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NEC Player of the Week: Raiquan Clark, LIU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Greg Outlaw, CCSU
Previous NEC Releases: November 25 |
November 18 |
November 11 |
Preseason Poll Release
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Raiquan Clark, LIU
6’6”, 195 lbs.
R-Sr., G/F, New Haven, CT/Hillhouse
Clark enjoyed his time in the City of Lights last week, registering 26.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in a split for the Sharks. He shot a scorching 68.2 percent from the floor and converted 71.4 percent from outside the arc, making 5-7 over the two games to earn Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament honors. Clark, a two-time All-NEC honoree and preseason All-NEC pick, dropped 25 points and snared 12 boards in a three-point loss to North Florida on Thanksgiving. The following afternoon, he scored a season-high 28 points on an efficient 7-9 from the field, and added 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Clark’s big week boosted his scoring average to a league-high 21.9 ppg. He also ranks first on the circuit in field goal percentage (.612), three-point percentage (.692), effective field goal percentage (.665) and true shooting percentage (.683), and is ninth in rebounding (7.4).
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Greg Outlaw, Central Connecticut
6’4”, 175 lbs.
Fr., G/F, Chicago, IL/Rezin Orr Academy
Outlaw netted a career-best 16 points as the Blue Devils came up just short in a 73-71 setback at UMass Lowell on Sunday. He sank 7-12 from the field, and chipped in defensively with two blocks and two steals. The Chicago native’s three-point play with 2:17 remaining pulled CCSU to within two points, and his layup 22 seconds later kept the margin at two. Outlaw leads the Blue Devils and ranks third among NEC freshman with 10.1 ppg on the year. He’s also the NEC’s freshman leader and ranks seventh overall with 1.5 spg.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Adam Grant (BRY, Sr, G)
Grant is now just 11 points shy of 1,500 for his career following a career-high 29-point outing at New Hampshire on Tuesday. He scored 21 in the second half as the Bulldogs erased a 14-point deficit to force OT. Grant, who added three assists and three steals vs. UNH, scored 20+ points six times in November and ranks second in the NEC with 21.5 ppg and leads the league with 3.5 trifectas per game.
Jamir Coleman (CCSU, Sr, G/F)
Coleman matched his career-high with 27 points in a two-point setback at UMass Lowell on Sunday. He hit 12-16 shots from the field and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Coleman has reached double digits in each of his last three outings to lift his scoring average from 4.8 ppg to 9.9 ppg.
Xzavier Malone-Key (FDU, Jr, G)
Malone-Key scored a game-high 17 points, and added five rebounds and three assists at Notre Dame on Thursday. In his first two games of the season, Malone-Key is averaging 16.0 ppg and 4.0 apg.
Raiquan Clark (LIU, R-Sr, F)
Clark caught fire last week for the Sharks, putting up 26.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg, while shooting 68.2 percent from the floor, 71.4 percent from three-point range and 78.2 percent from the stripe. He finished with 25 points and 12 boards in a three-point defeat at the hands of North Florida on Thursday, then came back the following afternoon with a season-high 28 points on 7-9 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds. Clark leads the NEC with 21.9 ppg.
Damian Chong Qui (MSM, So, G)
Chong Qui sparked the Mount to a 2-0 week, averaging 16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 4.5 apg. He scored a career-best 18 points in the Mount’s 64-61 victory over Utah Valley on Tuesday. Chong Qui scored eight of his team’s final 12 points, including an acrobatic layup with 12 seconds left to give the Mount a 63-60 lead. He added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in an 83-56 win over Howard on Saturday.
Jalen Gibbs (MSM, Jr, G)
Gibbs contributed 19.0 and 3.0 rpg in a pair of wins for the Mount. The junior guard scored 17 of his game and season-high 23 points in the second half as the Mountaineers came from eight down to cruise past host Howard, 73-56, on Saturday. Gibbs leads the Mount with 15.0 ppg on the season.
Josh Williams (RMU, R-Sr, G)
Williams contributed 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.5 apg and 3.5 spg in a strong all-around week. He hit 9-22 (.409) from three-point range, Williams matched a season-high with 21 points against Geneva on Wednesday. The redshirt senior paces the Colonials with 12.9 ppg and ranks second in the NEC with 3.22 three-pointers per game.
