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FDU’S SANDERS TAKES HIS GAME NEXT LEVEL
 
Every once in a while there is a player who captures your attention after seemingly coming out of nowhere and exploding onto the scene.  Jeremy Lin did it a few years ago for the New York Knicks and captivated a city starved for a breakout performer.
 
Here in the NEC, we give you Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Sidney Sanders, Jr. (Charleston, SC/Burke (Polk State)).  Very few players can make a year-to-year jump in production that rivals Sanders, who averaged 4.6 ppg and 3.4 apg off the bench last season, and has gone from reserve point guard to full fledged star for the Knights in 2013-14.
 
Sanders has led FDU in scoring in each of the last ten games and has paced the Knights in assists in all 11 games on the year.  He currently ranks second in the NEC in point production (18.9) and steals (1.8), and third in assists (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.11).
 
“I think it’s the perfect storm for Sid, he’s playing for a coach that really lets his guards go,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “I told him when I got the job, I said ‘Listen, every guard that’s ever played for me I’ve always had one guard that I let go’ and he’s the guy.”
 
The Charleston, SC native has been remarkably consistent, and has brought his “A” game against upper level competition, including a pair of stellar performances in back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall:
 
at Arizona: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-14 FG
at Rutgers: 22 points, 10 assists, 2 steals
at Seton Hall: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists
at Princeton: 23 points, 2 steals, 7-14 FG
 
“That point guard for Fairleigh Dickinson is excellent,” Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said of Sanders Jr. who torched the Seawolves for a career-high 28 points last week in a game that was up in the air until SBU pulled away in the final minute.  “We had our work cut out for us.  They surround him with shooters, so it was a tough matchup, but we did a good job at win time to make our free throws, grab the big rebounds and execute plays.”
 
BROWN, BRICKMAN & DOUBLE-DOUBLE TALK
Coming off a big week, Saint Francis U junior forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) is now averaging a double-double for the year with 11.6 ppg and an NEC-high 10.0 rpg.  The Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week registered 15.0 ppg and 16.5 rpg last week and is one of 31 players nationwide who currently average a double-double.  Brown is looking to become only the seventh NEC player in the last 15 years to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in a season.
 
NEC Players Who Averaged A Double-Double (1998-13)
 
Player                 Team     Year         PPG       RPG
Justin Rutty           QU       2009-10      15.3      10.9
Durell Vinson          WC       2007-08      13.6      11.5
Obie Nwadike           CCSU     2006-07      14.4      10.7
Obie Nwadike           CCSU     2005-06      12.3      10.3
Nigel Wyatte           WC       2003-04      13.7      10.4
Jeremy Bishop          QU       2001-02      11.1      12.0
 
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) could also make a run at averaging a double-double via the less common path of averaging 10.0 assists per game.  Brickman, who is currently putting up 9.9 ppg and a nation’s best 10.1 apg, would become the first NEC player in history to finish with double digits in scoring and assists at year’s end.
 
How rare is it to finish a year averaging double figures in scoring and assists?  It has been accomplished only once in the years the NCAA has tracked assists.  That came in 1987-88 when Southern U’s Avery Johnson averaged 11.4 ppg and 13.3 apg.  In fact Johnson is one of only two players to ever average 10.0 apg in a season.  He reached the plateau in both 1986-87 (10.7) and 1987-88 (13.3), and Baylor’s Nelson Haggerty (10.1) did it in 1994-95.
 
ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Below are a list of NEC players and teams who rank in the top-20 nationally in various statistical categories.
 
Category       Name                  Team      Stats          Ranking
Scoring        Dyami Starks          BRY      23.4 ppg        8th
Assists        Jason Brickman        LIU      10.1 apg        1st
3PFG/Game      Karvel Anderson       RMU      3.5/game        14th
 
POINT GUARD CENTRAL
One thing we’ve learned early on in 2013-14 is that there is no shortage of talented point guards in the NEC this season.  In fact, three of the league’s floor generals rank in the top-10 in the nation in assist rate, which measures the percentage of a player’s possessions that result in an assist.
 
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) is the runaway leader at this point with a 60.86 assist rate, and is joined by Mount’s Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) (fifth) and FDU’s Sidney Sanders, Jr. (Charleston, SC/Burke (Polk State)) (sixth), also senior guards.
 
