NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Cohen, Saint Francis U
6’10”, 220 lbs.
R-Jr., F, Lincroft, NJ/CBA
Cohen delivered one of the finest individual performances in recent NEC memory last Monday on his way to averaging 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while shooting 69.4 percent and 80.8 percent from the stripe in a three-game week for the Red Flash. Last Monday, the Lincroft, NJ native put on an offensive clinic, dropping a career-high 40 points via a scintillating 15-19 mark from the field in a tightly contested setback to Lehigh. Cohen became the first SFU player to reach the 40-point mark since 1991 and the first NEC competitor in nearly a decade to score 40 in a non-conference game against a DI opponent. He added nine rebounds, three assists and a block. Cohen went on to score 19 points on 6-9 shooting in a win over Franciscan on Wednesday and 12 more against American on Saturday. The redshirt junior is the NEC leader in both scoring (20.7) and field goal percentage (.671), and ranks seventh in rebounding (6.7) and ninth in assists (2.6).

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Keyontae Lewis, Wagner
6’9”, 255 lbs.
Fr., F, Chesterfield, VA/Lloyd C Bird
Lewis made his presence felt on both ends of the floor in Wagner’s 62-57 win at NJIT on Sunday that lifted the Seahawks’ record to 4-2 on the season. The 6’9” forward hit 5-7 from the floor and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks in 20 minutes of play. It marked the second double-digit scoring game of his young career. Nursing a three-point lead, Lewis came up with a critical block and rebound with 25 seconds on the clock to help Wagner stave off a late Highlander rally. His 1.2 bpg is tops among NEC freshman performers, and he ranks second with 4.7 rpg. Lewis, who hails from Chesterfield, VA, is supplying Wagner with 6.5 ppg on 48.5 percent shooting.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Kellen Amos (CCSU, Jr, G)
Amos paced the Blue Devils with 14.0 ppg, and also chipped in with 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg last week. Amos scored a team-high 15 points on Saturday at Rutgers to up his season average to a team-best 13.1 ppg.

Heru Bligen (FDU, Sr, G)
Bligen led a balanced FDU scoring attack with 13.0 ppg on a red-hot 66.7 percent shooting from the floor. He also snared 4.0 rpg. Bligen paced the Knights with 16 points - making 7-10 shots - at Saint Peter’s on Sunday.

Marko Maletic (LIU, So, G)
Competing at the Fort Myers Tipoff, Maletic led the Sharks with 15.5 ppg on 48.0 percent shooting, and made five shots from distance. He scored a game-high 19 points against South Dakota on Tuesday and has now reached double-digits in four straight games coming off the bench. He leads LIU and ranks fifth on the circuit with 15.8 ppg on the season.

Nico Galette (SHU, Jr, F)
Galette paced the Pios with 23 points in a setback to NJIT last Tuesday. He shot 7-15 from the field, 8-9 from the line and snared seven boards. Galette has put up 24.5 ppg over his last two outings to boost his season average to a team-high 17.0 ppg that ranks third in the league.

Raheem Solomon (SHU, Gr, G)
Solomon drained 9-15 from the floor on his way to a season-high 19 points against NJIT. He added a pair of steals. Solomon has scored in double figures in five-of-six games and is averaging 12.0 ppg on the year.

Rob Higgins (SFBK, Sr, G)
After missing the Terriers’ game at Miami on Wednesday, Higgins came off the bench to sink 5-9 from 3P land against South Florida two days later. He scored 17 points and added four assists in 32 minutes.

Tedrick Wilcox Jr. (SFBK, Sr, G)
Wilcox Jr. was on the mark from distance in SFBK’s trip to the Sunshine State, hitting 10-17 (.588) three-point shots over two games at Miami and South Florida. He averaged 19.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and shot 47.8 percent overall. Wilcox Jr. finished with a team-high 18 points and hit 5-10 from long range against the Hurricanes, and drained 5-7 from outside the arc in  a game-high 21-point showing vs. the Bulls.

