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NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week: Josh Morgan, STO
NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Rookie of the Week: Darin Smith, Jr., CCSU
Previous NEC Releases: November 25 | November 18 | November 11 | Preseason Poll Release
 
NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Morgan, Stonehill
Gr., G, 6-3, 215 lbs.
Brampton, Ontario/Father Henry Carr (Incarnate Word)
Morgan was a difference-maker in a pair of home wins that evened Stonehill’s record at 5-5 and surpassed the team’s win total from last season. The grad student averaged 21.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and shot 56.3 percent from three-point territory and 87.5 percent from the line. On Monday, he delivered 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, leading the Skyhawks back from an eight-point deficit to edge East Texas A&M, 67-65. His clutch three-pointer with 1:33 remaining not only marked the 1,000th point of his career but also pulled Stonehill within one. He capped the game shooting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Brampton, Ontario native caught fire again on Sunday, tallying a game-high 22 points on 5-8 shooting from deep in an 88-74 victory over MAAC preseason favorite Quinnipiac, his third straight 20+ point performance. Morgan is tied for the NEC lead in made triples (3.11/gm), ranks third in scoring (16.1) and is eighth in three-point percentage (.431) and free throw percentage (.771).

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Darin Smith, Jr., CCSU
R-Fr., F, 6-7, 190 lbs.
Springfield, MA/Vermont Academy
Smith Jr. claimed his third NEC Rookie of the Week honor after ringing up a team-high 14 points off the bench in CCSU’s 69-67 win over UMass Lowell at Detrick Gymnasium on Sunday. The Springfield, MA native was an efficient 5-6 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from the stripe. He also chipped in two rebounds and a career-high three steals. Smith set the tone early, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the first half to help the Blue Devils take a five-point lead into the break against the America East contender. The redshirt freshman leads all NEC rookies in scoring (10.4 ppg), field goal percentage (.614) and three-point percentage (.476). Among all NEC players, he ranks third in both field goal and three-point accuracy.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Abdul Momoh (CCSU, Sr, F)
Last week: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 6-9 FG vs. UML

- Came up huge down the stretch in Sunday’s win over UMass Lowell, converting layups on three successive possessions to help turn a one-point deficit into a five-point lead with 1:24 to play.
- Shot 5-5 in the second half of the win.

Terrence Brown (FDU, So, G)
Last week: 17.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 spg, 92.9 FG%

- Posted his fifth consecutive 20+ point game, finishing with 23 points in a buzzer-beating setback to Saint Peter’s on Tuesday.
- Leads the NEC and ranks 15th nationally in scoring at 21.9 ppg.

Jamal Fuller (LIU, Sr, F)
Last week: 13.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 3.0 spg, 47.4 FG%

- Set new career-highs with 27 points and 10 rebounds in his first double-double performance against Binghamton on Saturday. He shot 9-15 from the floor and was 3-6 from three-point territory.
- Ranks second on the Sharks in scoring (10.4) and rebounding (5.5).

Dwayne Koroma (LEM, R-Jr, F)
Last week: 15.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 75.0 FG%

- Made 8-9 from the floor and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists in Friday’s 81-77 win at Manhattan.
- Koroma is the runaway NEC leader in FG percentage, and ranks third nationally, converting 75.0 percent of his attempts on the year.

Ocypher Owens (LEM, Sr, F)
Last week: 12.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 50.0 FG%

- Recorded a team-high 18 points to go along with a career-high tying nine boards and a career-best six dimes in a terrific all-around performance to spark the Dolphins’ win at Manhattan. He hit 6-8 shots from the floor.

Bernie Blunt III (MU, Sr, G)
Last week: 16.7 ppg, 3.8 spg, 60.7 FG%, 61.5 3P%, 88.9 FT%

- Blunt III netted a game and career-high 25 points, and added four rebounds and four steals to spark a 66-60 road win at Sacramento St. on Saturday. He splashed 5-8 from three-point distance and shot 8-12 overall.
- Reached double figures in all three games of the Lakers’ west coast swing to boost his season average to 11.0 ppg.
- Leads the NEC with 2.1 spg and 94.1 percent shooting from the line.

Riley Parker (SFU, Jr, G)
Last week: 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.0 apg, 53.1 FG%

- Registered his second straight 20+ effort, racking up a career-high 23 points on 11-18 shooting in the Red Flash’s 88-78 victory over Lehigh. He added a career-best seven dimes.
- Has reached double-digits in each of his last four games to raise his season average to 9.9 ppg.

