CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - UMBC'S Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) and University of Vermont's Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) each big numbers to share this weeks Player of the Week award, while UMBC's Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./Brewster Academy (N.H.) averaged
10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in a pair of games last week to take home
his second Rookie of the Week award of the season.
Proctor put up big performances had two torrid second halves, missing just 2-of-16 shots, to lead his team to one win and nearly a second last week earning him Co-Player of the Week recognition. A senior forward, Proctor who averaged 23 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and shot 62.7 percent from the field in the two games, scored 20 of his 26 to lead UMBC back from 17 down in an 84-78 win over Binghamton Wednesday. He hit 8-of-9 shots in the period and also finished with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. He followed that performance by scoring 12 of his 20 in the final stanza in a 56-55 last-second loss at Stony Brook Saturday. He again missed just one shot in the second half (6-of-7) and also contributed six rebounds and four steals.
A first-team all-conference selection a year ago, Proctor is on pace to be a repeat selection. He ranks second in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.6 rpg).
Blakely put forth one of the most impressive efforts in America East this season to earn Co-Player of the Week recognition. The junior forward had 23 points and a career-high tying 20 rebounds in Vermont's win over Maine Wednesday. He also added three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals to lead his team's comeback effort. He then added 13 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor in a win over New Hampshire on Saturday. Blakely also had four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in only 21 minutes of action. For the week the defending player of the year shot 68 percent (17-of-25) from the floor.
Blakely is again making his case for end-of-year recognition by averaging 15.8 points (6th in league), 8.8 rebounds (2nd), 2.8 blocks (1st) and 2.0 steals (1st) per game.
A freshman guard, Gilliam played a pivotal role in UMBC's comeback win over Binghamton Wednesday, scoring 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulling down five rebounds. He followed up with six points, five boards, two steals and played solid defense in helping hold Stony Brook to just 56 points Saturday.
Gilliam, who had a streak of five straight games in twin figures snapped Saturday, ranks second among rookies and 18th overall with 10.8 points per game in league action.
Conference Weekly Notebook
The Best of the Rest
Will Harris produced his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Albany to a 59-50 win over Hartford Wednesday... Binghamton's D.J. Rivera had 23 points, his 14th 20-point performance of the year, on 10-of-15 shooting and also pulled down seven rebounds to lead his team back against Maine... Mark Socoby scored 20 and canned three 3's as Maine led for the first 32 minutes against first-place Vermont before falling by 10... In his first action since early December, New Hampshire's Eric Gilchrese scored 22 points and made 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc in his team's come from behind win over Stony Brook Wednesday... UMBC's Justin Fry recorded his first two career double-doubles and averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds last week... Muhammad El-Amin had 22 points in a loss to UNH Wednesday and a team-high 15 in a win over UMBC Saturday.
Comeback Kids
Of the eight league games last week, four featured signifcant comeback efforts. None was bigger than UMBC's rally from 17 down late in the first half to knock Binghamton out of first place with an 84-78 win on Wednesay. Co-Player of the Week Darryl Proctor led the charge with 20 of his team-high 26 in the second half. The Bearcats turned the tables on Saturday to beat Maine 83-78 after trailing by as many as 14 in the second half and 15 overall. The Bearcats shot 54 percent in the final stanza and outscored their opponent 52-37 in the frame. It was the second time in the week Maine had fallen victim to a comeback. The Black Bears led first-place Vermont by as many as 10 Wednesday and did not trail until there was 8:25 remaining in the contest. Co-Player of the Week Marqus Blakely scored 15 of his 23 in the second half. New Hampshire trailed Stony Brook by nine at the half Wednesday, but shot a blistering 67 percent from the floor and made 8-of-11 three pointers in the final half to post a double-digit win.
Streaking Cats and Dogs
While the league has been unpredictable and full of ups and downs, two teams are clearly playing their best as we enter the month of the regular season. Vermont, winners of seven straight, throttled New Hampshire 83-38 on Saturday. The Catamounts are winning by an average of 19.2 points per game during the streak and have won by double figures each time. After struggling with injuries, Boston University has rebounded and is winners of five in a row. The Terriers downed Hartford 74-47 Saturday, but it hasn't been all easy. The stretch includes a quadruple overtime win against Stony Brook, a double OT victory over UMBC and an 18-point comeback at Maine.
