NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK presented by 
Damian Chong Qui, Mount St. Mary’s
5’8”, 155 lbs.
Jr., G, Baltimore, MD/McDonogh
Chong Qui’s second consecutive NEC Player of the Week honor comes on the heels of a brilliant series at CCSU that saw him average 25.0 points and 5.5 assists per outing. He posted an exact 50/40/90 shooting split that included an 18-of-20 mark from the line. In a 67-57 win on Thursday, Chong Qui racked up 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Mount back from an eight-point deficit. One day later he exploded for a career-high 30 points, and added seven assists and two steals in a last-second 65-64 setback. The Baltimore, MD native scored 17 of his team’s final 19 points, including an NBA range three-pointer with 32 seconds to play to give the Mount a short lived lead. It was the first 30-point outing by a Mount player since Jalen Gibbs dropped 30 against Wilson on December 15, 2018. Chong Qui ranks fifth in the NEC with 15.8 ppg and third with 5.1 apg.
Jordan Minor, Merrimack
6’8”, 240 lbs.
So., F, Kingston, MA/Brimmer & Ma
Minor did it all for Merrimack last week as the Warriors took two from FDU at home to improve to 3-3 in NEC play. The Kingston, MA product registered 15.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting a red-hot 63.2 percent from the floor. He logged a pair of double-doubles, starting with an 11-point, 10-rebound effort in Thursday’s 62-51 win. Minor’s 20 points on Friday matched his career-best, and he set new career-highs with 13 rebounds and five assists to rally the Warriors back from a seven-point second half deficit and secure a 76-71 victory. Minor paces Merrimack with 13.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.7 bpg, and ranks second in the NEC in caroms and third in rejections.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK presented by
Maxwell Land, Saint Francis U
6’4”, 185 lbs.
Fr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller
Land picked up his second NEC Rookie of the Week honor after compiling 13.0 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent accuracy from three-point territory in the Red Flash’s split at Sacred Heart. He added 3.0 rebounds per game. Land scored a team and career-high 14 points, and contributed four boards and a steal in Thursday’s 76-58 win. He made 6-10 shots, including 2-2 from beyond the arc. The following afternoon he finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists. Land, who hails from Cincinnati, leads all NEC freshman with 9.5 ppg and is the overall NEC leader with a scorching 56.3 percent mark from distance. He has reached double digits in five-of-six January games.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Jordan Minor (MC, So, F)
Minor posted a pair of double-doubles last week while averaging 15.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.0 apg and 3.0 bpg. He shot 63.2 percent from the field. Minor tallied 11 points and 10 boards in Thursday’s 62-51 win, then matched his career-high with 20 points, and established new personal-bests with 13 rebounds and five assists as the Warriors rallied for a 76-71 victory on Friday. He leads Merrimack with 13.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.7 bpg, and ranks second in the NEC in caroms and third in rejections.
Mikey Watkins (MC, Jr, G)
Watkins did a little of everything last week, contributing 14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 2.0 spg in two wins. His most impressive performance of the week came in Friday’s victory, when he scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, including back-to-back driving layups in the final two minutes that gave Merrimack the lead for good. Watkins added six rebounds, six assists and three steals. On the week, the he shot 52.6 percent from the field (10-19) and 80.0 percent from the line. Watkins leads the Warriors with 13.7 ppg and 3.3 apg, and ranks second on the team and third in the NEC with 2.3 spg.
Damian Chong Qui (MSM, Jr, G)
Chong Qui was sensational in a split at CCSU last week, averaging 25.0 ppg and 5.5 apg. He poured in a career-high 30 points, scoring 22 in the second half as the Mount came up just short in a 65-64 loss at CCSU on Friday. It was the Mount’s first 30-point game since Jalen Gibbs scored 30 against Wilson on Dec. 15, 2018. In the Mount’s 67-57 win on Thursday, Chong Qui scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Mount to the come-from-behind win. He shot 50.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 90.0 percent from the line. Chong Qui is putting up 18.3 ppg and 5.7 apg in league play. Overall, he ranks fifth in the NEC with 15.8 ppg and third with 5.1 apg.
Malik Jefferson (MSM, Jr, F)
Jefferson averaged a double-double with 13.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg, while hitting at a 63.2 percent clip from the floor in a 1-1 week for the Mount. He finished with 12 points on 6-9 shooting, and added nine rebounds in a 67-57 win at CCSU on Thursday. Jefferson followed with 14 points and 11 boards - his second double-double of the year - in a one-point defeat on Friday. Jefferson averages 9.0 ppg on the year, and ranks third in the league in field goal accuracy (.577) and 10th in rebounding (7.1).