Bobby Rosenberger III (SFU, So, G)
Last week: 18.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 48.1 FG%, 40.0 FG%

- Racked up a season-high 21 points and eight boards to help lead SFU to an 88-78 home win over Lehigh. It marked his second straight 20-point outing.
- Paces the Red Flash in scoring at 13.6 ppg.

Josh Morgan (STO, Gr, G)
Last week: 21.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 56.3 3P%

- Extended streak of 20+ point outings to three in a pair of Stonehill wins. He dropped a game-high 20 points in Monday’s 67-65 win over East Texas A&M, then led all scorers with 22 points as the Skyhawks took down Quinnipiac on Sunday.    
- He is tied for the NEC lead in made three-pointers (3.11/gm), ranks third in scoring (16.1), and is eighth in three-point (.431) and free throw (.771) accuracy.

#NECMBB BY THE NUMBERS
 
6 - FDU’s Terrence Brown has compiled 6 games of 20+ points this season, which is tied for third nationally. He paces the NEC in scoring at 21.9 ppg.

10-10 - The NEC has compiled a 10-10 composite record against its regional peer leagues (America East, Ivy, MAAC, MEAC and Patriot).

74.5 - Le Moyne junior forward Dwayne Koroma’s 74.5 effective field goal percentage ranks 10th nationally. He is also 48th in true shooting percentage (70.0).

92.5 - Mercyhurst’s Bernie Blunt III has made 197-of-213 free throws in his stops at Quinnipiac (100.0%), Edinboro (91.9%) and Mercyhurst (94.1%), a 92.5 percent career success rate.

#NECMBB FAST BREAK

CCSU
CCSU has now collected a pair of top-150 KenPom wins. The Blue Devils beat Saint Joseph’s (currently 87) on Nov. 8, and downed No. 141 UMass Lowell on Sunday.

Chicago St.
Junior guard Jalen Forrest scored in double-digits off the bench in all three games last week for the Cougars, averaging a team-best 12.0 ppg on 50.0% shooting from the floor.

FDU
Five FDU players (Brown, Jones, Emanuel, Barba-Bey & Nsiah) averaged in double figures last week in a pair of tightly contested setbacks to Saint Peter’s and Fairfield that were decided by a combined six points. 

Le Moyne
Junior guard Zek Tekin dished for a career-high eight assists in Le Moyne’s 81-77 victory at Manhattan on Friday.

LIU
Senior point guard Terell Strickland paces the NEC with 4.7 apg. He dished for a career-high tying eight dimes against Binghamton on Saturday.

Mercyhurst
Shemar Rathan-Mayes, a UNC Wilmington transfer, matched his career-high with seven assists in the Lakers’ 66-60 win at Sacramento St. on Saturday.

Saint Francis U
The 88 points in SFU’s win over Lehigh were the most for the program vs. a D1 non-conference foe since dropping 93 in a win over Bucknell on Dec. 1, 2021. 

Stonehill
Stonehill boasts the eighth-highest assist rate in the nation at 67.5%, led by the playmaking of Amir Nesbitt, whose 36.5% assist rate ranks 26th nationally.

Wagner
Wagner has allowed 70 or more points just once in its first seven games and ranks 15th nationall in scoring defense at 59.6 ppg.
   
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB

Here’s all you need to know from the fourth week of the 2024-25 season...

>> CCSU TAKES DOWN UMASS LOWELL...AGAIN
 
If last year’s win at UMass Lowell was an inflection point for the CCSU program, this year’s victory over the River Hawks was a confirmation of the program’s upward trajectory.
 
Flashing back to last December, it was Jordan Jones (Florence, SC/Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School (Coker)) who kicked off the burgeoning rivalry, hitting a three-pointer with three seconds to play to give the Blue Devils a 57-54 win and snap UMass Lowell’s 20-game home winning streak, the second longest in the nation at that time.
 
Returning the game in New Britain on Sunday, the NEC preseason co-favorites made it two-for-two, edging the America East power with a hard-fought 69-67 win.

This time, it was senior forward Abdul Momoh (Carteret, NJ/The Patrick School) who came through for CCSU in crunch time.
 
Trailing by one with under three minutes on the clock, Momoh scored on three straight possessions - all on drives to the rim - to put the Blue Devils up 67-62 at the 1:24 mark.
 