Happy to Assist you
Vermont senior Mike Trimboli soldified his status as one of the Catamounts' all-time greats on Wednesday as he a broke Kenny White's '92 school record of 565 assists. He now has 572 for his career, trailing only UMBC's Jay Greene among the league's active leaders. Greene, who is second in the country averaging 7.0 assists per game, ranks fifth all-time in America East. Next on the list is Hofstra great Craig "Speedy" Claxton (660) and Shawn Teague (681), father of Wake Forest standout Jeff Teague.
BrackeBusters Watch
The four America East squads named to the ESPNU BracketBusters pool (Boston University, Hartford, UMBC, Vermont) will learn their fate on Monday. Of the 102 teams named to the pool, 26 will be chosen for national television broadcasts on either ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN 360. Vermont, which is among the top 13 "home" teams stands a good chance being in that group of 26. The field will be announced on ESPNU at 6:30 with the remaining teams learning their opponents shortly thereafter.
No Place Like Home
Home teams have posted 25 wins in 39 conference games to date, good for a .641 winning percentage. That clip is up from the .527 win rate the nine teams accumulated last season and the highest since the league went a combined 58-32 (.644) in league playing during the 2004-05 season.
America East Home Notes
? Albany is 9-1 in its last nine games at SEFCU Arena
? Binghamton is 42-29 all-time at Events Center vs AE foes
? Boston U. is 18-5 over last 3 seasons at Case Gym
? UMBC is 9-1 in its last 10 games against AE foes at RAC Arena
? Stony Brook is averaging over 300 more fans than last season and picked up its first-ever AE win at Pritchard Gym Sunday
? Vermont is 17-5 over the last 3 years vs AE opponents at Patrick Gym
Ascending up the Scoring List
Vermont senior Mike Trimboli continues his ascent up the the league's all-time scoring last week. . Trimboli, who has 1,836 points for his career, trails, passed Drexel's Joe Linderman '01 by for for 14th all-time Wednesday. Next up is New Hampshire's Al McClain, who totaled 1,861 points during his four years in Durham.
RPI Report
America East moved up one slot to 16th out of 31 conferences in the latest RPI, which was released by Collegiate Basketball News on Monday. The ranking is an 11-spot improvement from last season, when the league finished 27th and just three spots lower than the league's best-ever ranking of 13, which came in 1997. Albany (117), is the top-ranked team, followed by Vermont (121) and Binghamton (159). Boston University, in the midst of a five-game win streak, his up to 178 after being ranked 217 just two weeks ago.
Non-Conference Highlights
America East teams have compiled an impressive resume in non-conference play this season. The nine conference members are...
? Teams have combined for 57 wins in 114 non-league games (.500) after winning just 43 in 117 contests last season (.367)
? 53-33 (.616) in games against non-BCS conference (including Atlantic 10) schools
? Seven wins over teams from the Top 13 conferences in the nation according to Collegiet Basketball News.
