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TOP OF THE CHARTS: STARKS & BRICKMAN TAKE THEIR GAME NEXT LEVEL
 
After ten days of play, two NEC players have already risen to the top of the NCAA charts. 
 
Bryant junior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, MN/Duluth East) is the nation’s leading scorer at present time, averaging an astounding 33.3 ppg.  The two-time Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week scored 35 in the Bulldogs’ season opener against #15 Gonzaga, then repeated that effort in an 87-77 win over Dartmouth on Wednesday.  On Saturday, Starks wrapped his week with 30 as Bryant routed America East favorite Vermont, 87-64. 
 
His 100 points over the first three games is the hottest start by an NEC player since LIU Brooklyn’s Charles Jones erupted for 102 points in three games to begin the 1997-98 season. 
 
Starks also became the first NEC player with back-to-back 35+ point games since RMU’s Gene Nabors scored 38 and 35 in the NEC Tournament on March 3-4, 2000, and the first with three straight 30+ point games since Jones had four separate three-game streaks during the 1996-97 campaign.
 
The fact LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) is the nation’s top distributor should not come as much of a surprise.  Brickman led DI last season with 8.5 assists per game, and after two games in 2013-14, is averaging a robust 12.5 per outing.  He opened the year with 14 against Saint Peter’s, then dropped 11 dimes versus #23 Indiana this past Tuesday.
 
Brickman now has 24 games with double digit assists in his career and has started the 2013-14 season with a pair of double-doubles, lifting his career total to 12 as he heads into play this weekend at the 2K Sports Classic in Irvine, CA.
 
INSTANT CLASSIC: LIU BROOKLYN TAKES INDIANA DOWN TO WIRE
When Tuesday night’s game between LIU Brooklyn and #23 Indiana tipped off at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, very few in the arena or watching at home on the Big Ten Network had any idea how much buzz the matchup would generate over the next two hours.
 
The Blackbirds, minus the now graduated 2012-13 NEC Player of the Year Jamal Olasewere and NEC Tournament MVP CJ Garner, and without the services of 2011-12 NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd (injured), may be less experienced than the teams that have won three straight NEC titles, but they still pack quite the punch.  In fact, LIU had two chances in the final five seconds to pull off one of the biggest wins in NEC history before ultimately dropping a 73-72 decision to the Hoosiers.
 
Led by the hot shooting of junior swingman Troy Joseph (Toronto, Ontario/Pickering) and classmate Gilbert Parga (Los Angeles, CA/Citrus College), and the precision passing of preseason All-NEC senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark), the Blackbirds recovered from a slow start to take control of the game in the first half with a 14-0 run.  LIU built its lead to as many as nine in the opening stanza before Indiana pulled to within 36-33 at intermission.  Joseph and Parga combined to hit 5-7 from the field, including 3-3 from outside the arc in the first half, while Brickman dished for five assists.
 
The second half featured nine ties and seven lead changes.  Trailing by three, Brickman hit a pair of free throws to draw LIU to within 73-72 with 1:27 to play.  The score would remain unchanged as LIU found itself with the ball with the clock winding down.  Brickman beat his man and drove the lane, but his contested layup high off glass was off the mark.  Following an IU miss at the line with 4.8 seconds left on the clock, Brickman gathered the outlet pass in the open court, but his 30-foot runner was just short as time expired.
 
“I’m really proud of my team,” Perri said. “I didn’t quite know what to expect from our guys because we have a lot of new players, but they really competed and stuck to the game plan.  I was proud of how they fought and I thought we did a tremendous job competing for 40 minutes.”
 
Brickman controlled the tempo of the game, and finished with 11 points, 11 assists and five rebounds for the Blackbirds.
 
“Jason Brickman is a superstar,” said Perri after the game.  “He is a big-time player and there is no one in the country you want to have the ball other than Jason Brickman.  He makes the right play 95 percent of the time.  He got some looks.  He just didn’t make the shot.  That last attempt was a hard shot to make.  I think having a point guard who’s a superstar helped control everything.  Even when Indiana took the lead, he stayed cool.  He got the ball to the right guys and they got the shots.”
 
