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NEC Player of the Week: BK Ashe, MSM
NEC Rookie of the Week: Quincy McKnight, SHU
Previous NEC Releases: Nov. 30 | Nov. 23 | Nov. 16 | Preseason Poll Release
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BK Ashe, Mount St. Mary’s
6-1, 170 lbs.
Jr., G, Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate
Ashe, a Preseason All-NEC selection for the Mount, sparked the league favorites to a pair of home wins last week. Ashe averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from outside the arc. The junior guard scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the first half of the Mount’s 85-68 win over rival Loyola (MD) in the annual “Catholic Clash” on Saturday. Ashe hit 4-5 from three-point range in the game while also matching a career-high with seven rebounds. In the Mount’s 81-56 win over American on Tuesday, he hit 6-10 from the floor en-route to a 13-point effort. Ashe currently ranks sixth in the NEC with 15.6 ppg.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart
6-3, 180 lbs.
Fr., G, Bridgeport, CT/St. Joseph’s (Phelps)
In winning the third NEC Rookie of the Week award in the first month of his career, McKnight averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 apg, 1.5 bpg and 1.0 spg for the Pioneers. He shot 56.5 percent from the field. McKnight was nearly perfect from the field at Towson on Saturday en-route to career-highs of 19 points on 8-9 shooting, five rebounds and three blocks. He scored 12 of those 19 points in the first half on perfect 6-6 shooting from the floor. The breakout performance followed an 11-point, three-rebound game at UConn on Wednesday. McKnight leads all NEC freshman in scoring with 11.4 ppg.
TOUGH COMPETITION KICK-STARTS #MOUNTMAYHEM
There are Mount St. Mary’s fans who must have looked at the team’s 2015-16 non-conference schedule with bewilderment.
It’s easy to see how starting off the year with games at Maryland, Ohio State, Washington and Gonzaga - the Terps and Zags are widely considered Final Four contenders - could be perceived as off the wall, even for the NEC preseason favorites.
Or did Mount head coach Jamion Christian know something we didn’t?
“I really believe that you learn more about your team when you put them in adverse situations,” Christian recently told the Baltimore Sun. “Playing at places like Gonzaga and Washington and Maryland, you’re really able to prove yourself faster than if we were playing others. So, I’m excited about that.”
After the Mount’s 0-4 start, Christian remained of the mindset that these games instill mental toughness in players and lay the groundwork for future success.
“I’m a guy who wants to challenge our team. I think that’s very important. We want to challenge, challenge, and challenge and then let’s build ourselves up after a win. Obviously, getting back home is way easier because it gives you an opportunity to play in front of your home crowd. But you want to build a program of strength, and you have to learn how to play tough games on the road. That’s what we’re trying to establish here.”
It all came together for Mount St. Mary’s this past week with a pair of decisive wins over American and Loyola (MD) that saw the team’s #Mayhem style of play take off.
Mount St. Mary’s forced 49 turnovers, scoring 65 points off those miscues, in the two games. The Mount also averaged 83.0 ppg and hit 19-38 (.500) from beyond the arc in the wins.
In its return to the friendly confines of Knott Arena on Tuesday, Mount St. Mary’s posted an 81-56 win over American. The Mount forced 23 turnovers, finished with 12 steals and shot 57.1 percent from the field, all season-highs for the team.
“We learned in the win that we can play a full 40 minutes, and that’s really important for us,” noted Christian. “I don’t think there’s a must-win. I think the must-wins come at the end of the year. So I think our focus is on being very process-driven. We’ve just got to keep getting better and keep improving. We were able to do that and were fortunate to do that against American and get a win.”
Four days later, it was more #Mayhem at Knott Arena, this time against Loyola (MD) in the annual “Catholic Clash.”
In the most played rivalry in the state of Maryland, Mount St. Mary’s downed Loyola, 85-68, in the 171st edition of the Clash. The Mount has won the past three games against the Greyhounds, and now holds a 99-72 advantage in an all-time series that began in 1910.
Playing its signature style, the Mount hit 12-22 from three-point range, forced 26 turnovers, finished with 11 steals and scored 30 points off turnovers.
“Just extremely excited for our team today,” Christian said. “From a coaching standpoint, this is like the perfect game, because you play well in a half and you can learn some lessons in the second half without losing the basketball game.”
Junior guard BK Ashe (Washington, D.C/Friendship Collegiate), the NEC Player of the Week, averaged a team-high 17.5 ppg on the week, including a 22-point effort in the win over Loyola. Ashe has scored in double figures in each of the past six games and now has seven 20-point efforts in his career. Dating back to last season, Ashe has hit double figures in 15 of his past 16 games, topping the 20-point plateau on five occasions.
