NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Raiquan Clark, LIU Brooklyn
6’6”, 195 lbs.
Jr., G/F, New Haven, CT/Hillhouse
Clark opened his junior campaign with one of the top offensive performances in recent NEC memory. He racked up a career-high 34 points on 14-20 shooting from the floor as LIU Brooklyn took Tulane to the final seconds in a 102-96 road setback on Friday. Clark, who hit 5-6 from the stripe, also paced the Blackbirds with three steals and his seven rebounds tied for the team lead in Derek Kellogg’s coaching debut. He scored 24 of his points after intermission to help LIU rally from 16 down and pull within two points with under 30 seconds to play. Clark, a New Haven, CT native who walked on at LIU two years ago, doubled his previous career-high of 17 points, which came against Sacred Heart on February 18, 2017. The 34 points were also the most by an LIU player since Julian Boyd scored 34 vs. FDU on January 27, 2011.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Koby Thomas, Robert Morris
6’6”, 190 lbs.
Fr., F, Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter
Thomas made a stellar debut for Robert Morris on Friday, tying for game-scoring honors with 22 points in a starting assignment at Georgia. The Philly native made 8-17 shots, including a 3-6 mark from beyond the arc, and also led the Colonials with six rebounds and a pair of steals. The 22 points for Thomas were the most in a Colonial debut since all-time great Velton Jones netted 15 at Syracuse on November 11, 2009.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Adam Grant (BRY, So, G)
Grant scored a game-high 24 points in Bryant’s season opener at Georgia. He hit three shots from downtown and added four rebounds. The NEC’s leading freshman scorer a year ago, it was the fifth 20+ point performance of his career.
Tyler Kohl (CCSU, Jr, G/F)
Kohl turned in a pair of star-making performances in his debut with the Blue Devils, averaging 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He notched team-highs with 21 points and eight rebounds in an overtime setback at Hartford on Friday, then led the Blue Devils with 22 points and eight boards two days later at Rutgers. Kohl scored seven points in a late 11-0 run against the Scarlet Knights that trimmed a 15-point deficit to four (65-61) with 31 seconds to play.
Joel Hernandez (LIU, Sr, G)
After missing last season with an injury, Hernandez was in top form in LIU’s 102-96 loss at Tulane on Friday. He rang up 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and shot 3-6 from distance.
Junior Robinson (MSM, Sr, G)
Robinson finished with 20 points, four rebounds and six assists against Marquette on Friday. The preseason All-NEC pick shot 9-20 from the field for the defending conference champs.
Matty McConnell (RMU, Jr, G)
McConnell set a new career-high with 22 points against Ohio State on Friday to tie teammate Koby Thomas for game-high scoring honors. He shot 8-14 from the floor, including 4-7 from deep, and added five rebounds and two steals.
Joseph Lopez (SHU, Sr, F)
Lopez opened his senior campaign with the 12th double-double of his career in a close loss to Holy Cross. He finished with 15 points on 7-13 shooting and snared 13 boards.
Blake Francis (WC, So, G)
The sophomore sharpshooter tallied a game-high 22 points in Wagner’s 62-49 win at NJIT on Saturday. He hit three shots from downtown and finished 9-11 from the stripe. Francis became the first Wagner player to record 20+ points in a season opener since Kenneth Ortiz scored 20 at Penn State on November 9, 2013.
PERFORMANCES OF NOTE
Mike Holloway (FDU, Jr, F)
Holloway put up 16.0 ppg over FDU’s first two contests at #23 Seton Hall and Penn State. He shot 48.0 percent from the field and snared 4.0 rpg. The junior scored a team-high 19 points against the Nittany Lions.
Jamaal King (SFU, So, G)
One of the NEC’s most improved players a year ago, King netted a team-best 15 points on 5-6 shooting in 24 minutes in a setback to #22 Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB TIPOFF WEEKEND
Here’s all you need to know from the opening weekend of the 2017-18 season...
SEAHAWKS SPOIL NJIT HOUSE PARTY
A year after winning at UConn in its season opener, Wagner again sent a large partisan crowd home unhappy on Saturday, posting a 60-49 win over NJIT before 2,907 fans in the grand opening of the Highlanders’ Wellness Events Center in Newark.
Leading 48-47 with just over three minutes remaining, the Seahawks ended the game on a 14-2 run. Wagner forced NJIT into 1-6 shooting from the field in that span and caused three turnovers as the Green & White induced a pair of charging calls.
Sophomore guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA/Westfield) piled up a game-high 22 points. He drained three shots from long range and made 9-11 from the line. Freshman guard Tyler Plummer (Vaughan, Ontario/Athlete Institute Prep) added 11 points on 4-5 shooting in 21 minutes.
LIU’S CLARK BREAKS OUT
A former walk-on who came on strong the second half of last season, LIU Brooklyn junior swingman Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) appears ready for a breakout season for the Blackbirds.
Clark, the NEC Player of the Week, doubled his previous career-high with a 34-point outing in LIU’s season-opening 102-96 setback to Tulane in an entertaining up-and-down game against the AAC opponent. Clark hit 14-20 shots from the floor to lead all scorers and also contributed seven rebounds, three steals and a block.
The last time an NEC player made at least 14 field goals and shot 70.0 percent from the field in a game was on January 9, 2014 when RMU’s Karvel Anderson drained 15-19 shots in a 36-point effort at Sacred Heart.
Last year Clark averaged 6.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg for the Blackbirds.
BLACKBIRDS PLAYS FAST IN KELLOGG’S LIU COACHING DEBUT
Upon his hire at LIU Brooklyn last April, Derek Kellogg emphasized that the Blackbirds will play a fast and entertaining style of hoops. He wasn’t kidding.