Joseph finished with a career-high 16 points, sinking 4-7 from three-point range, while Parga and sophomore forward EJ Reed (Dallas, TX/Mesquite) chipped in 15 apiece.

The loss was LIU’s closest contest against a major conference school since the Blackbirds defeated Big East member St. John’s, 76-73, to begin the 1996-97 campaign.
 
TERRIERS SWEEP FLORIDA SWING
After St. Francis Brooklyn knocked off ACC power Miami on college hoops opening night, some questioned whether there would be a letdown three days later on the road against Florida Atlantic.  And when the Conference USA opponent pushed a six-point halftime lead to 11 in the second half, those suspicions seemed confirmed.  But the Terriers still had some bite, and immediately embarked on a 13-2 run to tie things up at 42 with 8:27 to play. Then with the game in the balance, it was one of the team’s youngest players who again stepped into the spotlight.
 
After dropping 17 against Miami, freshman forward Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore) began to heat up down the stretch, hitting four layups in the final 4:35, including the game-winner with 32 seconds to go to lead SFBK to a 59-57 win over FAU and a sweep of its Florida swing.  The Brooklyn native finished the game with 12 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and added four rebounds.  Over the first three games of the year, Martin is averaging 12.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg and shooting at a 57.7 percent clip.
 
“It was frustrating not playing much in the second-half (seven minutes) because of foul trouble and the coaches were telling me to just stay ready for the last minutes of the game,” said Martin after the FAU win.  “I couldn’t wait to get back in because I knew that I could help us pull it out.  The coaches drew up a play for me on the high-post for the game-winning basket.  I knew I had a bigger defender so I decided to spin around him and take a right-handed layup.  I can’t ask for much more to start my career but we have to keep getting better and be consistent.”
 
RMU-UK II
When last Robert Morris and Kentucky crossed paths, there was bedlam at the Sewall Center as the Colonials knocked off the NCAA’s most storied program in the Postseason NIT last March.  It was arguably the most memorable win in NEC history, and gave new meaning to #NECPride.
 
When John Calipari invited RMU to participate in the Keightley Classic, the rematch was set, this time a Sunday night prime time affair on ESPN2.  With both teams sporing new looks and UK one of the top recruiting classes in recent memory, the Wildcats ran away from the Colonials, posting an 87-49 victory at Rupp Arena.  RMU senior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart  Memorial) scored a team-high 16 points for the Colonials.
 
THE CHASE
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) is not wasting any time in his pursuit of one of the NEC’s longest-standing individual records.  With 25 assists in his first two games, Brickman has upped his carer total to 744, just 61 shy of surpassing Marist’s Drafton Davis, who racked up an all-time best 804 from 1984-88.  Prior to Brickman, no NEC player had come within 200 assists of the mark Davis set 25 years ago.
 
Looking ahead, Brickman has a realistic chance of joining Duke’s Bobby Hurley (1,076), NC State’s Chris Corchiani (1,038) and UNC’s Ed Cota (1,030) as the only players in the history of DI college hoops to end their careers with 1,000 assists.
 
PIONEER POINTS
In what may go down as the highest scoring DI game of the 2013-14 season, Sacred Heart dropped a 122-118 decision to Holy Cross on Wednesday.   The 118 points were the most scored by an NEC team in a non-conference game since Wagner beat Brown, 122-101, on November 17, 2000.  The last time an NEC team scored more than 118 points was when St. Francis Brooklyn nipped LIU Brooklyn, 142-140, in double overtime in the highest scoring game in league history on February 22, 2003.
 
Redshirt junior guard Evan Kelley (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) established a new career-high with 32 points on 12-24 shooting from the field against the Crusaders.  He made all eight of his free throws.  For the week, he averaged 23.0 ppg and ranks second on the Pioneers with 18.3 ppg.
 
