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SALUTING AN #NECMBB GREAT: BOYD’S CAREER COMES TO A CLOSE
 
Knowing the hurdles Julian Boyd (San Antonio, TX/Taft) has faced over the course of his tenure at LIU Brooklyn, many in his situation would have packed it in at one point or another, content on the memories of a star-studded career that will be talked about for years to come in NEC circles.
 
But quitting wasn’t in the cards for the San Antonio native.  After battling back from a heart ailment that sidelined him as a sophomore, Boyd returned to win a pair of NEC titles for the Blackbirds in 2010-11 and 2011-12, earning NEC Player of the Year honors in the latter.  When a knee injury felled Boyd in December of 2012, he cheered LIU on to an unprecedented third consecutive NEC championship, and vowed to return in 2013-14 after being granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
 
When Boyd reinjured the knee over the summer, he remained steadfast both in his rehab and his desire to return to the lineup once conference play started in January.  Just weeks away from making his 2013-14 debut, the 6-7 forward’s career came to an end last week, when he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering another setback in the same right knee.
 
“I feel so badly for Julian, he has worked tirelessly over the past year to rehabilitate his knee,” said head coach Jack Perri.  “He was determined to make it back on the court in whatever capacity he could.  He has such an incredible work ethic that you thought if anyone could do it, he could.  I just can’t help but feel sick with all that he has gone through and had to deal with over his career.  He is truly a special person and competitor that helped LIU Brooklyn basketball achieve unparalleled heights.”
 
“Julian has great resilience and there is no doubt that with his work ethic, his future is still very bright,” said John Suarez, LIU Brooklyn Director of Athletics.  “He has been such an integral part to our basketball program’s success over the past five years and we are going to miss him terribly.”
 
Boyd concludes his Blackbird career 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,467 points and 12th on the NEC career rebound list with 843 caroms.  Along with his NEC Player of the Year honor as a junior, he was also the 2008-09 NEC Rookie of the Year and the 2012 NEC Tournament MVP.
 
And in a career that will be remembered as much for his resiliency and determination in the face of adversity as it will be for his stellar play on the court and highlight reel dunks, the announcement brought an outpouring of emotion on social media.
 
John Templon @nybuckets
It’s sad to think of what could’ve been at LIU for @J_BOYD42, but good luck to him moving forward. Good things ahead I’m sure.
 
Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
I have the great pleasure 2 say that Julian Boyd will go down as 1 of the best players ever 2 wear LIU jersey. When healthy, he was a beast
 
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
I have no doubt, nor should anyone, that LIU Brooklyn would have been the NEC team to beat with a healthy Julian Boyd and Nura Zanna today.
 
Kyle Johnson @SmoothKJ88
Wishing my bro @J_BOYD42 all the best on his road to recovery!! #stayhungry #keepworking #gethealthy
 
Irma Garcia @sfbkad
@LIUAthletics @LIUBasketball a true competitor. One of the best in NEC history. Best of luck!
 
Through it all, Boyd has been nothing but positive, and when the news went public last Friday, it didn’t take him long to react exactly how you would expect (and then some).
 
Julian Boyd @J_BOYD42
Hey good things happen and so do bad things but at the end of the day ima keep goin after what iv been wantin 4 so long #NotOver
 
Julian Boyd @J_BOYD42
What good movies are out right now? Any help?

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#NECMBB CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS THURSDAY...
...and this tweet sums up our feelings rather nicely.
 
         Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
         The more I think about it, the more I get jacked up for #NECMBB play. With no
         real “team to beat” going in, this is going to be a fun season
 
TERRIERS MATCH NEC MARK
It was a non-conference season St. Francis Brooklyn will not soon forget.  With wins at Miami, Stony Brook and Florida Atlantic among others, the Terriers etched their name in the NEC recordbook, finishing with a school record nine non-league wins.
 
