NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mike Holloway Jr., Fairleigh Dickinson
6’8”, 245 lbs.
Sr., F, Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick
Holloway Jr. earned the first NEC Player of the Week honor of his career after averaging 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in a home sweep for the Knights. He shot 63.3 percent overall and 75.0 percent from three-point territory. Holloway enjoyed a career game in last Thursday’s 81-63 win over Sacred Heart with a personal-best 35 points on a scorching 15-19 from the floor to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Known for his interior game, he also went 3-3 from outside the arc. Two days later, Holloway was one of five Knights in double digits, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a 74-66 victory over Wagner that moved second place FDU to 10-6 in NEC play, just one game behind Saint Francis U in the standings. Holloway, who hails from Pittsgrove, NJ, is contributing 12.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg on the year, and ranks eighth in the league in field goal accuracy (.506).

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Damian Chong Qui, Mount St. Mary’s
5’8”, 145 lbs.
Fr., G, Baltimore, MD/McDonogh
The fifth Mount player to win NEC Rookie of the Week honors this season, Chong Qui contributed 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 60.0 percent, including a 50.0 percent mark from beyond the arc. He opened his week with 11 points, a career-high eight rebounds and six assists in a 79-66 win at CCSU on Thursday, then followed with 15 points (6-10 FG), four boards and four helpers in a setback at Bryant. For the year, he averages 6.9 ppg and ranks ninth in the NEC with 3.5 apg. The five different NEC Rookie of the Week winners for the Mountaineers this year is a league record. Vado Morse has won a league-leading six weekly awards, followed by two for Malik Jefferson and one apiece for Chong Qui, Dee Barnes and Nana Opoku. In total, the Mount has collected NEC rookie accolades in 11-of-16 weeks this season, including six straight heading into the final week of the campaign.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Juan Cardenas (BRY, Jr, F)
Cardenas comes off the finest week of his Bryant career with 16.0 ppg on 62.5 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range, while adding 6.0 rpg, 2.0 spg and 1.5 bpg. He notched a career-high 19 points in Bryant’s 81-58 win over the Mount on Saturday and has now scored 12 or more points in six of the last seven games to lift his season average to 7.1 ppg.

Adam Grant (BRY, Jr, G)
Grant contributed on both ends of the floor last week, finishing with 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.0 spg in a 2-0 week for the Bulldogs. He converted 7-13 (.538) of his three-point opportunities. Grant drained 5-7 shots from long range and amassed 17 points, five boards and three steals in Thursday’s 67-65 win over Wagner. He is ninth in the NEC with 15.4 ppg.

Jamir Coleman (CCSU, Jr, G/F)
Coleman led the Blue Devils last week with 18.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.5 spg and 2.0 bpg. He also hit 3-5 from downtown. Coleman posted his fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Mount on Thursday, then followed with a game-high 22 points against SHU on Saturday.

Mike Holloway Jr. (FDU, Sr, F)
Holloway played the game of his life on Thursday, scoring a career-high 35 points coupled with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. He hit 15-19 from the floor as FDU downed SHU. The NEC Player of the Week averaged 23.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.0 bpg in a home sweep. He shot 63.3 percent overall and 75.0 percent from three-point land.

Damian Chong Qui (MSM, Fr, G)
Chong Qui became the fifth Mount player this season to collect NEC Rookie of the Week honors. He put up 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, and shot 60.0 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point territory. Chong Qui tallied 11 points, a career-high eight rebounds and six assists in a 79-66 win at CCSU on Thursday

E.J. Anosike (SHU, So, F)
Anosike averaged a double-double with 17.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg in a SHU split. He shot 56.0 percent from the field and added a pair of blocks. Anosike tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and seventh of his career at FDU on Thursday. He has compiled 14.1 ppg on the year, and ranks second in the NEC in rebounding (7.9) and fourth in field goal accuracy (.522).

Mark Flagg (SFU, So, F)
Flagg came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points on 7-9 shooting and added eight boards in SFU’s 81-71 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday. For the week, he averaged 15.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 spg and shot 57.9 percent from the floor. Over the last five games, he has recorded 13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg and hit 61.0 percent of his field goal attempts.

