NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mark Flagg, Saint Francis U
6’9”, 215 lbs.
Sr., F, Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury
Flagg delivered a pair of strong performances against tough competition last week, leading SFU with 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting a scorching 76.5 percent from the floor. The senior from Fairless Hills, PA made all five of his shots and finished with 11 points, six boards, three assists and two blocks as the Red Flash recorded an eye-opening win on opening night, downing western Pennsylvania rival Pitt, 80-70. After the Panthers trimmed SFU’s lead from 17 to 12 with under nine minutes to go, Flagg stifled their momentum with a layup, a dish to Ronnell Giles Jr. for a layup of his own, and another bucket in the paint over the next two minutes. On Saturday, he paced the Red Flash with 16 points on 8-12 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds in a setback to a UMBC team picked second in the America East.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Maxwell Land, Saint Francis U
6’4”, 185 lbs.
Fr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Mueller
Land played a key role in Saint Francis U’s memorable win at Pittsburgh last Wednesday in his first collegiate outing and finished the week averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds, while converting at a 50.0 percent clip from the floor and 66.7 percent from outside the arc. The Cincinnati, OH native, who started both games, drilled 3-5 shots from three-point range and netted 12 points in 22 minutes during his collegiate debut against the Panthers. He knocked down back-to-back triples early in the second half that extended SFU’s advantage from 14 to 20 points. Land hit double digits again on Saturday with 10 points on 3-5 shooting and four boards vs. UMBC.
Pier-Olivier Racine, Fairleigh Dickinson
6’8”, 230 lbs.
Fr., F, Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College
The 6’8” Racine made an immediate impact for the Knights, nearly averaging a double-double in his first two games in the burgundy and blue. Starting both games, he contributed 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 blocks per contest, and made 52.9 percent of his shots from the field. Racine, who hails from Montreal, blocked five shots in his debut at Quinnipiac - the most by a Knight since 2014 - and added six points, eight rebounds and three assists. He followed with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance at #24 Rutgers. Racine is the fourth FDU freshman since 2008 to record a double-double, joining teammate Elyjah Williams, and former stars Mike Holloway Jr. and Darian Anderson.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Chris Childs (BRY, Jr, G)
In his first game after transferring in from Indian Hills CC, the New York City guard put on a shooting display in Bryant’s one-point setback at the Carrier Dome on Friday. He drained five three-pointers in the first half to help the Bulldogs build a seven point lead over Syracuse at the break and finished with a team-best 18 points on 5-9 from deep.
Hall Elisias (BRY, Sr, F)
Elisias racked up 11 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in just 20 minutes at Syracuse on Friday. Elisias ranked second in the NEC with 2.6 bpg in 2019-20.
Michael Green (BRY, So, G)
The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year made big play after big play in Bryant’s near upset of Syracuse on Friday. Green contributed 15 points, five rebounds and a team-high seven assists. He scored six of the Bulldogs’ final 11 points, including a shot with 13 seconds left that pulled his team within one.
Brandon Rush (FDU, So, G)
Following a promising rookie campaign a year ago that saw him contribute 4.9 ppg in a part-time starter role, Rush has all the makings of a prime time player as he begins his sophomore season. He averaged a team-high 18.5 ppg on 55.6 percent accuracy from the field in games at Quinnipiac and #24 Rutgers, highlighted by a career-high 21-points on 9-15 shooting against the Bobcats on opening night. Rush tied for team scoring honors with 16 more vs. the Scarlet Knights on Friday.
Jalen Gibbs (MSM, Sr, G)
Gibbs averaged a team-high 17.7 ppg over three outings, and added 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.3 spg. He drained nine shots from downtown at a 42.9 percent clip. Gibbs, who reached double digits in all three games, paced the Mount with 18 points in a season opening win over Morgan State and hit 5-9 from beyond the arc as part of his game-high 19 points at Maryland on Sunday.
Aaron Clarke (SHU, Jr, G)
Clarke, who is SHU’s leading returning scorer, picked up right where he left off, pacing the Pioneers with 17 points, four assists and three steals in an opening night setback at #24 Rutgers.