UMass Lowell had one final opportunity with one second to play, but 6’9” sophomore forward Max Frazier (Pittsboro, NC/Northwood (Siena)), who was inserted to guard the inbounder, deflected the entry pass and came up with the steal to clinch the win.
 
>> SKYHAWKS WIN ANOTHER HOME THRILLER, BUT DON’T STOP THERE
 
When Stonehill knocked off old rival Bryant, 67-66, before an electric home crowd on November 21, the magic at Merkert Gymnasium was just getting started.
 
Four days later, the Skyhawks produced another thrilling finish against East Texas A&M with a similar result, then posted a commanding win over Quinnipiac on Sunday.
 
Stonehill’s 4-0 start at Merkert Gymnasium this season is its best start at home since 2019 when the Skyhawks rattled off six straight home wins to start the season.
 
Trailing by as many as eight in the second half against East Texas A&M, Stonehill had the ball with 13 seconds remaining and facing a two-point deficit.
 
Sophomore forward Todd Brogna (Southborough, MA/Worcester Academy) was fouled on a drive and sank two FT with three seconds on the clock to even the score.
 
From that moment on, it was junior guard Chas Stinson’s (Charlotte, NC/Liberty Heights (Hickory Grove)) time to shine.
 
Stinson forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds, then drew a foul slashing to the hoop. With just 0.8 seconds to play, he calmly sank both free throws for the win.
 
It marked Stonehill’s first back-to-back wins since February, 2023 when the Skyhawks knocked off St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU in consecutive games.
 
Stonehill matched its best shooting night of the season from long range (11-22, 50.0 percent) and had its best showing at the stripe (12-13, 92.3%).
 
Graduate student guard Josh Morgan (Brampton, Ontario/Father Henry Carr (Incarnate Word)) led all scorers with 20 points and hit 4-8 from long range.
 
Sunday’s win at Merkert came in more convincing fashion, as Stonehill handed Quinnipiac an 88-74 defeat.
 
The win over the Bobcats - the prohibitive MAAC preseason favorite - was sparked by a decisive 10-0 second half run that pushed a four-point lead to 14 with 11:58 to play. QU drew no closer than nine the rest of the way out.
 
Stonehill not only shot a season-high 53.2 percent from the field, but had another terrific day from distance, hitting a scintillating 13-24 (.542) from outside the arc.

Morgan led all scorers with 22 points - his third straight 20+ point performance - while sophomore forward Louie Semona (Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier (St. Thomas More (CT))) registered a career-high 18 points off the bench, including 3-4 from downtown.
 
>> DOLPHINS ENTER CAN’T MISS MODE AT MANHATTAN
 
Le Moyne led wire-to-wire in its 81-77 victory at Manhattan on Friday, thanks to an exceptional display of sharpshooting.
 
The Dolphins converted 60.4 percent of its shots from the floor, highlighted by a 63.0 percent mark in the second half.
 
The 60.4 percent accuracy set a single-game program record in the DI era, but that wasn’t all.
 
Le Moyne’s field goal percentage was the highest by an NEC team against a DI non-conference opponent in more than six years. The last team to post a higher success rate from the field was CCSU, which shot a scorching 66.7 percent in its 89-75 win over Florida A&M on November 18, 2018.
 
Redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma (Berlin, Germany/Bishop Walsh (MD) (Iona/Salt Lake CC/UT Arlington)) made 8-9 shots, while senior forward Ocypher Owens (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian Prep (Indian River State)) was successful on 6-8 attempts.
 
With Manhattan attempting to overcome a 16-point second half deficit, sophomore guard AJ Dancler (Indianapolis, IN/Southport) hit a clutch triple with 1:12 on the clock to give the Dolphins a 79-74 edge, and Robby Carmody (Mars, PA/Mars Area (Notre Dame/Mercer)) sealed the deal on two free throws with nine seconds remaining.
 
>> KOROMA’S SCORCHING START
 
Misses have been a rare sight for Le Moyne redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma (Berlin, Germany/Bishop Walsh (MD) [Iona/Salt Lake CC/UT Arlington]) this season.
 
Koroma is not just the NEC leader in field goal percentage, he’s one of the most efficient shooters in the nation.
 
The native of Berlin, Germany has knocked down 48-of-64 shots from the field over the first nine games of the season, a 75.0 percent success rate. Only two other NEC players are above 60 percent.
 
The 75.0 percent mark from the field also ranks third in the nation.
 
Koroma has shot at least 50 percent from the field in every game and has made at least 64 percent of his opportunities in eight of the Dolphins’ nine contests.
 