Tyler Thomas (SHU, So, G)
The NEC’s leading scorer with 20.1 ppg, Thomas continued to torch opponents, averaging 23.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 1.5 spg in a split with SFU. He shot 47.4 percent from the floor. Thomas led all scorers with 28 points in a setback to the Red Flash on Thursday, then came back with 19 points on 9-16 shooting the following afternoon in an 82-70 victory. Thomas is the lone NEC player averaging 20.0 ppg and also ranks second with 2.9 made three-pointers per outing.
Ramiir Dixon-Conover (SFU, Sr, G)
Dixon-Conover comes off another strong all-around week with 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.0 apg and 1.5 spg to help lead SFU to a split at SHU. He recorded 12 points, six boards and five assists as the Red Flash pulled away for a 76-58 win on Thursday. A day later, he rang up 18 points, a career-high eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. The senior leads SFU with 14.5 ppg, 5.0 apg and 2.5 spg.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK SEVEN
Here’s all you need to know from week seven of the 2020-21 season...
TRAFFIC JAM!!
While teams have played anywhere between four and eight league games making comparisons somewhat dicey at this point, it’s easy to see one thing...the battle for a top-four spot and berth in the NEC Tournament will be a dogfight.
While Bryant currently holds a one-game lead in the standings at 6-2, there’s a logjam right behind with teams jockeying early on for playoff position.
Neighboring LIU and St. Francis Brooklyn are tied for second at 4-2, but just one game separates second and sixth place in the standings, with Mount St. Mary’s (4-3), Sacred Heart (5-4) and Merrimack (3-3) - the Warriors are ineligible for the postseason - right behind.
Of note, from the aforementioned list of teams, Sacred Heart was picked tenth in the NEC preseason coaches’ poll.
SHU SPLIT DECISIONS
There have been seven series sweeps and nine series splits thus far in NEC play. While no meaningful league trend has been established, Sacred Heart has developed its own peculiar pattern.
In all four of SHU’s series this year, the Pioneers have dropped game one, only to come roaring back to win game two.
In the first games of a series, SHU has been outscored by an average of 20.8 ppg. In the back end, the Pios have recorded a +8.5 scoring margin, a 29.3 ppg day-to-day swing.
HERENDA RETURNS TO ROOTS
It was another Homecoming of sorts for FDU head coach Greg Herenda when he returned to his alma mater last week as the Knights took on Merrimack.
Herenda was a four-year player at Merrimack, graduating in 1983.
On the other sideline, there was his counterpart Joe Gallo, a fellow Merrimack alum who walked on to the Warrior hoops program in 2000.
Last January, NEC Overtime! blogger Ryan Peters detailed the two coaches’ unique bond and their relationship with the late Bert Hammel - a Merrimack coaching legend whom the Warriors’ home court was named after.
HOME COOKING STRONG IN THE NEC
Without fans in attendance in the majority of schools nationwide, the bump from playing at home isn’t quite what it has been in the past.
In what may be an aberration with only 38 percent of the league schedule completed at this point, the NEC’s home win percentage in conference play has grown from 59.6 percent a year ago to 70.6 percent in 2020-21, a figure that ranks second nationally behind the Mountain West (73.0 percent). NEC home teams have posted a 24-10 record this season.
Every conference in the country last season posted at least a .500 composite record at home, but this season there are three leagues under .500 and three at exactly .500.
NEC BIG SHOT OF THE WEEK
Sometimes it takes just one special moment to provide a launch point for the rest of the season.
That moment may have occurred for CCSU in the waning seconds of its game with Mount St. Mary’s on Friday.
After the Mount took game one on Thursday and rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play the next afternoon, the situation looked dire for the Blue Devils, who had just a 7.3 percent win probability at that point according to KenPom.
Nigel Scantlebury (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena (Niagara County CC)) had other ideas.
After Ian Krishnan (Boyds, MD/Proctor Academy (NH)) cut the lead in half with a three-pointer and Karrington Wallace (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Wood) trimmed the deficit to a single point with a pair of free throws, it was time for Scantlebury to shine.
The junior guard blocked a shot on one end, then pulled up for a foul line jumper to give CCSU a 62-61 edge with 59 seconds on the clock.