The nine out-of-conference wins matched the NEC’s single-season mark, currently shared by Saint Francis U (1990-91, 9-5), Monmouth (1991-92, 9-3), Robert Morris (2007-08, 9-5) and Wagner (2011-12, 9-2).
 
This coming from a team picked to finish seventh in the NEC.
 
“It kind of builds up a lot fire in your stomach that you were picked near last and you just want to prove everybody wrong that you’re the best team in the conference,” said junior forward Jalen Cannon (Allentown, PA/William Allen).  “We’ve started to get more comfortable around each other and defensively we’re working harder.  It’s just a different intensity.”
 
At 9-6, the Terriers are off to their best start since they opened the 2001-02 season with a 10-5 mark through 15 contests.
 
“You’ve always got to fight human nature,” said head coach Glenn Braica.  “When people are patting them on the back and telling them you did this or that, you let up a little bit and we’ve got to guard against that.  We can’t have that.  We’ve got to fight to get better and fight against human nature.”
 
FOLAHAN’S BLOCK PARTY
How can you dominate a game by scoring two points?
 
Easy.
 
Block ten shots, alter countless others and pull down eight rebounds.  That was Wagner senior center Naofall Folahan’s (Cotonou, Benin/Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) afternoon in a 59-52 win at Monmouth on Monday.
 
The ten blocks matched the 2013-14 NCAA single-game season-high and established a new single-game school record, breaking Miladin Mutavdzic’s previous mark of eight set against Fairleigh Dickinson on February 29, 1992.  The ten rejections were also the most by an NEC player since Monmouth’s John Bunch turned away ten shots versus St. Francis Brooklyn on February 3, 2007.  In fact, Folahan is one of just four NEC players over the past 16 years to swat ten shots in a game, joining Bunch, LIU Brooklyn’s Chiekh Fall (10 vs. Towson, 12/4/00) and FDU’s Rahshon Turner (10 vs. Hartford, 11/22/97).
 
“It’s something I have a knack for,” Folahan said of his blocks.  “It’s a skill, and I work on it.  Now I’m better at seeing the ball, and Coach tells me I have to be a presence.”
 
His coach couldn’t have been happier with the senior’s performance.
 
“The way Naofall anchored the paint today was tremendous,” said Bashir Mason, now in his second year at the helm of the Wagner program.  “I haven’t seen anybody do that anywhere in college basketball in a long time.”
 
As a team, Wagner blocked 15 shots on the afternoon, also matching the most in an NCAA game this season.  It also marked the most rejections by an NEC team since Fairleigh Dickinson had 17 against Hartford on November 22, 1997.
 
Folahan, who leads the NEC with 2.6 blocks per game, is one block shy of the Seahawk career record of 176 held by Frantz Pierre Louis.
 
The Cotonou, Benin native has now blocked at least four shots in a game 12 times in his career with the Green & White going 10-2 in those outings.

MOUNT’S THREE-POINT BARRAGE
It was a shooting display for the ages, and also a reminder of the potency of #MountMayhem.
 
On Saturday, the Mount hit a school record 18 three-pointers in just 25 attempts in a 104-84 win at MEAC preseason favorite Norfolk State.  The win snapped the Spartans’ 16-game home winning streak.
 
The 18 three-pointers were the most by an NEC team since Monmouth drained 19 against LIU Brooklyn on February 21, 1998.  It also marked the third most 3PFG in a DI game this season and the 72.0 percent success rate is the ninth-best mark in the nation in 2013-14.
 
Freshman forward Will Miller (Dallas, TX/Highland Park) hit 5-5 from long distance and the Mount’s bench went a perfect 9-9 from three-point range in the win.
 
This wasn’t the first time Mount St. Mary’s caught fire in the Jamion Christian era.  The Mount drilled 17 three-pointers in an 84-74 win over Bryant on Valentine’s Day last year.
 