NCAA Assist Rate Leaders
1. Jason Brickman                 LIU             60.86
5. Julian Norfleet                MSM             42.70
6. Sidney Sanders, Jr.            FDU             42.61
 
LIU’S BRICKMAN WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF NEC ASSIST MARK
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) is now on the cusp of breaking one of the NEC’s longest-standing individual records.  With nine assists against Seton Hall on Thursday, Brickman boosted his lifetime total to 790 dimes and is just 15 shy of surpassing Marist’s Drafton Davis, who racked up an all-time best 804 from 1984-88.  LIU plays at Lehigh on Monday and NJIT on Thursday this week.  Prior to Brickman, no NEC player had come within 200 assists of the mark Davis set 25 years ago.
 
Brickman is the leading active distributor in DI and needs 33 dimes to enter the top-25 all-time in NCAA history.  Looking ahead, Brickman also 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.
 
Brickman led the nation last season with 8.5 apg, and is again on top of the national leaderboard in 2013-14 with 10.1 apg.  His two games of 14 assists this season are the third-most by an NCAA player this season against a DI opponent.
 
MARYLAND RIVALRY LIKE NO OTHER
When Mount St. Mary’s defeated Loyola (MD), 70-58, on Saturday in Emmitsburg, it marked the 169th meeting between the longtime rivals in the most-played rivalry in the state of Maryland.  The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Greyhounds, and gives the Mount a 97-72 lead in the all-time series that began in 1910.  One of the classic games between the two programs was a 99-93 overtime win for the Mountaineers in the championship game of the Mason-Dixon Conference Tournament on March 5, 1955. That was former head coach Jim Phelan’s first of 49 seasons spent as head coach at the Mount.
 
“I hadn’t beaten them since I’ve been in college. I treated this like a midseason championship,” said Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown).  “Everybody on campus talks about this game…There’s a lot of trash talk.  It really is a big game for us.”
 
GAME IN DOUBT? ORTIZ IS YOUR MAN
When Wagner found itself locked in a dogfight with Penn at the historic Palestra on Saturday, head coach Bashir Mason knew exactly who to turn to down the stretch.
 
With the Seahawks trailing by two with under three minutes remaining, senior guard Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ/Science Park (Southern Mississippi)) scored on a transition layup, but he was only just beginning.  He scored on Wagner’s next two possessions, including an acrobatic, off-balance runner to keep the game tied.  Ortiz pulled down a defensive rebound on Penn’s next possession, and though he missed a contested layup with 29 seconds to play, showed why he is the two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year on the final possession of regulation.  With the Quakers angling for a final shot, Ortiz locked up Penn point guard Tony Bagtas and then dove in for the steal with three seconds left to send the game to OT.  In the extra session, he hit a pair of free throws to give Wagner a commanding seven-point lead with 36 seconds on the clock.
 
“He’s just one of those guys who has the will to come up with big plays,” said Mason. “He can get in the lane against anyone, and he does things out there that you can’t script.”
 
Ortiz finished with a game-high 18 points and added eight rebounds and two assists.
 
“I’ve been in this position before,” explained Wagner’s crunch-time big playmaker after scoring 14 of his points after halftime.  “It’s natural to me, and I’m confident at the end of the game.”
 
KARVEL & LUCKY SHOW
While Robert Morris came up just short of tagging Toledo with its first setback of the 2013-14 season on Saturday, the fans at the Sewall Center were treated to an incredible shooting exhibition by two of the NEC’s purest marksmen.
 
RMU senior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart Memorial (Glen Oaks CC)) and junior guard Lucky Jones (Newark, NJ/St. Anthony) combined to hit 19-23 shots from the floor and 9-11 from three-point range in ringing up 48 points for the Colonials, who shot an NEC single-game season-high 63.3 percent from the field in the 80-77 loss.  Anderson hit 5-6 from deep and was 9-11 overall from the field in a 23-point effort, while Jones sank 10-12 from the field and 4-5 from long distance en-route to a career-high 24 point performance.
 
On the week, Jones averaged 24.5 ppg and 4.0 apg while hitting 77.2 percent of his shot attempts.  Anderson converted at a 60.0 percent clip and put up 20.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg.
 
On the NEC charts, Anderson ranks second on the circuit in three-point shooting (.473) and Jones is eighth (.419).  In three-point makes, Anderson is the league-leader (3.5/game) and Jones is 11th (1.80/game).
 
HEAT CHECK: SHU’S GLOWIAK ON THREE-POINT ROLL
Talk about providing an offensive spark off the bench.
 
Sacred Heart junior guard Steve Glowiak (New Britain, CT/New Britain) has been on a tear of late from outside the arc.  Over the last three games, Glowiak has hit 13-21 shots from long range and averaged 15.0 points for the Pioneers.
 
Last Wednesday, Glowiak drained 6-9 shots from three-point territory and Sacred Heart hit 12-24 overall from outside the arc as the Pioneers rolled to a 73-59 win over Hofstra in Hempstead.
 