TOP STORYLINES FROM AROUND #NECMBB

Here’s all you need to know from the 16th week of the 2018-19 season...

AND DOWN THE STRETCH WE COME
 
With the final week of regular season play upon us, the NEC Tournament field is 75 percent set, but there is plenty of drama left to unfold as teams make their final qualification and seeding push.
 
With parity reigning supreme this season, here’s the skinny on who is in, who is trending upward and who controls their own destiny.
 
Crashing The Party
These six teams below have qualified for the 2019 NEC Tournament. Here’s a look at the qualification streaks for each of the six, highlighted by RMU’s league-best 16 consecutive appearances.
 
Consecutive NEC Tournament Appearances (Current)
16 - Robert Morris
9 - Wagner
6 - Saint Francis U
4 - Fairleigh Dickinson
2 - St. Francis Brooklyn
1 - Sacred Heart
 
This leaves just two spots up for grabs after RMU (10-6) and FDU (10-6) clinched NEC playoff berths on Thursday, with Sacred Heart (9-7), St. Francis Brooklyn (8-8) and Wagner (8-8) joining them on Saturday. Saint Francis U (11-5) had already secured its spot in the tourney heading into play last week.
 
Bryant (7-9) and LIU Brooklyn (7-9) are in the driver’s seat for the final two spots with one of those teams assured of qualifying. Both teams are 7-9 in league play - two games ahead of CCSU (5-10) and Mount St. Mary’s (5-10) - and they play each other on Saturday. A win for either Bryant or LIU on Thursday puts them in the playoffs as will a CCSU loss.
 
CCSU still has a chance to earn a spot in the tourney field with two wins and help along the way. The Mount has been eliminated from playoff contention.
 
Regular Season Title Still Up For Grabs
Saint Francis U had its eight-game win streak stopped by LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, and in the process, had its lead at the top of the NEC standings cut to one game with FDU and Robert Morris in hot pursuit. The streak was the longest for SFU since the 1990-91 season.
 
The Red Flash can clinch the #1 seed in the NEC Tournament and at least a share of the NEC regular season crown with a win over Wagner on Thursday and a RMU win over Sacred Heart. If SFU wins one of its final two games, the Flash can claim the top seed with an FDU loss or two RMU wins. RMU can only be the #1 seed by winning both games, while SFU gets swept and FDU loses at least one of its final two games. FDU wins the head-to-head with RMU if both finish ahead of SFU. There is also a path for FDU to earn the #1 seed while winning just one of its final two games. SHU can earn the #1 seed with two wins and plenty of help.
 
Seeding Picture Still Muddled (aka “Break Out The Tiebreakers”)
With just one week remaining in the regular season, the tightly knit NEC standings make it difficult to project the eventual matchups that will comprise the league’s postseason tournament that begins with quarterfinal round play on Wednesday, March 6.
 
Saint Francis U and FDU have both clinched quarterfinal home games, while Robert Morris and Sacred Heart control their own destiny in pursuit of a top-four seed. St. Francis Brooklyn, Wagner and LIU Brooklyn also have a shot at hosting a postseason game, so we could be looking at a wild ride this week.
 
This Week’s Schedule
Here is the slate of games that will ultimately determine NEC Tournament bracketing.
 
Thursday, February 28       
Saint Francis U at Wagner, 6 pm (CBSSN)
Robert Morris at Sacred Heart, 6 pm
CCSU at LIU Brooklyn, 7 pm
FDU at Mount St. Mary’s, 7 pm
Bryant at St. Francis Brooklyn, 7 pm
 
Saturday, March 2            
FDU at CCSU, 1 pm
Saint Francis U at Sacred Heart, 3:30 pm
Robert Morris at Wagner, 4 pm
Mount St. Mary’s at St. Francis Brooklyn, 4 pm
Bryant at LIU Brooklyn, 4:30 pm
 
NEC-TV CLOSES OUT CBSSN SKED
 
The NEC closes out its regular season TV slate this Thursday with the annual wildcard game on CBS Sports Network.
 
The Conference selected Saint Francis U at Wagner as the featured matchup in a battle of NEC contenders. Tip is at 6:00 pm with Dave Popkin (PxP), Tim Capstraw (color) and Craig D’Amico (sideline) in the booth.
 