Mount St. Mary’s also shot 68.6 percent from the field (35-51) in Saturday’s win, the fourth-best shooting performance in Mount history, and the best since elevating to DI in 1988-89.
 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS: BRYANT’S FRANCIS SINKS LEHIGH, BREAKS INTO TOP-20 ON NEC CAREER SCORING CHART
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep) cracked yet another plateau on his march up the NEC career scoring chart, rising five spots last week to reach the top-20.  Francis will enter conference play with 1,748 points, tops among active players in the conference and 18th all-time.  With just 12 more points Francis will enter the top-15, and he is just 127 points shy of the top-10.
 
NEC Career Scoring Leaders
14. Charles Jones       LIU       1,772       1996-98
15. Gregory Harris      MSM       1,760       1996-00
16. Alex Blackwell      MU        1,749       1989-92
17. John Giraldo        MU        1,749       1992-96
18. Alex Francis        BRY       1,748       2010-14
19. Kevin Booth         MSM       1,742       1989-93
20. Landy Thompson      MSM       1,733       2002-06
21. Corsley Edwards     CCSU      1,731       1998-02
22. James Johnson       QU        1,729       2008-12
23. Jeremy Goode        MSM       1,716       2006-10
 
Francis, who scored the game-winning basket with two seconds on the clock last Monday to clinch a second straight win over Patriot League power Lehigh, passed five players last week alone in his climb: Mount’s Jeremy Goode (1,716), Quinnipiac’s James Johnson (1,729), CCSU’s Corsley Edwards (1,731), Mount’s Landy Thompson (1,733) and Mount’s Kevin Booth (1,742).
 
Francis is also 18th on the league’s all-time rebounding list and has pulled down 828 in his career. 
 
He is one of four players in NEC history to rank in the top-20 in both scoring and rebounding in his career.
 
Players Ranked In Top-20 In NEC Career Scoring & Rebounding
Ken Horton          CCSU       1,966 points/6th     842 rebounds/13th
Rik Smits           MAR        1,945/8th            811/19th
Jamal Olasewere     LIU        1,772/11th           963/7th
Alex Francis        BRY        1,748/18th           828/18th
 
The New York City product has a chance to become the first player in conference annals to rank in the top-10 in both categories.
 
Francis currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (17.2, sixth), rebounding (6.7, third), and field goal percentage (.557, 2nd) for Bryant, which clinched a second straight winning non-league season (8-7).
 
NORFLEET BUILDING IMPRESSIVE RESUME
By any measure, Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) is having one heck of a season for Mount St. Mary’s.
 
The senior point guard and Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week is putting up numbers that compare favorably with some of the best seasons in recent NEC memory. 

- At 19.6 ppg and 5.6 apg, Norfleet in threatening to become only the third NEC player since 1997-98 to finish a year averaging at least 20.0 ppg and 6.0 apg.  Quinnipiac’s Rob Monroe (22.7 ppg, 6.5 apg in 2004-05) and LIU Brooklyn’s Charles Jones (29.0 ppg, 7.4 apg in 1997-98) are the only others to turn the trick.
 
- Norfleet currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in six statistical categories.  He is third in the NEC in scoring (19.6) and assists (5.6), fifth in steals (1.5), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.87), and eighth in field goal percentage (.470) and three-point percentage (.397).  Norfleet is also 11th in made three-pointers (1.9/game).
 
- On Saturday, Norfleet became the first NEC player to finish with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game since FDU’s Tamien Trent and St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tory Cavalieri did so on February 21, 2005.  Norfleet dropped a career-high 31 points and added 10 assists in his first career double-double effort.
 
- In games against West Virginia, Villanova, BYU, Michigan State, Penn State and Texas Tech this season, Norfleet averaged 17.0 ppg and 5.7 apg.
 
FDU’S SIDNEY SANDERS: A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
How often does a player improve his scoring average 15 points from one season to the next?
 
In the NEC, the answer is hardly ever.
 
This season, Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Sidney Sanders, Jr. (Charleston, SC/Burke (Polk State)) has lifted his point production 15.2 points from 4.4 ppg in 2012-13 to his current average of 19.6 ppg, which ranks second in the NEC.  The Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week could go even higher once conference play begins considering his 23.3 ppg average over the last seven games.
 