Mark Flagg (SFU, Sr, F)
Flagg was as efficient as can be for the Red Flash, posting 13.5 ppg on a red-hot 76.5 percent shooting from the floor in a 1-1 week. The NEC Player of the Week paced SFU with 7.0 rpg and 1.5 bpg, while also dishing for 1.5 apg. Flagg made all five of his shots in SFU’s landmark win over Pitt last Wednesday, finishing with 11 points, six boards and two blocks. He went on lead the Flash with 16 points on 8-12 shooting vs. UMBC on Saturday.
Ramiir Dixon-Conover (SFU, Sr, G)
Taking over at the point, Dixon-Conover delivered a career performance in SFU’s 80-70 win at Pitt last Wednesday. He dropped a personal-best 21 points on 5-9 shooting, and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals to power the Red Flash to a memorable victory. Dixon-Conover added six points and four assists vs. UMBC on Saturday before going down with an injury early in the second half. For the week, he averaged 13.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.5 apg and 3.0 spg.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB TIPOFF WEEK
Here’s all you need to know from the opening week of the 2020-21 season...
RED LETTER DAY! FLASH SECURE HISTORIC WIN
Saint Francis U entered it’s 30th all-time meeting with Pitt on Friday hungry for the program’s first win over the regional ACC opponent.
40 minutes later, Pitt junior Au’Diese Toney said it best.
“They hit us in the mouth,” Toney said. “They gave us our own blood.”
Leading nearly wire-to-wire, the Red Flash led by as many as 20 points in the second half on its way to a convincing 80-70 win over the Panthers, and for now, western PA supremacy.
The win was the sixth for the NEC in its history over a ACC opponent and first since St. Francis Brooklyn took down Miami, 66-62 in overtime on November 8, 2013.
The victory was SFU’s fourth all-time win over a current ACC member, all coming in the pre-NEC era. SFU defeated Boston College in the 1975-76 season, Syracuse in 1970-71 and Virginia Tech in 1950-51. It also marked the second win for ninth-year SFU head coach Rob Krimmel over a power conference team. The Red Flash downed Rutgers, 73-68, on December 20, 2014.
“It’s a big win, and at some point it will sink in,” said Krimmel after the game. ““I grew up in State College with a family that worked at Penn State, so the Pitt-Penn State rivalry was a part of my childhood, and having a father that was in athletics certainly (was part of it).”
With former NEC Player of the Year winners and future SFU Hall of Famers Keith Braxton and Isaiah Blackmon having graduated, the Red Flash - picked sixth in the NEC preseason coaches’ poll - received star turns from a number of players who filled more complimentary roles last season, while the splendid play from a pair of newcomers pointed to a bright future for the program.
Senior guard Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, NJ/South Kent (CT)) dropped a game and career-high 21 points on just nine shots from the floor, to go along with five rebounds, five assists and four steals. The 21/5/5/4 line was reached just twice in the NEC last season (Braxton & Merrimack’s Juvaris Hayes) and 40 times nationally on the year.
Junior forward Myles Thompson (Camden, NJ/Camden) added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while senior center Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) made all five of his shots from the floor and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Two freshman also shined in the first career outing, a sign that Krimmel has reloaded in his effort to reach a fourth NEC final five years and capture the program’s first conference crown since 1991.
Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller), a 6-4 swingman, hit 3-5 from outside the arc on his way to a 12-point outing, while 6-4 guard Ronell Giles, Jr. (Brandywine, MD/Charles Herbert Flowers) rang up 10 points and two assists in their first games for the Flash.
“Our coaching staff did a great job getting these guys prepared,” Krimmel said. “I thought our young kids did a great job for their first college game. I thought our older kids really carried us, Myles and Ramiir, with their leadership.”
The Red Flash limited Pitt to 0.92 PPP and registered 11 steals off 23 Panther turnovers. The 23 turnovers, which led to 27 points, were the most by an SFU opponent during the Krimmel era.
Following a five-minute Red Flash scoring drought that saw Pitt cut its deficit from 17 to 12 with under nine minutes to go, it was Flagg who took over.
The SFU big started with a layup, dished to Giles Jr. for a layup, then scored again in the paint. Jumpers by Dixon-Conover and Thompson followed to boost the lead to 17 with 4:55 to play. The Red Flash led by at least eight points the rest of the way out.
