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NEC Co-Players of the Week: Michael Carey, WC & Jerome Frink, LIU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Randall Gaskins Jr,, SFU
Previous NEC Releases: January 2 | December 26 | December 19 | December 12 | December 5 | November 28 | November 21 | November 14 | Preseason Poll Release | Preseason All-NEC Release | NEC-TV Release
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Michael Carey, Wagner
6’5”, 200 lbs.
Sr, F, Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto JC)
Carey comes off an outstanding week for the Seahawks that saw him average 21.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and hit all 14 of his free throw attempts while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor. He scored 21 points and grabbed a career and NEC single-game season-high 22 rebounds in a one-point setback to first place Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday. In doing so he became just the ninth player in NEC history with at least 22 boards in a game and one of seven NEC players in the last 20 years to finish with 20 points and 20 rebounds in a contest. In a 75-64 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday, Carey scored all 21 of his points in the second half as the Seahawks broke open a close game in the final five minutes. The Nassau, Bahamas product is contributing 11.8 ppg and ranks second in the NEC with 8.8 rpg on the year.
Jerome Frink, LIU Brooklyn
6’7”, 230 lbs.
R-Sr, F, Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)
Frink collected a pair of double-doubles as LIU Brooklyn swept its swing through western Pennsylvania for the second time in three years to move to 3-1 in NEC play. He averaged 20.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and shot a robust 56.3 percent from the field in the two double-digit wins. In Thursday’s 65-54 victory at Robert Morris, Frink recorded a game-high 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a solid all-around outing. Two days later, he scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as the Blackbirds erased a five-point deficit to secure an 83-70 victory over Saint Francis U. Frink has now posted double-doubles in three straight games and his seven on the year ranks second in the NEC behind teammate Nura Zanna (eight). Frink leads the conference with 9.1 rpg and ranks fourth in scoring at 17.1 ppg.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Randall Gaskins, Jr., Saint Francis U
6’3”, 180 lbs.
Fr., G, Woodbridge, VA/Bishop O’Connell
Gaskins Jr. was a steady contributor for the Red Flash last week, providing 12.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg, while hitting at a 66.7 percent clip from the field. In a 81-56 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, Gaskins Jr. posted career-highs with 13 points on 6-8 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. He added two assists and a steal. On Saturday, he made 4-7 shots in a 12-point, three-rebound outing against LIU Brooklyn. Gaskins Jr., who has started 14 games on the year, is averaging 8.5 ppg overall and 10.0 ppg in league play.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Bosko Kostur (BRY, Jr, G/F)
Kostur had his finest week of the season for the Bulldogs, averaging a team-high 20.5 ppg to go along with 4.0 rpg and 2.0 apg. He exploded for a career-high 24 points in just 26 minutes in a one-point win over Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday and added 17 more on Saturday as the Bulldogs nearly erased a 26-point second half deficit at unbeaten FDU. Kostur shot 59.1 percent from the floor, made all 12 of his free throws and scored 32 of his 41 points in the second half.
Khalen Cumberlander (CCSU, Sr, G)
Cumberlander led all NEC players last week with 22.0 ppg. He shot at a 58.8 percent clip from the floor and pulled down 4.5 rpg. He scored a career-high 26 points against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday.
Stephan Jiggetts (FDU, Jr, G)
Jiggetts had another strong all-around week, averaging 18.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 6.5 apg for the Knights, who beat Wagner and Bryant to improve to 4-0 in league play. He buried 5-8 (.625) from three-point range and hit 10-11 (.909) from the line. Jiggetts finished with 17 points and seven assists to lead FDU to a 70-69 win over the Seahawks in the NEC title game rematch on Thursday.
Nura Zanna (LIU, Jr, F)
Zanna posted two more double-doubles last week to raise his NEC-leading total to eight on the year. He finished with 12 points and a game-high 13 boards in a 65-54 win over Robert Morris and 10 points and 13 caroms as LIU swept it’s Pennsylvania trip with an 83-70 victory over Saint Francis U. He averaged 11.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg, while shooting 62.5 percent for the week.
Josh Nebo (SFU, So, F)
Nebo was on fire from the field, hitting 70.6 percent of his shots last week, while averaging 14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.5 bpg. In SFU’s 81-56 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, Nebo led the Red Flash with 14 points, seven rebounds and a season-best five blocks.
Corey Henson (WC, Jr, G)
Henson was in all-star form last week, averaging 19.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 5.0 apg while hitting 52.0 percent of his shots from the floor. He hit four three-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points in Wagner’s win over Sacred Heart on Saturday.
