NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jalen Jordan, St. Francis Brooklyn
6’3”, 160 lbs.
So., G, Conyers, GA/Rockdale County (National Top Sport Institute)
Jordan found his rhythm from long range during a 2-0 week for the Terriers. The sophomore guard averaged 21.0 points on 9-18 shooting from downtown, and also chipped in 3.0 rebounds per contest. Jordan opened his week last Tuesday by tying for game-high scoring honors with 21 points in a 75-69 win over UMass Lowell. He made four from three-point territory and was 7-14 from the field for the night. Jordan followed with another 21-point outing on Saturday, leading the Terriers to a come-from-behind 56-53 triumph over Saint Peter’s. He knocked down a three with 1:40 to play to pull the Terriers to within a point, then put SFBK in front for good by converting a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining. Jordan, who hails from Conyers, GA, now has four 20+ point games this season. He ranks in the NEC top-10 in made three-pointers (3.55/gm, second), three-point accuracy (.476, third) and scoring (16.5, eighth).

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Cameron Parker, Sacred Heart
6’2”, 170 lbs.
Fr., G, Beaverton, OR/Jesuit (Tilton School (NH))
Parker earned his second NEC Rookie of the Week honor after coming off the bench to dish for a team-best seven assists, to go along with six points, three rebounds and a pair of steals at Dartmouth last Monday. Parker, who hit 3-5 from the floor, sparked SHU’s second half comeback, assisting on four buckets in a 3:30 span that help the Pioneers slice a 14-point deficit to six with 3:31 to play. The Beaverton, OR native leads the NEC and ranks fourth nationally with 7.7 apg on the year. Parker is looking to become the first NEC freshman to lead the league in assists since LIU Brooklyn’s Jason Brickman finished with 5.5 apg back in the 2010-11 campaign.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

SaBastian Townes (BRY, Jr, F)
Townes netted a career-high 34 points on 13-17 shooting against Hartford last Wednesday. The 34 points rank fifth in on Bryant’s DI single-game list and were the most since Dyami Starks scored 35 against Delaware at MSG on December 21, 2013.

Jamir Coleman (CCSU, Jr, G/F)
Coleman netted a career-high 21 points and pulled down three boards at Providence on Sunday. He hit 9-14 from the floor, including 2-4 from outside the arc. Coleman is making 52.4 percent of his three-point opportunities on the year.

Tyler Kohl (CCSU, Sr, G/F)
Kohl comes off another strong outing with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists at Providence on Sunday. Kohl is third in the NEC in scoring (18.1), fourth in assists (4.0) and eighth in rebounding (6.4).

Darnell Edge (FDU, Sr, G)
Edge averaged 20.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg in a split for the Knights. He shot 52.4 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (8-16) from distance. In the Knights’ 93-84 win over Army on Wednesday, Edge scored 24 points and buried a career-high six 3-pointers. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career with a 16-point effort against NJIT on Saturday.

Jashaun Agosto (LIU, Jr, G)
Agosto hit 8-12 from the field and finished with a team-high 19 points, to go along with three rebounds, five assists and two steals at Stony Brook last Wednesday. He is second in the NEC with 4.8 apg.

Jalen Gibbs (MSM, So, G)
Gibbs poured in a career-high 30 points to lead the Mount to its first win of the season on Saturday against Wilson. Gibbs was 11-19 from the field, 6-12 from three-point range and added five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Gibbs leads the Mount and ranks seventh in the NEC with 17.2 ppg.

Josh Williams (RMU, Sr, G)
In RMU’s lone game last week, Williams scored a game-high 20 points at Rider on Saturday. He knocked down six three-pointers against the Broncs to boost his season total to a league-high 48 on the year. Williams is making an NEC-best 4.36 triples per game at a 47.1 percent clip.

Jare’l Spellman (SHU, Jr, F)
Spellman continued to shine last week with 19 points and eight rebounds at Dartmouth on Monday. Spellman has reached double digits in five of his last seven outings, averaging 12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 2.7 bpg over that stretch. He paces the conference with 2.9 bpg.