BIG EAST - Binghamton 66, at Rutgers 56 (12/6/08)
BIG XII - UMBC 66, at Nebraska 64 (12/23/08)
Vermont 84, Colorado 59 (12/30/08)
MOUNTAIN WEST - Stony Brook 67, at Air Force 64 (12/31/08)
ATLANTIC 10 - Vermont 83, George Washington 72 (12/28/08)
WCC - at New Hampshire 58, Santa Clara 54 (1/4/09)
Team-By-Team Notebook
Albany (13-8, 5-3 America East) avenged a 10-point loss in the first meeting of the season with Hartford in a 59-50 victory on Jan. 28... The Great Danes, who have won five of their last seven contests, broke a 37-37 deadlock with 11 of the game’s next 13 points to pull away... UAlbany posted its 60th win in America East regular-season play by holding the visitors to 33.9-percent shooting, the lowest figure by an opponent since Dec. 13th... The Great Danes have held the opposition to 50 points or less on four occasions this season... Will Harris (Corona, N.Y. / Brewster Academy) registered his fourth double-double in the month of January with 19 points and 10 rebounds... Harris, who netted 16 first-half points to keep his team close at the break, extended his double-figure scoring streak to eight in a row... Harris is averaging 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds against league opponents... Jimmie Covington (Chicago, Ill. / Morgan Park) and Mike Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Sheepshead Bay) played key roles off the bench... Covington tied a season-high with five points and posted season-bests in rebounds (6) and minutes (28)... the senior recorded his highest rebound total since Jan. 23, 2008... Johnson added three points, five rebounds and three assists in a productive 22 minutes... Johnson has handed out three-plus assists 10 times this winter... Anthony Raffa (Strathmere, N.J. / Wildwood Catholic) had eight of his 10 points after halftime... Raffa, who scored in twin figures for the 12th time this year, made a 3-pointer and a 14-foot baseline jumper to push his team’s lead to 46-39 with 6:06 remaining... Brian Connelly (Audubon, N.J. / Camden Catholic) is averaging 7.8 rebounds over his last four starts... UAlbany has tied its second-best 21-game record at the Division I level, as the 2006-07 squad was 14-7 at this point in the season... The 12th annual Big Purple Growl & Ferocious Feast is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7 at SEFCU Arena... The University’s Winter Homecoming features a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader that has been attended by a capacity crowd (4,538) the last three years.
Binghamton (13-8, 6-3 America East) split two games during the week and sit in third place in the conference standings, one game out of first place. The Bearcats came up short at UMBC 84-78 before rallying past Maine at home 83-77... The team averaged 80.5 points on 50% shooting in the pair of games... Binghamton drained a school-record 15 three-pointers at UMBC (15-of-26), including a record nine in the first half... The home game against Maine marked the five-year anniversary of the Events Center and a regular-season record crowd of 4,923 was on hand... Binghamton has led the league in attendance five straight years and leads again this season with an average of 3,358... Junior guard D.J. Rivera (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti HS/St. Joseph’s Univ.), the leading scorer in the America East, averaged 25.5 points in the two games. He drilled 4-of-8 three-pointers en route to a game-high 28 points at UMBC. Rivera then dropped 23 points on Maine on 10-for-15 shooting. Rivera has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season ... Junior guard Emanuel Mayben (Troy, N.Y./Troy/Hudson Valley CC) scored a season-high 20 points at UMBC, thanks to 6-of-7 accuracy from beyond the arc. Since opening the season 2-of-17 from three-point range, Mayben has now hit 17-of-29 (59%). He also contributed seven assists in the win over Maine... Sophomore guard Brandon Herbert (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) averaged 13.5 points on the week, hitting double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Herbert hit 4-of-6 threes at UMBC and then drained 4-of-5 against Maine... Junior guard Malik Alvin (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz/Chipola College) scored 20 points against Maine and added seven rebounds and seven assists.
Boston University (11-9, 6-2 America East) seeks its first six-game win streak since the 2004-05 season when it visits UMBC on Monday night at 7 p.m. after defeating Hartford, 72-47, on Saturday afternoon on the road ... The game against the Retrievers marks the end of a three-game road trip, the longest of the season for the Terriers ... The two teams met at Case Gym on Thursday, Jan. 22, and battled through two overtimes before the Terriers came out the victory, 80-77 ... Led by John Holland’s (Bronx, N.Y./St. Benedict’s Prep) 23 points against Hartford, the Terriers held a 34-19 lead at halftime against Hartford and never allowed the Hawks to cut the deficit below 12 points ... They had a season-high 14 steals, while Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ontario/Iroquois Ridge) tied a career high in blocks with five ... The game marked the third time this season that they held an opponent below 50 points ... Last season, the team only held one below the mark ... Terriers return to Agganis Arena on Thursday (Feb. 5) to host Albany at 7 p.m.
