that area. Seton Hall fans will be happy, as he should be a role player a little in the Kelly Whitney mold.

Mike Howlett (6’9″ Sr. PF, New Hampton (NH) Prep)   Lehigh got a good one with him, as he’s skilled and seems to have a good feel for the game. He has good size and can play a little of both forward spots, though he’ll probably fare best as a skilled power forward.

Karron Johnson (6’6″ So. SF, Lenoir (NC) Patterson School)   One of the better players in this class played limited minutes and didn’t do a whole lot. He’s well-built and hit a couple of jumpers in a few minutes on Sunday.