Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Dec. 28
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT (PDF format) - Dec. 28
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Canyon Barry • College of Charleston
Jr., G, 6-6, 210 - Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain
Barry scored a team-high 30 points in 34 minutes to lead College of Charleston to an 86-68 road win at Campbell last Tuesday. The junior tallied 25 points in the first half and finished 11-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from three. He also added five rebounds and two assists. It was the third 30-point effort of the year for Barry, who leads the CAA in scoring at 22.1 ppg.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Quincy Ford • Northeastern
Sr., F, 6-8, 225 - St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs
Ford filled the stat sheet with a team-high 23 points, a team-best eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in Northeastern’s 77-65 triumph over Vermont last Tuesday. The senior was 8-of-16 from the floor, including a career-best 7-of-12 from 3-point range. He has scored double figures in all 12 games this season and has topped the 20-point mark three times.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
C.J. Bryce • UNCW
Fr., G, 6-5, 180 - Charlotte, N.C./North Mecklenburg
Bryce averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds as UNCW went 2-0 at the Minardi Classic in Louisville last week. The freshman guard scored a career-high 17 points with seven rebounds in 22 minutes as the Seahawks beat Utah Valley and followed with 14 points and seven boards in a triumph over UMKC. Bryce was 10-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
CAA EXCELS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: It was another impressive week for CAA teams against non-conference foes as the league combined for a 10-1 mark before taking a break for the holidays. The CAA has turned in one of the strongest non-conference performances in conference history with the 10 squads putting together a 72-40 overall record. Making the numbers more impressive is the fact that less than half of those games have been at home. CAA teams have been dominant (44-8) at home and have 21 victories in true road contests, which is the 3rd-most among all conferences. James Madison (10-3) is on an eight-game win streak for the first time since 2010-11. Elon (9-3) is off to its best start since 1990-91 and has won its past six contests. Towson (9-4) has won eight of its last nine and is off to its best start ever at the Division I level (1979-80). College of Charleston (8-3) has captured six of its last seven and has its best non-conference mark since 2011-12.
FIVE CAA TEAMS AMONG TOP 100 IN LATEST RPI: Five CAA teams are ranked among the top 100 in the latest RPI report released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com) on Dec. 28. College of Charleston leads all CAA squads at #49, followed by William & Mary at #51, Hofstra at #82, Northeastern at #91 and James Madison at #100. The CAA is ranked #8 among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences, which is its highest ranking ever at this point in the season. The CAA is one of only eight conferences with five teams among the top 100, along with the ACC (9), Atlantic 10 (5), Big 12 (8), Big East (5), Big Ten (10), Pac 12 (10) and SEC (9).
FOUR VICTORIES OVER POWER 5 OPPONENTS: The CAA has recorded four victories over Power 5 conference opponents this season. College of Charleston topped LSU, 70-58, on Nov. 30 and improved to 3-1 against SEC foes at TD Arena since the building opened in 2008. The CAA has recorded three wins against the ACC this season as Northeastern upset #15 Miami (Fla.), 78-77, on Nov. 27, William & Mary defeated N.C. State, 85-68, on Nov. 13 and Hofstra knocked off Florida State, 82-77, on Nov. 20.
CAA PLAY BEGINS ON NEW YEAR’S EVE: The start of what should be a very competitive conference race begins with five afternoon games on Thursday, December 31. All 10 teams are back in action on Saturday, January 2. The CAA will play a Thursday/Saturday conference schedule this season, with a handful of games moving one day for television.
THREE-POINT SUCCESS: Several CAA teams are among the nation’s best at scoring from the 3-point line and defending it. Elon (10.8 pg/8th), James Madison (9.7 pg/28th) and Hofstra (9.3 pg/33rd) are among Division I leaders in 3’s per game and the Pride is 29th (39.4%) and the Dukes are 34th (39.3%) in 3-point FG%. Defensively, William & Mary is 8th in 3-point FG percentage defense (26.6%), College of Charleston is 31st (29.4%) and Towson is 45th (30.3%). Individually, Elon’s Tanner Samson (3.42 pg/17th), W&M’s Daniel Dixon (3.3 pg/24th), Hofstra’s Brian Bernardi (3.1 pg/33rd), and Delaware’s Kory Holden (2.9 pg/49th) are among Division I leaders in treys per game, while Bernardi (49.3%/11th), JMU’s Shakir Brown (45.8%/32nd), Dixon (45.2%/38th) and Northeastern’s David Walker (44.2%/47th) are ranked in 3-point FG%.
