NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kellen Amos, CCSU
6’7”, 190 lbs.
Jr., G, Houston, TX/St. John XXIII College Prep (Binghamton)
Amos put on a show from distance in CCSU’s 78-67 conquest of Manhattan in Riverdale on Friday night, hitting all six of his three-point attempts as part of a team-high 20-point outing. He finished 7-11 from the floor and added four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Amos hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the half to give CCSU a 11-point edge heading into intermission, and helped ice the game on his sixth triple of the contest with 4:13 remaining. Amos moved up to seventh in the NEC with 13.7 ppg and is also sixth in field goal accuracy at 45.2 percent.

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Landon Moore, Saint Francis U
6’3”, 200 lbs.
Fr., G, Bloomington, IL/Western Reserve Academy
In winning his third NEC rookie honor of the non-conference campaign, Moore rang up a career-high 25 points and added five dimes at #25 Miami (FL). The frosh shot 8-16 from the field, 7-8 from the stripe and knocked down a pair of triples. He matched his previous career-best with 16 first half points and the 25 total points was the most by an NEC freshman since Sacred Heart’s Tanner Thomas scored 26 against Merrimack on February 19, 2022. Moore, who hails from Bloomington, IL, ranks first among NEC freshmen in scoring (11.8), assists (3.8), free throw percentage (.811), made three-pointers (1.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.42).

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Kellen Amos (CCSU, Jr, G)
Amos caught fire from 3P range in CCSU’s 78-67 win at Manhattan on Friday, draining 6-6 en route to a team-high 20-point night. He finished 7-11 from the floor, and also contributed four rebounds, a pair of blocks and a steal. Amos is seventh in the league in scoring at 13.7 ppg.

Jay Rodgers (CCSU, Jr, G)
Rodgers continued his strong play of late, putting up 15 points on 5-10 shooting, and dished for a career-high six assists in CCSU’s 11-point win at Manhattan. The junior has averaged 16.3 points over his last three games to up his season scoring average to 7.4 ppg.

Nigel Scantlebury (CCSU, Sr, G)
Scantlebury filled the stat sheet with 12 points, five rebounds, a season-high six assists, two steals and a block to help spark the Blue Devils’ win at Manhattan on Friday. He was an efficient 3-4 from the field and 5-6 at the stripe. Scantlebury is averaging 10.8 ppg and ranks third in the NEC in free throw accuracy (.857), eighth in assists (2.9) and 11th in steals (1.5).

Marko Maletic (LIU, So, G)
Maletic erupted for a career-high 32 points at JMU on Sunday and averaged 27.0 ppg on the week for the Sharks. He hit 6-13 from long range against the Dukes and 8-20 (.400) on the week. On Wednesday, Maletic matched a career-best with 22 points at Albany. At 17.3 ppg, the soph is LIU’s leading scorer and has moved up to second in the NEC.

Andre Washington (LIU, So, G)
Making his season debut at JMU on Sunday, Washington scored a career-high 19 points off the bench. He sank 8-16 shots and had three steals and a block.

Ziggy Reid (MC, Sr, G/F)
Reid scored a game-high 20 points - hitting 8-16 from the floor and 3-6 from deep - at Bucknell on Sunday. He pitched in defensively with a pair of steals and blocks. Reid ranks second on the Warriors and eighth in the conference with 13.6 ppg.

Bryce Johnson (SHU, Jr, F)
Johnson scored 11 points, matched his career high with 15 boards and added a personal-best six dimes in a double-double effort at Stony Brook last Monday. Johnson is tied for the league lead with three double-doubles and ranks first with 8.4 rpg.

Raheem Solomon (SHU, Gr, G)
Solomon netted a game-high 19 points and added seven boards, a block and a steal at Stony Brook on Monday. He drilled 5-9 from outside the arc. Solomon is second on the Pios and ninth on the circuit with 13.2 ppg.

Rob Higgins (SFBK, Sr, G)
Higgins shot an efficient 52.4 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three-point territory in averaging 17.0 ppg for the Terriers, who split a pair of games. The senior also pitchd in with 2.5 rpg and 4.0 apg, and turned the ball over just once in 65 minutes. Higgins scored a season-high 20 points and drained 3-5 from distance in Saturday’s 67-51 victory at Hartford. He leads SFBK with 11.6 ppg and 3.4 apg (third in NEC) on the year.