Cameron Parker (SHU, So, G)
Parker set an NCAA record with an incredible 24 assists in SHU’s win over Pine Manor on Sunday. He also compiled seven rebounds and four steals. Parker, who leads the NEC and ranks second nationally with 9.0 apg, has averaged 20.0 dimes over his last two outings.
Isaiah Blackmon (SFU, Sr, G)
Blackmon posted his third career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the Red Flash’s 16-point road victory over Saint Josephs on Saturday. He hit 3-7 from long distance. Blackmon is putting up 16.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg this season for SFU.
Keith Braxton (SFU, Sr, G)
The reigning NEC Player of the Year was in top form on Saturday as the Red Flash picked up a solid 79-63 road win at Saint Joseph’s. He scored a season-high 26 points on 9-17 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds and four assists in the victory.
Elijah Ford (WC, Jr, G)
Ford posted his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds at St. John’s on Saturday. He also recorded four assists and a steal. Since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago, Ford is averaging 15.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK 4
Here’s all you need to know from the fourth week of the 2019-20 season...
DISH IT OUT! SHU’S PARKER MAKES HISTORY
It was a record that stood nearly 33 years, but it took just 34 minutes on Sunday for Sacred Heart sophomore guard
Cameron Parker (Beaverton, OR/Tilton School) to etch his name in the NCAA recordbook.
Parker established the new NCAA single game assist mark when he dropped 24 dimes in Sacred Heart’s win over Pine Manor at the Pitt Center.
The previous mark was 22, set by Charleston Southern’s Tony Fairley on February 9, 1987 and matched by three players who went on to achieve NBA stardom: Southern’s Avery Johnson (January 25, 1988), Syracuse’s Sherman Douglas (January 28, 1989) and Oklahoma’s Trae Young (December 29, 2017).
Parker, who had 15 assists at the half, tied the record with 6:59 to play on a feed to junior forward
E.J. Anosike (East Orange, NJ/Paramus Catholic (St. Thomas More)) in the paint. The record setter came 32 seconds later, again to Anosike. Anosike would go on to convert Parker’s 24th and final dish with 5:13 to play.
Parker has remarkably averaged 20.0 assists over his last two outings after dishing 16 helpers in SHU’s win over Quinnipiac on November 24.
The Beaverton, OR native, who set the NEC single season freshman assist mark a year ago, leads the league and ranks second nationally with 9.0 apg.
SFU’S KRIMMEL REACHES MILESTONE
It was a big win in more ways than one.
After a heartbreaking OT loss to Richmond earlier in the season, Saint Francis U took on another A10 foe on Saturday, but the Red Flash weren’t about to let this one slip away.
SFU scored the last 13 points of the game to secure a 79-63 road victory over Saint Joseph’s, holding the Hawks scoreless over the final 3:57.
It was SFU’s first win over an A10 opponent since a 15-point win at Duquesne on December 17, 2014.
The celebration went next level in the visitor’s locker room, as the win was also the 100th of head coach Rob Krimmel’s career.
Krimmel became just the second coach in program history to reach 100 wins, joining Skip Hughes, who racked up a program record 293 victories from 1945-66.
Senior guard
Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte) posted his third career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the victory, while senior guard
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) poured in a season-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
SFU’S BRAXTON ROCKETING UP THE CHARTS
While reigning NEC Player of the Year
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) has set his sights on bringing an NEC title to Loretto, there are a host of individual accomplishments that appear to be in his near future as well.
Braxton’s assault on the NEC recordbooks will likely begin in the rebounding department. He has cracked the top-10 on the NEC’s all-time list, and with 959 to his credit, is just 41 shy of 1,000 for his career.
NEC Career Rebounding Leaders
1. Jalen Cannon SFBK 1,159 2011-15
2. Justin Rutty QU 1,032 2007-11
3. Ron Robinson CCSU 1,022 2000-04
4. Carey Scurry LIU 1,013 1982-85
5. Alex Francis BRY 990 2010-14
6. Obie Nwadike CCSU 980 2003-07
7. Eric Taylor SFU 967 1994-98
8. Corsley Edwards CCSU 966 1998-02
9. Jamal Olasewere LIU 963 2009-13
10. Keith Braxton SFU 959 2016-20
With two games this week, Braxton could approach the top-five, and with at least 22 games to play, would need to average 9.2 per game to break Jalen Cannon’s all-time mark of 1,159 heading into the postseason. He is currently averaging 6.7 rpg.
