NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Juvaris Hayes, Merrimack
6’0”, 195 lbs.
Sr., G, Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony
Hayes lived up to his advance billing, launching the Warriors’ DI journey with a win over Big Ten opponent Northwestern in just the program’s second game on Friday. Hayes, an Honorable Mention All-American last season known for his outstanding all-around game, didn’t miss a beat in his first week, averaging 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals. In the victory at Northwestern, he rang up 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals as Merrimack earned a spot on the national radar with its 71-61 road victory. Hayes, who hails from Paterson, NJ, made eight free throws in the final 1:23 to seal the win. He entered his senior year with 1,619 points, 595 rebounds, 754 assists and 336 steals over his first three years in North Andover.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Charles Pride, Bryant
6’4”, 185 lbs.
Fr., G, Syracuse, NY/Liverpool (Putnam Science (CT))
In his first week of collegiate play, Pride nearly led Bryant to an upset at Rutgers on Thursday and finished the week averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals while converting at a 52.2 percent clip from the floor and 58.3 percent from outside the arc. The Syracuse, NY native dropped 22 points off the bench in the 73-71 setback to the Scarlet Knights, including Bryant’s last five points of the game that put the Bulldogs in position to take a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. The 22 points marked the highest total ever by a Bryant freshman against a major-conference opponent. Pride added seven boards, two assist and two steals. Inserted into the starting lineup on Sunday against Cornell, he finished with 12 points and four boards in 22 minutes.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Adam Grant (BRY, Sr, G)
Grant came out firing on all cylinders over the first three games for Bryant, averaging 22.7 ppg, including 43.3 percent from three-point range where he hit 13-30. The preseason All-NEC pick dropped 23 points and made five triples in the Bulldogs’ narrow 73-71 setback at Rutgers on Thursday.
Jahlil Jenkins (FDU, Jr, G)
Jenkins picked up right where he left off for the Knights, contributing 19.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg and 3.0 spg in a 1-1 week for the Knights. He shot 57.9 percent from the floor. Jenkins registered 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals at DePaul on Friday.
Elyjah Williams (FDU, Jr, F)
Williams stuffed the stat sheet for the Knights with 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.5 bpg and 2.0 spg, while shooting 65.0 percent from the field. Returning to his hometown, the junior netted 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks at DePaul on Friday.
Raiquan Clark (LIU, R-Sr, G/F)
Clark, the NEC’s leading scorer a year ago and a preseason All-NEC pick, netted 21 points on 9-12 shooting in just 24 minutes vs. UMass Lowell on Saturday. He hit his lone three point attempt.
Ty Flowers (LIU, Jr, F)
Flowers averaged a double-double with 17.0 ppg and 13.5 rpg. On Saturday vs. UMass Lowell, he became the only player in the nation over the last decade to finish a game with at least 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight blocks, three assists and three steals.
Juvaris Hayes (MC, Sr, G)
Hayes began Merrimack’s DI journey the same way he left off last season, posting terrific all-around numbers for the Warriors. In a landmark win for the program, Hayes tallied 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals as Merrimack took down Northwestern, 71-61, on Friday. He wrapped the week with 14.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg. 6.0 apg and 2.5 spg.
Vado Morse (MSM, So, G)
Morse, the 2018-19 NEC Rookie of the Year, began his sophomore campaign with an 18-point outing as the Mount flirted with an upset of Georgetown on opening night. Morse added four rebounds, three assists and a steal, and for the week, produced 16.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg and 2.5 spg.
E.J. Anosike (SHU, Jr, F)
Anosike kicked off his junior campaign with 16.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg against a pair of top-notch New England rivals in Providence and UConn. He made 16-18 (.889) shots from the stripe. Anosike, a preseason All-NEC selection, paced the Pios with 20 points against the Friars.
Chauncey Hawkins (SFBK, Jr, G)
Hawkins sparked the Terriers with 18.0 ppg on 47.8 percent shooting in a 1-1 week. Hawkins, who also added 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg and blocked two shots, led all scorers with 24 points - all coming in the second half - in a 73-72 win over Lafayette on Saturday. In that game, he made 7-13 shots and converted all 10 of his opportunities from the stripe.
Isaiah Blackmon (SFU, Sr, G)
Blackmon averaged 19.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg and shot 40.0 percent from three-point range in two games. He scored 23 points, including 5-10 from distance, and added six boards in a 100-98 OT setback at Richmond on Friday.
Keith Braxton (SFU, Sr, G)
Braxton, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, filled it up last week to the tune of 15.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.0 apg and 2.5 spg. He had a near triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in an OT loss at Richmond on Friday.
Alex Morales (WC, Jr, G)
In his first two games in the Green & White, Morales led Wagner with 17.5 ppg, and also added 6.0 rpg and 4.0 apg. He finished with 17 points, six boards and five helpers at #12 Seton Hall on opening night last Tuesday.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB TIPOFF WEEK
Here’s all you need to know from the opening week of the 2019-20 season...
WARRIORS TAME WILDCATS, SCORE LANDMARK WIN
A line from the cult movie classic Warriors rang true this past week for the NEC’s newest member:
“You Warriors are good. Real good.”