After Damian Chong Qui (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) regained the lead for the Mount with an NBA range triple with 32 seconds to play, the stage was set for the game-winner.
Krishnan misfired on a pullup, but Wallace tracked down the rebound and the ball rotated to Scantlebury on the left wing. The Rochester, NY native didn’t hesitate, taking one dribble before stepping back to splash a three-pointer for the win with just four seconds on the clock.
CCSU collected its first win of the season when trailing with 5:00 to play and won for the second time when trailing at halftime.
Scantlebury, who scored five of his seven points in the frenetic final minute of the contest, had hit just 6-26 from distance on the year prior to the game-winner.
He averages 8.6 ppg and leads the Blue Devils with 4.3 apg, which ranks fifth in the NEC.
WATKINS CLOSES FOR MACK
Trailing by two points to FDU with under three minutes to play, Merrimack junior guard Mikey Watkins (Roselle, NJ/Linden) took matters into his own hands.
He first assisted on Mykel Derring’s (Boston, MA/Proctor Academy) jumper, knifed through the FDU defense for a pair of layups, then zipped a dime to Ziggy Reid (Baltimore, MD/St. Paul’s School) for a layup to wrap an 8-0 run that gave the Warriors a 70-64 edge with 40 seconds on the clock. Watkins hit four more free throws to ice the game and give Merrimack its first sweep of the season.
The Roselle, NJ product finished with 18 points, and matched career-highs with six points and six assists, to go along with three steals.
Watkins paces Merrimack with 13.7 ppg, 3.3 apg, and ranks second on the team and third in the NEC with 2.3 spg.
YOUNG GUNSLINGERS: LAND & SIXSMITH
It’s rare to see a freshman atop any individual statistical category, so a quick glance at the NEC three-point accuracy leaders may cause a double take.
Saint Francis U freshman guard Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller) is the league leader, having hit 56.3 percent of his opportunities on the year. Land, the NEC Rookie of the Week, has made 18-of-32 shots from distance and has shot at least 50 percent from downtown in nine of the 10 games he has attempted a three-point shot.
Sacred Heart freshman guard Mike Sixsmith (Hicksville, NY/Holy Trinity) is second in the league with a 52.8 percent mark from outside the arc. Having drained 19-of-36 triples, Sixsmith has hit at least 50 percent of his three-point attempts in eight-of-10 games.
Sixsmith, who is shooting 56.5 percent overall on the year, ranks second nationally in effective field goal percentage (.772) and true shooting percentage (.798), and third in offensive rating (150.4).
MINOR WITH MAJOR GAME
Merrimack sophomore forward Jordan Minor (Kingston, MA/Brimmer & May) was firing on all cylinder in Friday’s comeback win over FDU.
The Kingston, MA native finished with 20 points, and set career-highs with 13 points and five assists, to go along with three blocks.
In doing so, he became just the fourth player in the nation this season to post a 20/13/5/3 line, a group that includes Duke star freshman Jalen Johnson, who had 24/15/7/4 at Pitt on January 19.
With the Warriors trailing by eight at intermission, Minor sparked a 9-4 run to start the second half with nine straight points to pull Merrimack within one.
MOUNT DOES IT WITH D
Off to a 4-3 NEC start, Mount St. Mary’s has employed a defense first philosophy thus far during conference play.
The Mount has held four opponents under 60 points and leads the league by a wide margin, allowing just 60.7 ppg against NEC opponents.
The Mountaineers also rank first in field goal percentage defense (.393), effective field goal percentage (.443) and block percentage (13.4), and rank second in defensive efficiency (93.4).
NEC DUNK LEADERS
Following a number of highlight reel jams over the last couple of weeks, it got us thinking about the NEC’s top dunkers this season.
Not surprisingly, Bryant senior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South (New Mexico JC)) and Mount junior high flyer Nana Opoku (Woodbridge, VA/Potomac) rank one-two in the NEC with 14 and 11 dunks on the year, respectively.
NEC Dunk Leaders (2020-21)
1. Hall Elisias (BRY) 14
2. Nana Opoku (MSM) 11
3. Malik Jefferson (MSM) 8
4. Pier-Oliver Racine (FDU) 7
Karrington Wallace (CCSU) 7
5. Ty Flowers (LIU) 6
Elyjah Williams (FDU) 6
CLARKE’S COMEBACK
After missing two games with an injury and playing just 16 minutes in his return on Thursday, Sacred Heart junior guard Aaron Clarke (Parsippany, NJ/Pope John) helped ignite the Pioneers on Friday when they needed it most.