And just like that, SFU made history on the first day of the season.
“We’re going to enjoy this on the bus ride home,” said Krimmel.
After the game, Twitter took notice of the breakthrough win.
Dick Vitale @DickieV
The 1st major upset on the opening day for college hoops / a salute & tip hat to ST FRANCIS PA with W 80-70 over PITTSBURGH of @accmbb
Seth Davis @SethDavisHoops
St. Francis. Sharpie.
Somewhere Napoleon Lightning is smiling
Keith Braxton @Braxton2K
First game as a @RedFlashMBB fan...it’s not bad at all! GREAT win fellas!
Neil Rudel @NeilRudel
This was no fluke. @RedFlashMBB led by double figures wire to wire. And were only picked No. 6 in @NECsports. Rob Krimmel’s best win? I’d say so.
Steve Finamore @CoachFinamore
What a win! St. Francis of PA defeat Pittsburgh 80-70. Mike Iuzzolino, Kevin Porter, Norm Van Lier and Maurice Stokes in the house...
Nelson Castillo @NelCastNY
UPSET COMPLETE Saint Francis U. 80 Pittsburgh 70. Tremendous victory for the Red Flash. RDC with 21 to lead all. 13 & 8 for Myles Thompson who has a fantastic night. Flagg w/ 11 & 6 and was the man in the second half. Great night for the Red Flash. #NECMBB
Matt- Blue Devils Den @BlueDevlsDen
I was very wrong on SFU, it appears. Congrats to the Red Flash. Huge win for the program, and for the NEC.
Keila Whittington @CoachKeilaSFU
CONGRATULATIONS @RedFlashMBB!!!!! Huge win vs. an ACC foe!!!
NEC WINS VS. MAJOR CONFERENCE OPPOSITION
Saint Francis U’s conquest of Pitt was the NEC’s first notable win against a major conference opponent this season.
Here’s a list of other significant wins over the course of the league’s history. The NEC’s six wins over the ACC are in bold.
NOTABLE NEC VICTORIES
Saint Francis U 80, Pittsburgh 70 (11/25/20)
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)
Wagner 84, Duke 77 (1/5/83)
BULLDOGS SHOW BITE IN NEAR TAKEDOWN OF ORANGE
It wasn’t a win in the traditional sense, but there were plenty of positives to take away from Bryant’s 85-84 setback to Syracuse in a shootout on Friday in the Carrier Dome.
The Bulldogs came out firing with JUCO transfer Chris Childs (Bronx, NY/Woodstock Academy (CT) (Indian Hills CC)) hitting five first half three-pointers as the Bulldogs shot 52.8 percent from the floor and drained 9-19 from downtown on its way to a 51-44 lead at intermission.
After extending the lead to 13 on a Peter Kiss (New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers)) three-pointer with 16:01 to play, Syracuse began to chip away, taking their first lead of the second half with 6:14 to play.
It was a back-and-forth affair from that point forward, with 2019-20 NEC Rookie of the Year Michael Green III (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) making a series of big plays to give the Bulldogs a chance to win, including a runner with 13 seconds to play that pulled Bryant within one point.
After SU’s Marek Dolezaj missed a free throw with 10 seconds to play, Green pushed the ball up the court and found Kiss wide open in the corner. The Rutgers transfer’s shot was off, but Green tracked it down and came up just short on a contested 12-footer just before the buzzer.
Third year head coach Jared Grasso was proud of his team’s effort.
“They competed,” Grasso said. “They did everything I asked them to do going into the game. They didn’t make enough shots to win, but I was proud of their effort.”
Five Bryant players hit double digits, led by Green, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds and a team-high seven dimes, one off his career-high.
Childs led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 5-9 from outside the arc. Senior forward Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South (New Mexico JC)) finished with 11 points, eight boards and five blocks in just 20 minutes, and sophomore guard Charles Pride (Syracuse, NY/Putnam Science (CT)) - playing in his hometown - netted 15 points on 5-8 shooting and seven boards. Kiss recorded 12 points and seven rebounds.