Josh Cohen (SFU, R-Jr, F)
Cohen followed up his 40-point outing at Hawaii with a 30-spot at Miami (FL) on Saturday. He sank 10 of his 16 shot opportunities, and was 10-13 from the line. Cohen also snared nine boards. The redshirt junior has boosted his NEC season-best scoring average to 22.1 ppg. He also paces the league in field goal shooting (.646) and ranks fourth with 7.8 rpg.

Landon Moore (SFU, Fr, G)
Moore exploded for a career-high 25 points on 8-16 shooting at Miami (FL) over the weekend, which was 10 more than his previous best. The freshman chipped in with five assists as well. Moore ranks first among NEC freshmen in scoring (11.8), assists (3.8), free throw percentage (.811), made three-pointers (1.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.42).

Andrew Sims (STO, Sr, F)
Sims was outstanding in Stonehill’s tight loss at Boston College last Tuesday, unleashing a variety of moves in the paint on his way to a game-high 20 points on 7-14 shooting. He also recorded five rebounds and a block. Sims ranks third in the NEC with 17.2 ppg.
  
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK 6

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

SFBK’S HIGGINS & MC’S MINOR SET TO JOIN NEC MILLENNIUM CLUB
 
The NEC tipped off the 2022-23 season without a single player already ensconced in the 1,000-point club, but that will change very shortly.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn senior guard Rob Higgins (Middletown, NJ/Middletown North) and Merrimack senior forward Jordan Minor (Kingston, MA/Brimmer and May) are both knocking on the club door, with 997 and 994 points, respectively.
 
Higgins pulled within three points of 1,000 after going for 20 in SFBK’s win at Hartford on Saturday, while Minor scored nine points at Bucknell on Sunday to move to within six of becoming the first Warrior to reach the 1K mark completely at the DI level.
 
There are currently 245 players in the NEC’s 42-year history who have scored 1,000 career points.
 
Minor will also earn distinction as the 88th player in league annals to reach the 1,000-point, 500-rebound plateau. The Kingston, MA native ranks 91st in NEC history with 590 boards.
 
Saint Francis U senior forward Myles Thompson (Camden, NY/Camden) (948) and Merrimack senior swingman Ziggy Reid (Baltimore, MD/St. Paul’s School) (899) are next in line to reach 1,000 points following Higgins and Minor.
 
AMAZING AMOS ACCURACY
 
In capturing NEC Player of the Week honors for the first, CCSU junior guard Kellen Amos (Houston, TX/St. John XXIII College Prep (Binghamton)) delivered a lights out shooting performance from deep in the Blue Devils' wire-to-wire win at Manhattan on Friday.
 
Amos, who finished with 20 points, went a perfect 6-6 from outside the arc, a performance that put him in elite company.
 
- Amos became the first NEC player to make at least six triples without a miss since Wagner’s Corey Henson went 6-6 in a win over Fairfield on December 18, 2015.
 
- Amos is just the seventh NEC player in the last quarter century to hit six from long range without a miss. Along with Henson, RMU’s Karvel Anderson went 8-8 against Ohio on December 1, 2012, St. Francis Brooklyn’s Bronski Dockery hit 7-7 at CCSU on December 3, 2001, Quinnipiac’s Rashaun Banjo made 6-6 at Saint Francis U on February 4, 2002, FDU’s Jarvis Mitchell sank 6-6 at Mount St. Mary’s on February 26, 2000 and Saint Francis U’s Jamal Ragland drained 6-6 at FDU on January 21, 1999.
 
- Amos is one of just nine players in the nation this season to go perfect from three-point range with at least six attempts
 
- He became the first CCSU player with six trifectas in a game since Ian Krishnan hit six at Bryant on February 17. 2022
 
COHEN CALCULUS
 
We bring you the weekly Josh Cohen (Lincroft, NJ/CBA) superlative stats update.
 
With 30 points at #25 Miami (FL) on Saturday, the Saint Francis U redshirt junior forward  became the first NEC player with three 30-point games in non-conference play since Bryant’s Dyami Starks recorded four in the 2013-14 season.
 