In his coaching debut on Friday, LIU nearly reached triple digits in a 102-96 loss at Tulane.
The Blackbirds averaged 1.116 points per possession on 86 possessions in a game that resembled a track meet. LIU shot 50 percent from the field, including 52.4 percent in the second half as the Blackbirds piled up 58 points after intermission. The 96 points were the most for LIU since beating NJIT, 96-93, on December 12, 2013.
After trailing by as many as 16 points in the second stanza, LIU pulled to within 98-96 on a Zach Coleman (Dallas, TX/Woodrow Wilson (UMass)) three-pointer with 23 seconds on the clock. Coleman finished with a career-high 14 points, while senior swingman Joel Hernandez (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) added 23 points.
“I think we are going to be a fun team to watch,” said Kellogg before the season. “We are going to be fun and I have a good indication that we are going to win some basketball games and hopefully we can win the right amount at the right time to put ourselves in a good position.”
INTRODUCING CCSU’S TYLER KOHL
Central Connecticut looked like a team on the upswing over the weekend, suffering a pair of narrow losses at Hartford and Rutgers.
The key takeaway from those two outings was the play of junior swingman Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College), who turned heads by averaging 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his first two games in a Blue Devil uniform.
Kohl sent Friday’s game against Hartford to overtime on a layup with 25 seconds left on the clock, then scored six of CCSU’s nine points in the extra session. Two days later at Rutgers, Kohl keyed a late 11-0 run with seven points, two rebounds, a steal and an assist as the Blue Devils sliced a 15-point deficit to four with 31 seconds left to play.
BRYANT’S GRANT SHINES UNDER BRIGHT LIGHTS
It shouldn’t come as a surprise when Bryant sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) puts up big numbers against elite competition.
His 24-point, four-rebound effort at Georgia on Friday was just his latest strong effort against a major conference opponent going back to his freshman season.
at Notre Dame (11/12/16) - 13p, 3r, 4a, 4-6 FG, 3-5 3PFG, 26 min.
at Gonzaga (11/18/16) - 17p, 3r, 2a, 6-12 FG, 4-7 3PFG, 35 min.
at Northwestern (11/25/16) - 19p, 3r, 4a, 6-10 FG, 3-6 3PFG, 35 min.
at Georgia (11/10/16) - 24p, 4r, 8-18 FG, 3-7 3PFG, 38 min.
4-game averages: 18.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 58.5 FG%, 52.0 3PFG%
NEWCOMERS OF NOTE
A number of newcomers to the NEC made good first impressions last week. Here are the most notable ones.
Ryan Layman (BRY, Fr, F)
Layman, whose brother Jake plays for the Portland Trailblazers, scored 12 points and added a team-best seven rebounds in his collegiate debut against Georgia. It marked the third straight year a Bryant freshman has reached double digits on opening night.
Tyler Kohl (CCSU, Jr, G/F)
A transfer from Mineral Area College, Kohl averaged 21.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.5 apg in his first two outings for the Blue Devils. He led CCSU in scoring and rebounding in a pair of tight losses at Hartford and Rutgers.
Jahlil Jenkins (FDU, Fr, G)
Jenkins stepped right into a starting spot and didn’t disappoint with 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 6.0 apg in his first two collegiate contests. He put up 14 points, four rebounds and four assists at Penn State on Sunday.
Zach Coleman (LIU, Gr, F)
The graduate transfer from UMass slipped right into the LIU Brooklyn starting lineup and responded with a 14-point, seven-rebound effort in 29 minutes. He hit 6-12 shots from the floor.
Donald Carey (MSM, Fr, G)
Starting in his first collegiate game, Carey totaled 11 points, two rebounds and three assists in Mount’s opener at Marquette on Friday.
Kobe Thomas (RMU, Fr, F)
Starting in his collegiate debut, Thomas tied for game-high honors with 22 points while also leading RMU with six rebounds and two steals against Ohio State on Friday. The NEC Rookie of the Week finished 8-17 from the floor, including 3-6 from beyond the arc. The 22 points for Thomas were the most scored by an RMU student-athlete making his collegiate debut, breaking the old mark of 15 points set by Velton Jones at Syracuse on November 11, 2009.
E.J. Anosike (SHU, Fr, F)
Anosike felt right at home in first game, amassing 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists against Holy Cross at the Pitt Center. He accounted for all 13 bench points for the Pioneers. Anosike’s brother O.D. played at Siena from 2009-13 and twice led the nation in rebounding.
Jalen Jordan (SFBK, Fr, G)
Jordan looked quite comfortable in St. Francis Brooklyn’s opener at Duquesne. He racked up 14 points on 5-10 shooting, and chipped in with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Jordan, who earned a starting assignment, also made two shots from downtown in 24 minutes of play.
Mark Flagg (SFU, Fr, F)
The 6’9” Flagg made all three of his field goal attempts to finish with six points and three steals at #22 Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
Tyler Plummer (WC, Fr, G)
Plummer recorded 11 points on 4-5 shooting in 21 minutes in Wagner’s win over NJIT on Saturday. He also hit 2-3 from three-point range. Plummer’s layup with 7:08 showing on the clock jump started a 16-6 run for Wagner over the remainder of the contest.
DID YOU KNOW?
Robert Morris freshman guard Jon Williams (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and freshman forward Koby Thomas (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) were each in the starting lineup at Ohio State, becoming just the second RMU rookie duo to earn starts in their debut. In 2005, guards Jonathan Clark and Jeremy Chappell started their first career contests at St. Bonaventure. Overall, Williams and Thomas are the ninth and 10th freshman in program history to start their first game. Likewise, Williams became just the second point guard in school history to start in his collegiate debut. He joins former guard Forest Grant (1980-84), who still owns the Robert Morris career record for assists (555).