NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jordan Derkack, Merrimack
6’5”, 205 lbs.
So., G, Colonia, NJ/Colonia (Spire Academy)
Derkack has made the leap from NEC All-Rookie honoree last season to the league’s leading scorer one month into his sophomore campaign. He comes off an outstnading week that saw him average 27.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals in a split for the Warriors. He converted 58.6 percent of his shot opportunities. Derkack erupted for a career and NEC single-game season-high 33 points in Saturday’s 74-68 home win over UMass Lowell at Lawler Arena. He scored 23 in the second half and salted the game away at the line with five free throws in the last 3:26. Derkack finished 9-15 from the field and 14-17 from the stripe, and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Last Wednesday, he tallied a game-high 22 points on 8-14 shooting in Merrimack’s near upset at Georgetown. The Colonia, NJ native scored eight points in the final four minutes of the 69-67 setback. After averaging 7.4 ppg as a freshman, Derkack’s 17.8 ppg on the year is currently 2.5 points more than any other NEC player. He also ranks second on the loop in steals (2.6), fifth in rebounding (6.4), seventh in field goal accuracy (.495) and eighth in free throw percentage (.738).
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Eli Wilborn, Saint Francis U
6’8”, 215 lbs.
Fr., F, Middletown, CT/Middletown
Wilborn has come on strong for Saint Francis U in recent games, and his clutch plays on Saturday contributed to the Red Flash securing last week’s road sweep. Over two wins, he averaged 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and shot 63.6 percent from the floor. Playing a pivotal role down the stretch, Wilborn was instrumental in SFU’s 24-8 game-ending run, as the Red Flash orchestrated a comeback from 14 points down with under eight minutes remaining to secure a thrilling 75-73 victory at American on Saturday. He gave the Red Flash the lead for good on a jumper from the top of the key with 55 seconds to play and added two free throws with three seconds on the clock to seal the win. Wilborn finished with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his second collegiate double-double and added a career-best three blocks. The Middletown, CT product also contributed 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of rejections in SFU’s 62-61 win at Lehigh three days earlier. On the year, Wilborn averages 7.1 ppg and leads all NEC freshman with 5.3 rpg.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Kellen Amos (CCSU, Sr, G/F)
Last week: 14.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.5 bpg, 1.0 spg, 50.0 FG%, 50.0 3PFG%
- Led all scorers and matched season-high with 17 points in a 79-51 win at Army West Point on Wednesday.
- Stuffed stat sheet to the tune of 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks as CCSU completed sweep with 78-67 triumph over Holy Cross three days later. It marked his first career double-double.
- His 4.1 apg ranks third in the NEC.
Jordan Jones (CCSU, Sr, G)
Last week: 16.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 spg, 54.2 FG%, 50.0 3PFG%
- Notched a then career-high with 15 points on 7-13 shooting in CCSU’s 28-point win at Army West Point.
- Went on to amass a career-best 18 points in a 78-67 victory over Holy Cross. He shot 6-11 and made both his three-point attempts.
- Averages 8.6 ppg and is shooting 48.1 percent from the floor to rank tenth in the NEC.
Jordan Derkack (MC, So, G)
Last week: 27.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg, 58.6 FG%
- Dropped career-high 33 points in MC’s 74-68 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.
- Scored 23 of his 33 points in the second half and finished 14-17 from the line.
- Tallied a game-high 22 points in the Warriors’ near upset of Georgetown on Wednesday.
- Leads NEC with 17.8 ppg and ranks in NEC top-10 in five categories.
- NEC Player of the Week.
Nico Galette (SHU, Sr, F)
Last week: 20.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 spg, 51.4 FG%
- Registered 27 points and 11 rebounds - both season-highs - off the bench against UNH on Thursday. He made 12-22 shots.
- Ranks in the NEC top-five in scoring (15.3, second), rebounding (7.1, third) and steals (2.3, fourth).
Eli Wilborn (SFU, Fr, F)
Last week: 10.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg. 2.5 bpg, 63.6 FG%
- Hit go-ahead shot with 21 seconds to play and sealed win on two free throws with three seconds remaining against American.
- Recorded nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in the final eight minutes of Saturday’s victory.
- Tallied 11 points and 11 boards in second career double-double vs. Eagles.
- Leads all NEC freshmen with 5.3 rpg.
- NEC Rookie of the Week.
Melvin Council Jr. (WC, Jr, G)
Last week: 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 spg
- Paced Wagner with 17 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals at Providence.
