NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Dachon Burke, Robert Morris
6’4”, 180 lbs.
So., G, Orange, NJ/Orange
Burke helped Robert Morris stretch its win streak to three by averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as the Colonials closed out the Grand Canyon Classic with a pair of wins last week. He shot 61.9 percent from the field and added a pair of steals. Celebrating his birthday on Saturday, Burke tied a career-high with 17 points while also adding eight rebounds and three assists in a 78-64 win at Little Rock. One day earlier, the sophomore from Orange, NJ hit 6-9 shots and finished with 15 points, three rebounds, a career-best five assists and two steals in a 75-53 neutral court win over Norfolk State. Since missing the season opener due to injury, Burke has scored in double figures in each game, averaging 13.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg. His 2.4 spg ranks second in the NEC.
Tyler Kohl, Central Connecticut
6’5”, 220 lbs.
Jr., G/F, Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College
Kohl just missed out on averaging a double-double with 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in two CCSU wins last week. He posted his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 74-71 victory over Coppin State that saw Kohl score six of his points in OT, including the go-ahead free throws with 50 seconds to play. The Allentown, PA native added 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Blue Devils extended their win streak to three with a 74-73 road victory over Clevleand State on Friday. Kohl leads CCSU with 15.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 4.8 apg. He ranks second in the NEC in assists, third in rebounding and seventh in scoring.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Koby Thomas, Robert Morris
6’6”, 190 lbs.
Fr., F, Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter
Thomas collected his second NEC Rookie of the Week accolade after sparking the Colonials to a pair of victories last week in the Grand Canyon Classic that pushed RMU’s win streak to three games. The Philly product averaged 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from downtown, making 5-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. He netted a game-high 21 points on 9-10 shooting in Friday’s 75-53 win over Norfolk State, then followed with 15 points and nine boards the following afternoon in the Colonials’ 78-64 triumph at Little Rock. Thomas, who has started all six games, paces the Colonials in scoring (14.5) and ranks second in rebounding (6.0) while converting at a 52.2 percent clip from the floor. He is the NEC’s leading freshman scorer and ranks tenth overall.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Darnell Edge (FDU, Jr, G)
Edge contributed 19.5 ppg on 59.1 percent shooting from the field in a 1-1 week for the Knights. He hit 6-12 from long range and made all seven of his free throws. Edge racked up a game-high 23 points and dished for six assists in FDU’s 87-76 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday. He hit a pair of three-pointers in a 10-0 run that gave the Knights the lead for good in the latter stages of the contest.
Raiquan Clark (LIU, Jr, G/F)
Clark has shown no signs of slowing down for LIU Brooklyn. Last week he averaged 23.5 ppg on 61.5 percent shooting from the field and 86.7 percent from the stripe. Clark has scored 20 points or more in five-of-seven games this season for the Blackbirds. He leads the NEC with 22.1 ppg and ranks fourth in field goal percentage at 58.5 percent.
Jonah Antonio (MSM, R-Fr, G)
The sharpshooter from Perth, Australia put up 21.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg and made 11 trifectas in 22 attempts in a 1-1 week for the Mount. Antonio posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Mount’s 91-80 victory over York (PA) and followed with 19 points and seven rebounds at Ohio. Antonio leads the NEC and is 14th in the nation with 3.67 triples per game.
Junior Robinson (MSM, Sr, G)
Robinson continues to shine for the Mount and comes off a week that saw him average 24.0 ppg, 5.5 apg and 4.0 rpg. He scored 27 in the Mount’s 91-80 win over York (PA) and followed with 21 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first collegiate double-double in the Mount’s loss at Ohio on Friday. Robinson is second in the NEC with 21.3 ppg and is a perfect 24-for-24 at the charity stripe.
Keith Braxton (SFU, So, G)
Braxton showcased his skills against #19 Louisville on Friday, racking up 25 points and 11 rebounds in an 84-72 loss. The sophomore scored 19 points in the second half to spark a Red Flash rally, and finished the game 10-18 from the field and 2-4 from three-point range. Braxton averaged 19.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg for the week.
Blake Francis (WC, So, G)
The high-scoring sophomore averaged 18.0 points in a pair of Seahawk wins last week. Francis scored 17 and hit 3-6 from outside the arc as Wagner improved to 4-1 on the year with a 72-50 win at Hartford on Sunday. Francis ranks third in the NEC with 19.8 ppg and is hitting 47.2 percent of his shots from downtown.
PERFORMANCES OF NOTE
Ikenna Ndugba (BRY, So, G)
Ndugba recorded his second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Bryant’s 78-73 win over Hartford on Friday. He also added a career-best five steals in the win. For the week, the sophomore guard averaged 13.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 apg and 4.0 spg.