Braxton, who is the NEC’s leading active scorer with 1,626 points, is also on pace to become the league’s first-ever 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound performer.
Among active players, Braxton is second in the nation in career rebounds, 16th in points, 14th in steals (162) and 38th in assists (356).
MOUNTING PRESSURE
Mount St. Mary’s turned up the heat defensively last week to positive results.
The Mount knocked off Utah Valley at home, 64-61, on Tuesday, then went on the road to pick up a 73-56 win over Howard on Saturday.
In the comeback win over Utah Valley, the Wolverines were held to 34.9 percent shooting from the floor, and Howard was limited to 39.2 percent shooting.
The Mount has now held four teams under 40 percent from the field this season, compiling a 3-1 mark in those outings.
The Mountaineers also recorded a +12.0 rebound margin in the two wins.
MERRIMACK THIEVERY
In its first year in the NEC, Merrimack has relied on a stingy defense to win five games, including three road victories.
The Warriors lead the NEC in scoring defense at 59.2 ppg and have held opponents to just 28.3 percent shooting from outside the arc, also the best mark on the circuit.
Led by the master of steal
Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony), Merrimack has turned forcing turnovers into an art form.
The Warriors rank fifth nationally with 11.0 steals per game and it’s 7.11 turnover margin is the ninth-best mark in DI. Merrimack leads the NEC in both categories.
Hayes, who has amassed 364 career steals, is the NEC’s theft leader with 3.1 per game, a figure that places him seventh in the country. He is the nation’s active career leader in steals across all divisions.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
With time winding down and Mount St. Mary’s nursing a one-point lead over a Utah Valley team coming off a 25-win campaign, the Mountaineers put the ball in the hands of sophomore guard
Damian Chong Qui (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh).
He did not disappoint.
The 5’8” former walk-on dribbled the shot clock down, then drove into the teeth of the Wolverine defense, finishing with an
acrobatic lefty layup over 6’8” shot blocker Emmanuel Olojakpoke to give the Mount a 63-60 with 12 seconds to play.
The Mount hung on for the 64-61 win behind Chong Qui’s career-best 18 points. He added four rebounds and two assists.
GRANT MILESTONE WATCH
Bryant senior guard
Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) is now just 11 points away from 1,500 for his career. He dropped a season-high 29 points in the Bulldogs’ overtime loss at New Hampshire on Tuesday. The 29 points were the most by an NEC player against a DI opponent this season.
Grant also cracked the top-25 on the NEC’s career three-pointers chart. The Franklin, VA product has compiled 232 triples over his four years in Smithfield and needs just eight more to reach the top-20.
NEC Career Three-Pointers Leaders
15. Rob Monroe QU 253 2001-05
16. Ben Mockford SFBK 252 2011-14
17. John Hilvert SFU 247 1987-91
18. Jeremy Chappell RMU 243 2005-09
19. Julian Norfleet MSM 242 2010-14
20. Kyle Johnson LIU 240 2007-11
21. Danny Basile MAR 239 1992-96
22. Terence Ward UMBC 233 1998-01
23. Adam Grant BRY 232 2016-20
Steve Glowiak SHU 232 2011-15
25. Junior Robinson MSM 230 2014-18
Dejan Delic MU 230 2003-07
LIU’S AGOSTO MOVES UP ASSIST LADDER
With 11 helpers last week, LIU senior guard
Jashaun Agosto (Seattle, WA/Garfield) has moved into the top-50 on the NEC’s career assist list. With 425 to his credit, he ranks 47th all-time and is the league’s active leader in the category.
LIU’S CLARK LETTING IT FLY FROM DEEP
A year after leading the NEC in scoring, early indications point to LIU senior swingman
Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) having added a new wrinkle to his already prolific offensive arsenal.