CLEANING THE GLASS: Nine of the CAA’s 10 teams are out-rebounding their opponents for the season as of Dec. 28. Towson has a league-best +8.2 rebound margin, followed by Delaware (+6.7 rpg) and James Madison (+5.9 rpg).
UNCW RANKS FOURTH IN TURNOVER MARGIN: UNCW ranks fourth nationally in turnover margin (+6.7 tpg) through games of Dec. 27. The Seahawks are forcing 18.0 turnovers per game, which ranks eighth in Division I, while committing 11.3. UNCW is also 10th nationally with 9.8 steals per game.
W&M’S TARPEY AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN STEALS: W&M senior Terry Tarpey ranks third nationally in steals (3.11 spg) through games of Dec. 27. In scoring, CofC’s Canyon Barry is 14th (22.1 ppg) and Northeastern’s David Walker is 33rd (19.9 ppg). Hofstra’s Juan’ya Green (6.2 apg/20th) and Elon’s Luke Eddy (5.8 apg/38th) are in the top 40 in assists. Delaware’s Marvin King-Davis is 31st in double-doubles (5) and Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys ranks 49th in rebounding (9.1 rpg).
GREEN AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN CAREER POINTS, ASSISTS: Hofstra senior guard Juan’ya Green ranks third among all active Division I players in career points (1,893), third in career assists (598) and sixth in career steals (192) through games of Dec. 27. He trails only Evansville’s D.J. Balentine (2,048) and High Point’s John Brown (1,911) in points and Texas A&M’s Anthony Collins (619) and Northwestern State’s Jalan West (614) in assists.
College of Charleston
• Closed non-conference play with an 86-68 victory at Campbell last Tuesday. Have won six of their last seven games.
• Canyon Barry hit 5-of-9 treys and scored a team-high 30 points at CU. He’s tallied double digits in 10 of 11 games, has seven 20+-point efforts and three games with 30 or more points.
• Freshman Marquise Pointer tied his career-high with 16 points at CU. He’s averaging 14.3 ppg over his last three games.
• Jarrell Brantley added 9 points and 7 rebounds in the Campbell victory. He tops all CAA freshmen with 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Cameron Johnson scored 15 points at CU and has tallied double digits in 8 games.
• Point guard Payton Hulsey had 9 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Campbell.
• CofC shot 57.9% from the floor and hit 9-of-19 from three against Campbell. The 86 points were the 2nd-most this season.
Delaware
• Suffered a 78-48 setback at #17 Villanova last Tuesday.
• Kory Holden hit 6-of-10 threes and scored a team-high 23 points at Villanova. He’s averaging 24.6 ppg over his last five games and ranks 3rd in the CAA in scoring (18.3ppg).
• Marvin King-Davis had four points and a team-high five rebounds at VU. He has a CAA-best five double-doubles and and ranks 2nd in the CAA with 8.8 rpg.
• Cazmon Hayes made three treys and scored 14 points at Villanova. It was his sixth double-digit effort in the last seven games.
• Devonne Pinkard, who suffered a broken foot on Nov. 24, is expected to return to action this week.
• Delaware, which is 2nd in the CAA in rebound margin (+6.7 rpg), was outrebounded 36-26 by VU.. The Blue Hens have had a rebound edge in all but two games.
• Skye Johnson grabbed a career-high tying 8 rebounds against Boston College.
Drexel
• Edged Philly rival Penn 53-52 in OT last Tuesday for their first home win of the year.
• Senior Tavon Allen scored a team-high 16 points against Penn. Allen has scored double figures in 9 of 10 games and has three 20+-point efforts. He’s just one point shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Terrell Allen added six points vs. Penn. He ranks 2nd among CAA freshmen in scoring (10.7 ppg) and tops the team in assists and steals.
• Grad student Kazembe Abif posted his 2nd double-double of the season with 13 points and a team-best 14 rebounds.
• Forward Rodney Williams, who sat out the Penn State game due to injury, returned to action and had five rebounds vs. Penn.
• Sophomore Rashann London poured in 14 points against Penn and has scored double figures in seven of 10 contests.
• Drexel is now 2-1 this season vs. Philly Big 5 teams.
Elon
• Earned an 86-81 victory at UNC Asheville last Monday to push their winning streak to six. Elon is off to its best start since 1990-91.
• Tanner Samson scored a team-high 14 points at UNCA, which was his 7th straight double-digit effort. He made 2 treys and is Elon’s career 3-point leader with 283.