Come the playoffs, all quarterfinal games will air on NEC Front Row. The semis will be carried on ESPN3 and Front Row. ESPN2 will broadcast the title game.
 
LIU’S AGOSTO HITS MILLENNIUM MARK
 
Make it an even dozen.
 
The NEC now sports 12 active players who have cracked the 1,000-point barrier with the addition of LIU Brooklyn junior guard Jashaun Agosto (Seattle, WA/Garfield) last week.
 
Agosto reached 1,000 last Thursday on a runner early in the second half at Robert Morris. He enters play this week with 1,011 points.
 
Agosto became the 231st player in NEC history and 37th in LIU annals to hit 1,000 points.
  
Agosto joined SFU senior forward Saint Francis U senior guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)) (1,413), Saint Francis U junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) (1,409), FDU senior forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) (1,408), LIU Brooklyn senior swingman Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) (1,357), FDU senior guard Darnell Edge (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) (1,310), St. Francis Brooklyn graduate student guard Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) (1,307), Sacred Heart senior guard Sean Hoehn (Morristown, NJ/Morristown (St. Thomas More (CT))) (1,304), Wagner redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac) (1,287), Bryant junior guard Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate) (1,266), Robert Morris senior guard Matty McConnell (Oakdale, PA/Chartiers Valley) (1,067) and CCSU senior guard/forward Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College) (1,008) as the NEC’s 1,000-point scorers.
 
SHU’S PARKER SETS NEC RECORD
 
Former LIU Brooklyn point guard Jason Brickman holds every conceivable NEC assist record.
 
Except one.
 
Last Thursday, Sacred Heart freshman guard Cameron Parker (Beaverton, OR/Tilton School) dropped nine dimes at FDU to eclipse Brickman’s freshman record for assists and now has 195 on the season.
 
Brickman, who dished for 180 assists as a freshman back in 2010-11, went on to accumulate 1,009 over the course of his career to rank first in the conference and fourth on the all-time NCAA list behind the all ACC trio comprised of Duke’s Bobby Hurley (1,076), NC State’s Chris Corchiani (1,038) and UNC’s Ed Cota (1,030).
 
Parker leads the NEC and ranks seventh nationally with 7.0 apg on the year.
 
Last week, he averaged 9.5 apg, including his sixth double-digit dime game of the year with 10 vs. CCSU on Saturday.
 
HOLLOWAY’S NIGHT TO REMEMBER
 
Down the road, when FDU’s Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) reflects back on his career, the night of February 21, 2018 will always be memory that puts a smile on his face.
Holloway was in can’t miss mode in the Knights’ 81-63 win over Sacred Heart, hitting 15-19 from the field for a career-high 35 points.  The 35 points were the most by an FDU player since Sean Baptiste dropped 37 against Quinnipiac on January 3, 2009.
 
One of the NEC top post presences, he surprisingly took his game outside the three-point arc, but that didn’t slow him down at all. Not on this night.
 
Holloway, who entered the game with 11 career three-pointers, canned 3-3 from distance to cap a special performance.
 
He also added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
In doing so, Holloway became the first player in the nation since at least 2010 to finish with at least 15 field goals, shoot over 75 percent from the field, and compile at least eight boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
He was also just the third player in that time frame to record 15 field goals at a 75.0 percent clip, and at least three triples without a miss. One of the others is former Wisconsin All-American and current Charlotte Hornet Frank Kaminsky, who finished 16-19 from the floor and 6-6 from three-point range in a 43-point effort against North Dakota on November 19, 2013.
 
TOOLE EARNS MILESTONE WIN
 
One of the NEC’s winningest coaches hit another milestone on Thursday.
 
With RMU’s 62-49 win over LIU Brooklyn, ninth-year head coach Andrew Toole picked up his 100th conference victory.
 
He is just the ninth coach in league history to reach the century mark, and with a 101-57 all-time NEC record, he maintains the highest win percentage of any coach with 100+ wins.
 
NEC COACHING TRIVIA
 
There was no shortage of coaching experience in Saturday’s game in Moon Township where Robert Morris posted a 67-62 win over SFBK.
 