Jalen Jordan (SFBK, So, G)
Jordan put up a pair of 21-point outings in two SFBK wins to earn NEC Player of the Week honors. He drained 9-18 from three-point territory and is now shooting a robust 47.6 percent from distance to rank third in the conference.

Glenn Sanabria (SFBK, Sr, G)
Sanabria averaged 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.5 apg as the Terriers secured home wins over UMass Lowell and Saint Peter’s. He dropped a season-high 21 points against the River Hawks on Tuesday. Sanabria now has 1,066 points in his career, two shy of tying Gil Radday for 27th on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Romone Saunders (WC, Sr, G)
Saunders was Wagner’s top performer in Sunday’s game at St. John’s. The senior finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Saunders is fourth in the NEC with 17.6 ppg.
 
TOP STORYLINES FROM AROUND #NECMBB

Here’s all you need to know from the sixth week of the 2018-19 season...

CLARK & EDGE JOIN NEC 1K CLUB
 
Two more players opened the door to the NEC’s 1,000-point club last week.
 
LIU Brooklyn senior swingman Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) and FDU senior guard Darnell Edge (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) became the 224th and 225th members of the club, which includes six active players.
 
Clark crossed 1,000 on a layup early in the second half at Stony Brook last Wednesday.  He is the 36th player in LIU annals to reach the milestone. Clark finished the week with 1,006 points.
 
“Raiquan has established himself obviously as one of the better players in our conference, and for him to get his 1,000th point on the road in a game where I thought he played very well was nice,” said LIU head coach Derek Kellogg. “I’m excited for him to try and build upon that. I think he’s really made himself into a very good basketball player, which is exciting to see.”
 
Edge cracked 1,000 on one of his signature step back jumpers six minutes into the second half of FDU’s game against NJIT on Saturday. He is the 28th Knight to amass 1,000 points in his career. Edge will begin play this week with 1,004 career points.
 
“When the dust settles, Darnell Edge goes into the record books and there is no one that deserves that more than Darnell,” said FDU head coach Greg Herenda. “I know that he wanted the win more than anything tonight but nonetheless, he will be recognized for his achievement.”
 
Wagner senior guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac) finished the week one point shy of 1,000, while Bryant junior guard Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) needs four points to hit the millennium mark. Sacred Heart senior guard Sean Hoehn (Morristown, NJ/Morristown (St. Thomas More (CT))) enters this week with 986 career points.
 
Already ensconced in the 1,000-point club are FDU senior forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) (1,142), Saint Francis U senior guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)) (1,133), Saint Francis U junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea) (1,118) and St. Francis Brooklyn senior guard Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) (1,066).
 
BRYANT’S HAWKINS REACHES MILESTONE
 
Bryant redshirt senior Byron Hawkins (Fort Washington, MD/Clinton Christian (Murray State)) also hit 1,000 points for his career last Wednesday against Hartford. His three-pointer with 1:01 to play pushed him to 1,001 points.
 
Murray racked up 643 points in his first two years at Towson, then added 215 more at Murray State a year ago before transferring to Bryant.
 
This season he ranks second on the Bulldogs with 15.9 ppg.
 
TERRIERS SHOW PLENTY OF BITE
 
The holiday season has brought plenty of cheer to the Terrier faithful.
 
With wins over UMass Lowell and Saint Peter’s last week, St. Francis Brooklyn upped its non-conference record to 7-5 on the year. The seven victories are the most in non-league play for the program since winning nine back in 2013-14.
 
The Terriers, who have won five of their last six, still have two more out of conference opponents on tap with games at St. John’s on Wednesday and at home against Manhattan on Sunday.
 
SENIOR DOMINANCE
 
The top six scorers in the NEC this season are all seniors, a stark contrast from the last few seasons.
 
A year ago, seniors comprised just two of the top-12 point producers in the league. In 2016-17, there were three seniors in top-14 on the scoring chart. In 2015-16, two of the NEC’s top-10 scorers were seniors.
 