On the year, the New Britain, CT native ranks third on SHU in scoring with 11.4 ppg and leads the NEC in 3PFG percentage, sinking 49.0 percent of his attempts.  He is also third in the conference with 2.8 3PFG per outing.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Fairleigh Dickinson is the first New Jersey school to defeat both Garden State foes in the same season since Princeton did so in December 1987.
 
VINALES, FRANCIS, STARKS STAR IN STELLAR NUMBERS GAME
In the “stellar games” category, CCSU junior guard Kyle Vinales (Detroit, MI/Phelps School) is at the top of the list.  Vinales has racked up 31 games of 20+ points over the course of his career, three more than Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep (NH)).  Vinales has also tallied eight games of 30+ points, also a league-leading mark among active players.  This season, Bryant junior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, MN/Duluth East) has hit the 30-point mark on three occasions and the 20-point plateau five times, both NEC-highs.
 
NEC Active Leaders: 20 Point Games
Kyle Vinales, CCSU          31
Alex Francis, BRY           28
Julian Boyd, LIU            20
Dyami Starks, BRY           17
Latif Rivers, WC            16
Julian Norfleet, MSM        13
Karvel Anderson, RMU        10
Jalen Cannon, SFBK          9
Louis Montes, SHU           9
Ben Mockford, SFBK          7
Rashad Whack, MSM           7
 
NEC Active Leaders: 30 Point Games
Kyle Vinales, CCSU          8
Dyami Starks, BRY           3
Alex Francis, BRY           2
 
BRYANT’S FRANCIS CONTINUES CHART CLIMB
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep) continues to rocket up the NEC career scoring and rebounding lists and enters play this week with 1,636 points, tops among active players in the conference and 38th all-time.  Francis also cracked the top-20 on the league’s all-time rebounding list last week and has pulled down 786 in his career.  He is one of 13 players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 boards in his career.  The New York City product is currently on pace to become the first player in conference annals to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. 
 
Francis currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (16.2, sixth), rebounding (6.4, third), field goal percentage (.604, 1st) and blocks (1.33, fifth).

NEC NOTABLES
 
• Bryant junior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, MD/Duluth East) recorded back-to-back 20-point outings last week, scoring 22 in a 72-64 road victory over Yale Wednesday night before dropping in 26 in a hard-fought 66-62 loss to North Dakota State on Saturday in the BlackRock Gotham Classic.  Both performances were game-highs.  Starks averaged 24.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.0 apg and 2.0 spg on the week and leads the NEC with 23.4 ppg.
 
• LIU Brooklyn sophomore forward E.J. Reed (Dallas, TX/Mesquite) collected his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Seton Hall last Thursday, including 14 points and seven boards following halftime.
 
• Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) averaged 21.0 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.0 rpg and 2.5 spg in helping the Mountaineers to a 1-1 week. He had a solid all-around performance in the Mount’s 70-58 win over longtime rival Loyola, tallying 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Norfleet opened the week by posting 26 points and seven assists against Binghamton. Norfleet is averaging 18.6 ppg (third in NEC) and 5.4 apg (second in NEC) this year.
 
• Mount St. Mary’s sophomore center Taylor Danaher (Fredericksburg, VA/Fredericksburg Christian School) has been posting solid numbers since taking over the center spot for injured senior Kristijan Krajina (Osijek, Croatia/Blue Ridge School (VA)).  Danaher has averaged 8.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg over the past three games.  He scored a career-high 12 points while adding seven rebounds in Saturday’s 70-58 win over Loyola (MD).
 
• Saint Francis U freshman guard Malik Harmon (Queens, NY/Christ the King) scored 19 points and added a game-high five assists in the Red Flash’s 72-62 win at Cornell on Saturday. 
 
• Wagner junior guard Jay Harris (Aurora, IL/Oswego East (Valparaiso)) tallied a career-high 23 points, highlighted by a personal-best seven three pointers against Lafayette last Tuesday.  In a 75-69 win over Penn on Saturday, his long three-pointer with 1:57 to play in overtime gave the Seahawks a five-point advantage, and he helped iced the game with two free throws with 15 seconds on the clock.
 
NEC NUMBERS

Bryant finished the year 3-1 against Ivy League opponents.
 
Bryant’s Dyami Starks leads the NEC with five 20-point games and three 30-point outings on the year.  He tops the conference with 23.4 ppg.
 
CCSU will play seven of its next nine games at home, beginning on Tuesday night at home against Hartford in a game to air on CPTV Sports.
 