Lethal off the dribble with an uncanny knack of getting to the line, Clark entered the 2019-20 season as a career 24.1 percent shooter from three-point territory, making 27-112 over his first three years.
Over his first seven games this season, the New Haven, CT product has made 9-13 from distance, converting at a league-leading 69.2 percent clip.
Clark hit 5-7 from three-point land last week, while averaging 26.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg in LIU’s split as part of the Las Vegas Invitational.
The NEC Player of the Week not only leads the league in three-point accuracy, he’s also the league leader in field goal percentage (.612), effective field goal percentage (.665) and true shooting percentage (.683), not to mention ranking first in scoring at 21.9 ppg. Clark is also second in the conference in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.1) and free throw rate (67.1).
HERE & THERE
CCSU shot a season-high 51.7 percent from the field in Sunday’s 73-71 loss at UMass Lowell.
FDU senior forward
Kaleb Bishop (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony) recorded his third double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds at Notre Dame on Tuesday.
LIU redshirt junior
Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)) leads the NEC and ranks fifth nationally with five double-doubles. He rang up 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Sharks’ 82-69 win over Cal Poly on Friday.
LIU shot better than 50 percent in both games at the Las Vegas Invitational last week. The Sharks made 51.6 percent of their attempts in a 95-92 loss to North Florida, then converted at a season-best 54.2 percent clip in a 82-69 win over Cal Poly. LIU made 22 three-pointers and shot 42.3 percent from downtown over the two contests.
Robert Morris junior forward
AJ Bramah (San Leandro, CA/San Leandro (Sheridan College)) is starting to heat up for the Colonials. Bramah has reached double digits in each of his last five games, averaging 12.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor.
Sacred Heart sophomore guard
Koreem Ozier (Racine, WI/Scotland Campus Sports) scored a career-high 30 points against Pine Manor on Sunday. Junior forward
E.J. Anosike (East Orange, NJ/Paramus Catholic (St. Thomas More)) added a season-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. Anosike has made 18-24 shots (.750) from the floor over his last two games.
St. Francis Brooklyn senior forward
Deniz Celen (Ankara, Turkey/özel gürçag okullari) scored a career-high 21 points on 7-10 shooting and went 3-3 from three-point range at Saint Peter’s on Saturday. He also pulled down seven boards and added two steals. Celen scored 15 straight points for the Terriers at one point in the first half.
Saint Francis U is 12-1 when holding opponents under 70 points over the last two seasons.
Wagner junior guard
Elijah Ford (Newark, NJ/Weequahic (Barton CC)) is averaging 15.0 ppg. 9.7 rpg and 2.3 spg over his last three games, while sophomore guard
Tyrone Nesby IV (Las Vegas, NV/Reading) has produced 15.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg, and drilled seven triples over his last two contests. Ford ranks fourth nationally in fouls drawn with 8.7 per 40 minutes.
NEC in NCAA STATS (Top-25)
Name School Category Rank Value
Adam Grant BRY Scoring 24th 21.5
Adam Grant BRY 3PFG 12th 3.50
Patrick Harding BRY Reb. 6th 12.3
Patrick Harding BRY Off. Reb. 11th 4.0
Patrick Harding BRY Def. Reb. 10th 8.25
Raiquan Clark LIU Scoring 18th 21.9
Ty Flowers LIU Reb. 12th 11.1
Ty Flowers LIU Def. Reb. 2nd 9.38
Ty Flowers LIU Dub-Dub. 5th 5
E.J. Anosike SHU Reb. 17th 10.5
E.J. Anosike SHU Off. Reb. 23rd 3.75
Cameron Parker SHU Assists 2nd 9.0
Jare’l Spellman SHU Blocks 20th 2.63
Isaiah Blackmon SFU FT% 21st .938
Keith Braxton SFU Minutes 21st 36.47
Team Category Rank Value
Bryant Rebounding 7th 44.99
Bryant Off. Reb. 20th 13.75
Bryant Def. Reb. 20th 30.25
Merrimack TO Margin 9th 7.11
Merrimack Steals 5th 11.0
Sacred Heart FT% 7th .805
Sacred Heart Rebounding 12th 42.88
Saint Francis U FT% 24th .778