Hartford (6-17, 2-7 America East) dropped a pair of conference games last week. The Hawks lost 59-50 at Albany to begin the week and then fell 72-47 to Boston University at home... Hartford led Albany at the half but went cold during a 10-minute stretch in the second half. The Great Danes outscored the Hawks 19-5 during the span and never looked back. Senior Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) led Hartford with 14 points... The Hawks never led against BU after a terrible start left them trailing 24-7 with 7:39 to play in the first half. Hartford got no closer than 13 points in the second half as the Terriers coasted to the win. Sophomore Morgan Sabia (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) led the Hawks with 12 points... Von Rosenberg leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game. Turner is the team's leading rebounder at 5.8 rebounds per contest... Hartford will play only one game this week, a home contest against New Hampshire on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. The Hawks will also find out their opponent for the February 20/21 ESPNU BrackBusters on Tuesday.
Maine (8-14, 3-6 America East) fell at Vermont, 75-65 and at Binghamton, 83-77...The Black Bears battled Vermont hard into the second half, but the Catamounts made free throws in the waning minutes to push the game just out of reach...Maine was led by Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine/Bangor) who had 20 points, six rebounds and two steals...Kaimondre Owes (Brooklyn, N.Y./Saint Peter’s) had 15 points...Sean McNally (Gardiner, Maine) had eight points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks while Malachi Peay (Brooklyn, N.Y./Campus Magnet) also added three blocks and two steals...In the Binghamton game, Maine raced out to a lead but the Bearcats fought back and it was a back-and-forth game in the second half, until Binghamton was able to get a lead and Maine ran out of time...The Black Bears had five players in double-figures...Socoby led the way with 17 points...McNally added 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks...Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed six rebounds to go with two steals...Owes had 12 points as he went 10-for-11 from the charity stripe...Freshman Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif/Scripps Ranch/Worcester Academy) notched 10 points and had three steals...It was McLemore’s 13th double-digit scoring effort of the season...Peay had a career-high four assists in the game...McNally now has 10 games where he has scored at least 10 points and grabbed at least five rebounds this season...The Black Bears return to action on Tuesday when they host Stony Brook at 7:30 p.m.
UMBC (9-12, 3-6 America East) senior forward Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md.) scored 20 points and junior post Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa.) recorded his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, or forward Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md./Paul IV/Coppin State) scored 20 of his 26 points in a stunning second half performance as host UMBC rallied to defeat league-leading Binghamton , 84-78 before 1,852 fans at the RAC Arena on Wednesday... Four Retrievers scored in double figures, including senior guard Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) who tallied 18 points and freshman wing Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md./Brewster Acad.), who posted 15... Junior forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) registered his first career double-double with 16 points and a 10 caroms.. UMBC hit 17 of 25 shots from the field and 17 of 20 from the free throw in the second half and finished at 52 percent (28 of 54) and 81 percent (26 of 32) respectively. They also tied a season high with nine steals and outrebounded the Bearcats, 35-26...UMBC trailed by 17 points with just under six minutes remaining in the first half... Proctor scored 20 points and Fry recorded his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the tough 56-55 loss at Stony Brook on Saturday... junior wing Matt Spadafora (Richboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood) hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to knot the score at 55-all with 48 seconds remaining... But after SBU hit one of two free throws with 18 seconds left, his jumper from nine feet was just a bit too strong just before the buzzer...UMBC set school records in for fewest free throws made (0) and attempted (2)...Proctor hit a combined 14 of 16 shots from the floor in the second halves of games this week... Fry scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time since December of his freshman campaign... Spadafora had a career-high six assists vs. Binghamton and is averaging 4.8 in his last four outings... the Retrievers quickly return home to face Boston University in its annual “RAC in Black” night on Monday.
