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NEC Player of the Week: Jerome Frink, LIU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Marcel Pettway, BRY
Previous NEC Releases: Dec. 7 | Nov. 30 | Nov. 23 | Nov. 16 | Preseason Poll Release
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jerome Frink, LIU Brooklyn
6-7, 230 lbs.
Jr., F, Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)
In winning his second NEC Player of the Week accolade, Frink averaged a double-double with 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as the Blackbirds split a pair of road games. The junior forward shot 53.3 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range, 83.3 percent from the stripe and also added 2.0 steals per contest. Frink scored a career-high 30 points and pulled down nine rebounds in an 89-84 overtime setback at red-hot Fordham on Tuesday night. He netted 23 of his 30 after halftime and sent the game into overtime on a three-pointer with 21 seconds to play in regulation. Later in the week at Niagara, Frink registered his second double-double on the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and added three steals in an 80-79 overtime win. His layup with 59 seconds left in OT gave the Blackbirds a two-point edge. The Jersey City native leads the NEC with 9.0 rpg, and also ranks in the top-10 in scoring (16.9, third), field goal percentage (.525, eight), three-point percentage (.375, tenth), and blocks (1.5, third).
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Marcel Pettway, Bryant
6-5, 250 lbs.
Fr., F/C, North Providence, RI/Hoosac School
Pettway, now a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week, has become a force in the paint for the Bulldogs. Last week he averaged a double-double once again for the Bulldogs with 11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, to go along with 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per contest. Pettway also shot 58.8 percent from the floor. He opened the week with his second career double-double, recording 13 points and 10 rebounds while converting 6-9 shot opportunities against Army. Pettway was then stellar in 40 full minutes of action at #15 Providence, finishing with nine points on 4-8 shooting while snaring 10 caroms. He also added four assists and a pair of steals in a seven-point setback. On the year, Pettway is averaing 7.2 ppg. The North Providence, RI product is the NEC freshman leader and ranks 11th overall with 6.3 rpg. He is also ninth on the circuit in field goal percentage, converting at a 51.7 percent clip.
ANDERSON HIGH-FLYING ACT REACHES APEX WITH “THE DUNK”
It may not have erased the painful memory of “The Shot,” but the finish of last Wednesday’s game between Wagner and Rider was only slightly less memorable.
Nearly 23 years ago, Rider’s Darrick Suber sank Wagner’s NCAA hoop dreams with perhaps the most iconic buzzer shot in league history in the 1993 NEC Championship game.
Last Wednesday, “The Shot” was joined by the “The Dunk” in another touchstone moment of a rivalry that dates back to the Rider’s NEC days back in the 90s.
Playing at the same Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, NJ, Wagner and Rider were embroiled in a nip-and-tuck battle in a game that featured 12 lead changes.
Wagner redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson’s (Suttons Bay/Suttons Bay (Michigan State)) layup with 1:00 on the clock gave the Seahawks a 63-60 lead, but back-to-back Rider layups left the Green & White trailing by one with six seconds left on the clock. Following a timeout, Wagner sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) launched a three-pointer that bounced high off the rim.
That’s where the fun began.
Anderson, who was stationed approximately 30 feet away from the rim when the shot went up, sprinted toward the hoop and took off.
“I thought, ‘I’m going to be able to slide in here if this shot gets missed,’” Anderson said. “My foot’s 100 percent. It feels great. And when no one really blocked me out, I was thinking, ‘I can end this right here.’”
At the apex of his jump as he soared over Rider would-be rebounders, he caught the ball with one hand and slammed it home with two seconds to play.
“I thought Dwaun jumped right over a couple of guys,” said Wagner head coach Bashir Mason. “He’s been great as a leader with the younger guys all season. Tonight he wasn’t having a great game early, but he just hung in there.”
Anderson finished with 12 points on the night in a balanced scoring effort for Wagner, which improved to 5-2 on the year with the victory.
“A really huge win for us,” Mason said. “To go on the road like this and win a close game, a really good college basketball game, I’m just super-proud of the way guys reacted.”
The reaction was instant on social media as the video quickly went viral and landed #5 on the #SCTop10 that night, the fifth such time in his career Anderson has been featured on the daily countdown.
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
This is how you win a game with authority.
Troy Machir @TroyMachir
One of the best Dunkers in the country with one of the best dunks of the year.
Northeast Conference @NECsports
We all wish we could fly. @WagnerHoops Dwaun Anderson can. And putback dunk. For the win. #TopThis #SCTop10 #NECMBB
steveohville @steveohville
That’s incredible. Staten Island represent.