Cohen averaged 25.4 points and shot 63.8 percent from the field in five games against Miami (FL), Ohio State, Butler, Hawaii and St. Bonaventure.
 
Cohen’s league-leading 22.1 ppg scoring average is 4.9 ppg ahead of Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape Regional) of Stonehill, who is producing 17.2 ppg. If he was to maintain that margin for the remainder of the season, it would be the third-largest gap since 2000.
 
Cohen ranks second nationally in KenPom offensive rating (minimum 24 percent usage rate) at 128.5 on the season.
 
Cohen currently leads the NEC in scoring (22.1) and field goal percentage (.646). He is looking to join a short list of players who ranked first in the league in both categories: LIU’s Raiquan Clark (2018-19), Sacred Heart’s Kibwe Trim (2005-06) and Marist’s Rik Smits (1987-88).

PRICE NOEL’S ADDS TO “BIG SHOT” RESUME
 
The NEC’s resident big shot added another highlight to his burgeoning clip reel.
 
Wagner senior forward Jahbril Price-Noel (Scarborough, Ontario/ Southwest Christian Academy (Pacific)) made just one shot against Stony Brook on Thursday, but it was on brand.
 
Price-Noel’s NBA-range three-pointer with 1:27 to play was the go-ahead bucket for the Seahawks, who erased a six-point halftime deficit to move over .500 at 5-4 on the year.
 
The key basket was the latest for the Scarborough, Ontario product.
 
Price-Noel opened the season by draining a buzzer-beating three-pointer at Temple that sent the game to overtime in a game that Wagner would go on to win, 76-73. In the extra session, his two free throws with three seconds remaining sealed the deal.
 
Less than two weeks later, his dunk with 2:33 to play helped secure a win over Fairfield.
 
He also scored eight straight points in a key run during Wagner’s 62-57 triumph at NJIT on November 27.
 
Last February, Price-Noel splashed a dagger three-pointer with 1:25 to play in a win over Sacred Heart.
 
MALETIC’S GROWING RESUME
 
Despite only starting two games, LIU sophomore guard Marko Maletic (London, Ontario/Saunders Secondary School (Laramie County CC)) has rocketed to the No. 2 spot on the NEC scoring chart.
 
Maletic averaged 27.0 ppg in games at Albany and James Madison last week, and his career-high 32-point performance against the Dukes on Sunday was a head turner. He converted 10-19 from the field, including 6-13 from outside the arc.
 
Maletic has now scored in double-digits in 10 straight games and has posted four games of 20 points or better on a Sharks team that has played the 26th most difficult schedule in the country according to KenPom.
 
He ranks first in the NEC with 3.3 three-pointers per contest, and is fourth in offensive rating (101.9), fifth in effective field goal percentage (.536), seventh in true shooting percentage (.559) and ninth in three-point accuracy (.388).
 
Maletic is averaging 23.1 points per 40 minutes.
 
STRICKLAND FAMILY REUNION
 
When LIU took the court at James Madison on Sunday, head coach Rod Strickland had to game plan against a very familiar face.
 
The first-year head coach went up against his son, Terell, who was suiting up for the first time this season after missing the first 12 games with an injury. He finished with eight points, eight assists and five steals in the Dukes’ win.
 
Terell isn’t the only Strickland playing DI hoops this season. His brother Tai is a senior at Georgia State after playing one year at Wisconsin and two years at Temple. Terell and Tai will meet twice this season in Sun Belt play.
 
Prior to the game, Rod Strickland had this to say about the matchup against his son.
 
“Obviously I want Terell to be the best he can possibly be,” Rod said Strickland. “But we’re trying to beat them for sure, just as they are trying to beat us. It will be competitive, but it will also be great to watch him out there.”
 
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.
 
CCSU turned in an impressive road victory at Manhattan, a wire-to-wire effort that saw the Blue Devils post a season high 1.18 points per possession and an effective field goal percentage of 64.2 percent. The team’s 21 assists in the contest nearly bested their past three games combined, when they registered 8, 6 and 8 assists (22 total) versus Fordham, Dartmouth and Holy Cross, respectively. Overall, the efficient offensive performance earned the Blue Devils a Bart Torvik Game Score of 62, the program’s highest single game rating since registering a Game Score of 69 in a double overtime victory over FDU back on January 10, 2019, nearly four years ago.
 