The game featured a combined 315 NEC victories between the two benches. 
 
RMU’s Andrew Toole picked up 101st league win, while SFBK’s St. Francis Brooklyn head coach Glenn Braica has won 85 NEC games. Braica’s assistant, Ron Ganulin, won 129 games as head coach of the Terriers from 1991 to 2005. 
 
SFU’S DYNAMIC DUO
 
With Jamaal King (Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)) (1,413 points) and Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) (1,409) both cracking the 1,400-point mark in their respective careers last week, it brought to mind how rare an accomplishment it is to have two teammates with that many points.
 
The last time the conference featured a duo with at least 1,400 points at the same time, you’d have to go back the 2012-13 season when LIU Brooklyn’s Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere both hit the milestone. Prior to that, CCSU’s Ken Horton and Robby Ptacek did it in 2011-12 and RMU’s Tony Lee and A.J. Jackson turned the trick in 2007-08.

BRAXTON CRACKS TOP-15 ON NEC REBOUNDING CHART
 
Saint Francis U junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) elevated five spots on the NEC career rebounding chart last week and is now 15th all-time with 853 boards.
 
Among the players he jumped last week were a pair of NEC Player of the Year award winners in LIU’s Julian Boyd and CCSU’s Ken Horton.
 
Braxton needs 74 rebounds to reach the NEC top-10.
 
The Glassboro, NJ native also needs 307 boards over the remainder of his career to pass St. Francis Brooklyn’s Jalen Cannon (1,159 from 2011-15) and become the league’s all-time rebound king.
 
The Glassboro, NJ native is the NEC leader with 9.8 rpg on the year.
 
NEC Career Rebounding List
10. Rahshon Turner           FDU            927           1994-98
11. Ted Taylor               MAR            923           1981-85
12. Greg Foster              FDU            916           1982-84
13. Durell Vinson            WC             893           2003-08 
14. Brandon Peel             CCSU           881           2012-16
15. Keith Braxton            SFU            853           2016-19 
16. Lucky Jones              RMU            846           2011-15
17. Julian Boyd              LIU            843           2008-13
18. Ken Horton               CCSU           842           2007-12
19. Alan Tomidy              MAR            838           1991-96
20. Freddie Burton           LIU            836           1986-89       
 
MORSE IS NEC MID-RANGE KING
 
The mid-range game may be a dying art form in today’s analytics driven hoops world, but there are still some practitioners who make it an intricate part of their skill set.
 
In the NBA, players like DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are masters of the mid-range on the Spurs, who are an outlier these days when it comes to playing inside the three-point line.
 
In the NEC, a star freshman has made it a key part of his repertoire.
 
Mount St. Mary’s freshman guard Vado Morse (Suitland, MD/Bullis School), a six-time NEC Rookie of the Week, is the leader of the pack when it comes to mid-range efficiency.
 
With an assortment of pull-ups, step-backs and a strong floater game, Morse is shooting 46.7 percent (43-92) from mid-range on the year to lead all conference players who have made at least one per game.
 
Others shooting over 40 percent include Bryant junior forward SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) (44.0 percent) and CCSU freshman guard Ian Krishnan (Boyds, MD/Proctor Academy) (42.9 percent).
 
EDGE HEAT CHECK
 
He’s on a hot streak that he won’t soon forget.
 
FDU senior guard Darnell Edge (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) has now converted 19 of his last 25 shots from three-point range over his last six outings, a scintillating 76.0 percent success rate. Going back eight games, he’s made 28-of-39 or 71.8 percent.
 
Edge leads the NEC and ranks fourth nationally with a 47.7 percent accuracy rate from downtown, including 55.3 percent in conference games.
 
CCSU LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY AT THE STRIPE
 
CCSU shot 26-31 (.839) as a team at the foul line last week to lift its season percentage to 78.1 percent, tops in the NEC and fifth nationally.
 
The Blue Devils have a good chance to set the all-time NEC mark, currently held by Wagner. The Seahawks converted 77.2 percent of their opportunities in 2010-11.
 