- Tied for game-high scoring honors in comeback win over NJIT on Saturday, recording 13 points to go along with six boards.
- His 13.7 ppg paces Wagner and ranks sixth in the NEC.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK FOUR
Here’s all you need to know from the fourth week of the 2023-24 season...
>> YOUNG GUNS KEY MILESTONE WIN FOR COACH KRIM
The longest tenured NEC head coach picked up a milestone victory, and he did it in memorable fashion.
In picking up his 150th win leading the Saint Francis U program, Rob Krimmel saw his team cap the game with an 8-0 run, sealing a 62-61 road triumph over Lehigh in Bethlehem.
SFU trailed 61-54 with under two minutes remaining and held the Mountain Hawks scoreless the rest of the way out. The Red Flash defense induced two turnovers, while Lehigh missed its last three shots and misfired on a pair of free throws.
The winning points were registered by sophomore guard Cam Gregory (Accokeek, MD/The Steward School (VA)), who was fouled on a three-point attempt with 10.2 seconds to play and calmly hit all three free throws.
“If you didn’t have a rooting interest in this game, this was a great college basketball game,” said Krimmel. “We knew that we would have to give it our everything. For us to be one-point ahead is a credit to those guys in that locker room. We had to make it ugly, turning the ball over 21 times is a bit much and we had been pretty good with that. I thought we did a great job rebound and then Cam Gregory making three free throws was clutch for us.”
Freshman guard Aaron “Ace” Talbert (Wyandanch, NY/Scotland Campus (PA) (Combine Academy (NC))) led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points in 32 minutes off the bench.
For the game, SFU’s top three scorers were freshmen and first-year players combined to score 44 of SFU’s 64 points. Joining Talbert in double figures were classmates Bobby Rosenberger (Quakertown, PA/Perkiomen School) (11 points) and NEC Rookie of the Week Eli Wilborn (Middletown, CT/Middletown (South Kent)) (10 points).
Fellow frosh Aidan Harris (Annapolis, MD/Saint Mary’s) finished with a career-high 15 rebounds, including the final one of the game on Lehigh’s attempted game-winner at the horn.
After the win, Krimmel earned himself a postgame shower as the Red Flash picked up their first DI win of the season.
Krimmel’s address to the team after the game was one filled with pride and encouragement.
“It’s a big win for you guys. I’m happy for you guys. It’s about stringing plays together, possession together and stringing games together. When everybody has a passion for something and is pulling in the same direction the sky is the limit. When you are pulling to the middle that passion and that togetherness the results are what you just saw, so remember this feeling.”
Now in his 12th year, Krimmel is the second-winningest coach in SFU history and was the 2018-19 Jim Phelan Coach of the Year in the NEC.
His 150th career win came almost four years to the day that he earned his 100th career victory against Saint Joseph’s (79-68) on November 30, 2019,
>> BLUE DEVIL BLOWOUT IN PERSPECTIVE
CCSU’s first road win of the year was nothing short of emphatic.
The Blue Devils put forth a dominant effort in securing a 79-51 takedown at Army West Point on Wednesday.
In fact, CCSU’s 28-point margin of victory was the largest by an NEC team in a non-conference road game in nearly two years. Wagner generated a 29-point victory margin in its 78-49 win at Stony Brook on December 4, 2021.
CCSU logged a season-best 1.26 PPP, shot 50,8 percent from the field, made 10-24 (.417) from downtown and turned the ball over just six times.
Preseason All-NEC honoree Kellen Amos (Houston, TX/St. John XXIII College Prep (Binghamton)) led four Blue Devils in double-digits with 17 points, and he added three blocks. Senior guard Jordan Jones (Florence, SC/Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School (Coker University)) tallied 15 points on 7-13 shooting.
>> COMEBACK SATURDAY
On a Saturday marked by three NEC road wins, it was the nature of those wins that stood out.
FDU, Saint Francis U and Wagner all overcame double-digits deficits on their way to victory.
Saint Francis U mounted the biggest comeback, rallying from 20 down against American. The Red Flash trailed by 14 with under eight minutes remaining before storming back for the 75-73 win. It marked the program’s most significant comeback since rallying from 21 down in the second half against CCSU on January 30, 2020.
Wagner fell behind by 16 in the first half at Stony Brook before battling back to take down the Seawolves, 60-59.