Clarke scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the second half to help keep Saint Francis U at bay and secure a split for SHU with an 82-70 victory. The 23 points, which included an 8-8 mark at the line, was one off his career-high of 24 set in a win over Army back on November 16, 2018.
“(Aaron) was great,” said SHU head coach Anthony Latina after the win. “We couldn’t have won today without him. I feel so bad for him because he’s really a shell of himself with his injury. He really had a gutty performance. Real happy that he was able to bounce back. No one is more frustrated than him. For him to play that way, and to win a game after we got beat so soundly yesterday is a credit to his leadership and his character and his toughness. It was very important for us.”
Clarke ranks second on the Pioneers with 12.4 ppg.
MORALES IN ELITE COMPANY
There’s just one player in the entire nation averaging at least 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and he resides right here in the NEC.
Wagner senior guard Alex Morales (Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)) has done it all for the Seahawks this season as evidenced by his numbers that rank him among NEC leaders in the three major statistical categories noted above. The Paterson, NJ native ranks sixth in the NEC in scoring (15.3), ninth in rebounding (7.1) and is the league leader with 5.6 assists per contest.
If Morales is able to maintain the 15/7/5 line for the entire season, he would become just the 14th player in the last 29 years to accomplish the feat. Others who have done so include eight future NBA players: Penny Hardaway (Memphis), Trenton Hassell (Austin Peay), Luke Walton (Arizona), Evan Turner (Ohio State), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) and John Konchar (IPFW).
BRYANT WINNING THE 3P BATTLE
Bryant has received plenty of attention for its run-and-gun style that has the Bulldogs ranked fourth nationally with 89.2 ppg, and first in NEC play at 83.8 ppg.
Another area where Bryant has dominated is at the three-point line.
The Bulldogs rank 15th nationally in three-point percentage (.396) and 18th in three-pointers per game (10.0), while at the same time ranking 12th in the country in three-point percentage defense (.279).
On the year, Bryant has outscored opponents by 108 points from three-point range despite taking nine fewer attempts.
BATTLE OF BROOKLYN HISTORY
The Battle of Brooklyn not only spotlights the NEC’s fiercest rivalry, but has also delivered some of the most compelling games when it is airs annually as part of the conference package or on NEC Front Row.
When the LIU Brooklyn-St. Francis Brooklyn rivalry is renewed on Saturday at 4 pm at the Pope Center, there will be plenty of hype for the broadcast that will air live on ESPN3 and locally on SNY, and deservedly so. But can the game top these LIU-SFBK thrillers?
2018 - The largest lead in this game as six and there were nine ties. It wasn’t decided until LIU’s Joel Hernandez broke the SFBK press and dunked with five seconds to go to give the Blackbirds an 81-76 win.
2015 - This one wasn’t the technically the Battle of Brooklyn, but it was a wild TV game nonetheless. LIU led by eight points with under four minutes to play, but SFBK utilized a tenacious full court press to go on a 14-3 run and take a three-point lead. With time winding down, LIU’s Martin Hermannsson launched a three-pointer and was fouled. The freshman calmly sank all three free throws with four seconds to play to send the game to OT. The Terriers would go on to win, 74-69.
2014 - Contested for the first time at the Barclays Center, Jason Brickman finished with 14 assists in a 69-68 win for the Blackbirds. It marked the sixth time in the last seven years that a televised game between the two teams was decided by four points or less.
2013 - LIU rallied from 14 down in the second half, scoring 57 points after intermission to win 78-68 at a packed Pope Center.
2012 - Julian Boyd hit the go-ahead jumper with 18 seconds left as the Blackbirds come back from five down with under three minutes to play and secure an 81-78 home win.
2011 - CJ Garner went coast-to-coast and hit a runner at the buzzer to give LIU the 82-80 victory as pandemonium broke out at the Pope Center.
2010 - In perhaps the most exciting game of the series in recent years, the Terriers took down the Blackbirds in triple overtime, 88-84. SFBK twice had to hit late three-pointers to force the second and third OTs.
2009 - SFBK rallied back from 15 down in the second half to tie it up, but the Blackbirds were able to salt the game away at the line, winning 74-70.
2008 - The Terriers won at the Steinberg Wellness Center, 67-64, when a Kyle Johnson three-point attempt is just off the mark with four seconds to play.