TOOLE TIME
 
Per Jordan Sperber and his Solving Basketball podcast, the coach with best record in games decided by five points or less resides right here in the NEC.
 
RMU’s ninth-year head coach Andy Toole has compiled a 55-33 record (.625) in these close games, which not only ranks him first in the country, but ahead of Bill Self (Kansas), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Mark Few (Gonzaga), who rank two through four, respectively.
 
Toole has compiled a winning record in games decided by five or less in seven of his first eight seasons.
 
TALK OF THE TOWNES
 
Talk about a career game.
 
Bryant junior forward SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) demolished his previous career-high in scoring when he exploded for 34 points against Hartford last Wednesday. Townes, whose previous personal best came in a 23-point outing vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on February 1, 2018, hit 13-17 shots from the floor and 8-10 from the stripe in 33 minutes of work.
 
Over the last 22 years, there have been only 13 occasions in which an NEC player has scored at least 30 points, made at least 13 field goals and converted at least 75 percent of his field goal attempts. Townes checked off all three boxes against the Hawks.
 
NEC Players With 30 Points, 13 FG & 75% FG Shooting In A Game Since 1997-98
SaBastian Townes (BRY) - 34 points, 13-17 FG vs. Hartford (12/12/18)
Karvel Anderson (RMU) - 36 points, 15-19 FG at Sacred Heart (1/9/14)
Louis Montes (SHU) - 35 points, 13-17 FG vs. LIU (1/3/13)
Justin Rutty (QU) - 26 points, 13-16 FG vs. CCSU (1/24/10)
Justin Rutty (QU) - 30 points, 13-16 at Maine (11/25/08)
Jermaine Hall (WC) - 32 points, 14-16 FG vs. LIU (2/9/02)
Jermaine Hall (WC) - 30 points, 13-17 FG vs. Wagner (1/3/02)
Jermaine Hall (WC) - 30 points, 14-16 FG vs. Brown (11/24/01)
Jermaine Hall (WC) - 34 points, 15-18 FG at Penn State (12/18/00)
Richy Dominguez (SFBK) - 33 points, 13-17 FG vs. Monmouth (3/3/00)
Elijah Allen (FDU) - 43 points, 14-17 FG vs. UConn (3/12/98)
Emmanuel Adekunle (SFU) - 33 points, 15-19 FG vs. LIU (2/16/98)
Charles Jones (LIU) - 53 points, 21-27 FG vs. Medgar Evers (11/26/97)
 
EVANS DOMINATES ON GLASS
 
St. Francis Brooklyn may have found its next glass sweeper.
 
After averaging 4.0 rpg over his first nine games of the season, sophomore forward Yaradyah Evans (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore) pulled down 14.5 per outing in a 2-0 week for the Terriers.
 
After snaring a career-high 11 rebounds in a 75-69 victory over UMass Lowell on Tuesday, Evans recorded an NEC single-game season-high 18 caroms in SFBK’s comeback victory over Saint Peter’s on Saturday.
 
The 18 boards were the second-highest total by an NEC player over the last two years, only trailing FDU junior forward Kaleb Bishop’s (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony) 22 rebounds in an NEC Tournament semifinal game against LIU Brooklyn on March 3, 2018.
 
His 18-rebound effort was also the 19th-highest single game total in the nation this season and the eighth-most by an underclassman.
 
JENKINS & NEC ALL-AROUND STARS   
 
NEC players have been stuffing the stat sheet this year, and last Wednesday it was FDU sophomore guard Jahlil Jenkins’ (Ranson, WV/Virginia Academy) turn.
 
Jenkins lit up Army West Point with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 93-84 win over the Cadets in a game that saw the Knights shoot 52.5 percent from the floor and hit 12 three-pointers at a 44.4 percent clip.
 
In doing so, Jenkins became one of 11 players nationwide this season to record at least 19 points, nine boards and seven dimes in a game. Interestingly, two of the others are also NEC ballers. Saint Francis U junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea) compiled 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a win over Niagara on November 30 and CCSU senior swingman Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Areal College) went for 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven helpers in a victory over Florida A&M on November 18.
 