FDU spotted NJIT a 12-point lead in the first half and was down 11 at intermission, but stage a rally for a 75-73 win to snap a four-game losing skid.
>> MORE SATURDAY SIZZLE
Saturday was the busiest day of the year in #NECMBB with eight teams on the hardwood.
The league also experienced its most successful day of the season, concluding the night with a 5-3 record.
Notably, FDU, Saint Francis U, and Wagner secured road victories after overcoming double-digit deficits.
CCSU posted an 11-point home win over Holy Cross to wrap a 2-0 week, while Merrimack rolled past a UMass Lowell side that entered the game with a 5-1 record.
>> NEC VS...
The NEC has posted a 7-1 mark vs. the Patriot League this season.
Overall, NEC teams have combined to register a 15-12 record against six regional mid-major leagues (America East, Colonial, Ivy, MEAC, MAAC and Patriot League).
>> RED FLASH FROSH FACTS
Sporting the fourth-youngest team in the country, Saint Francis U has not only embraced the youth movement, but has witnessed its freshman class flourish.
With an average experience level of 0.47 years, head coach Rob Krimmel hasn’t been shy about throwing his first year players into the fire. Over the first nine games of the season, freshman players have accounted for 53.2 percent of the team’s minutes and 52.5 percent of the Red Flash’s points.
In last week’s wins at Lehigh and American, SFU players accounted for nearly 68 percent of the team’s point production.
Krimmel started four freshmen in Saturday’s game at American. It marked the first time since a February 9, 2002 game at Mount St. Mary’s that the Red Flash started four freshmen.
>> NEC BIG SHOTS
FDU sophomore forward Jo’el Emanuel (Suffern, NY/Suffern) and Saint Francis U freshman forward Eli Wilborn (Middletown, CT/Middletown) earned our NEC Big Shot of the Week awards for their clutch buckets in comeback wins on Saturday.
With FDU and Garden State rival NIT trading the lead throughout the second half, it was the Highlanders that nudged ahead on Mekhi Gray’s dunk with 32 seconds to play. Following an FDU timeout, the Knights put the ball in Emanuel’s hands and the sophomore drove to his left and finished strong on a sweeping lefty layup with 21 seconds remaining to give them the lead for good.
Emanuel finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, SFU was staging a comeback from a 14-point deficit against American in the final eight minutes. After Cam Gregory (Accokeek, MD/The Steward School (VA)) tied things up on a three-pointer with 2:07 on the clock, Wilborn denied the Eagles on the defensive end, coming up with a block and a rebound. The freshman then confidently sank a jumper from the top of the key with just 55 seconds remaining, securing the lead for the Red Flash. He went on to hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left to ice matters and seal SFU’s second consecutive road triumph over a Patriot League opponent.
Gregory also earns an honorable mention acknowledgment.
Along with his game-tying three-pointer at American, Gregory converted three free throws with 10.1 seconds on the clock to put the Red Flash ahead in their 62-61 victory at Lehigh.
>> MERRIMACK’S WILD WEEK
After nearly upsetting Georgetown down in D.C. on Wednesday, Merrimack came home over the weekend and put on a show before 2,347 fans in the first of seven Lawler Arena games this season.
Buoyed by a career-high 33-point effort from NEC Player of the Week Jordan Derkack (Colonia, NJ/Colonia (Spire Academy)), the Warriors secured a quality 74-68 win over a red-hot UMass Lowell team.
The River Hawks, who came into the game ranked 118 by KenPom, had already collected four road wins this season, highlighted by a victory at Georgia Tech on November 14. Picked second in the America East preseason poll, UML also came up just short in a two-point setback at Arizona State.
Derkack’s 33 points were an NEC single-game season-high and the most by a conference player since former teammate Ziggy Reid scored 33 against LIU on March 1, 2023.
Though the Warriors fell at Georgetown, they went down with a fight.
Trailing by nine early in the second half, Merrimack ran off 15 straight points to take a 45-39 lead. Neither team led by more than four points over the final eight minutes of the contest.
Down two, Merrimack had a chance to send the game to OT in the final seconds. After Derkack intentionally missed the second of two free throws with four seconds remaining, the Warriors had three point blank looks around the rim, but could not convert.
Derkack finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
>> SEAHAWK DEFENSE CLAMPS DOWN
Wagner’s defensive prowess, it’s hallmark in recent years, proved crucial in its narrow 60-59 victory against Stony Brook on Saturday.
Here’s a look at Stony Brook’s last six possessions in the final minute of the game.