Josh Cohen (SFU, R-Jr, F)
Cohen had a game for the ages last Monday, going for a career and NEC single-game season-high 40 points on 15-19 from the field against Lehigh. The 40 points also tied for the fourth-most in the nation this season. For the week, Cohen tallied 23.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, and shot 69.4 percent from the field and 80.8 percent from the line. The redshirt junior is the NEC leader in both scoring (20.7) and field goal percentage (.671).

Andrew Sims (STO, Gr, F)
Sims poured in 20.0 ppg and added 7.0 rpg to earn All-Tournament honors for the Skyhawks in games against Illinois Chicago and host Fordham at the Tom Konchalski Classic last Monday and Tuesday. He matched a season-high with 24 points and set a season-best with nine boards vs. UIC. Sims ranks second in the league with 17.4 ppg.

Jahbril Price-Noel (WC, Gr, F)
Price-Noel scored eight points in a key 11-2 spurt that gave Wagner a ten point advantage with under seven minutes to play in a 62-57 win at NJIT on Sunday. The grad student led all scorers with 19 points in 29 minutes off the bench. He made 7-8 shots and was a perfect 3-3 from downtown, and also corralled seven rebounds. Price-Noel is 10-21 (.476) from three-point land on the season.
 
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK 3

Here’s all you need to know from the third week of the 2022-23 season...

COHEN PUTS UP 40 SPOT
 
It’s not shocking that Saint Francis U’s Josh Cohen (Lincroft, NJ/CBA) had himself a big night, but last Monday the Preseason All-NEC forward had himself a BIG night.
 
The redshirt junior absolutely caught fire against Lehigh, hitting 15-19 shots from the field and 10-13 from the line to finish with a career-high 40 points on an array of jumpers, drives and exquisite post moves.
 
To put the night in perspective...
 
- Cohen became the first NEC player in nearly a decade to score 40 points in a non-conference game against a DI opponent. CCSU’s Matt Hunter rang up 40 points at Indiana on December 8, 2012.
 
- The 15 field goals were the most for an NEC player against a DI non-league foe since CCSU’s Kyle Vinales recorded 15 as part of a 39-point effort at Niagara on November 14, 2011.
 
- Cohen’s 78.9 field goal percentage was the highest by an NEC player with 15 or more field goals since RMU’s Karvel Anderson also went 15-19 from the floor on his way to a 36-point game against Sacred Heart on January 9, 2014.
 
- The 40 points represented an NEC single-game season-high and is tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in the nation this season behind Northern Kentucky’s Marques Warrick (45 vs. Tennessee Tech on November 27), GWU’s James Bishop (44 vs. Hofstra on November 14) and San Diego’s Eric Williams Jr. (43 vs. Utah State on November 17).
 
- Cohen became the sixth NEC player over the last decade and the 21st in the last 25 years to hit 40 points against a DI opponent
 
- Cohen is one of 26 players nationally over the last decade to finish a game with at least 40 points, 15 field goals and 75 percent shooting from the field. This list includes NBA luminaries Ben Simmons, Frank Kaminsky and Doug McDermott.
 
- Cohen became the first Red Flash player to score 40 points since SFU and NEC Hall of Famer Mike Iuzzolino posted 41 points against RMU on February 16, 1991. He also came within two points of tying Jack Phelan’s DeGol Arena record of 42 points set against Duquesne on January 14, 1977.
 
- Cohen was the first SFU player to score over 30 points in a game since former NEC Player of the Year Isaiah Blackmon posted 30 against Robert Morris on February 18, 2020.
 
- Cohen also added nine rebounds, three assists and a block in the 82-76 setback.
 
PRICE-NOEL LEADS WAGNER CHARGE OVER NJIT
 
The NEC doesn’t sponsor a sixth-man award, but if it did, Wagner forward Jahbril Price-Noel (Scarborough, Ontario/Southwest Christian Academy (Pacific)) certainly fits the bill as a candidate.
 
The grad student with a penchant for making big shots has come off the bench in all six games this season, highlighted by a season-high 19-point effort on Sunday in a 62-57 road win over NJIT.
 
Price-Noel keyed an 11-2 second half run with a three-pointer, a jumper and a conventional three-point play. The spurt extended Wagner’s lead to 54-44 with 6:47 on the clock.
 
The 19 points were one off his career-high of 20 against San Francisco set back on January 11, 2020 when he played for Pacific.
 