BRYANT’S FRANCIS APPROACHING CAREER MILESTONE
In what could be a season filled with milestones, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep) needs just one more rebound to become just the 13th player in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 boards in his career.  Francis, who has amassed 1,540 points and 749 rebounds in his three-plus years in Smithfield, is set to join some select company, including NEC Hall of Famers Rik Smits and Desi Wilson.
 
NEC Players With 1,500 Points/750 Rebounds
Rik Smits                    MAR             1,945 pts./811 reb.        1984-88
Jamie Latney                 FDU             1,666/786                  1984-88
Freddie Burton               LIU             1,540/836                  1986-89      
Desi Wilson                  FDU             1,902/780                  1988-91
Alan Tomidy                  MAR             1,508/838                  1991-96
Corsley Edwards              CCSU            1,731/966                  1998-02
Rahshon Turner               FDU             1,637/927                  1994-98
Jermaine Hall                WC              2,278/777                  1999-03
Devin Sweetney               SFU             1,529/754                  2006-10
Justin Rutty                 QU              1,521/1,032                2007-11
Ken Horton                   CCSU            1,966/842                  2007-12
Jamal Olasewere             LIU              1,871/963                  2009-13
 
The New York City product is currently on pace to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
 
FLASH RETURN TO WAR MEMORIAL
When Saint Francis U topped Navy, 60-57, on Monday, it marked a return to the building it called home during the early 1970s as a part of the City of Johnstown’s Veterans Day celebration. It was the first college basketball game at the Cambria County War Memorial in nearly 20 years.  There were a healthy 2,838 fans in attendance for the contest which was won by the Red Flash on a Greg Brown  (Odenton, MD/Archbishop Spalding) layup and one with 56 seconds remaining to break a 57 all deadlock.
 
NEC NOTABLES

• Saint Francis U freshman guard Malik Harmon (Queens, NY/Christ the King) put up a game and career-bet 20 points, to go along with five assists and four steals in a 60-57 win over Navy on Wednesday.  He was tabbed Choice Hotels/NEC Rookie of the Week after he averaged 14.7 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.3 spg and shot 8-16 from three-point range last week.
 
• Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep), a preseason All-NEC pick, scored 22 points in his team’s home opener against Vermont and averaged 18.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg and 1.5 spg in a pair of Bulldog wins.  He shot an impressive 71.4 percent (15-21) from the floor in the two games.
 
• CCSU redshirt freshman Khalen Cumberlander (Washington, D.C./Coolidge) had a breakout game for the Blue Devils against Northeastern on Saturday, scoring a career-high 20 points on 9-15 shooting from the field and 2-3 from three-point land.  For the week, he averaged 11.5 ppg and 2.0 apg.
 
• CCSU junior forward Faronte Drakeford (Wilmington, NC/Pinecrest (Cape Fear CC)) posted his first double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in a loss at Purdue on Wednesday night. Drakeford was 8-15 from the floor and led all scorers in the game.
 
• After flourishing down the stretch last season en-route to NEC All-Rookie honors, LIU Brooklyn sophomore E.J. Reed (Dallas, TX/Mesquite) is averaging 16.0 ppg through two contests, including a 15-point outing against Indiana.
 
• Mount St. Mary’s senior point guard Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) has been tremendous so far this year, averaging 19.8 ppg and 5.8 apg.  Norfleet scored a career-high 28 points in the Mount’s overtime loss at UMBC on Sunday and has scored 15 or more points in each of the Mount’s first four games.  He has moved into 31st on the Mount’s all-time list with 1,118 points, just three shy of Shawn Atupem for a spot in the top-30 scorers at MSM.
 
• Robert Morris senior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, IN/Glen Oaks CC) averaged 16.7 points in three games last week, including a team-high 21 win in RMU’s win at Lafayette and a team-best 16 at Kentucky.
 
• Wagner senior center Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin/Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds against Chestnut Hill, marking the second time in his career that he has notched double-figures on the glass.  After his six blocks on the week, Folahan now has 147 for his career and is just 29 off Frantz Pierre Louis’ school-record total of 176.