TWO WEEKS IN, ONE LONE SURVIVOR REMAINS
We are now two weeks into the 2016-17 NEC campaign and the dream of an unbeaten conference season has come down to just one team.
Appropriately enough, that team is the defending NEC champion and preseason NEC favorite. And while it hasn’t come easy, Fairleigh Dickinson is off to its first 4-0 start since the 1992-93 season after winning a pair of thrillers last week.
In a marquee matchup on Thursday, the Knights took on Wagner at the Spiro Center in a rematch of the 2016 NEC title game. Adding to the drama was the fact the game aired before a national audience live on CBS Sports Network.
It appeared FDU was on its way to a comfortable victory after building its lead to double digits with under five minutes to play, but Wagner used a 9-0 run to pull within 68-67 with 46 seconds on the clock. In perhaps the game’s key play, junior guard Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, MD/Bishop McNamara) drove the lane and dished to Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) for a layup with 30 ticks remaining to push the lead back to three points.
After Wagner cut the deficit back to a single point, it all came down to a final Seahawk possession. With the Seahawks trailing by one, senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto JC)) and freshman guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA/Westfield) both misfired on shots in the final three seconds and like last March, the Knights were able to walk away from the Spiro Center victorious with a 70-69 triumph.
Jiggetts, who led the way with 17 points and seven assists for the Knights, came up equally as big in FDU’s wild 87-84 win over Bryant on Saturday in Hackensack.
Up 22 at the half, FDU extended the lead to as many as 26 in the second stanza before Bryant embarked on a furious comeback, using an 18-0 run over a seven minute stretch midway through the period to get right back into the game.
With FDU ahead by three and under 30 seconds to go, a wild sequence saw Bryant sandwich two missed three pointers around an unsuccessful alley-oop attempt by the Knights. Following two Jiggetts free throws with two seconds remaining, NEC leading scorer Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, MA/Boston Trinity) of Bryant hit the back rim on a halfcourt attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
Jiggetts paced the Knights once again with 20 points and six assists. He averaged 18.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 6.5 apg for the week, hitting 5-8 from outside the arc.
FDU, which has now won its last three NEC games by a combined nine points, sits a game ahead of LIU Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary’s in the league standings.
LIU accomplished the tricky feat of winning both ends of its western Pennsylvania swing. The Blackbirds not only came out on top in both games, but did so by double digits each time, downing Robert Morris, 65-54, and Saint Francis U, 83-70. The Blackbirds outrebounded their NEC rivals by a combined 38 boards and took down 31 offensive rebounds in the two wins (see later note).
NEC Co-Player of the Week Jerome Frink (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)) and Nura Zanna (Kaduna, Nigeria/Coral Springs Christian (FL)) posted double-doubles in both contests.
Mount St. Mary’s was edged at Bryant, 72-71, on Thursday when Junior Robinson’s (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance) three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, but came back strong with a 77-68 win at CCSU on Saturday.
The Mount turned the ball over just 16 times in two games
Freshman guard Miles Wilson (Baltimore, MD/Mount St. Joseph) picked up the scoring slack for the Mount, averaging 19.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 63.6 percent from the field.
CAREY’S BIG GAME
You can say Wagner senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto JC)) was in the zone in Thursday night’s nationally televised game against Fairleigh Dickinson on CBSSN.
Carey finished with 21 points along with a career and NEC single-game season high 22 rebounds. Looking at it from a historical perspective, the 22 boards landed the Nassau, Bahamas native in elite company.
The 22 rebounds tied for the fifth most in NEC history and made him one of just 16 players in the 36-year history of the conference to snare more than 20 caroms in a game.
All-Time NEC Single-Game Rebounds Leaders
1. Carey Scurry (LIU) 26 vs. Marist 2/8/83
2. Earl Brown (SFU) 25 vs. CCSU 1/13/13
3. Carey Scurry (LIU) 23 vs. Saint Francis U 1/21/84
Mike Aaman (WC) 23 vs. FDU 2/14/15
5. Frantz Pierre-Louis (WC) 22 vs. LIU Brooklyn 1/17/96
Alan Tomidy (MAR) 22 vs. LIU Brooklyn 2/8/96
Emmanuel Adenkunle (SFU) 22 vs. LIU Brooklyn 2/16/98
Ronnie Drinnon (SFU) 22 vs. FDU 3/2/16
Michael Carey (WC) 22 vs. FDU 1/5/17
Interestingly, Carey’s teammate Mike Aaman (Raritan, NJ/Raritan) is also on the list. The senior forward collected 23 boards against the Knights on February 14, 2015 to tie for third all-time.
