NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Keith Braxton, Saint Francis U
6’5”, 210 lbs.
Sr., G, Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)
The reigning NEC Player of the Year propelled the Red Flash to a 2-0 week, averaging 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal. He made it to the line 25 times in two games, sinking 22 for an 88.0 percent success rate. Braxton finished with 20 points and nine boards in a 71-65 road conquest of Morgan State on Wednesday. The Glassboro, NJ native came up big down the stretch of SFU’s 79-76 victory over American on Saturday, hitting six free throws in the final two minutes. He drew a foul with three seconds remaining and the score tied, and made two-of-three to put the Flash up for good. Braxton ranks in the NEC top-10 early on in scoring (17.5), rebounding (7.8), assists (3.5) and steals (1.8).
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jordan Minor, Merrimack
6’8”, 220 lbs.
Fr., F, Kingston, MA/Brimmer and May
Minor played a key role off the bench in a pair of wins to wrap up a busy three-game week for the Warriors at the River Hawk Invitational hosted by UMass Lowell. He contributed 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from outside the arc. In Saturday’s 60-58 win over the River Hawks, Minor hit a key layup with 2:46 to play, then made two free throws with 36 seconds on the clock to break a 56-56 deadlock. He went for a career-high 15 points on 6-9 shooting the following afternoon as the Warriors posted a 54-44 win over Jacksonville. Minor, who hails from Kingston, MA, ranks second on Merrimack with 10.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg. He’s also second in the NEC with a 61.5 percent success rate from the field.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Adam Grant (BRY, Sr, G)
Grant’s strong start continued last week with 17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 2.0 spg in a pair of Bryant wins. He has scored 21 or more points in four-of-five games this season.
Patrick Harding (BRY, So, F)
Harding had his hard hat on again last week, averaging 10.5 ppg and 14.0 rpg in a 2-0 week for the Bulldogs. With 17 rebounds against NVU-Lyndon on Friday, he has now recorded two of the top five single-game rebounding performances in Bryant’s D1 era over his last three games.
Kaleb Bishop (FDU, Sr, F)
Bishop finished with a game-high 15 points and added seven boards in a three-point FDU setback at Fordham. He made 6-9 from the field. Bishop leads the Knights with 8.0 rpg.
Raiquan Clark (LIU, R-Sr, F)
Clark netted a game-high 26 points and added six boards at George Mason on Wednesday. He drained 10-18 from the floor. Clark, who led the NEC in scoring a year ago, has produced 23.5 ppg over his first two outings this season.
Ty Flowers (LIU, R-Jr, F)
Flowers has now posted double-doubles in all three games for LIU this year after finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal at George Mason on Wednesday. Flowers leads the nation with 13.7 rpg, and ranks fourth in double-doubles and 10th in blocks (3.7), to go along with his 15.7 ppg.
Juvaris Hayes (MC, Sr, G)
Hayes was the hero on Saturday at UMass Lowell, hitting a runner at the buzzer for the 60-58 win. His all-around numbers including 8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg and 3.3 spg in a 2-1 week for the Warriors. The senior was named to the River Hawk Invitational All-Tournament team.
Cameron Parker (SHU, So, G)
Parker recorded a career-high 23 points on 9-17 shooting, and added eight rebounds and six assists in a four-point loss at Binghamton. He ranks third in the NEC with 5.0 apg.
Chauncey Hawkins (SFBK, Jr, G)
Hawkins comes off a strong game at NC State that saw the junior finish with a team-high 16 points on 6-12 shooting. He pulled down a career-high eight rebounds in 28 minutes. For the week, he averaged 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg.
Isaiah Blackmon (SFU, Sr, G)
Blackmon poured in a career-high 28 points in a SFU’s win over American on Saturday, including five points in the game’s final 2:30. He made 3-5 three-pointers and 12-21 shots from the floor. For the week, he averaged 18.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg and 1.0 spg.
Keith Braxton (SFU, Sr, G)
Braxton helped boost the Red Flash to two wins with 19.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.0 spg. He made a living at the stripe, making 22-of-25, including a pair of clutch free throws with three seconds to play to seal SFU’s win over American on Saturday.
Curtis Cobb (WC, Gr, G)}}Cobb exploded for a NEC season-high 40 points against Wesley on Tuesday to set a new program record at the Spiro Sports Center. He hit 10-15 from three-point range, one off the school single-game mark. For the week, he produced 28.5 ppg and 3.0 spg.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK 2
Here’s all you need to know from the second week of the 2019-20 season...
MC’S HAYES BEATS BUZZER TO DOWN OLD RIVAL
Just five days after he was named NEC Player of the Week for sparking Merrimack’s landmark win over Northwestern, senior guard Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony) delivered an encore.
In a game that featured eight second half lead changes, it all came down to one possession as the Warriors squared off with old rival UMass Lowell in the second game of the River Hawk Invitational on Saturday.
With the score tied at 58 apiece, Hayes dribbled the clock down to five seconds. With three defenders shading him, the Paterson, NJ native drove right and fired up a runner off glass that was true at the buzzer.
“The one thing we wanted to make sure of is that we got a shot and they don’t get the ball back,” said MC head coach Joe Gallo after the game. We put the ball in Juvaris’ hands, which we do a lot...he’s been making that little hook in practice, that little kiss off the glass and he got it off just in time.”
It marked the 60th game between the two programs, but the first at the DI level.
Hayes, who averaged 8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg and 3.3 spg over three games, was named to the All-Tournament team as the Warriors won two-of-three, including a 54-44 win over Jacksonville in Sunday’s final game.