In just their second game of their DI era, the Warriors from Merrimack College had folks from all over the country thinking the same thing, making fans of some heavy hitters in the process.
Merrimack took down Big Ten member Northwestern in convincing fashion on Friday, securing a 71-61 road win for its first victory.
The win was also just the second for the NEC in its history over a Big Ten opponent. Saint Francis U took down Rutgers, 73-68, back on December 12, 2014.
No different than the first three years of his star-studded career, senior guard Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony) filled the stat sheet to the tune of 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals to earn NEC Player of the Week accolades. Junior swingman Devin Jensen (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan) set career-highs with 23 points and seven three-pointers.
“There’s a lot that goes into winning games at any level,” Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo said, “and I told Juvaris (Hayes), ‘This isn’t that big of a deal. I don’t care what division you were playing last year. You won more games the last three years than anyone on their roster combined - and that doesn’t happen by mistake. He’s had poise down the stretch in a lot of wins for our program and he carried that over today.”
Merrimack allowed just one basket over the final 5:42 of the game and the Warriors hit 10-of-11 from the line down the stretch to ice matters.
Merrimack also limited Northwestern to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 2-16 from outside the arc.
For Hayes and his teammates, it’s a win they won’t soon forget.
“It was a championship-like atmosphere in there,” Hayes said of the postgame celebration in the locker room. “This is the closest thing we’re going to get to like competing in the postseason, so we’re just going to enjoy every moment of this victory.”
After the game, Merrimack found itself trending nationwide as Twitter took notice of the breakthrough win.
Dick Vitale @DickieV
Hey my team of the night @MerrimackMBB with W over @B1GMBBall.
Doug Gottlieb @GottliebShow
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! Congrats to @Merrimack first D1 win
Ken Pomeroy @kenpomeroy
I am here for Merrimack beating Northwestern
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops
Division 1 transition program Merrimack just beat Northwestern. Hell of a win for Joe Gallo.
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
How’s this for a stat line: 19p, 9r, 7a, 3s AND 1 turnover against a Big Ten program. Juvaris Hayes everyone!! Merrimack has announced itself and then some.
Matt @BlueDevlsDen
Just got home from a date night with my wife. Anything happen in the NEC tonight? *checks scores*
NEC WINS VS. MAJOR CONFERENCE OPPOSITION
Merrimack’s conquest of Northwestern was the NEC’s first notable win against a major conference opponent this season though Bryant came close as well in a two-point setback at Rutgers on Thursday.
Here’s a list of other significant wins over the course of the league’s history.
NOTABLE NEC VICTORIES
Merrimack 71, Northwestern 61 (11/8/19)
LIU 74, St. John’s 73 (12/11/16)
Wagner 67, #18 UConn 58 (11/11/16)
Saint Francis U 73, Rutgers 68 (12/20/14)
Robert Morris 89, St. John’s 78 (3/18/14 - Postseason NIT)
Fairleigh Dickinson 58, Seton Hall 54 (12/01/13)
Fairleigh Dickinson 73, Rutgers 72 (11/25/13)
St. Francis Brooklyn 66, Miami 62 (OT) (11/8/13)
Robert Morris 59, Kentucky 57 (3/19/13 - Postseason NIT)
Bryant 56, Boston College 54 (11/25/12)
Wagner 59, #15 Pittsburgh 54 (12/23/11)
Robert Morris 57, Boston College 51 (1/7/08)
Fairleigh Dickinson 76, Seton Hall 71 (11/18/06)
St. Francis (NY) 53, St. John’s 52 (11/23/04)
Monmouth 81, Vanderbilt 67 (11/24/01)
CCSU 54, Providence 50 (12/21/99)
LIU 76, St. John’s 73 (11/23/96)
Mount St. Mary’s 71, #21 Georgia Tech 69 (12/18/95)
Fairleigh Dickinson 55, Providence 53 (12/19/84)
LIU 72, Providence 65 (12/23/83)
FLOWERS FLOODS STAT SHEET
When LIU redshirt junior forward Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart HS (UMass)) recorded a near triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds, a career-high eight blocks, three assists and three steals against UMass Lowell on Saturday, he put himself in the rarest of company.
Flowers, a third team All-NEC honoree last season, became the only player in the last decade to finish with a 19/15/8/3/2 line. In fact, no player has come close to those numbers. Even removing assists and steals from the equation, he became one of just seven players with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight rejections in a game since the start of the 2010-11 season. One of those players is current Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba, who dropped 22/15/8 for Texas in a loss to Kansas on December 29, 2017.
BULLDOGS SHOW BITE
Year two of the Jared Grasso era is off to a promising start and then some.
While Bryant won just one of three games in a busy opening week, the Bulldogs were a whisker away from both a 3-0 start and a statement win.
On Tuesday, Bryant had two chances to win or tie in the final seconds of a 73-71 setback to Brown, but it was its game at Rutgers on Friday that really turned some heads.
Trailing by 14 with under five minutes to play, the Bulldogs hit three straight triples, the last coming from freshman Charles Pride (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool (Putnam Science (CT)) to pull Bryant within 67-62 with 2:59 to play.