Chris Cappella @C_Cappella
Send it in Dwaun!
Gus Elvin @gpelvin
Early dunk of the year candidate and a game winner from former Michigan State commit Dwaun Anderson.....WOW.
Rob Dauster @RobDauster
The dude threw down the game-winning tip-dunk in this video? He started right there.
FDU’S POTTS JR. HEADS UP MOST NEC’S IMPROVED SCORERS
When the NEC hands out its Most Improved Player award at year’s end, there will be no shortage of deserving student-athletes from which to choose. Glancing at scoring alone, there are a number players who have stepped up their game from last year, none more so than FDU sophomore swingman Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding). Potts has lifted his point production from 6.6 ppg as a freshman to 16.2 ppg this season, a whopping 145 percent increase. The Severn, MD native ranks fourth in the NEC in scoring and had 20 points in FDU’s 91-89 overtime win at Lafayette on Wednesday.
Along with Potts Jr., Bryant sophomore guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, GA/North Cobb Christian) (+8.1), Saint Francis U senior guard Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) (+7.9), Wagner redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay/Suttons Bay (Michigan State)) (+7.1) and St. Francis Brooklyn junior guard Yunus Hopkinson (New York, NY/Food & Finance (Lee Academy (ME))) (+7.1) have all lifted their scoring averages at least 7.0 ppg from a year ago.
NEC Most Improved Scorers
Name 2014-15 2015-16 PPG Increase
Earl Potts Jr., FDU 6.6 ppg 16.2 ppg +9.6
Hunter Ware, BRY 5.6 ppg 13.7 ppg +8.1
Ben Millaud-Meunier, SFU 5.5 ppg 13.4 ppg +7.9
Dwaun Anderson, WC 5.5 ppg* 12.6 ppg +7.1 (*2013-14 stats)
Yunus Hopkinson, SFBK 2.6 ppg 9.7 ppg +7.1
Corey Henson, WC 9.1 ppg 14.9 ppg +5.8
Martin Hermannsson, LIU 10.1 ppg 15.8 ppg +5.7
Mustafa Jones, CCSU 1.6 ppg 7.3 ppg +5.7
Rodney Pryor, RMU 15.6 ppg 21.2 ppg +5.6
Elijah Minnie, RMU 6.8 ppg 11.8 ppg +5.0
Cane Broome, SHU 14.5 ppg 19.1 ppg +4.6
Greg Brown, SFU 8.2 ppg 12.7 ppg +4.5
Stephan Jiggetts, FDU 5.3 ppg 9.7 ppg +4.4
BK Ashe, MSM 11.9 ppg 16.2 ppg +4.3
Jordan Allen, SHU 8.7 ppg 12.9 ppg +4.2
Khalen Cumberlander, CCSU 9.9 ppg 14.0 ppg +4.1
Charles Glover, MSM 2.0 ppg 5.6 ppg +3.6
Chris Hooper, SFBK 5.7 ppg 9.3 ppg +3.6
Japhet Kadji, WC 3.2 ppg 6.8 ppg +3.6
Taylor Danaher, MSM 4.5 ppg 7.9 ppg +3.4
Darian Anderson, FDU 11.4 ppg 14.7 ppg +3.3
Junior Robinson, MSM 8.2 ppg 11.2 ppg +3.0
CLOSE CALLS
Of the 14 basketball games involving NEC teams last week, four went to overtime and three others were decised by four points or less.
BOMBS AWAY FOR TERRIERS
As a team, St. Francis Brooklyn entered Thursday night’s game with new Atlantic Sun member NJIT averaging 24.2 three-point attempts per game. While that figure ranked the Terriers second in the NEC, nobody in the Pope Center that evening envisioned the three-point barrage that they would witness.
SFBK launched 49 three pointers against the Highlanders in an overtime loss, making an NEC single-game season-high 16 of them. The sheer volume of makes and attempts warranted a check of the record books. Here is what was uncovered.
- The 49 three-point attempts are the second-most in a DI game this season behind The Citadel’s 50 attempts vs. Air Force on December 2.
- It marked the most three-point attempts by an NEC team dating back to the 1997-98 season and the advent of Stat Crew. The previous high was 42, shared by Bryant (vs. Monmouth, Jan. 22, 2011), Mount St. Mary’s (vs. UMBC, Feb. 11, 2003) and LIU Brooklyn (vs. CCSU, Jan. 31, 1998).
- The 16 makes by SFBK were the most by the Terriers since hitting 17 against Robert Morris on December 4, 2008.