NEC NUMBERS

Bryant’s Corey Maynard dished out a career-high 10 assists in an 87-64 win over Vermont on Saturday.

CCSU’s Kyle Vinales went over 1,200 career points in just his 60th career game at Purdue on Wednesday.  Vinales scored 22 in the loss.

FDU shot 55.3 percent from the field against Hartford on Friday, the highest for the Knights since shooting the same percentage in a win over the Mount on January 3, 2013.

Mount St. Mary’s attempted 40 3PFG against BYU, the second-most in school history.  The record of 42 was set in an 82-74 overtime win against UMBC on Feb. 11, 2003.

RMU is 11-11 in non-conference road games over the last three years.

RMU’s Karvel Anderson has scored 57 of his 71 points this season in the second half.

St. Francis Brooklyn opponents are just 5-31 from three-point range this season.

Saint Francis U’s Earl Brown registered his 13th career double-double against Dayton on Wednesday.

Wagner is 24-6 (.800) at home since the start of the 2011-2012 season and hold an all-time record of 122-67 (.646) in the building.

Wagner’s Latif Rivers averaged 20.0 ppg last week to give him 1,180 for his career, vaulting him into 24th place on WC’s all-time scoring list.  He has 15 career 20+ point games.

QUOTABLE

“We came out against a very good team and executed our offense and press, and we were in the driver’s seat.  But give Hartford credit - they made crucial shots and kept their composure. I saw so many good things from our team tonight. We are getting better on a daily basis - we just need to play 40 great minutes instead of 30.” - FDU head coach Greg Herenda

“He almost got us.  He almost got us.” - Indiana head coach Tom Crean on LIU Brooklyn point guard Jason Brickman

“I want to win the league.  I don’t have any other goals. I think we have a chance.” - St. Francis Brooklyn’s Glenn Braica

“We battled for about 37-and-a-half minutes then they hit a big three and at that point we just couldn’t get anything going. I’m proud of the way we battled and the way our guys competed against a much bigger, stronger team. Our effort was there.” - SFU coach Rob Krimmel following the Red Flash’s loss to Dayton on Wednesday

“I thought we played them equal for 30 minutes. You can’t go against any opponent, let alone a Big East opponent, and only play them 30 minutes. You have to play them 40 plus minutes if you want to have a chance to win.” - Wagner’s Bashir Mason following his team’s loss to St. John’s on Frida

TWEET DECK

Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
Is Dyami Starks going after the NCAA scoring title this season? Another 35 point game vs Dartmouth, this time in a win for Bryant. #NECMBB

Noah Whitcomb @noahwhitcomb29
Number One leader in the nation for points just happens to be Bryan’t very own Dyami Starks #GoBulldogs #BryantUniv

Kyle Johnson @SmoothKJ88
Tough loss Proud of these guys man! Indiana 73-72 over my alma mater LIU Brooklyn... Great Game! @LIUAthletics @LIUBasketball @NECsports

Dana O’Neil @ESPNDanaOneil
Indiana holds on 73-72. And that’s LIU without Julian Boyd. Watch out for Blackbirds.

Dick Weiss @HoopsWeiss
so how good is liu if blackbirds can go into bloomington lose to indiana by one

Howie Kussoy @HowieKussoy
@LIUBasketball is tied (with Indiana) at 55 with mins left. If you’re not rooting for them, you probably also hate puppies and ice cream.

Jay Bilas @JayBilas
@ckwars True. Jason Brickman one of the best passers in the country.

John Templon @nybuckets
Oh those crafty St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers! At it again with another 2-point win tonight on the road at Florida Atlantic.

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein
This has been some trip to Florida for Glenn Braica. St. Francis NY beats Florida Atlantic 59-57 + improve to 2-0. The Terriers own BK.

Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
Evan Kelley had an efficiency rating of 33 tonight. It was easily the best individual performance of any NEC player this young season.

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein
Valpo transfer Jay Harris is going to be a really good player for Wagner in the NEC. Just needs time and reps after RS year.