Much of Central Connecticut’s elevated eFG% came from Kellen Amos (Houston, TX/St. John XXIII College Prep (Binghamton))  mastery from behind the arc, as the Binghamton transfer went 5 of 5 on catch-and-shoot 3s and 1-of-1 on off-the-dribble threes in the Saturday triumph. That’s quite a contrast from Amos’ previous long distance trends in a Blue Devil uniform, as he came into the Manhattan contest requiring an assist on just 6 of his 18 made 3s previously.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn is now 12-4 over the past 3-plus seasons when senior guard Rob Higgins (Middletown, NJ/Middletown North) makes at least 3 triples in a contest, with his 20-point effort at Hartford as the latest example of the Terriers benefitting from the senior’s production. Higgins posted a KenPom offensive rating of 152 in the victory (100 is average), his third highest game mark versus DI competition in his career. Against the Hawks, Higgins made 5 of his 7 jumpers while going 2-of-2 on 3s that came late in the shot clock according to Hoop Math.
 
Josh Cohen (Lincroft, NJ/CBA) has always been an equal opportunity dominator, and this season is no different. When Saint Francis has played against teams categorized as Type A and B squads by KenPom, Cohen is averaging an astounding 25.4 ppg while shooting 64 percent from the field for the Red Flash. Perhaps even more impressive, the astute big man has a miniscule turnover rate of 7.6 percent in the five “guarantee games” after committing a paltry 7 turnovers. Cohen currently leads all NEC players in Bart Torvik’s PORPAGATU! player metric with a rating of 6.6. The next closest NEC players are at 4.3 (Heru Bligen, FDU) and 3.2 (Andrew Sims, Stonehill), respectively.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
 
Sacred Heart junior forward Bryce Johnson (Stockton, CA/St. Mary’s (Pomfret)) is one of five players across the nation to finish with at least 11 points, 15 rebounds and six assists against a DI opponent this season. He hit those totals last Monday at Stony Brook. The six dimes marked a career-high.
 
STOCKING STUFFERS
 
CCSU junior guard Jay Rodgers (Pickerington, OH/Cochise College) has averaged 16.3 ppg on 46.2 percent shooting in last three games. Over his first seven games, he averaged 3.6 ppg on 28.6 percent shooting. Rodgers netted 16 points in the Blue Devils’ win at Manhattan on Friday.
 
FDU had a three-game win streak snapped at Richmond on Tuesday, and will look to even its non-conference record at 7-7 when it faces Queens (NC) on Thursday.
 
Merrimack has compiled 10 or more steals in seven games this season. The Warriors are first in the conference and 13th nationally in steals. MC is also sixth in the country in steal percentage (15.2).
 
After pulling down 12 defensive boards in a career-high tying 15-rebound game at Stony Brook last Monday, Sacred Heart junior forward Bryce Johnson (Stockton, CA/St. Mary’s (Pomfret)) now ranks 30th nationally in defensive rebound percentage (.268). He is the NEC leader with 8.4 rpg.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn junior forward Josiah Harris (New Castle, DE/William Penn (Hutchinson CC)) has blocked two or more shots in six-of-11 games this season. He leads the NEC with 1.6 bpg.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn has made 26-29 (.897) free throws over its last two contests.
 
Stonehill senior forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape Regional) now has five 20+ point games on the year (tied for second in NEC) and has scored in double-digits in 17 straight games contests back to last season. Sims finished with a game-high 20 points at Boston College last Tuesday.
 
Stonehill senior guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, MD/Glenelg Country Day (Navy)) matched his career-high with five steals for the second time in three games at BC on Tuesday and has now recorded at least one theft in 18 straight games dating back to last season. He is the NEC leader and sits third nationally with 3.0 spg.
 
Wagner committed an NEC single-game season low five turnovers in its win over Stony Brook on Thursday.
 
Wagner senior guard Brandon Brown (Memphis, TN/White Station (Arkansas Pine Bluff)) posted a unique state line with zero points and 10 rebounds in the Seahawks’ win over Stony Brook on Thursday. He leads the team and ranks second in the NEC with 8.3 rpg.