2006 - LIU erased a 14-point second half deficit and survived a last possession by SFBK to win at home, 67-64.
2003 - This one wasn’t televised, but went down as perhaps the most memorable contest in NEC history. LIU guard Antawn Dobie turned in the most brilliant single-game performance in league annals exploding for an NEC single-game record 53 points. But that wasn’t all. He also dished out 15 assists and was directly involved in 87 of LIU’s points that day. One would assume those numbers would guarantee a victory for the Blackbirds. Not on this night. Not in this rivalry.
While Dobie was putting on a one-man show, the Terriers received stellar performances from a pair of Brooklyn products. Freshman sharpshooter John Quintana came off the bench to register a career-high 31 points and senior forward Clifford Strong added 29 points. Likewise, future All-NEC point guard Tory Cavalieri dished for 13 assists.
Carrying the Blackbirds on his back, Dobie played the role of hero on more than one occasion. His 40-foot runner as time expired forced overtime and sent the evenly split crowd into a frenzy.
His two free throws at the end of the first extra session sent the game into double overtime. Dobie then scored five of his team’s 11 points in the second overtime. One would think destiny would be on Dobie’s side as the game reached its final climax, but his potential game-winning 17-foot jumper went in and out with five seconds to play and the Blackbirds trailing by one.
It was one of the very few shots Dobie missed on the day.
In the end, St. Francis (NY) won the Battle of Brooklyn that year. The score: 142-140. To this day, it remains the highest scoring game in NEC history. No single team has ever scored that many points in an NEC game before or since.
STAT OF THE WEEK
By allowing just 51 points in last Thursday’s win over FDU, Merrimack has now held its opponents to 60 points or fewer in 18 of its 37 games at the DI level over the last two years. In those games, the Warriors boast a record of 17-1.
STAT ATTACK
CCSU committed a season-low nine turnovers in Friday’s win over the Mount. It was the fewest turnovers in a win since committing just seven against Bryant on February 15, 2020.
CCSU junior guard Ian Krishnan (Boyds, MD/Proctor Academy) averaged a team-high 12.5 ppg on 55.6 percent shooting from the field last week. He posted back-to-back double-digit scoring games for the first time in 2020-21.
FDU sophomore guard Brandon Rush (Warrensville, OH/Warrensville Heights) hit 4-5 from three-point range in Friday’s game at Merrimack to boost his season percentage to 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Rush, who is 24-of-51 from deep, ranks 13th nationally in three-point accuracy and leads the Knights with 14.7 ppg.
FDU sophomore guard Callum Baker (Oakville, Ontario/Bishop Walsh) has made eight of his last 15 shots (.533) from three-point land.
LIU redshirt junior Eral Penn (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Academy (MD)) ranks first in the NEC and sixth nationally with a 90.2 free throw rate. Penn has made it to the line 46 times in six games.
Merrimack sophomore forward Jordan Minor’s (Kingston, MA/Brimmer & May) 13-rebound performance vs. FDU on Friday was just the fourth time a Warrior player has corralled at least 13 caroms since 2016.
Mount St. Mary’s freshman guard Josh Reaves (Hamden, CT/South Kent School) scored a career-high 13 in the Mount’s 67-57 win over CCSU on Thursday.
Sacred Heart freshman guard Mike Sixsmith (Hicksville, NY/Holy Trinity) has posted a +4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and has turned the ball over just seven times in ten games over 256 minutes played.
Wagner ranks first in the NEC in offensive rebound percentage, pulling down 32.7 percent of its missed shots.
NEC in NCAA STATS (Top-25)
Name School Category Rank Value
Chris Childs BRY 3P/game 18th 3.15
Cantavio Dutreil SHU Reb. 18th 10.0
Hall Elisias BRY Blocks 5th 3.23
Ty Flowers LIU Steals 7th 2.67
Jahlil Jenkins FDU Mnutes 21st 36:59
Peter Kiss BRY Trip-Dub 2nd 1
Peter Kiss BRY Steals 24th 2.31
Brandon Rush FDU 3P% 16th .471
Tyler Thomas SHU Minutes 18th 37:13
Team Category Rank Value
Bryant Scoring 4th 89.2
Bryant 3P% 15th .396
Bryant 3P/game 18th 10.0
Bryant 3P% Def. 12th .279
Bryant Rebounds 17th 41.3
Bryant Def. Reb. 6th 31.0
LIU TO Forced 11th 18.0
Saint Francis U 3P% Def. 5th .261