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR CCSU’S PEEL
CCSU senior forward Brandon Peel (Forestville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) collected his fourth double-double of the year with a 12-point, 11-rebound outing at Rutgers on Tuesday. Peel also had a career-high six assists in the game.
Peel leads all active NEC players with 16 career double-doubles. He ranks second in the league with 8.8 rpg.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SQUARED FOR BRYANT
Bryant junior forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, CT/Bethel) and freshman forward Marcel Pettway (North Providence, RI/Hoosac School) both picked up double-doubles on Tuesday against Army, each finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. It marked the first time two Bulldogs charted double-doubles in the same contest since Alex Francis (‘14) and Joe O’Shea (‘15) completed the feat at LIU Brooklyn on March 14, 2014.
ROBINSON SPARKS MOUNT COMEBACK WIN OVER BUCKNELL
Mount St. Mary’s trailed by 14 at the half against Bucknell on Wednesday, but that’s where the Mayhem began.
By the first media timeout of the second half, the Mount had forced six turnovers and cut the deficit to five points.
Fast forward to the final media timeout of the game.
With the Mount having taken a two-point lead, sophomore point guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) took over. He scored eight points over the final 3:32, including a key layup with 1:30 on the clock to bump the Mountaineer lead to six. Robinson finished with 19 points and nine assists in the 81-73 win.
The 5-5 guard has dished for 7.3 assists over the past four games and ranks second in the NEC with 4.5 apg on the season. For the year, Robinson is also averaging 11.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg.
WOODS WINS IT FOR LIU
He may be averaging just 3.0 ppg, but sophomore swingman Trevon Woods (Houston, TX/Ford Bend Austin), looked every bit the star on the final play of LIU Brooklyn’s 80-79 overtime win at Niagara on Saturday.
Trailing by a point, Woods ran the baseline and was spotted by sophomore guard Martin Hermannsson (Reykjavik, Iceland/ Reykjavik) in the corner. Woods immediately drove baseline and soared over a Purple Eagle defender for the game winner, converting the contested layup with 2.6 seconds left on the clock.
Woods finished with a career-high 11 points in the win, including a 3-5 mark from outside the arc.
McKNIGHT SHINES BRIGHT FOR SHU
Sacred Heart freshman guard Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, CT/St. Joseph’s (Phelps)) has been an offensive force for Sacred Heart over the first month of his collegiate career. The three-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree continued his stellar play for the Pioneers with a terrific all-around effort on Saturday, tallying 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals in a narrow 90-86 setback to Lafayette.
His layup with 41 seconds to play pulled the Pioneers to within three points after trailing by as many as 13 in the second half.
McKnight leads all NEC freshman with 11.6 ppg, 2.9 apg and 1.4 apg. The Bridgeport, CT native also averages 4.0 rpg.
LIU’S THREE-HEADED MONSTER
LIU Brooklyn is off to a 5-3 start, and much of the talk about the rejuvenated Blackbirds revolves around the three-player core of junior forward Jerome Frink (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)), sophomore guard Martin Hermannsson (Reykjavik, Iceland/ Reykjavik) and junior guard Aakim Saintil (West Orange, NJ/Roselle Catholic (South Alabama, Williston State)).
One look at the NEC stat leaders will find these players at or near the top of multiple categories. Most notably, all three rank among the top-seven scorers in the conference. Frink (16.9) is third, followed by Hermannsson (15.8) in sixth and Saintil (15.4) in seventh. The three players are combining to average 48.1 ppg, which if it holds up the remainder of the season would be the highest by a trio since Bryant All-Conference players Dyami Starks, Alex Francis and Corey Maynard finished the 2013-14 season averaging 50.8 ppg.
Likewise, Frink is the NEC leader with 9.0 rpg, and Saintil paces the conference in two categories, sitting atop the leaderboard in assists (5.1) and steals (2.5). No slouch himself, Hermannsson is third in the league in assists (4.1) and free throw percentage (.878), second in assist/turnover ratio (2.06) and sixth in steals (1.5).
In total, the three LIU players appear in the NEC top-10 in nine key statistical categories a combined 15 times.
O’GARRO COMES THROUGH IN CLUTCH
FDU captain Tyrone O’Garro (Newark, NJ/Saint Peter’s Prep), a redshirt junior forward and Monmouth transfer, came up big for the Knights when it counted most at Lafayette on Wednesday.
With time running out and FDU trailing by two, O’Garro banked in a runner with three seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. He went on to hit three free throws in the extra session, and helped give the Knights a five-point cushion with under two minutes remaining when he dove to the ground and stole the ball from Nick Lindner and passed ahead to Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) for the layup.