#MountMayhem By The Numbers
- Mount St. Mary’s has moved up to seventh in the nation in turnover percentage, forcing a turnover on 25.4 percent of its defensive possessions.
- The Mount is forcing opponents into 18.8 turnovers per game (seventh nationally) and the team is a +6.4 in turnover margin (sixth in nation).
- Mount opponents have turned it over 17 or more times in six of the eight games this year.
- The 26 turnovers forced in the win over Loyola was the most by a Mount team since forcing 27 in a 65-50 win over Saint Francis U in the NEC quarterfinals on March 4, 2010.
- The deep Mount bench is averaging 35.2 ppg over the past six contests. Reserves accounted for 46 points against American.
CCSU’s PEEL BRINGS #NECPRIDE
CCSU’s Brandon Peel (Forestville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) is one of the league’s top power forwards and the NEC’s leading active rebounder, but his off-the-court game may be even better.
Last Wednesday, the senior forward was chosen as a nominee for the 2016 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams. Good Works Teams recognize players at all levels of college basketball who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement.
Peel has been part of the Central Connecticut Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Collegiate Athlete Peer Advisors. As a member of SAAC, Peel has helped provide a voice for the student-athletes on campus and promote a positive image of student-athletes. The group has also worked on numerous community service efforts involving CCSU student-athletes. He has worked with CAPA to empower and strengthen student-athletes to speak out against and work toward ending intimate partner violence on campus. Peel has also worked with Interval House CT, which is dedicated to providing services to prevent and break the cycle of family and intimate partner abuse.
The 154 NABC nominees and the 103 WBCA nominees will be whittled down to two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team will be invited to the 2016 NABC Convention and 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Houston, where they will participate in a community service project benefitting the city.
SFU YOUNG BLOODS TURNING HEADS
Coming off two consecutive NEC semifinal appearances, Saint Francis U has been trending upward in the conference under Rob Krimmel. And with the recent play of a pair of newcomers, the Red Flash may continue that trend this season and the years to come.
Freshman guard Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte) and classmate Josh Nebo (Katy, TX/Cypress Lakes) have each made smooth transitions to the collegiate game over the first month of their careers, with each player seeing over 23 minutes of court action per contest.
The freshman tandem looked more like seasoned veterans on Wednesday as they helped key SFU’s 84-73 win over Patriot League preseason favorite Lehigh. Blackmon finished with 16 points, four rebounds and four steals, while shooting 6-8 from the floor in a 20-minute stint off the bench. Nebo contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Blackmon converted a three pointer to make it 64-56 in favor of SFU with 9:47 to play. Nebo hit a layup two minutes later to push the lead to ten, and Blackmon came back on the fast break with a reverse layup to push the lead to its biggest of the game, 68-56.
“Those guys, in particular, have really done a good job early in the year, establishing themselves as guys we can go to,” said Krimmel. “Isaiah gave us great minutes in his first career start on Friday and played well again today coming off the bench. I think his biggest strength, and really both kids, is they don’t get too high or too low. Both kids are very coachable.”
Blackmon ranks third among NEC freshman with 10.8 ppg and is shooting a scorching 56.5 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from outside the arc, where he has made 7-of-12 shots on the year. He also averages 3.2 rpg and 1.2 spg.
Nebo has started all seven contests for the Red Flash, and is averaging 5.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 1.1 bpg while hitting nearly 46 percent of his field goal attempts.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“First player I called was Cane Broome. We made it very clear to him we wanted him to be the foundation of this program.” - SHU head coach Anthony Latina after being hired in May, 2013
‘“[Anthony Latina] told one of my parents I have a chance to score 2,000 points. That’s something I’d like to do here. But nobody here ever made it to the [NCAA Tournament]. I definitely want to be on the first team to do that.” - SHU sophomore guard Cane Broome
DID YOU KNOW?
CCSU’s homecourt in Kaiser Hall celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first game held there on December 4, 1965. CCSU defeated Coast Guard, 109-57, that day.
FLU IS NO MATCH FOR WC’S SAUNDERS
As Michael Jordan proved back in 1998 during the infamous “flu” game, the mind can push the body to incredible heights even when operating at far less than 100 percent.
On Wednesday, Wagner sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac (Mt. Zion Prep)) emerged from a three-night hospital stay for flu-induced dehydration right into the waiting arms of the Spiro Center and a game with Morgan State.