E.J. Anosike (SHU, Fr, F)
Anosike comes off a two-game stretch that saw him average 9.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg. He posted his first career double-double on Wednesday, setting a new career-high with 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench vs. Mitchell.
Mario Matasovic (SHU, Sr, F)
Matasovic compiled 16.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg on 65.0 percent shooting from the field over two games for the Pioneers last week. His 19 points matched a career-high, and with 10 boards recorded his first-ever double-double in SHU’s win over Mitchell on Wednesday.
TOP STORYLINES FROM WEEK THREE OF #NECMBB
Here’s all you need to know from the three week of the 2017-18 hoops season...
SFU’s BRAXTON SHINES UNDER BRIGHT LIGHTS
Despite teams focusing their defensive efforts on stopping the 2016-17 NEC Rookie of the Year, Saint Francis U’s Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/The Lawrenceville School) has risen to the challenge and then some over the first three weeks of his sophomore campaign.
Braxton may have been the best player on the court in the Red Flash’s 84-72 setback at #19 Louisville on Friday in a game that was competitive into the final minutes.
The Glassboro, NJ native finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-18 shooting and added 11 rebounds and two assists for his second double-double in three outings. Braxton tallied 19 second half points as the Red Flash trimmed a 22-point deficit to eight with 3:26 to play.
Braxton, a preseason All-NEC pick, leads SFU with 15.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg on the year.
YOUNG GUNS LEADING RMU
With just two players back from last season, newcomers were always going to be a part of the equation for Robert Morris in 2017-18. After six games and three straight wins, it’s obvious the Colonial newbies have grown up fast, most notably a trio of outstanding freshmen.
NEC Rookie of the Week Koby Thomas (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) is already a two-time winner of the award. Last week he put up 18.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg while shooting a sizzling 66.7 percent from the floor in RMU’s wins over Norfolk State and Little Rock as part of the Grand Canyon Classic. The 6’6” forward finished with 21 points on 9-10 shooting in the win over the Spartans. Thomas leads RMU with 14.5 ppg on the year, a figure that is also tops among NEC freshman this season.
Another RMU freshman who built a weekly honor type resume was Leondre Washington (Englewood, NJ/Teaneck), who averaged 14.0 ppg and 3.0 apg last week. He also shot well, hitting 53.8 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent (5-9) from beyond the arc, and made all nine of his free throws. Washington, a 6’0” guard, scored a career-high 16 points against Norfolk State.
Throw in freshman point guard Jon Williams (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary), who has started all six games and averaged 4.5 apg last week, and Andrew Toole has three building blocks to go along with super soph Dachon Burke (Orange, NJ/Orange) and rising junior Matty McConnell (Oakdale, PA/Chartiers Valley).
HUGLEY BOOSTS REVAMPED CCSU FRONTCOURT
With junior newcomers Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College) and Deion Bute (Philipsburg, St. Maarten/Tallahassee CC) having already established themselves as forces for CCSU this season, a third Blue Devil big asserted himself last week.
Sophomore forward Joe Hugley (Gaithersburg, MD/Magruder (Baltimore CC)) provided key minutes off the bench in CCSU’s two wins at the Showcase on the Banks event. Hugley averaged 14.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and shot 58.8 percent from the floor while knocking down 4-6 from distance in 21 minutes per game.
With the 6’5 Kohl, 6’9” Bute and 6’7” Hugley joining veteran forward Mustafa Jones (Harlem, NY/Cardinal Hayes) on a loaded front line, the Blue Devils have posted a +3.3 rebound margin in the early stages a year after finishing with a -2.2 margin. Last week, the Blue Devils outrebounded Coppin State, 44-29, and Cleveland State, 38-29, en-route to a pair of close victories that pushed CCSU’s win streak to three games.
JUNIOR’S JUMP
Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance) is a two-time All-NEC second teamer and a preseason All-NEC honoree for the reigning league champs. It’s safe to say big things are expected this season from the North Carolina native.
He’s lived up to the advance billing and then some.
Robinson has scored 20 or more points in six-of-seven games this year, including 20 at Marquette, 26 at Georgetown and 21 on Friday at Ohio in his first career double-double performance, which included a personal-best 10 assists.
Robinson, who entered the year with an 11.8 ppg career scoring average, is threatening to double that figure this season. He currently ranks second in the NEC with 21.3 ppg. Robinson has increased his field goal percentage each year, from 36.2 percent as a freshman to 38.5 percent as a sophomore to 42.3 percent as a junior to his current 46.5 percent clip.
He is also first in the nation in free throw shooting, having hit all 24 of his attempts this season. No player in DI has attempted more shots from the stripe without a miss.