Carey’s 22 rebounds tied him for the sixth most in the nation this season.
The NEC Co-Player of the Week also entered rare territory with his 20-20 game, becoming just the seventh NEC player in the last 20 years to hit the milestone.
NEC 20/20 Games Since 1996-97 Season
Michael Carey (WC) 21p, 22r vs. FDU 1/5/17
Ronnie Drinnon (SFU) 21p, 22r vs. FDU 3/2/16
Julian Boyd (LIU) 21p, 20r vs. FDU 2/23/12
Victor Akinyanju (QU) 20p, 21r vs. Mount St. Mary’s 2/3/07
Emmanuel Adenkunle (SFU) 33p, 22r vs. LIU Brooklyn 2/16/98
Corey Albano (MU) 33p, 21r vs. LIU Brooklyn 3/6/97
Corey Albano (MU) 30p, 20r vs. LIU Brooklyn 2/20/97
Carey went on to score all of his 21 points in the second half of a 75-64 win over Sacred Heart. For the week, he averaged 21.0 ppg and 13.5 rpg, while sinking all 14 of his free throw attempts and shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.
RIVALRY GAMES HIGHLIGHT NEC-TV PACKAGE THIS WEEK
The NEC’s 33-game TV slate resumes on Thursday with a Keystone State clash as Robert Morris hosts Saint Francis U at 6:00 pm. The game is set to air live on MSG+ and Fox College Sports (FCS), and via delay on Root Pittsburgh at 9 pm. Dave Popkin (PxP), Joe DeSantis (color) and Craig D’Amico (sideline) will have the call.
Two days later, it’s neighborhood rivals LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn battling it out at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The doubleheader will be televised on ESPN3 with the women tipping off at noon followed by the men at 3:00 pm. Craig D’Amico (PxP) and Pam Roecker (color) are in the booth for the women with Dottino (PxP) and DeSantis (color) handling the men’s contest.
ZANNA’S BREAKOUT YEAR
It has been a breakout season for LIU Brooklyn junior forward Nura Zanna (Kaduna, Nigeria/Coral Springs Christian (FL)).
Zanna entered the 2016-17 campaign with career averages of 7.4 ppg and 6.0 rpg, but has bumped those numbers to 8.9 ppg and 8.6 rpg this season. He ranks third in the NEC in rebounding and is the league leader with eight double-doubles on the year.
Zanna has now posted double-doubles in six of his last eight outings, averaging 12.5 ppg and 11.3 rpg over that stretch. He recorded double-doubles in both games last week as LIU Brooklyn swept its Pennsylvania trip with a 65-54 win over Robert Morris and 83-70 victory over Saint Francis U.
He snared his 500th career rebound on Thursday and now has 515 in his two-plus years in Brooklyn to rank second amove active NEC players.
The Nigerian native has also blossomed into an effective low post threat, hitting a league-best 61.2 percent of his shots from the floor. Zanna has now hit at least 50 percent of his shots from the field in nine straight games. He entered this year as a career 48.1 percent shooter.
NEC LEADERS: TRUE SHOOTING PERCENTAGE
Looking at advanced stats, this week we tackle true shooting percentage.
True shooting percentage is similar to effective field goal percentage (eFG%, which gives 50 percent more credit to made three-pointers), but also factors in free throws. It takes into account trips to the line and converts it to a shooting percentage that approximates what two-point percentage a player would need to have to score the points he produces on all of his shooting attempts.
For players averaging at least 7.5 ppg, Wagner freshman guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA/Westfield) is the league’s overall leader at this point with a 63.3 true shooting percentage. He is also shooting 49.0 percent from three-point range on the year to rank second in the NEC.
Rk Player Team True Shooting %
1. Blake Francis WC 63.4
2. Mike Holloway FDU 62.1
3. Bill Giles RMU 61.9
4. Marcel Pettway BRY 61.2
5. Nura Zanna LIU 60.6
6. Keith Braxton SFU 60.1
7. Austin Nehls CCSU 59.3
8. Josh Nebo SFU 58.7
9. Joseph Lopez SHU 58.4
10. Isaiah Blackmon SFU 58.1
SPIRO CENTER FACT
Wagner’s home win over Sacred Heart on Saturday was the 150th for the Seahawks since the Spiro Sports Center was opened in 1998-99. Wagner has posted a 150-78 (.658) mark in the 2,100-seat facility. Under fifth-year head coach Bashir Mason, the Seahawks are 45-19 (.703) at Spiro.