In Wednesday 65-56 win over New Hampshire, CCSU held the Wildcats to a season-low 33.9 percent shooting and made 21-28 from the free-throw line to earn its second win of the season.
 
FDU has shot for a better percentage from the field against its opponents in six games this season, and has outshot its opponents from behind the arc eight times, twice making at least 11 trifectas.
 
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman matched a career-high with 19 points and added nine assists against Seton Hall on Thursday.
 
Mount St. Mary’s went 3-0 this year against teams from the Patriot League, defeating American (68-64), Bucknell (69-64) and Loyola (MD) (70-58).
 
Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Julian Norfleet hit five treys last week, giving him 202 for his career. Norfleet is just four assists shy of becoming the fourth player in Mount history to have 1,200 point, 300 assists and 200 3PFG made, joining Chris McGuthrie, Gregory Harris and Landy Thompson.
 
Robert Morris has dropped five straight games, the program’s longest losing streak since the 2002-03 season.

Sacred Heart hit 12-24 3PFG in a 73-59 win at Hofstra on Wednesday.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn freshman guard Sheldon Hagigal scored a career-high 13 points at Army on Saturday.
 
Saint Francis U’s 72-62 win over Cornell on Saturday snapped SFU’s 35-game non-conference road losing streak dating back to the 2008-09 season.
 
Wagner head coach Bashir Mason is now 3-0 all-time against Penn as an assistant and head coach after going 0-4 as a player at Drexel.
 
Wagner’s Latif Rivers moved past Jamal Smith and Frantz Pierre Louis into 19th place (1,278 points) on the all-time Wagner scoring list.
 
QUOTABLE
 
“Four guys stepped up and had double-figures, which is a plus,.  We had balanced scoring.  If you get four guys in double-figures, that’s a good sign.” - CCSU head coach Howie Dickenman after the Blue Devils beat UNH on Thursday
 
“We came in hear knowing Ohio State will be as good as any team in the top-five.  We wanted to gain some respect and I thought we gained some respect...I thought we hustled and played with as much intensity as any game we played this year.” - CCSU head coach Howie Dickenman on his team’s 74-56 loss at #5 Ohio State on Saturday
 
“That’s what this part of the year is for. You’ve got to learn your team. You’ve got to learn what they can handle.  We’re learning a lot more about ourselves now that’s going to help us when we get into league play than if we would have played 10 teams, and we might be 10-0 right now, but what do you know about yourself if you don’t challenge yourself?” - Mount St. Mary’s head coach Jamion Christian on his team’s challenging non-conference slate
 
“For the first time all year, we put back-to-back great efforts into games. When that happens, it might not always be good enough for a win, but you’re going to give yourself a great chance to win.” - Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel after the Red Flash won at Cornell on Saturday
 
“The message all week was that there are times when you have to just keep battling and will yourself to win.  We’ve been telling our guys that the one thing that can be a constant is the effort, and we gave that tonight in a game we really needed to win.” - Wagner head coach Bashir Mason following his team’s overtime win at Penn on Saturday
 
TWEET DECK
 
Bryant DawgPound @BryantDawgPound
Bryant tops Yale and goes 3-1 vs the Ivy League this year! Bulldogs return home Saturday for BOTC vs NDSU #packthepound
 
IvyHoopsOnline @IvyHoopsOnline
Another final. With a great 2nd half, Bryant picks up a decisive win at Yale, 72-64. The Bulldogs go 3-1 versus the Ancient 8. IVY BUZZSAW
 
Ryan Restivo @ryanarestivo
HC @FDUKnights Greg Herenda on Sidney Sanders Jr “He’s putting his heart and soul on the floor” #NECMBB http://ow.ly/rsYPf
 
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
Complete Sacred Heart effort tonight. Glowiak shoots, Gaetano dishes, Montes rebounds, Kelley/Evans/Barnett attack rim. There’s nice upside.
 
Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
I love the way Karvel Anderson shoots the ball. He is so silky smooth. #jealous #NECMBB
 
filet vigneault @therealvinyo
Earl Brown with 19 boards against Cornell. This dude is 6’5”. Charles Barkley junior?
 
Mount St. Mary’s MBB @MountHoops
Huge S/O to all of the fans that came out and gave us a big home court advantage. Final Mount over Loyola 70-58 #CatholicClash #MountMayhem
 
Ron Ratner @NECHoopsRon
The Franchise has been awesome in this one. @BryantHoops about to polish off Yale. Francis pretty unguardable tonight...20 pts. #NECMBB
 
Matt Stevens @Matt_Stevens_
Big Ten Network gives some love to the legend Howie Dickenman #BlueDevilBasketball #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/FRgphT0UNT