The last time an NEC player boosted his scoring output by at least 15 ppg?  You’d have to go all the way back to the 1998-99 campaign when St. Francis Brooklyn’s Ray Minlend jumped his scoring average from 8.8 ppg to a conference-leading 24.3 ppg, a 15.5 ppg improvement.
 
1,000 (NOT ASSISTS) FOR LIU’S BRICKMAN
He isn’t known for his scoring prowess, so it can be said LIU Brooklyn point guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) snuck up on 1,000 career points while everyone was tracking his path toward 1,000 assists.
 
But there he was on December 28, reaching the millennium mark in his home state during a career-high 26-point outing at Sam Houston State.  Brickman became the 191st player in NEC history and 33rd in LIU annals to reach 1,000 and enters play this week with 1,011 points.  Sacred Heart senior forward Louis Montes (Brockton, MA/Brockton) also hit the 1,000-point mark this season back on December 18th at Santa Clara.
 
ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Below are a list of NEC players who rank in the top-20 nationally in various statistical categories.
 
Category      Name                       Team        Stats             Ranking
Scoring       Dyami Starks               BRY         21.2 ppg          19th
Rebounds      Earl Brown                 SFU         9.9 rpg           16th
Assists       Jason Brickman             LIU         10.0 apg          1st
3PFG/Game     Dyami Starks               BRY         3.43/game         12th
              Karvel Anderson            RMU         3.27/game         16th
 
SFU’S BROWN TAKING GAME NEXT LEVEL
Since the start of December, Saint Francis U junior forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) has been on quite the roll.
 
Brown has registered five double-doubles in his last six games, including two last week.  The Philly native went for 20 and 11 at Denver on New Year’s Eve, then exploded for a career-high 31 points to go along with 11 boards against NJIT on Saturday.  In that span, he has averaged 18.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg.
 
Brown leads the NEC with 9.9 rpg and six double-doubles, and also ranks 11th in scoring (14.2) and third in field goal percentage (.542).

RMU ROAD WARRIORS
When Robert Morris completes its opening weekend of NEC play in New England, the Colonials will be wrapping a five-game road swing that saw the team visit five states (Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama, Connecticut and Rhode Island) and travel a total of 5,572 miles.
 
BRICKMAN APPROACHING NCAA TOP-20
LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) continued his climb up the NCAA career assist chart over the holidays, moving up three spots to 22nd all-time.
 
Brickman, who dished for 13 assists at Sam Houston State and 10 more at Texas State, passed SMU’s Butch Moore, Notre Dame’s Chris Thomas and UCLA’s Pooh Richardson, and with 849 dimes, is now just eight away from reaching the top-20. 
 
NCAA Career Assist Leaders
20. Grayson Marshall (Clemson)     857          1984-88
21. Anthony Manuel (Bradley)       855          1985-89
22. Jason Brickman (LIU)           849          2010-14
23. Pooh Richardson (UCLA)         833          1985-89
24. Chris Thomas (Notre Dame)      833          2001-05
25. Butch Moore (SMU)              828          1982-86
 
Only three players in the history of the NCAA have made it to 1,000 assists.  Duke’s Bobby Hurley is first with 1,076, followed by NC State’s Chris Corchiani (1,038) and UNC’s Ed Cota (1,030).  To get there in the regular season, Brickman would need to average 9.44 per game.  He currently leads the nation with 10.0 apg, more than two assists ahead of UMass’ Chaz Williams (7.7 apg).
 
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 34 games of 20+ points over the course of his career, four 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 four occasions and the 20-point plateau seven times, both NEC-highs.
 