O’Garro finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two assists off the bench.
The Knights were led in the win by 23 points from sophomore guard Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John’s College). Potts Jr. added 20 and sophomore guard Marques Townes (Edison, NJ/St. Joseph Metuchen) posted 18 points and 12 boards for his first career double-double.
ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Below are a list of NEC players who rank in the top-25 nationally in various statistical categories.
Category Name Team Stats Ranking
PPG Rodney Pryor RMU 21.2 20th
Steals Aakim Saintil LIU 2.50 16th
Minutes Cane Broome SHU 37:45 4th
NEC LEADERS: FREE THROW RATE
In our weekly look at advanced stats, this week we tackle free throw rate.
Why is this stat so important? Free throw rate measures a player’s ability to get the line relative to how often he attempts to score and is calculated by 100*FTA/FGA.
Saint Francis U freshman forward Josh Nebo (Katy, TX/Cypress Lakes) leads the league with a 73.5 free throw rate, just ahead of LIU Brooklyn’s Aakim Saintil (West Orange, NJ/Roselle Catholic (South Alabama, Williston State)) (72.7) and Sacred Heart’s Jordan Allen (Bayshore, NY/Long Island Lutheran (Hofstra)) (72.1).
Rk Player Team FTRate
1 Josh Nebo SFU 73.5
2 Aakim Saintil LIU 72.7
3 Jordan Allen SHU 72.1
4 Stephan Jiggetts FDU 66.7
5 Kavon Stewart RMU 57.4
6 Ronnie Drinnon SFU 54.4
7 Michael Carey WC 48.8
8 Cane Broome SHU 46.7
9 Martin Hermannsson LIU 46.6
10 Khalen Cumberlander CCSU 40.2
HERE & THERE
• CCSU freshman forward Malik Toppin (Bloomfield, NJ/Malcolm X Shabazz) earned his first career start at Rutgers on Tuesday and matched a personal-best with three blocked shots. Toppin now has eight rejections in his last four games.
• Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore guard Marques Townes (Edison, NJ/St. Joseph Metuchen) scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in a 91-89 win at Lafayette on Wednesday. He was clutch at the free throw line, connecting on 9-11 attempts at the stripe. Townes also added two assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action.
• Fairleigh Dickinson freshman forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) continued his strong play of late with eight points and seven rebounds in FDU’s win at Lafayette on Wednesday. He added three blocks and two steals in 23 minutes.
• LIU Brooklyn junior point guard Aakim Saintil (West Orange, NJ/Roselle Catholic) made the first two starts of his career with the Blackbirds and averaged 22.0 ppg, 6.5 apg and 2.5 spg, including a career-high 23 points and eight assists in an 89-84 overtime loss at Fordham on Wednesday. Saintil currently leads the NEC in both assists (5.1) and steals (2.5) per game while also ranking in the league’s top-10 in scoring (15.4, seventh).
• Mount St. Mary’s junior guard BK Ashe (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate) scored a game-high 23 points in the Mount’s loss at UMBC on Saturday. Ashe has reached double figures in eight straight games, hitting 20 or more points on three occasions. He is averaging 19.7 points over the past three games and ranks fifth in the NEC with 16.2 ppg.
• Sacred Heart junior forward Matej Buovac (Zagreb, Croatia/La Lumiere School (New Mexico State)) had the best game of his young Sacred Heart career with 18 points on 7-11 shooting against Lafayette on Saturday. He made a season best 4-8 from beyond the arc and added five rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Buovac’s 18 points were more than his first four games combined for the Pioneers.
• St. Francis Brooklyn senior forward Antonio Jenifer (Potomac/Hillcrest, MD (Hagerstown CC)) recorded his first career double-double against NJIT on Thursday, producing 14 points and 11 caroms, both career-highs. Jenifer went 4-9 from beyond the arc. He also scored 10 points in the Terriers’ previous contest against St. John’s.
• St. Francis Brooklyn junior forward Jon Doss (Taft/Chicago, IL (Eastern Wyoming CC)), who was a redshirt last season, electrified the Pope Center by scoring a career-high 15 first-half points against NJIT on Thursday. Doss drained 5-7 treys and scored nine of the half’s final 11 points to give the Terriers a 37-35 lead at the break.
• Saint Francis U senior guard Greg Brown (Odenton, MD/Archbishop Spalding) scored a team-high 16 points in the Red Flash’s lone game of the week, a 67-65 loss in the final seconds to Duquesne. Brown tied his career-high by making three trifectas. He made a free throw with nine seconds left to tie the score. Brown added three assists and two rebounds.