Saunders finished with nine points in 14 minutes off the bench, but it was his final point that did all the most damage.
After trailing by as many as nine in the second half, Wagner had come all the way back and tied the game on junior guard Michael Carey’s (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto College)) layup with just under a minute to play. With the score tied and the clock running down in the waning seconds, Saunders beat his man off the dribble and was fouled at the rim.
Prior to the free throws, Morgan State gave Saunders some time to think about it.
“They were trying to freeze me, calling a timeout,” said Saunders. “But I wasn’t nervous. We shoot a hundred free throws every day in practice.”
Saunders hit the first, and a desperation shot fall short for the Bears as Wagner came away with the hard-fought 62-61 win to extend its win streak to three games.
“We were just happy to have Romone back, but I was a little surprised when he told me he was ready to play,” Mason said. “I checked with his mother and we got the doctor’s OK. It worked out pretty good for us.”
BROOKLYN BANNER TIME
St. Francis Brooklyn will unveil its NEC regular season championship and Postseason NIT participant banners when NJIT pays a visit to the Pope Center on Thursday evening.
RMU’S PRYOR ON FIRE
One of the NEC’s top heat check shooters, Robert Morris senior guard Rodney Pryor (Evanston, IL/Notre Dame Prep (Cloud County CC)) was drawing plenty of attention from opposing defenses last week, but that didn’t stop the NEC’s leading scorer from putting up his best numbers of the year.
Pryor averaged 27.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg in two games last week, shooting 50.0 percent from the field. He dropped a career and NEC single-game season-high 35 points against Oakland on Saturday. The 35 points were the most by an RMU player at the Charles L. Sewall Center since A.J. Jackson (2003-08) scored 39 in an 89-77 victory over Quinnipiac on February 12, 2006. Pryor added 12 rebounds and three blocks against the Golden Grizzlies.
Pryor paces the NEC and ranks 22nd nationally with 21.2 ppg, the highest scoring average in school history through nine games. He has also scored in double figures in 19 consecutive outings dating back to last year. During that stretch, he is averaging 20.8 points per contest. Pryor also ranks seventh in the league in rebounding (7.0), second in free throw percentage (.893) and second in made three-pointers (2.67/game).
LIU’S SAINTIL MAKING HIS POINT
The last time LIU Brooklyn had a point guard who turned heads he wound up finishing fourth all-time on the NCAA assist list.
Jason Brickman is now off playing professionally overseas, but LIU head coach Jack Perri looks to have found another floor general with tremendous upside.
Coming off the bench, junior guard Aakim Saintil (West Orange, NJ/Roselle Catholic (South Alabama, Williston State)) has helped power the Blackbirds to a 4-2 start. Despite playing under 26 minutes per game, Saintil leads the NEC with 4.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He also ranks 12th in the league in scoring (13.2), seventh in free throw percentage (.811) and eighth in three-point percentage (.391). The 6-0 guard has scored in double figures and recorded at least two steals in all six games this season.
In last Thursday’s 84-72 win over UMass Lowell, the cat-quick transfer from South Alabama finished with 13 points, six assists and two steals as LIU built a 22-point second half lead.
WAGNER GETS DEFENSIVE
It was quite the defensive showing for Wagner last week.
The Seahawks allowed Morgan State and American to average just 54.5 ppg and shoot a combined 35.5 percent from the field in a pair of wins, while forcing 34 turnovers.
Wagner, which has won four straight after dropping its first two games of the year, ranks 12th nationally in turnovers forced (18.5/game), 20th in steals (9.0) and ninth in steals percentage (12.9). The Seahawks leads the NEC in scoring defense (62.7), defensive field goal percentage (.401), as well as defensive efficiency (1.0 ppp).
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 22nd
FT% Ben Millaud-Meunier SFU .935 8th
Steals Aakim Saintil LIU 2.50 20th
Minutes Cane Broome SHU 37:42 8th
NEC LEADERS: EFFECTIVE FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
In our weekly look at advanced stats, this week we tackle effective field goal percentage.
Why is this stat so important? eFG% is based on a player’s field goal percentage, but adjusts for the fact that three-point field goals are worth 50 percent more than two-point field goals.
FDU sophomore swingman Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) leads the league with a 60.0 eFG% and LIU Brooklyn features three players in the top-10.