:55 - Missed jumper
:52 - Turnover
:21 - Missed 3P
:20 - Turnover
:09 - Missed jumper
:03 - Did not get off a final shot
Wagner has now beaten Stony Brook four straight times in Long Island.
The Seahawks lead the NEC in scoring defense (64.7).
>> CCSU HEATING UP
CCSU found its offensive rhythm in a pair of double-digit wins last week.
In averaging 78.5 ppg, the Blue Devils shot 49.6 percent from the field and a scorching 45.5 percent from three-point land where they converted 20 triples.
The Blue Devils scored a season-high 1.27 PPP and compiled a .593 eFG percentage in a 79-51 win over Army and then posted 1.15 PPP/.569 eFG percentage in its 78-67 home conquest of Holy Cross.
>> QUOTABLE
FDU head coach Jack Castleberry following the Knights’ 71-68 win at NJIT on Saturday:
“Any time you can win on the road, it’s a good win. I felt good about the way we won. There’s certainly a lot we can learn from, there’s no doubt about it, but we were able to lock down in the second half and impose ourselves on the opponent. We defended at a high level and that was the difference between winning and losing tonight.”
Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel after the Red Flash rallied to beat American, 75-73, on Saturday:
“We knew that American was going to be ready to play. They are playing really well and had not lost a game at home. Last night and before the game today, we talked about the need to be tougher and more focused after each win so that we can work to be more consistent and stack days and wins. We were out of sorts offensively in the first half and allowed American to play in transition too much. We missed some reads and some clean looks but found a way to chip away at their lead to make it more manageable going into the half. At halftime we made a few defensive adjustments that helped us create some easy offense and momentum. This group is starting to develop an identity and they continue to play hard even when their backs are against the wall. I’m very proud of the way they responded today.”
>> NEC ANALYTICS ZONE
Longtime 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 throughout the 2023-24 season.
Rob Krimmel’s cardiac kids impressively overcame two significant second half deficits last week to pull off consecutive victories versus Patriot League foes Lehigh and American. The youthful Red Flash, who rank 359th in KenPom’s experience metric, registered the 13th best comeback of the early season based on a minimum win probability of 1.4 percent. At the time, SFU trailed 61-55 with 53 seconds remaining, yet proceeded to score seven points on their final four possessions while holding the Mountain Hawks scoreless over the final minute. At American, Krimmel’s underclassmen outdid themselves, overcoming a minimum win probability of 1.1 percent by embarking on a 24-5 run over the final seven-plus minutes to shock the Eagles. The victory was the eighth-best statistical comeback according to KenPom’s minimum win probability metric.
Merrimack’s graduate forward Samba Diallo (Rufisque, Senegal/Pope John XXIII (Manhattan)) is playing the most efficient basketball of his college career for Joe Gallo’s Warriors at the moment. For the young season, Diallo is posting a KenPom offensive rating of 124.7, good for 227th nationally among Division I players. The high rating is mainly due to Diallo’s propensity to get to the free throw - he’s seventh nationally in free throw rate with a FTA/FGA mark of 102.7. Of his 38 attempts at the charity stripe, he’s converted 89.5 percent, the second-best mark among all NEC players.
Central Connecticut’s offense has gotten itself into gear after two dominant victories over Army and Holy Cross last week. Pat Sellers group registered 1.21 points per possession (ppp) while dishing out 33 assists to just 14 turnovers in the two triumphs. The splendid efficiency was buoyed by the Blue Devils’ prowess from deep, as the team made a combined 20 triples - 10 in each game - while posting 1.42 ppp on such attempts. It was CCSU’s first time making at least 10 three-pointers at a 40 percent clip or higher in back-to-back games since late January of 2020.
The top-three most efficient players in the conference at the rim are currently guards: Sacred Heart’s Joey Reilly (Cromwell, CT/East Catholic (Holy Cross)), Saint Francis U’s Cam Gregory (Accokeek, MD/The Steward School (VA)) and FDU’s Heru Bligen (Glenn Dale, MD/St. Andrew’s Episcopal (Longwood/Garden City)). While Reilly has struggled from deep in the early going, the graduate senior has been scorching from inside the arc, connecting on 16-of-19 shots for a 84.2 percent conversion rate. Gregory has made 78.9 percent of his near-the-rim takes whereas Bligen has been successful on two-thirds of his attempts. Of Bligen’s 45 points this season, 41 of those were generated at the rim, according to Synergy.