He comes off an 8-9 performance from the floor in Le Moyne’s 81-77 conquest of Manhattan on Friday.
 
The 6’8” Koroma leads the Dolphins in scoring at 11.8 ppg.
 
>> DÉJÀ VU? RED FLASH CLOSE STRONG TO DOWN LEHIGH
 
After Saint Francis U saw its 21-point second half lead evaporate against Lehigh on Tuesday, the Red Flash did anything but pack it in.
 
After Lehigh tied the game at 78 with 1:45 to play, SFU pitched a shutout, ending the game on a 10-0 run to win, 88-78, and head into Thanksgiving with a hard-earned win.
 
Sophomore guard Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, PA/Perkiomen School) regained the lead for SFU on a three-pointer. Following a stop, junior guard Riley Parker (Mandurah, Australia/Mandurah Catholic College) pushed the lead to five on a layup with exactly one minute remaining.
 
The Red Flash proceeded to force two turnovers and induce a pair of missed three-pointers, while sinking 5-6 from the line to secure the double-digit victory.
 
Parker and Rosenberger were fantastic, combining for 44 of the team’s 88 points. Parker posted a career-high 23 points, while Rosenberger added 21, one off his career-best.
There were some eerie similarities to SFU’s win over Lehigh last season.

In that victory, the Red Flash ended the game on an 8-0 run, sealing a 62-61 triumph in Bethlehem that gave head coach Rob Krimmel his 150th career head coaching win.
 
>> SKYHAWKS’ HOT HAND FROM DEEP
 
After reaching double-digits in made three-pointers seven times last season, Stonehill has now made 11 or more three-pointers in six of its ten games this fall.
 
The Skyhawks, who shot 30.3 percent from long distance a year ago, has converted 38.7 percent of its opportunities thus far in 2024-25.
 
Stonehill leads the NEC in made triples (9.9) and ranks second in three-point accuracy, just behind FDU (.389).
 
>> MILESTONE ALERT
 
Stonehill graduate student guard Josh Morgan (Brampton, Ontario/Father Henry Carr (Incarnate Word)) scored his 1,000th career point in Stonehill’s win over East Texas A&M last Monday.
 
With 1:33 remaining in the game, Morgan knocked down his fourth three-pointer to reach the millennium mark.
 
Morgan scored 889 points in four seasons at Incarnate Word and has 145 in his first nine games at Stonehill to amass 1,034 in his career.
 
>> KRIMMEL QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel served up another reflective quote after the Red Flash held off Lehigh on Tuesday, ending the game on a 10-0 run.
 
“End-of-game situations are going to be critical for us. We’re going to have to be able to execute down the stretch. But these guys must build confidence and understand how to manage the late game. We had the Campbell game, where we needed to execute some stuff, and we did that. Now we have this game because most games at the Division I level will be more like this when you get to your peer group. You’ve got to execute the final four minutes. The guys can have confidence that they know what they need to do to win the game the next time they’re in that spot.”
 
>> THIS & THAT
 
Chicago State freshman guard Troy McKoy, Jr. (Windsor, CT/Windsor) came off the bench to hit 4-8 from downtown on his way to a team and career-high 19-point outing at Drexel last Tuesday. He also matched his career-best with six boards.
 
FDU grad student forward Bismark Nsiah (Bronx, NY/Lehman (Jefferson)) posted his first double-double as a Knight, finishing with 13 points and a season-best 12 boards against Saint Peter’s on Tuesday.
 
Saint Francis U junior guard Riley Parker (Mandurah, Australia/Mandurah Catholic College) and sophomore guard Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, PA/Perkiomen Valley) have each posted back-to-back 20-point games. This marks the first time two SFU players have achieved the feat since February 27 & 29, 2020, when Isaiah Blackmon and Keith Braxton did so against Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris, respectively.
 
SFU freshman guard Juan Cranford, Jr. (Dayton, OH/Wayne) notched a new career-high with 15 points against Radford on Sunday.
 
In three start last week, Stonehill freshman Koffi Hermann (Quebec City, Quebec/Thetford Academy) averaged 11.0 ppg on 51.9 percent shooting. He sank the game-tying three-pointer with 36 seconds to play in the Skyhawks’ 67-65 win over East Texas A&M.
 
Wagner junior forward R.J. Greene (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep (LIU)) scored his 500th career point at Georgetown on Tuesday. He logged 451 points in two seasons at LIU and has accumulated 53 points thus far at Wagner.