NEC Active Leaders: 20 Point Games
Kyle Vinales, CCSU           34
Alex Francis, BRY            30
Julian Boyd, LIU             20
Dyami Starks, BRY            19
Latif Rivers, WC             16
Julian Norfleet, MSM         15
Karvel Anderson, RMU         10
Jalen Cannon, SFBK           9
Louis Montes, SHU            9
Rashad Whack, MSM            8
Ben Mockford, SFBK           7

NEC Active Leaders: 30 Point Games
Kyle Vinales, CCSU           8
Dyami Starks, BRY            4
Alex Francis, BRY            3

NEC NOTABLES
 
• Bryant senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep (NH)) averaged 17.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg over the holidays and scored the game-winning bucket with two seconds remaining to beat Lehigh on December 30.  He finished with 20 points and seven boards in the contest.
 
• Bryant freshman forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, CT/Bethel) matched his career high with 13 points and added 10 rebounds in his third double-double of the season against Binghamton on December 28.
 
• CCSU junior forward Faronte Drakeford (Wilmington, NC/Pinecrest (Cape Fear CC)) averaged 16.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg in a pair of games for the Blue Devils, including 22 points and 10 boards in a win over Albertus Magnus on December 29.  It was his second double-double of the season.
 
• FDU freshmen Matt MacDonald (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) and Scott Kingsley (Chicago, IL/St. Rita of Cascia) scored 13 and 10, respectively on Sunday as the Knights rolled past Hofstra, 86-67.  MacDonald hit 4-7 from three-point range, while Kingsley’s output marked a new career-high.
 
• Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Rashad Whack (Hyattsville, MD/Bishop McNamara (George Mason)) netted 23 points in the Mount’s 104-84 win at Norfolk State on Saturday, the eighth 20-point game of his career at the Mount.  Whack has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games, and is second on the team in scoring and seventh in the NEC at 15.1 ppg.
 
• Robert Morris senior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart Memorial (Glen Oaks CC)) averaged 16.0 ppg and hit five three pointers in games at Oklahoma State and Alabama last week.
 
• St. Francis Brooklyn junior forward Jalen Cannon (Allentown, PA/William Allen) averaged 16.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg to lead the Terriers to a 2-1 record over the holidays.  He scored a team-high 18 points, converting a career-high 12 free-throws in a 77-65 win over NJIT on December 23.  Cannon followed that up with 17 points and a season-high 12 boards in a 60-57 victory at Delaware State on December 30, his second double-double of the season.  He continued his terrific free-throw shooting by going a perfect 9-9 in the contest. The Allentown, PA native completed the stretch with 15 points in a losing cause at Columbia on Saturday.  Cannon is eighth in the NEC in scoring (14.8 ppg), second in rebounding (8.1) and ninth in field goal percentage (.462).
 
• Wagner junior forward Mario Moody (Jersey City, NJ/East Orange Campus) finished with 12 points and matched a career-high with 14 boards in a 59-52 win at Monmouth last Monday.  It was his first double-double of 2013-14 and fourth of his career.
 
NEC NUMBERS
 
With its last second win over Lehigh on Dec. 30, Bryant finished non-conference play with a winning record (8-7) for the second consecutive year.
 
CCSU junior guard Kyle Vinales moved past Steve Ayers into 13th place on the Blue Devil career scoring list with 1,378 career points.
 
When FDU hit 14 three-pointers (in 27 attempts) in an 86-67 win over Hofstra on Sunday it marked the most trifectas in a game for the Knights since draining 14 in a 57-48 victory over Army on December 30, 2003.
 
FDU’s 86 points scored againt Hofstra on Sunday was the most it has scored against a DI opponent since racking up 89 against LIU on Jan. 27, 2011.
 
LIU Brooklyn has won six straight against St. Francis Brooklyn. The two local rivals do battle in their NEC opener this Thursday.
 
Mount St. Mary’s 104-84 win over Norfolk State was the program’s first 20-point non-conference road victory since an 82-62 win at Howard on December 3, 1996.
 
Robert Morris junior forward Lucky Jones became the 17th member of the program’s 500-rebound club on Saturday in a tight loss to Alabama.
 
