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NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week: Jeff Planutis, MU
NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Rookie of the Week: Darin Smith Jr., CCSU
Previous NEC Releases: February 24 | February 17 | February 10 | February 3 | January 28 | January 22 | January 14 | January 7 | December 30 | December 23 | December 16 | December 9 | December 2 | November 25 | November 18 | November 11 | Preseason Poll Release
 
NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jeff Planutis, Mercyhurst
Gr., F, 6-6, 215 lbs.
Hazleton, PA/Hazleton
Planutis put a bow on his star-studded career last Thursday, and in doing so, claimed the NEC Player of the Week honors for the first time. In a performance to remember, he buried a career-high 10 three-pointers en route to a season-best 32-point outing, leading Mercyhurst to a 90-68 win over Chicago State. The victory secured a winning conference record in the Lakers’ first year as a Division I and NEC member. The Hazleton, PA native came out firing, hitting 6-8 from deep by halftime, before finishing 10-13 from beyond the arc and 11-16 overall. His ten triples were just one shy of the NEC record for a league game and the most in a conference tilt since the Mount’s Sam Prescott hit 10 on February 14, 2013, more than 12 years ago. His long distance shooting barrage also tied for the second-most threes in a game nationwide this season. Across his five-year career at Mercyhurst, Planutis amassed 1,859 points and 227 three-pointers. This season, he ranks among the NEC’s best in scoring (15.5, third), free throw percentage (.885, third), three-point accuracy (.412, third) and made three-pointers (2.03/gm, fourth).

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 capped the regular season by taking home his fourth NEC Rookie of the Week accolade, tying him for the most on the circuit. Coming off the bench, he helped contribute to CCSU’s season-ending sweep, which extended the Blue Devils’ nation-leading win streak to 12 games. Smith averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line for the NEC regular season champs. Smith tallied seven points and four rebounds in an 84-75 victory over Le Moyne, then rose to the occasion two days later in the Blue Devils’ hard-fought 55-48 win at Wagner to close out the regular season. In 26 turnover-free minutes, he posted 12 points, seven rebounds and a steal. Smith came alive in the final 10 minutes, scoring nine points, including a big jumper that extended CCSU’s lead to six with 3:04 remaining. He sealed the victory with three free throws in the final 1:19. The Springfield, MA product currently leads the NEC in three-point shooting accuracy (.452) and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field on the season.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Devin Haid (CCSU, Jr, G)
Last week: 16.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 54.2 FG%, 44.4 3P%

- Narrowly missed a double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a terrific all-around effort during CCSU’s win over Le Moyne on Thursday.
- Ranks seventh in the NEC in scoring (13.7), fourth in FT% (.849), fifth in FG% (.488), sixth in steals (1.5) and eighth in rebounding (5.7).

Quincy Allen (CSU, Jr, F)
Last week: 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.0 bpg, 53.3 FG%

- Recorded a career-high 22 points and dropped a career-best four three-pointrs in Chicago State’s regular season finale at SFU on Saturday.
- Hit the game-tying triple in the final seconds to send the game to OT.
- Has reached double-digits in seven of his last eight games, averaging 13.3 ppg and 6.1 rpg over that span.

Terrence Brown (FDU, So, G)
Last week: 18.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 3.5 spg
- Posted his 17th game of 20+ points in a 23-point outing in Thursday’s 82-69 victory over Stonehill.
- Paces the NEC and ranks ninth in the nation in scoring at 20.6 ppg.
- His 2.1 spg leads the league and places him 26th in the country.

AJ Dancler (LEM, So, G)
Last week: 26.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 spg, 47.1 3P%

- Dancler showed no signs of cooling down after two more electric performances on the road last week. He rang up 25 points at league leader CCSU, then dropped 28 at Stonehill.
- Has hit double-digits in 15 straight outings, averaging 21.0 ppg over that span to boost his season average to 15.1 ppg.
- Tied for the NEC scoring lead in league play at 20.1 ppg and ranks second with 4.5 apg.

Malachi Davis (LIU, R-Jr, G)
Last week: 17.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 spg, 87.5 FT%

- Logged 22 of his 35 points on the week in the second half to propel LIU to a sweep and extend the Sharks’ win streak to six games.
- Ended the regular season as the NEC’s second-leading scorer at 17.1 ppg. He also appears among league leaders in steals (1.9, 2nd), assists (3.2, 7th) and FT% (.798, 7th).

Bernie Blunt III (MU, Sr, G)
Last week: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-7 FG, 3-5 3P, 5-6 FT

- In a season-ending 90-68 victory over Chicago State, Blunt hit three of Mercyhurst’s 15 three-pointers, which marked an NEC single-game season-high in conference play.
- Shooting 92.6 percent from the line, which leads the NEC and ranks fifth in DI.

Jeff Planutis (MU, Gr, F)
Last week: 32 points, 11-16 FG, 10-13 3P

- Scored a season-high 32 points and knocked down a career-high 10 three-pointers in the final game of his collegiate career, a 90-68 win over Chicago St.
- His 10 3P ranks second on the NEC’s all-time single-game list and were the most in a league outing in over 12 years.
- Ranks third in NEC in scoring (15.5), third in 3P percentage (.412) and fourth in made 3P (2.0/game).

Riley Parker (SFU, Jr, G)
Last week: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 8-16 FG vs. CSU

- Once again came up huge down the stretch, helping force OT by scoring the last seven points of regulation, then adding seven more in extra time to finish with a game-high 22 points in an 80-71 comeback win over Chicago State that clinched an NEC quarterfinal home game for the Red Flash.
- Ranks seventh in the league in scoring in league play at 15.9 ppg.
- Sits fifth on the circuit in assists (3.5), and seventh in 3PFG% (.394) and made 3P (1.9/game).

Louie Semona (SFU, So, F)
Last week: 28.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 56.8 FG%

- Semona’s caught fire last week with a pair of game-high scoring efforts, highlighted by a career-high 33-point eruption in Saturday’s win over Le Moyne that clinched the #5 seed for the Skyhawks. He hit 10-17 from the field and 5-8 from downtown.
- Two days earlier he finished with 24 points and a career-best nine boards at FDU.
- Semoma averaged 16.8 ppg in NEC play to rank fourth on the circuit. Overall, he leads Stonehill and sits ninth in the league at 13.2 ppg.