New Hampshire (8-12, 3-5 America East) split a pair of games last week, grabbing a 71-60 come-from-behind thriller at Stony Brook on Jan. 28, and falling to conference-leading Vermont, 83-39, Jan. 31 ... after missing nearly two months of action, senior guard Eric Gilchrese (Springfield, Ill./Lewis & Clark CC) returned to rally UNH at Stony Brook ... in a season-high 31 minutes, Gilchrese ? who had missed 12 straight games and had not played since Dec. 6 ? was 6 of 10 from the floor, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc ... Gilchrese was also 5-for-6 from the line to go along with two rebounds and three assists ... fellow senior guard Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass./Thayer Academy) poured in 18 points and tallied five boards, an assist and a block ... sophomore guard Alvin Abreu (Lynn, Mass./Boys to Men Academy) was also in double digits with 17 points to go along with a rebound, three assists, a block and a steal ... sophomore center Dane DiLiegro (Lexington, Mass./Worcester Academy) chipped in with four points, eight boards, two assists and a steal ... junior forward Radar Onguetou (Yaounde, Cameroon/New Hampton School) added three points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block ... Onguetou also led the ?Cats against Vermont, nearly missing his second career double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds ... sophomore guard Tyrone Conley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) was the leading scorer against his hometown team with 10 points ... DiLiegro added two points and eight boards, while freshman forward Brian Benson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena) tallied six points, matched his career high with nine rebounds and added a block and a steal in a career-high 29 minutes, which led UNH.
Stony Brook (12-10, 4-5 America East) opened the week with a 71-60 loss to New Hampshire on Wednesday before defeating UMBC, 56-55, on Saturday night ... Junior Muhammad El-Amin scored a game-high 24 points against the Wildcats, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line ... Stony Brook held a nine-point halftime lead against UNH, but the Wildcats opened the second half on a 27-8 run on their way to the 11-point victory ... Freshman Tommy Brenton recorded 12 rebounds against New Hampshire, the seventh time in eight games he had recorded double-digit rebounds ... Freshman Dallis Joyner recorded a season-high three blocks against UNH ... sophomore Chris Martin knocked down the go-ahead free throw with 18 seconds remaining in the Seawolves one-point victory over UMBC on Saturday ... it is the first time the Seawolves have swept the regular season series from UMBC since the Retrievers joined the America East in 2003-04 ... El-Amin scored 15 points against UMBC and has now reached double-figures in all 12 games since joining the starting lineup ... the Seawolves will match their best America East start ever with a victory over Maine on Tuesday ... Brenton is just 53 rebounds from breaking the Seawolves Division I record for rebounds in a season ... Brenton’s 195 rebounds are first nationally among freshman ... Freshman Bryan Dougher is first nationally among freshman in three-point field goal percentage (.419) ... Dougher has made 54 three-pointers this season and is just eight three-pointers from breaking the Seawolves Division I record for made three-pointers in a season.
Vermont (16-6, 7-2 America East) went 2-0 on the week and has now won seven straight after starting out league play 0-2 ... The Catamounts came from behind to top Maine 75-65 on Wednesday at home behind a 23 points and 20 rebounds from junior Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) ... The 20 boards matched a career-high for Blakely, who went 7-for-8 from the floor in the deciding second half ... In the game senior Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s) finished with four assists and broke Kenny White's '92 school record of 565 with 5:07 left in the first half on a feed to senior Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass.) ... The Cats are now 8-2 at home this year and have won 11 straight when appearing on NESN ... On Saturday Vermont topped New Hampshire 83-39, as the Cats outscored the Wildcats 52-17 in the second half ... The 39 points given up by the Cats were the fewest since they defeated Colgate 37-34 during the 1984-85 season ... The 44-point margin of victory was the most for Vermont since it defeated Hartford 89-45 on January 2, 2005 ... McIntosh and Trimboli led the way with 16 apiece ... McIntosh scored all 16 of his points in the second half, as Vermont shot 69 percent from the floor after the break ... Sophomore Evan Fjeld has (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) made his last 15 field goal attempts over the last five games ... During Vermont’s seven-game winning streak the Cats have won by double figures in each ... Vermont is now 46-10 in the month of January since the start of the 2003-04 season ...Vermont returns to action this week with a home game against Binghamton on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and travels to face Albany on Saturday at 7 p.m.