Robert Morris senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate has produced a 4.44 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last seven games.
 
All three of Sacred Heart’s non-conference victories came on the road and were all by double digits (over Fordham, Hofstra and New Hampshire).
 
The 53 points allowed in Sacred Heart’s win over New Hampshire on Saturday was a season-low for the Pioneers.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn is 8-0 in games decided by five points or less.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn’s Ben Mockford drained his 200th career three-pointer on Saturday against Columbia.
 
Saint Francis U’s Earl Brown became the first NEC player this season to score at least 30 points and pull down 10 boards in game when he finished with 31 and 11 against NJIT on Saturday.
 
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Wagner is 50-25, including 27-9 during conference play and 21-14 in non-conference action.
 
Wagner has more blocks (75) than steals (74) this season.

QUOTABLE
 
“What can I say, that was a complete team effort, but we were led by Sid Sanders, who was sensational all night long.  After a long layoff (15 days), I was not sure how we would respond, but we had great energy and intensity on both ends of the floor.” - FDU head coach Greg Herenda on his team’s 86-67 win over Hofstra on Sunday
 
“They all came out here to see me play, so I just wanted to give them a show, I guess.  I guess I was able to do that.” - Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Julian Norfleet after tallying 31 points and 10 assists in a win at Norfolk State in his hometown of Virginia Beach, VA
 
“Teams are going to look at (Earl Brown’s) numbers and key in on him.  We need some guys to step up and start making a shot or two when that happens.  We have guys who can make shots – it’s a consistency thing now for them.” - Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel
 
“We had a really, really tough nonconference schedule and for anybody at our level to have a chance to come out of this thing at .500 or better is a really tough thing to do.  What I wanted my guys to really focus on is start playing our best basketball as we go into the conference and we’ll be fine.  Today was a step in that direction.” - Wagner head coach Bashir Mason, following last Monday’s win at Monmouth
 
“Kenny Ortiz is a stud.  I don’t care how he’s been playing and that’s the thing I’ve been trying to explain to these kids. Ortiz has killed us every game we’ve played. Every game we’ve played against Wagner since I’ve been the coach, Kenny Ortiz has killed us.  We thought we had somebody that could guard him better today and we couldn’t do it today.” - Monmouth head coach King Rice on Wagner senior guard Kenny Ortiz after the Seahawks beat the Hawks last Monday
 
TWEET DECK
 
Nelson Castillo @NelCastBHJ
4-2 day for #necmbb w/ 3 of the 4 coming on the road. Not a bad way to end 2013 for @NECsports
 
Ryan Peters @pioneer_pride
Julian Norfleet. Is. Awesome. #NECFantasy
 
Raphielle Johnson @raphiellej
Hold on. Mount St. Mary’s dropped 104 on Norfolk State? My goodness. That’s a really good result (104-84) for the Mountaineers.
 
Andrew Cornicello @SFBK_HeadATC
@SFBKTerriers extend the streak of wins after eating @redlobster the night before the game. #cheddarbiscuits
 
naofall folahan @ming2sleeves
Thanks to my team for allowing me to break the school record in one game and tied for the most in the NCAA this season
 
John Templon @nybuckets
Also worth noting that Noafall Folahan’s block rate was a ridiculous 26% today. How is that even possible??
 
Cody Blake @cblake91
The Grinch of Bryant stole Lehigh’s Christmas last night...Conference play here we come! #NECPride #PackThePound @BryantAthletics @NECsports
 
Ralph S. Ventre @NECralph
LUCKY JONES!!!! Way to step up kid. #RMUvsALA #NECvsSEC live on @ESPN3 right now. #UpsetAlert
 
Sam Blum @SamBlum3
Congrats to Jason Brickman, who just scored his 1000th career point for LIU. The man is a born champion.
 
Josh Newman @Joshua_Newman
Wagner is athletic, deep and experienced. Not the best team Monmouth has played, but def not the worst. Wagner-Bobby Mo for the NEC crown?