Rk Player Team eFG%
1. Earl Potts FDU 60.0
2. Corey Henson WC 55.4
3. Jerome Frink LIU 55.1
4. Rodney Pryor RMU 54.6
5. Greg Brown SFU 54.1
6. Martin Hermannsson LIU 53.1
7. Jordan Allen SHU 52.5
8. Aakim Saintil LIU 50.0
9. Darian Anderson FDU 49.4
10. Austin Nehls CCSU 49.3
HERE & THERE
• Bryant junior forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, CT/Bethel) averaged a near double-double in a three-game week, posting 12.0 ppg and 9.7 rpg. The Bethel, CT native picked up his first double-double of the season and 10th of his career on Saturday with 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 76-68 loss to Brown. Garvin is second in the NEC with 8.5 rpg.
• CCSU freshman forward Malik Toppin (Bloomfield, NJ/Malcolm X Shabazz) tied for team-high scoring with nine points at Fordham on Saturday, which was also a new career-high. He finished the game 4-6 from the field. Toppin has a blocked shot in three straight games.
• Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore swingman Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) continued his strong shooting, making 60.0 percent of his opportunities from the field over two games last week. He also hit 6-9 from three-point range. Potts averaged 18.0 ppg, but did most of his damage at Temple. Against the AAC member Owls, Potts drained 6-8 attempts from beyond the arc and was 10-15 from the floor in a career-high 29-point effort. He also averaged 3.5 rpg and 2.0 apg on the week. Potts ranks fourth in the NEC with 15.8 ppg. He is also eighth on the circuit in field goal accuracy (.506) and seventh in three point percentage (.395).
• LIU Brooklyn junior forward Jerome Frink (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)) continued his impressive start in an LIU Brooklyn uniform, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocked shots in an 84-72 win over UMass Lowell on Thursday. Frink leads the NEC with 8.7 rpg and ranks seventh in scoring (15.5) and field goal percentage (.522).
• Mount St. Mary’s sophomore guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Almance) averaged 11.5 ppg and 6.5 apg for the Mount last week. He had 17 points and six helpers in a 17-point win over Loyola (MD) on Saturday.
• Mount St. Mary’s senior forward Gregory Graves (Sterling, VA/Potomac Falls) notched his first double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-68 win over Loyola (MD) on Saturday.
• Robert Morris junior forward Billy Giles (Richmond, VA/Allegany College of Maryland) recorded his first career double-double against Oakland on Saturday, tying a career high with 16 points while registering a personal-best 10 caroms. Over his last four games, Giles is averaging 12.3 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 65.6 percent (21-32) from the field.
• St. Francis Brooklyn senior forward Amdy Fall (New York, NY/Wings Academy) averaged 11.5 rebounds in two games last week and now ranks sixth in the NEC with 7.4 per game. He is also third in the league with 1.6 bpg. Fall compiled eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in a 69-62 win over Lafayette last Wednesday.
• St. Francis Brooklyn freshman guard Dagur Jonsson (Reykjanesbaer, Suournes Iceland/Fjolbrautaskolinn) scored a career-best 15 points and added five boards off the bench in Wednesday’s win over Lafayette.
• Bolstered by a season-high 18 points at UConn on Wednesday, Sacred Heart graduate student forward Jordan Allen (Bayshore, NY/Long Island Lutheran (Hofstra)) averaged 17.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg in two games during the week. He made 7-14 from the floor and added five rebounds against the Huskies, falling just one point shy of a game-high. He followed that with a 16-point, eight-rebound performance at Towson. The games marked his two highest scoring outputs of the season.
• Saint Francis U senior forward Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, OH/Greenview) averaged 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in two games last week. On Wednesday, he scored 12 points and added six rebounds as the Red Flash stopped Lehigh’s nine-game win streak in the series. Drinnon also posted a season-high in assists with four while tying his season-best with two steals. On Friday, Drinnon recorded his second double-double of the season at #2 Maryland, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Wagner junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto College)) was instrumental in a pair of Wagner wins last week, as the junior transfer guard averaged a double-double for the week, finishing with 10.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg while connecting on 90.0 from the free throw line. In a 62-61 win over Morgan State on Wednesday, Carey pulled down a career-best 10 caroms and added nine points in the Seahawks’ 62-61 thrilling win. He converted a key layup with 55 seconds to play to tie the score at 61 apiece. Carey recorded his first career double-double in Sunday’s 55-48 victory over American, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds in just 19 minutes. He converted 3-4 from the field and 6-6 from the stripe. Carey scored six points in the final minute as the Seahawks were able to hold of the Eagles. For the season, Carey is averaging 8.3 ppg and his 8.3 rpg ranks him fourth in the conference.