Pride would go on to score Bryant’s last five points, including his fifth shot from downtown with :50 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to 73-71.
Bryant had two more chances to tie or win it, the last coming on a would be buzzer beater from Preseason All-NEC selection Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School), but the corner three was just off.
Pride, the NEC Rookie of the Week, finished with 22 points - the most by a Bryant freshman against a major conference opponent - and hit 5-7 from distance. Grant netted a game-high 23 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
“It says a lot about our program,” said Grasso. “Two years ago, the guys came down here and lost by 30. Here we are two years later. We’re trying to build something. Had a shot to win it at the buzzer. I think the program is moving in the right direction. My guys fought their tails off. I couldn’t be prouder of those guys. They played as hard as they could, they competed. I had five guards on the floor at the end of the game. I told them in the locker room if they compete like that all year, we have a chance to do special things. This team is just getting to know each other. We have seven, eight new guys. Our best basketball is way ahead of us.”
Grant added 24 more as Bryant picked up its first win on Sunday, an 82-81 conquest of Cornell in Smithfield. He finished the week with three 20+ point games and currently leads the NEC with 22.7 ppg.
HAWKINS PLAYS BIG TO KEY TERRIER WIN
Talk about taking over a game.
With St. Francis Brooklyn trailing by five at the break against Lafayette on Saturday, junior guard Chauncey Hawkins (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional) took matters into his own hands, scoring all 24 of his points in the second half on an assortment of drives and pull-ups.
But his biggest play may have occurred on the other end of the floor when the 5’8” guard raced out to the three-point line to reject Tyrone Perry’s attempt at a go-ahead three-pointer with 45 seconds on the clock.
Hawkins would go on to hit two clutch free throws with 6.1 second remaining as the Terriers secured a 73-72 win.
STATS, STATS & STATS
Bryant sophomore forward Patrick Harding (Fairfield, CT/Suffield Academy) pulled down a career-high and Bryant DI single-game record 19 boards in Saturday’s 82-81 win over Cornell. He eclipsed Dan Garvin’s 18 rebounds back in 2015. Harding is ranked second in the NEC with 11.7 rpg.
Despite going in the break up 12 and shooting 52.2 percent in the second half, Mount St. Mary’s could not hold off Georgetown on opening night, suffering an 81-68 loss. The Mount was up 19 early in the second stanza before Georgetown got red hot from outside the arc, hitting 7-11 over the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Jalen Gibbs (Indian Head, MD/North Point) led the way for the Mount with 19 points.
St. Francis Brooklyn is now 6-0 in home non-conference games dating back to the start of last season.
Saint Francis U shot 14-28 from three-point range in a two-point OT loss at Richmond on Friday. Redshirt senior guard Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, NC/Hargrave Military Academy (VA)) hit six treys in nine attempts and finished with 18 points.
NEWCOMERS OF NOTE
A host of newcomers to the NEC made good first impressions last week. These are the most notable ones.
Michael Green III (BRY, Fr, G)
Green wasted little time dazzling the Chace Center faithful with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in his debut vs. Brown last Tuesday. He wrapped his first week with 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 5.7 apg.
Charles Pride (BRY, Fr, G)
Pride almost single handedly willed Bryant to victory in a near miss at Rutgers last Thursday. The NEC Rookie of the Week dropped 22 against the Scarlet Knights and finished a three-game week with 11.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 spg. He shot 7-12 (.583) from long range.
Greg Outlaw (CCSU, Fr, G/F)
Outlaw paced a young Blue Devil squad with 12.0 ppg to begin his college career. He also recorded 4.5 rpg, 4.5 apg and 1.0 spg in a solid all-around debut.
Brandon Rush (FDU, Fr, G)
Rush earned starts in his first two collegiate contests, averaging 9.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg and 1.0 spg.
Jordan Minor (MC, Fr, F)
Minor has provided a spark off the bench for the Warriors, contributing 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1.0 bpg while shooting 75.0 percent from the floor and 84.6 percent from the line. He posted an NEC-best 81.2 effective FG percentage for the week. Minor led Merrimack with 16 points in his collegiate debut at Maine on Wednesday.
Jalen Hawkins (RMU, So, G)
Hawkins, a transfer from Odesa College, put up 8.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 spg and 1.0 bpg over his first two outings in a Colonial uniform.
Unique McLean (SFBK, Gr, G)
McLean, who started 28 games over two seasons at UMass, had a strong debut for the Terriers with 11.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg. He shot 53.3 percent from the field and hit 4-7 (.571) from downtown.
Tyler Stewart (SFU, R-So, G/F)
Stewart, fresh off a two-year stint at Binghamton, made an immediate impact for the Red Flash, compiling 13.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 spg and 1.0 bpg while hitting 3-6 from distance. He tallied a career-high 20 points, and added five boards and three assists at Richmond on Friday.
Patrick Szpir (WC, Gr, F/C)
Szpir, a grad transfer from Chicago State, averaged a double-double with 10.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg in games against #12 Seton Hall and Penn State.