FRIAS ON FIRE
 
December has been good to LIU Brooklyn senior guard Raul Frias (Miami, FL/Mater Academy).
 
Frias made just 13-45 (.289) from three-point range and averaged 6.8 points over his first eight games before finding his groove once December hit.
 
Over his last two contests, the Miami, FL native has come off the bench to make 11-13 from outside the arc - a scintillating 84.6 percent - while contributing 19.0 ppg.
 
Last Wednesday, Frias scored 17 points on just six shots in 19 minutes played at Stony Brook. He hit 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from three-point range. 
 
The two-game stretch lifted his season numbers to 9.2 ppg and a 41.4 percent success rate from downtown, the seventh-best mark in the league.
 
FRESHMAN KEYS FIRST WIN FOR ENGLELSTAD
 
The latest Mount St. Mary’s rookie to make an impact is freshman guard Vado Morse (Suitland, MD/Bullis).
 
Morse scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half as the Mount earned its first win of the year with a 74-59 victory over Wilson College on Saturday. He finished the game with 14 points and a season-high six rebounds. Morse scored eight points in the Mount’s 17-5 run to close out the victory.
 
The win was the first in the Mount head coaching career for Dan Engelstad.
 
“It just gives us some validation,” Engelstad said of the first win. “I think we can now really, hopefully, just let it rip and really get after people now that we have that monkey off our back.”
 
BOMBS AWAY FOR RMU’S WILLIAMS
 
Robert Morris senior guard Josh Williams (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron)) is in the midst of a special season from beyond the arc.
 
Williams scored a game-high 20 points at Rider on Saturday, hitting six three-pointers in the process. In doing so, he stretched his streak of consecutive games with at least two three-point field goals to nine. That tied Karvel Anderson’s school record set back during the 2012-13 season. During the nine-game stretch, Williams is averaging 4.89 three-pointers per contest and shooting 50.6 percent (44-87) from deep.
 
He leads the NEC and ranks fourth nationally with 4.36 three-pointers per game. Williams is shooting 47.1 percent from distance to rank fourth on the circuit.
 
SFBK’S HAWKINS ON THE ATTACK
 
St. Francis Brooklyn sophomore guard Chauncey Hawkins (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional) is the NEC’s smallest regular, but that doesn’t stop him from attacking the basket with reckless abandon.
 
At 5’8”, Hawkins leads the NEC with 6.9 fouls drawn per 40 minutes. Hawkins also ranks second in the league with 58 free throw attempts despite playing just 24.3 minutes per game.
 
He averages 13.3 ppg coming off the bench for the Terriers.
 
STAT TRACKER
 
CCSU junior swingman Jamir Coleman (San Antonio, TX/South Plains CC) has developed into one of the NEC’s most lethal shooters and an analytics favorite. He ranks first in the NEC in three-point accuracy (.524) and true field goal percentage (.628), and second in effective shooting percentage (.619).
 
Robert Morris senior guard Matty McConnell (Oakdale, PA/Chartiers Valley) pulled down his 400th career rebound in Saturday’s game at Rider. McConnell ranks in the top-10 among NEC active career leaders in rebounding (fifth), scoring (876, 10th) and assists (244, sixth).
 
Saint Francis U junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville Prep)) ranks seventh nationally in defensive rebounds per game (8.2) and 16th in defensive rebound percentage (29.0).
 
Wagner leads the NEC with a +9.0 rebounding margin. The Seahawks led the league in rebounding margin in 2015-16 (+6.7) and 2016-17 (+7.2), before finishing second a year ago (+5.4).
 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Greg Herenda following the Knights’ 93-84 win over Army West Point last Wednesday.
 
“It is a privilege to play Army and it was an honor to win this game. We have so much respect for those guys for so many reasons and tonight, Army just kept coming and coming. I give our kids so much credit for matching their runs with some big runs of our own. That was a great program win for our team and our university.”