• Saint Francis U freshman forward Josh Nebo (Katy, TX/Cypress Lakes) finished with four points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots against Duquesne on Saturday. The four rejections left Nebo just one shy of joining the SFU single-game top-five for blocks. It was also the fourth time in eight games that Nebo has secured at least eight boards.
• Wagner redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay (Michigan State)) tallied his eighth straight double figure scoring performance of the season on Sunday, scoring 11 points against Monmouth. For the season, he is the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.6 ppg.
NEC NUMBERS
CCSU has had six different starting lineups this season and only used the same lineup in consecutive games twice on the year.
LIU Brooklyn guards Aakim Saintil and Martin Hermannsson have reached double figures in scoring in all eight games for the Blackbirds this year.
Mount St. Mary’s is 3-0 against the Patriot League this year, and has won nine of its past 10 games against PL teams.
Mount St. Mary’s is forcing a turnover on 25.3 percent of its defensive possessions to rank fifth nationally in the category.
Robert Morris returns from a nine-day layoff to take on Columbia in New York City on Monday afternoon.
Sacred Heart played it’s first and only non-conference home game on Saturday against Lafayette. The Pioneers were one of just seven schools nationally that had yet to play at home.
Two NEC men’s basketball players - Sacred Heart’s De’von Barnett and now St. Francis Brooklyn’s Glenn Sanabria - will miss the season with torn labrums. Sanabria played six games before being shut down.
Saint Francis U’s two-point loss to Duquesne game on Saturday marked the first of the season for the Red Flash that ended in single digits. The streak of seven straight games decided by double digits tied for the third longest in school history. The 1919-20 team holds the record with nine straight games decided by 10+ points.
Wagner will see three MAAC teams as part of a four-game road trip. The Seahawks played Rider and Monmouth last week, and will take on Fairfield on Friday.
QUOTABLE
“Today our team probably grew up more than any other game,” Christian said. “Our biggest gains are not going to come from physical attributes. They are going to come from having the right mindset.” - Mount head coach Jamion Christian after the Mount rallied to beat Bucknell on Tuesday
“We coach our guys hard on every possession, but I told them before the game there comes a time when they need to grow up and learn how to win. It wasn’t pretty at all. It was two 2-6 teams getting after it and eventually it went our way.” - FDU head coach Greg Herenda on his team’s overtime win at Lafayette on Wednesday
“(We showed) toughness.They made runs and we made runs. We didn’t give up, we didn’t waver, we didn’t get down on ourselves. We stayed positive. We stayed together and I think that was the main positive.” - LIU Brooklyn junior guard Aakim Saintil following Tuesday’s OT loss at Fordham
“I thought it was one our most complete games of the season except for one thing: offensive rebounding. We allowed them too many second chances.” - Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel following a last-second setback to Duquesne on Saturday
“We’ll miss him. Glenn’s been terrific for us. He really is one of the best players we have.” - St. Francis Brooklyn head coach Glenn Braica on losing sophomore point guard to a season-ending injury
TWEET DECK
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
I’ve seen flashes of Chris Wray’s upside today- Mount fans have every right to be excited. His length/athleticism will play well in the NEC.
Bryan Weber @Coach_Weber
D1 @TheHoopGroup Alum of the day is Earl Potts of @FDUKnights who had 20,5,5 in a win!! @CoachHerenda @CJEOTOCOACH
Pete Spiewak @pspie
Jerome Frink is a monster. Had 30 points tonight vs. Fordham. One of the most underrated players to come out of NJ. #NJHoops
Ron Ratner @NECHoopsRon
If you like highlight reel jams, @MountHoops Chris Wray is your man. #NECMBB
John Templon @nybuckets
Nice win for Wagner at Rider. The Seahawks are starting to look like an #NECMBB contender. That defense is solid.
MountGameDay @mount_game_day
Take a break tomorrow!After all that studying who doesn’t want free pizza,chips, and a game?Mount vs. Bucknell U
The Mount @MountHoops
Always appreciative of love for @MountHoops. Thanks to Martin Lawrence for supporting Mayhem Coast to Coast!
Jalen Cannon @iAM_Cannon
Wish I could have been there to see this one. 2015 was a memorable year just wish I could have won a championship...
Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
LIU wins!!! 80-79 in overtime! Trevon Woods the hero!
Ron Ratner ?@NECHoopsRon
Had 2x #NECMBB champ, @RMUMBasketball’s Gary Wallace in-studio for 1st taping of #conNECt series. This guy gets it.