In Wagner’s season opener at Temple on November 7, Price Noel hit a memorable three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, a game the Seahawks would go on to win, 76-73.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
 
Of the NEC’s top-30 point producers, 17 are newcomers to the league.

Of the NEC's top-20 rebounders, 10 are newcomers.
  
QUOTABLE
 
After playing Franciscan just prior to Thanksgiving last week. Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel offered his thoughts on what it meant to the two programs.
 
“I can’t imagine there’s another Division I basketball game that ended in a prayer. I think it’s a powerful message to the guys in both locker rooms and to anybody watching that there’s a lot of things to be thankful for right now. Obviously with the holidays coming around and these guys from both institutions having the opportunity to play college basketball it’s not forever. You only have a certain amount of time to do that.”
 
STONEHILL SKIES TO TOP OF FREE THROW CHART
 
If it comes down to a close game, Stonehill has a not-so-secret weapon at its disposal.

The Skyhawks are shooting an astounding 84.7 percent from the free throw line over the first eight games of the season, hitting 116-of-137 from the stripe.
 
That marks leads the nation by a slim margin over Coastal Carolina, which has converted at a 84.5 percent rate.
 
Last week, the Skyhawks went a perfect 11-11 from the line in a setback at Fordham.
 
Stonehill currently has three players ranked in the NEC top-seven in free throw accuracy, led by graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, MA/Tilton School (NH) (Lynn/Franklin Pierce)), who has hit 91.3 percent of his attempts to tie for second on the circuit. Classmates Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape Regional) (88.2 percent) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, MD/Glenelg Country School (Navy)) (78.8 percent) rank fifth and seventh, respectively.
 
The NEC single-season record for free-throw percentage is 78.2 percent, established by CCSU in 2018-19.
 
LIU’S GREENE MAKING A LIVING AT THE LINE
 
LIU freshman guard R.J. Greene (The Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) has the makings of a foundational piece for Rod Strickland on a young Sharks’ squad.
 
The Bronx native set a pair of career-highs last week with 12 points against South Dakota and 14 vs. Northern Illinois at the Fort Myers Tipoff.
 
Greene has displayed a unique knack at drawing contact with the ball in his hands, making 28 trips to the free throw line over his last three games, including an 8-10 mark against UNI.
 
He’s currently 11th nationally in FT rate (.970) and 18th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.3).
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONOREES
 
Stonehill graduate students Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape Regional) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, MD/Glenelg Country School (Navy)) were both named to the All-Tournament team at the Tom Konchalski Classic at Fordham last week.
 
NEC ANALYTICS ZONE WITH RYAN PETERS
 
Each week throughout the 2022-23 season, NEC Overtime! blogger and NEC on the Run podcast collaborator Ryan Peters (@pioneer_pride) will contribute a series of analytically based tidbits covering NEC hoops.

One of the most proficient three-point shooters in the young season has been LIU’s Marco Maletic (London, Ontario/Saunders Secondary School (Laramie County CC)), a shrewd summer signee by first-year head coach Rod Strickland. Not only has Maletic drained at least one triple in LIU’s five games this season, he’s also given the Sharks much needed versatility from the perimeter. Of his 17 made 3s, Maletic has sank 10 when LIU is in its non-transition offense for a 41.7 percent success rate, while converting 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) when the Sharks’ are out in transition. It doesn’t matter the type of offensive set - when Maletic receives a pass in rhythm, he’s been money in the bank as 16 of his 17 triples have been assisted.
 
Josh Cohen (Lincroft, NJ/CBA) (became the first SFU player in 30 years to drop 40 points in a college basketball game, and he did it with splendid efficiency out of the post over Lehigh last Monday. Per Hoop Math, Cohen made 10 of his 13 near-the-rim shots, while stepping out and drilling 5-of-6 in the mid-range 2 area. Based on Hoop Math’s metric called Points Above Median (PAM), which calculates how many additional points a player scores when compared with what he would have scored with a baseline true shooting percentage of 0.480, Cohen’s PAM mark of 15.8 versus Lehigh is the highest score any NEC player has produced this season in a single game. Only two other players within the league have registered a PAM north of 10.0 in a Division I game thus far - Stonehill’s Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, MD/Glenelg Country School (Navy)) (13.6) versus Holy Cross and Sacred Heart’s Joey Reilly (Cromwell, CT/East Catholic) (10.5) versus Hartford.
 