Bryant’s 84 points are the most it has scored against a Power 5 program in its DI program history.
BACK IN BLUE
CCSU entered the season returning 76.6 percent of its scoring, including seven of the team’s top eight scorers from last season. The Blue Devils are one of just 22 DI programs to return at least 65 percent of its production in each of the following categories: points (76 percent), rebounds (70 percent), assists (74 percent), steals (72 percent) and blocks (85 percent).
MOUNT’S JEFFERSON SHINES UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
The Mount’s Malik Jefferson (Hopewell, VA/Hopewell) had himself a day at Maryland on Sunday.
The junior forward was in can’t miss mode against the Big Ten rival, doing damage in the paint with an array of jump hooks against anyone he was matched up with throughout the contest. Jefferson hit 8-9 from the field and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Mount led the Terps by two with under nine minutes to play, but Maryland ended the game on a 23-3 run to win, 79-61.
MILESTONE ALERT
Mount St. Mary’s junior guard Damian Chong Qui (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) dished for his 250th career assist in the Mount’s game at Maryland on Sunday. He finished with a game-high seven and enters play this week with 255 dimes in his two-plus years in Emmitsburg.
SHU QUINTET HIGHLIGHTS NEC NEWCOMERS OF NOTE
A host of newcomers to the NEC made good first impressions last week. Here are some of the notable debuts, including five promising additions for Sacred Heart.
Peter Kiss (BRY, R-Jr, G)
After previous stops at Quinnipiac and Rutgers, Kiss tallied 12 points, seven caroms and three assists as Bryant took Syracuse to the limit, before succumbing, 85-84.
Chris Childs (BRY, Jr, G)
The NJCAA All-American from Indian Hills CC was white hot in the first half of Bryant’s season opener at Syracuse, coming off the bench to hit 5-6 from long range en route to a team-high 18 points.
Luis Hurtado, Jr. (BRY, R-Jr, G)
Hurtado, a UAB transfer, stuffed the stat sheet in a reserve role vs. Syracuse, recording five points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in his Bryant debut.
Nigel Scantlebury (CCSU, Jr, G)
A point guard who joined the Blue Devils following a two-year stint at Niagara County CC, Scantlebury started both games and finished the week with 7.0 ppg and 3.0 apg.
Pier-Olivier Racine (FDU, Fr, F)
The NEC Co-Rookie of the Week was a force in the paint for the Knights, averaging 10.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 2.5 bpg in games at Quinnipiac and #24 Rutgers. He shot 52.9 percent from the floor.
Mike Sixsmith (SHU, Fr, G)
Sixsmith hit 3-4 shots from deep and scored 11 points in his first collegiate outing at #24 Rutgers on Wednesday.
Matas Spokas (SHU, Fr, F)
Spokas converted 3-6 from three-point land and finished with 10 points and two boards in 16 minutes off the bench vs. #24 Rutgers.
Nico Galette (SHU, Fr, F)
Starting in his SHU debut, Galette picked up nine points, four rebounds, a block and a steal at #24 Rutgers.
Bryce Johnson (SHU, Fr, F)
Johnson shot 3-5 from the floor and tallied six points and eight boards in a starting assignment that saw him log 18 minutes against #24 Rutgers.
Cantavio Dutreil (SHU, Jr, F)
After previous stops at North Alabama and Harcum College, Dutreil scored four points, snared 11 boards and blocked two shots in his SHU debut at #24 Rutgers.
Maxwell Land (SFU, Fr, G)
The NEC Co-Rookie of the Week earned a pair of starts and averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. He hit at a 50.0 percent clip from the floor and 66.7 percent from outside the arc. Land splashed 3-5 from three point range and racked up 12 points in SFU’s season-opening win at Pitt on Wednesday.
Ronnell Giles (SFU, Fr, F/C)
Giles came off the bench to chip in 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal in the Red Flash’s statement victory over Pitt.
BLUE DEVILS NUMBERS GAME
CCSU used nine players in its opener at UConn last Wednesday and each one scored at least one point with sophomore guard Myles Baker (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young) leading the way with 17 on the night. At Bubbleville on Friday against Army, CCSU used 10 players and had nine players score once again.