NEC NUMBERS
CCSU’s Brandon Peel moved into 10th place on CCSU’s all-time rebounding list with 676. With 24 more rebounds he will become the ninth CCSU player to grab 700 rebounds in his career.
LIU Brooklyn connected on a season-high 12 three-point field goals in its win over UMass Lowell on Thursday, the most in a single game by the Blackbirds in over two years. The last time LIU hit at least 12 treys was on December 1, 2013 in a 74-72 win Norfolk State.
Mount St. Mary’s senior center Taylor Danaher was perfect against American on Tuesday, hitting all seven of his field goal attempts and all five of his free throws in matching a career-high with 19 points.
Mount St. Mary’s is now 31-9 all-time at home under head coach Jamion Christian.
Mount St. Mary’s is 8-1 over its past nine games against Patriot League foes.
Sacred Heart’s Quincy McKnight, now a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week, hit 8-9 shots from the field in a career-high 19-point performance at Towson on Saturday.
St. Francis Brooklyn cut a 13-point deficit to two with under a minute to play against St. John’s on Sunday in Madison Square Garden in a 63-56 setback.
Saint Francis U’s game against Maryland on Saturday was the second ever between the schools, and the first since December 30, 1955, in the first season after Maurice Stokes finished his collegiate career.
Maryland, ranked second in the country, became the first team in nearly four years to score more than 90 points on Saint Francis U. LIU Brooklyn was the last on January 28, 2012.
Wagner redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson has scored in double-figures in all six games for Wagner this season after missing the majority of the 2014-15 campaign with an injury.
QUOTABLE
“Our guys showed tremendous maturity late, and I thought the other team felt it,” said Mason. “I felt like we were attacking and they were just trying to hang on.” - Wagner head coach Bashir Mason on the Seahawks’ comeback win over Morgan State on Wednesday
“My coaches just keep telling me to keep shooting. Sometimes you get in a drought and the best thing is to just get in extra work in the late nights, put in that time, just getting a rhythm back and it really helped tonight.” - LIU Brooklyn junior guard Iverson Fleming after scoring 17 points in a win over UMass Lowell on Thursday
“Basketball is a game of runs. It’s just about playing level the whole game. We do a great job as a team of staying level.” - Saint Francis U senior forward Ronnie Drinnon following the Red Flash’s win over Lehigh on Wednesday
“I would give all of those points back to have won that game. All I was trying to do was win and give the team whatever it needed. Tonight we became more of a team, just like when we played Saint Peter’s, our chemistry keeps getting stronger and stronger.” - FDU’s Earl Potts Jr. after scoring a career-high 29 points in a 79-70 loss at Temple
“I thought we gave an effort. We got out early in the first half and made some shots to get ahead. I think it was a little bit of a trap because I thought we took some bad shots during the stretch when they went on that run at the end of the first half. It was a good experience for our team and we just need to move forward and get better.” - St. Francis Brooklyn head coach Glenn Braica on his team’s seven-point setback to St. John’s at MSG on Sunday
TWEET DECK
Bashir Mason @BashirMason
So Proud of my guys! Hard fought battle last night and the Atmosphere was off the Charts! #Attitude
Jamion Christian @JamionChristian
“WE HAVE FUN!”
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
Good statement W for the Mount. Thrashed American on 57% shooting while extracting 23 turnovers. 6 players w/ 7+ pts. That’s Mayhem, folks.
Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
Have to give credit to FDU’s Earl Potts who has been playing great last couple of wks. 3 19+ scoring outings & shooting 57% FG last 4 gms
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
Major props to Rob Krimmel at @SFUathletics for his recruiting class. Freshmen Josh Nebo & Isaiah Blackmon have been terrific so far.
Mid-Major Madness @mid_madness
LIU Brooklyn is FEELIN’ IT from beyond the arc to start the 2nd half. The Blackbirds have a 22-point lead over UMass-Lowell. Watch out NEC.
MountGameDay @mount_game_day
Come out for the 171st Catholic Clash! 2pm in Knott Arena. “Loyola, you don’t have a prayer!”
John Templon @nybuckets
When Iverson Fleming plays well LIU looks a lot better. (Not a news flash.) His offense was really on in the first half. #NECMBB
SIAdvance @siadvance
Romone Saunders exits hospital bed to play hero role in Wagner College 62-61 victory over Morgan State http://ow.ly/38C2rd
Bryan Fonseca @BryanFonsecaNY
Your two minute warning here at MSG. St. John’s still ahead. St. Francis well within striking distance.