Given preseason expectations and the bar set with the season’s first three weeks of results, it’s no surprise that Wagner has improved its overall standings in the analytic machines by jumping 36 spots in KenPom and 24 spots in BartTorvik.com. For the latter, Wagner is the only team within the league to register two Game Scores north of 75 with its opening night upset at Template (Game Score of 78) and its home dominance of Fairfield (Game Score of 93) 11 days later. In KenPom’s rankings, the Seahawks are projected to go 11-5 in NEC play.
 
Despite CCSU’s loss to Maine on November 23, sophomore Abdul Momoh (Carteret, NJ/The Patrick School) impressively rejected five Black Bear shots and two more versus Rutgers three days later. For the season, Momoh leads all NEC players with a 11.2 percent block rate and is 21st nationally in the category. According to analytics site Hoop Explorer, the Blue Devils have given up 4.8 fewer points per 100 possessions when Momoh is on the floor compared to when he’s not, illustrating the center’s defensive value.
 
STAT STUFFERS
 
CCSU forward Abdul Momoh (Carteret, NJ/The Patrick School) played just 53 minutes as a freshman in 2021-22, but has established himself as an interior defensive presence this fall. Momoh, who has started all seven games for the Blue Devils, leads the NEC with 13 blocks and 1.9 per game. He set a career-high with five blocks vs. Maine last Wednesday and averaged 3.5 bpg on the week.
 
CCSU sophomore forward Jayden Brown (Providence, RI/Tilton School (NH)) comes off his best week of the season that saw him put up 10.0 ppg on 63.6 percent shooting and a perfect 2-2 showing from distance. A two-time NEC Rookie of the Week as a freshman, Brown scored a season-high 11 points against Maine on Wednesday.

FDU senior guard Heru Bligen (Glenn Dale, MD/St. Andrew’s Episcopal (Longwood/Garden City CC)) has made 24 of his 33 shots from the field over the last four games, a red-hot 72.7 percent success rate. Last week, he went 12-18 (.667) from the field in averaging 13.0 ppg in tilts at Pitt and Saint Peter’s.
 
Merrimack’s Jordan Derkack (Colonia, NJ/Colonia (Spire Academy)) continued to impress last week with 8.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg for the Warriors. He leads all NEC freshmen and ranks fourth overall with 7.3 rpg. The 6’5” guard out of Colonia, NJ also ranks second among NEC freshman scorers with 9.9 ppg.
 
Merrimack compiled an NEC single-game season-high 16 steals at Bradley on Saturday.

Following a 23-point effort against NJIT last Tuesday, Preseason All-NEC junior forward Nico Galette (Rahway, NJ/Rutgers Prep) is averaging 24.5 points over his last two contests. He ranks third in the conference at 17.0 ppg.
 
Sacred Heart junior forward Bryce Johnson (Stockton, CA/Pomfret) has averaged 10.3 rebounds over his last three outings to move up to third on the NEC leaderboard with 7.7 per game.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn junior forward Josiah Harris (New Castle, DE/William Penn (Hutchinson CC/Cowley College)) has snared 10 or more caroms in four-of-six games this season. The NEC leader with 9.5 rpg, Harris paced all players with 11 boards at South Florida on Friday. He is tied for the league lead with two double-doubles.
 
Saint Francis U freshman guard Landon Moore (Bloomington, IL/Western Reserve Academy) has been a double-digit scorer in six of his first seven career games and ranks first among NEC freshman with 12.9 ppg and 3.9 apg. He is a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week.
 
With its 120-53 win over Franciscan on Wednesday, Saint Francis U broke the DeGol Arena record of 119 points previously set against Chatham on November 19, 2016. The Red Flash also made 16-28 (.571) shots from three-point territory in the victory. 

Wagner sophomore guard Javier Ezquerra (San Juan, Puerto Rico/IMG Academy) shot 6-33 (.182) from three-point range as a freshman, but has turned that number completely around this season. He is 10-20 (.500) from outside the arc after six games.