ANOSIKE’S REBOUNDING LINEAGE
It should come as no surprise that Sacred Heart freshman forward E.J. Anosike (East Orange, NJ/Paramus Catholic (St. Thomas More)) has wasted little time asserting himself on the boards for the Pioneers.
Anosike’s brother O.D. played at Siena from 2010-13 and led the nation in rebounding on two occasions. His little brother may have similar designs.
After six career games, the East Orange, NJ product leads the NEC in rebounding with 9.2 per outing despite averaging just under 25 minutes in a reserve role. Anosike has been a force on the offensive glass, snaring 4.2 per game, which ties him for first in the nation with UNLV’s Brandon McCoy and ranks tenth overall. He is eighth nationally among NCAA freshman in rebounds per game.
At 6’7” and 235 lbs., Anosike also owns the two best single-game rebounding performances in the conference this season. His 17 boards against Maine on November 19 is the NEC’s single-game season-high and he followed with 16 more vs. Mitchell this past Wednesday. In fact, his 17-rebound effort was the most by an NEC freshman since SFU’s Keith Braxton pulled down 19 against Stony Brook on December 17, 2016.
Due in part to Anosike’s board work, the Pioneers rank 17th nationally in rebound margin at +11.0 per game.
NDUGBA’S ALL-AROUND EFFORT
Bryant sophomore point guard Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, MA/Brooks School) had himself quite a game in Friday’s 78-73 win over Hartford.
In posting his second career double-double, Ndugba finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a career-high five steals in a terrific all-around performance as the Bulldogs led wire-to-wire for their first win of the 2017-18 campaign.
Ndugba also became one of just three players across the nation this season to finish a game with at least 16 points, 10 boards and five steals and the only to do so against a DI opponent. Stephen F. Austin sophomore Kevon Harris posted 18 points, 10 rebounds and six steals against DII St. Edwards on November 15, and Central Michigan’s Cecil Williams tallied 21 points, 11 caroms and five steals vs. Siena Heights on November 10.
Ndugba currently leads the NEC and ranks 17th nationally with 2.67 spg.
NEC in NCAA STATS (Top-25)
Name School Category Rank Value
Junior Robinson MSM FT% 1st 1.000
E.J. Anosike SHU Off. Reb. 10th 4.17/gm
Jonah Antonio MSM 3PFG 14th 3.67/gm
Ikenna Nudugba BRY Steals 17th 2.67/gm
Team Category Rank Value
Robert Morris TOs Forced 6th 20.50
Fairleigh Dickinson TOs Forced 11th 19.83
Fairleigh Dickinson Steals 11th 10.7
Sacred Heart Reb. Mar. 17th +11.0/game
Fairleigh Dickinson FG% 22nd .514
STAT OF THE WEEK
Robert Morris improved to 7-2 under eighth-year head coach Andrew Toole when playing on a neutral court with it’s 75-53 win over Norfolk State last Friday in Little Rock, AR.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MOUNT DUO MAKING MOVES IN ICELAND
They were a dynamic duo who helped launch the Mount Mayhem era.
Fast forward a half decade later.
While they’re not playing together, 2014 Mount graduates Sam Prescott and Rashad Whack remain in peak form, both plying their trade in Iceland, a country that has had a its fare share of NEC ties in recent years.
Prescott is averaging 30.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 3.9 apg competing for Fjolnir Reykjavik. He’s shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and 45.1 percent from outside the arc. In seven outings, Prescott has already compiled four 30+ games, including 36 and 37 in back-to-back wins earlier this month, and a season-high 43 in a win this past Friday. He ranks third in Iceland’s Division I league in scoring.
Whack, an All-NEC second teamer who scored over 1,000 points in his two seasons at the Mount, has put up 23.3 ppg competing for U.M.F. Grindavik to rank second in Iceland’s Dominos League. The sharpshooter is shooting 41.0 percent from outside the arc. He hit for a season-high 31 points in a mid-October game against Keflavik.
Prescott and Whack helped lead the Mount to the 2014 NEC title, the first under Jamion Christian. In the title game win over Robert Morris, Whack led the Mountaineers with 20 points and was named Tournament MVP. Prescott added 15 points and was selected to the All-Tournament team.
Prescott received national attention while at the Mount for his 10 trifecta performance in a win over Bryant on February 14, 2013.
Prescott on #SCTop10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMwXvSZelmk
Whack also had his fare share of highlights during his time in Emmitsburg, most notably his game-winning three-pointer with two seconds on the clock to beat St. Francis Brooklyn in the 2014 NEC quarterfinals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii0ho_ZaBvo