FDU FREE THROW SUCCESS
Fairleigh Dickinson is 4-0 in the league and has won three of those games by four points or less, due in part to their efficiency at the stripe.
The Knights are shooting 86.1 percent from the line over the first four games of conference play, hitting 62 of their 72 attempts.
Last week FDU hit 16-20 against Wagner and 18-22 versus Bryant.
LIU & WAGNER CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Both LIU Brooklyn and Wagner have been dominant on the glass the season, particularly on the offensive end.
Wagner leads the NEC in rebound margin at +9.1/game with LIU second at +5.7 per outing. In league play, LIU is outrebounding opponents by a whopping 14.7 margin with Wagner close behind at +12.5.
Wagner is 12th nationally in rebound margin and LIU is 43rd in the category.
On the offensive glass, there are three NEC teams that rank in the top-26 of DI. Wagner is tenth with 14.64 per game, LIU is 18th (13.76) and St. Francis Brooklyn is 26th (13.65).
LIU and Wagner also sport the top three rebounders in the NEC. LIU’s Jerome Frink (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthon (FIU)) is first with 9.1 rpg, followed by Wagner’s Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto JC)) (8.8) and LIU’s Nura Zanna (Kaduna, Nigeria/Coral Springs Christian (FL)) (8.6).
QUICK HITTERS
Entering last week, CCSU players had combined for just three 20-point outings on the year. Junior forward Mustafa Jones (Harlem, NY/Cardinal Hayes) scored a career-high 23 points on Thursday against Sacred Heart and then senior guard Khalen Cumberlander (Washington, DC/Coolidge) tallied a career-high 26 points versus Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday.
CCSU senior forward Tidell Pierre (Hempstead, NY/Garden City CC) posted his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Sacred Heart on Thursday. He has three double-doubles on the year and in NEC play is averaging 11.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg.
CCSU is committing an NEC-low 9.8 turnovers per game in league play and had just nine in each of last week’s games. CCSU boasts a +3.3 turnover margin to rank second in the conference in league games.
Mount St. Mary’s sophomore forward Chris Wray (Shelby, NC/Fishburne Military Academy (VA)) drained 14 of 19 shots from the floor last week, a 73.7 percent conversion rate. He averaged 15.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.0 apg and 3.0 bpg on the week. Wray hit 9-11 shot attempts in an 18-point outing at Bryant on Thursday and had a terrific all-around effort in a win at CCSU on Saturday with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
Robert Morris sophomore guard Isaiah Still (Rahway, NJ/Union Catholic) led all scorers with 23 points on Saturday as the Colonials evened their record at 2-2 with a 62-58 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. He hit 7-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds.
Sacred Heart sophomore guard Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, CT/St. Joseph’s (Phelps)) hit the game-winning free throws with 34 seconds to play in a 64-62 win at CCSU on Thursday. He finished with 23 points and averaged 17.5 ppg and 4.5 apg for the week.
St. Francis Brooklyn guard Rasheem Dunn (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) put up 12.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg off the bench last week for the Terriers. He is the NEC’s second-leading freshman scorer at 13.2 ppg.
Wagner freshman guard Connor Ferrell (Conyers, GA/Rockdale Country (DME Sports Academy)), the son of former NBA player Duane Ferrell, finished with 12 points against defending NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday and added 11 more in Wagner’s win over Sacred Heart on Saturday.
TWEET DECK
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
This is cool: Nisre Zouzoua’s most similar KenPom comp is Shane Gibson!
Zouzoua ‘16-17: 113 ORtg, 53% EFG
Gibson ‘10-11: 106 ORtg, 54% EFG
Chris Cappella @C_Cappella
Glenn Sanabria was a joy to watch yesterday #NECMBB
Rush the Other 26 @other26hoops
Wagner freshman Blake Francis is unafraid to #hoist from anywhere and it’s super fun to watch. #NECMBB
Donyell Marshall @Dmarsh42
Hopefully everyone else is getting rest. 2 am and I’m at the gym working out. Mind is wondering. Gotta keep grinding. We are right there.
Jonathan Reyes @werdynerdy
No better person for @NECsports to start it’s basketball features off with than @Wagner_MBB’s Michael Carey