SFBK’S SANABRIA MOVES UP LONG DISTANCE LIST
 
With two three-pointers last week, St. Francis Brooklyn graduate guard Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) moved up another spot on the league’s all-time chart with 232 career trifectas.
 
Sanabria is now tied with the Sacred Heart’s Steve Glowiak and needs eight more to reach the top-20.
 
NEC Career 3P List
20. Kyle Johnson             LIU            240           2007-11
21. Danny Basile             MAR            239           1992-96
22. Terence Ward             UMBC           233           1998-01
23. Steve Glowiak            SHU            232           2011-15
    Glenn Sanabria           SFBK           232           2014-19
24. Junior Robinson          MSM            230           2014-18
    Dejan Delic              MU             230           2003-07
 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
“Simply put, Mike was our Superman tonight,” said FDU head coach Greg Herenda after senior forward Mike Holloway Jr. erupted for 35 points in last Thursday’s 81-63 triumph over Sacred Heart. “I have no words to describe Mike’s performance. Offensively he was as good as it gets tonight. I am just so happy for him. All of his hours working on his perimeter shooting paid off in a huge way tonight.” 
 
NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS
 
Bryant’s 81-58 win over the Mount on Saturday marked the program’s largest margin of victory (23) since an 80-54 win over Saint Francis U on January 8, 2015.
 
Robert Morris senior guard Matty McConnell (Oakdale, PA/Chartiers Valley) enters the final week of the regular season five rebounds short of becoming the 14th player in RMU history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for his career. He averaged 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 3.0 apg in RMU’s two wins last week, scoring 12 points apiece in victories over LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn. The Colonials are 24-10 (.706) the last two seasons when McConnell scores in double figures.
 
Wagner head coach Bashir Mason has now led the Seahawks to an NEC Tournament berth in each of his seven seasons at the helm of the Green & White. As a program, the Green & White have qualified nine straight years.
 
STAT TRACKER
 
Bryant is shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from three-point range over the last four games. The Bulldogs have also outrebounded each of their last four opponents, posting a +6.8 rebound margin.
 
CCSU sophomore forward Kashaun Hicks (Jersey City, NJ/The MacDuffie School) scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Sacred Heart on Saturday, narrowly missing his first double-double. 
 
CCSU senior forward Deion Bute (Philipsburg, St. Maarten/Tallahassee CC) matched a season-high with 15 points (6-7 FG) and grabbed nine boards vs. Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday. Over the past five games he’s averaging a team-leading 8.2 rpg.
 
LIU Brooklyn has held five of its last seven opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field, including both Robert Morris and Saint Francis U in its western Pennsylvania swing last week. The Blackbirds limited the Red Flash to 39.3 percent overall and 3-of-16 from long distance in Saturday’s 67-65 win that snapped SFU’s eight-game win streak.
 
Sacred Heart freshman guard Koreem Ozier (Racine, WI/Scotland Campus Sports) averaged 17.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg last week. He rang up a team-high 22 points last Thursday at FDU. Ozier ranks second on the Pioneers with 14.6 ppg.
 
A pair of Wagner players delivered career-high scoring efforts against FDU on Saturday. Sophomore forward Nigel Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Mount St. Joseph) and freshman guard Jonathan Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Salem) scored 22 and 16 points, respectively. All 22 of Jackson’s points came during the second half against the Knights during a 17-minute stint where he was 8-12 (75 percent) from the field.
 
MILESTONES & RECORDBOOK CHECK
 
FDU head coach Greg Herenda won his 200th game as a head coach with a 74-66 win over Wagner on Saturday. He has won 75 of those games at the helm of the Knights.
 
FDU senior forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick) moved into 11th place on the FDU scoring list (1,408 points), and also ranks in the top-10 in rebounding (740, sixth) and blocks (101, ninth).
 
Wagner redshirt senior forward A.J. Sumbry (East Windsor, CT/St. Benedict’s Prep (Quinnipiac)) snared his 500th career rebound as a Seahawk on Thursday and enters play this week with 507 boards. He’s also fourth on Wagner’s career blocks list with 133.
 
Wagner senior guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac (Mt. Zion Prep)) is up to 19th on Wagner’s all-time scoring list (1,287 points) and ninth in career three-pointers (183).