RMU OPENS UPMC EVENTS CENTER
It was a celebratory occasion on Tuesday as Robert Morris opened its brand new UPMC Events Center in front of a national audience when the Colonials hosted Pitt on ESPNU.
With over 4,000 fans packing the new digs, RMU held an early double-digit lead over the Panthers, but Pitt came on strong in the second half to post a 71-57 win.
Sophomore guard Dante Treacy (Orlando, FL/Central Florida Christian Academy) scored the first points in the UPMC Events Center for RMU with a pair of free throws, while the first field goal came courtesy of forward senior forward Yannis Mendy (Metting, France/Lycee Saint John Perse), who converted a jumper five minutes into the contest.
Among those in attendance were Steelers wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, who sat in the Colonial Crazies student-section, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and former Steelers Rocky Bleier, Mel Blount and Charlie Batch.
“I thought the environment was really cool,” RMU head coach Andrew Toole said. “I thought our students came out and supported the way we’d love them to support all the time. This could become a great home court for us if we can get the campus and community support I think these guys deserve. To be connected as a University community, it’s something we need to build upon.”
FLOWERS MAKIN’ WAVES FOR SHARKS
A third team All-NEC pick a year ago, all signs point to LIU redshirt junior forward Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)) taking his game to another level and then some for the Sharks this season.
Though it’s just a three-game sample, Flowers is putting up numbers that rival anyone in the country.
He currently leads the nation in with 13.7 rebounds per game after pullind down 6.6 a year ago. Likewise, his three double-doubles ranks him fourth in the country, and he sits 10th with 3.7 blocks per contest.
Flowers finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks last Wednesday at George Mason.
WC’S COBB GOES 3333333333 POINT CRAZY
Wagner graduate transfer Curtis Cobb (Fall River, MA/Wilbraham & Monsoon Academy (UMass)) entered the year with 132 career three-pointers, so the Seahawks knew they were getting a sharpshooter.
What Wagner fans probably didn’t expect was the long distance bombing exhibition they were treated to on Tuesday.
Cobb drained 10 three pointers in 15 attempts en route to a 40-point performance in the Green & White’s win over Wesley. The 10 triples fell one short of matching the school record set by Joey Mundweiler at Monmouth on February 28, 2009.
The 40 points were also the most by a Wagner player in the history of the Spiro Center, besting Marcus Burton’s 38-point effort vs. the Mount on January 5, 2015. It was the 10th 40-point game in school annals.
Cobb added 17 against NJIT on Saturday and currently leads the NEC with 20.8 ppg.
BULLDOG BEATDOWN
Winning on the road isn’t easy.
Winning on the road by 25 means you’re doing something right.
Bryant left little to chance on Wednesday in Jersey City, walloping Saint Peter’s, 69-44, in record-setting fashion for the Bulldogs.
The 44 points allowed were the fewest in a non-conference game in the team’s DI era and the lowest total in any game since Bryant defeated FDU, 56-43 on January 17, 2009.
The 25-point margin of victory was the most ever in a non-conference game in the school’s DI period and largest since the Bulldogs engineered an 80-54 win over SFU on January 8, 2015
The Bulldogs also snared a DI program record 53 rebounds in the victory.
Bryant is riding a three-game win streak following a pair of two-point losses to start the season.
RMU DID YOU KNOW?
When Robert Morris tangled with local rival Pittsburgh on ESPNU last in the grand opener at the state-of-the-art UPMC Events Center, it was the fifth different home venue the Colonials have played in over the last four years.
The Events Center joined the North Athletic Complex, the Charles L. Sewall Center, PPG Paints Arena and the A.J. Palumbo Center as RMU home venues in recent years.
CCSU NEWBIE NOTES
CCSU newcomers in their first year with the program have accounted for 79 percent of the team’s offense thus far. Freshman guard Greg Outlaw (Chicago, IL/Rezin Orr Academy) leads the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg, and the Blue Devils’ top four scorers are in their first season at CCSU. Outlaw has paced CCSU in scoring in all four games. Likewise, the only Blue Devils playing more than 20.0 mpg are all in their first year.
MOUNTING PRESSURE
For the second time this season, Mount St. Mary’s put a scare into a major conference opponent.
Taking on #20 Washington last Tuesday, the Mount held a lead midway through the second half and were within five with under three minutes to play before succumbing, 56-46. Just six days earlier, Mount St. Mary’s was up 19 in the second half at Georgetown only to see the Hoyas get red hot from three-point range and roar back to douse the upset opportunity.
Washington was held to just 41.5 percent shooting from the floor and 27.8 percent from outside the arc.
STATS, STATS & STATS
Bryant ranks 10th nationally and first in the NEC with 11.6 three-pointers per game.
Merrimack is allowing just 60.2 ppg this season to rank second in the league. The Warriors have compiled a +5.60 turnover margin and recorded 9.6 steals per game, both NEC-leading figures.
Robert Morris junior forward AJ Bramah ((San Leandro, CA/San Leandro (Sheridan College)) tied an RMU single-game record with 16 rebounds at Toledo on Sunday. Former NBA player Earl Cureton (1976-77) snared 16 caroms in a 66-64 overtime loss at Howard (12/14/76) in just the program’s seventh DI contest.
Sacred Heart redshirt senior forward Jare’l Spellman (Glen Allen, VA/Fork Union Military Academy (Florida Southern)) became the sixth player in program history - and the first in its DI I history - to reach 100 career blocks on Saturday. The reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year reached the milestone in just his 35th game in a Pioneer uniform.
Saint Francis U has now won its last eight home openers dating back to the 2012-13 season, Rob Krimmel’s first as head coach. The Red Flash beat visiting American, 79-76, at the Stokes Center on Saturday.