>> THIS & THAT
CCSU senior guard Tre Breland (Hamden, CT/James Hillhouse (Missouri State West Plains)) caught fire coming off the bench in a pair of wins last week, hitting 8-11 from the field and 5-8 from three-point territory. He matched his season-high with 12 points on 5-6 shooting vs. Holy Cross on Saturday.
CCSU senior forward Allan Jeanne-Rose (Saint Joseph, Martinique/Saint John Paul II (Fairfield)) has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in six-of-seven games this season. He ranks second in the NEC in field goal accuracy at 63.1 percent.
After missing two games with an injury, FDU senior guard Joe Munden Jr. (Harlem, NY/Monsignor Scanlan) returned to average 14.0 ppg last week. His 19 points in the Knights’ 71-68 win at NJIT on Saturday was a season-high. He hit 3-6 from downtown and added three steals.
Neither team in the back-and-forth FDU-NJIT battle on Saturday held a lead larger than three points in the final 16:50 of the second half. The two teams exchanged the lead nine times during that span.
Le Moyne grad student forward Luke Sutherland (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee (Siena/Bryant)) scored a game-high 19 points on just six shots in a win over Fredonia on Wednesday. He was 5-6 from the floor, hit 3-4 from deep and made 6-6 from the line. Darrick Jones Jr. (Richmond, VA/Oak Hill Academy (Towson)) added 17 points and a team-high seven boards. Both were season-bests for the senior guard.
Le Moyne made 16 trifectas against Fredonia, which ranks third on the NEC single-game list this season.
LIU had four players reach double-digits in its game at FIU on Saturday, including a team-leading 13 points from sophomore guard RJ Greene (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep). Greene finished with 13 points on 4-6 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds.
Merrimack piled up 25 steals and forced 35 turnovers over two games last week. The Warriors are 12th in the nation in steal percentage (.136).
Merrimack limited Georgetown to 0.99 PPP and a .419 eFG percentage in its two-point setback on Wednesday.
Sacred Heart grad forward Alex Sobel (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville (Middlebury)) blocked four more shots last week. He leads the NEC with 2.56 bpg and his .125 block percentage ranks 14th nationally.
Sacred Heart ranks 12th in the nation in steals per game (10.4) and 18th in steal rate (.132).
Saint Francis U freshman forward Aidan Harris’ (Annapolis, MD/Saint Mary’s) 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s win at Lehigh were the second-most in a game by a freshman under Krimmel. 2018-19 NEC Player of the Year Keith Braxton was the only other player to haul in 13 or more boards as a freshman and he turned the trick four times in 2016-17. Braxton holds the SFU freshman mark with his 19-board performance against Stony Brook on December 17, 2016.
SFU freshman forward Bobby Rosenberger (Quakertown, PA/Perkiomen School), who grew up in the Lehigh Valley near Lehigh University in Quakertown, posted the second double-figure game of his career in the victory over the Mountain Hawks. Rosenberger netted a career-high 19 points in the Red Flash’s previous road game at Penn State on November 14.
SFU was victorious in consecutive non-conference road games for the first time since the 2019-20 season when the team downed Saint Joseph’s, 79-63, on November 30, 2019, and then defeated UMBC in its next road game, 63-60, on December 7, 2019.
Saint Francis U’s win at Lehigh marked the first time in Rob Krimmel’s 12 seasons at the helm that the Red Flash won a non-conference regular season game by one point. SFU is 8-3 overall in one-point wins during the Krimmel era, the most famous being Keith Braxton’s buzzer-beater to take down Wagner in the 2017 NEC semifinals.
Stonehill senior forward Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, MA/The Tilton School (NH) (Lynn/Franklin Pierce)) scored his 500th career point in a Skyhawk uniform on Saturday. The South Hamilton, MA native, who enters play this week with 504 points, led Stonehill with 20 points and snared seven caroms against Binghamton.
Stonehill sophomore guard Tony Felder (Brockton, MA/Malden Catholic (VMI)) and senior guard Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, CT/ Xavier (Hamden Hall Country Day)) both averaged 16.5 ppg last week. Felder hit 6-12 from three-point land, while Benigni drained 5-12 from distance. Benigni did not turn the ball over in 57 minutes over games against UMass Lowell and Binghamton.
Wagner coughed up the ball just six times and enjoyed a 15-4 edge in points off turnovers in its one-point win at Stony Brook.