• Christian Hairston posted his 2nd double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at UNCA. He’s averaging 14.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg over his last six games.
• Guard Luke Eddy also scored 14 points at UNCA and had 3 assists. He ranks 2nd in the CAA with 5.8 assists per game.
• Freshman Tyler Seibring chipped in 10 points at UNCA and is averaging 11.7 ppg over his last three games.
• Elon had seven different players score in double figures at UNCA. The Phoenix have scored at least 80 points in five of their last seven contests.
Hofstra
• Ended a two-game slide by topping Florida Atlantic 68-54 last Tuesday.
• Ameen Tanksley posted his first double-double of the season vs. FAU with 20 points and 11 rebounds. He’s reached double figures in all 11 games and has 20+ points in four of his past six contests.
• Brian Bernardi hit two treys and scored 10 points vs. FAU. He leads the team with 34 treys on 49.3% shooting from the arc.
• Juan’ya Green poured in 19 points and had four assists vs. FAU. He’s averaging 16.5 ppg and leads the CAA in assists (6.2 apg).
• Rokas Gustys grabbed 10 rebounds vs. FAU. He tops the CAA in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and has grabbed 10+ boards six times.
• Denton Koon chipped in seven points and 11 rebounds in the FAU win. He’s second on the team in rebounding with 7.0 rpg.
• Hofstra dominated FAU on the glass, 47-28, and had 3 players with at least 10 rebounds for the first time since 2001.
James Madison
• On an 8-game winning streak for the first time since 2010-11 after rolling past Mount St. Mary’s 73-53 last Tuesday.
• Ron Curry had 13 points and four assists vs. MSM. He’s scored double digits in 11-of-13 games and has a team-high 44 assists.
• Dimitrije Cabarkapa posted his first career double-double vs. MSM with a team-high 15 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. He’s hit at least one 3 in 21 straight games.
• Shakir Brown added 13 points vs. MSM, which was his 9th game in double figures. He’s averaging 14.2 ppg and tops JMU in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and threes (33).
• Yohanny Dalembert had 10 points on 5-of-6 FG shooting vs. MSM. He’s second on the team in rebounds (6.3 rpg).
• JMU out-rebounded MSM 45-24 and is 9-0 when winning the battle of the boards.
• JMU limited MSM to 31.1% FG shooting. The Dukes have held five of their last seven foes to under 36% FG shooting.
UNCW
• Cruised past Utah Valley (102-77) and UMKC (76-56) at the Minardi Classic in Louisville.
• Craig Ponder was named UNCW’s Outstanding Player at the event after averaging 14.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg in the two victories.
• Chris Flemmings scored 12 points vs. UVU and had a team-high 8 rebounds in each game. He’s averaging 16.0 ppg over his last 8 games and has been the top scorer in six.
• Freshman C.J. Bryce scored a career-high 17 points with 7 rebounds vs. UVU and added 12 points against UMKC. He’s averaging 14.3 ppg over his last three contests.
• Freshman Mark Matthews contributed 15 points on 7-of-8 FG shooting against UVU.
• UNCW is ranked among the nation’s best in TO margin, TO’s forced and steals.
• Junior Denzel Ingram averaged 12.5 ppg over the two games in Louisville.
• The Seahawks have committed less than 10 turnovers in their past three games.
Northeastern
• Defeated Vermont 77-65 last Tuesday to improve to 4-1 at home this season.
• Quincy Ford hit a career-best 7 threes and tallied team-highs of 23 points and 8 rebounds vs. UVM. He’s reached double figures in all 12 games this season.
• David Walker added 11 points and 6 assists vs. UVM. He’s scored double figures in 10 straight games and leads NU with 44 assists.
• Zach Stahl had 14 points, 5 assists and 3 steals vs. UVM. He’s shooting 53.1% from the floor and has six games with 15+ points.
• Senior Caleb Donnelly made a career-best 5-of-7 treys and scored a career-high 15 points in the victory over Vermont.
• The Huskies made 13-of-28 threes vs. UVM, which was one shy of the school record of 14 set in 2005.
• Northeastern dished out a season-best 18 assists on 24 field goals against Vermont.
Towson
• Beat UMBC 91-65 to complete the sweep of Baltimore-area D-I schools. Have won 8 of their last 9 games and are 6-0 at home.
• Byron Hawkins scored 16 points vs. UMBC. He’s reached double digits in 9 of his last 10 games and tops TU with 15.0 ppg.
• Arnaud William Adala Moto tallied 13 points and 8 rebounds vs. UMBC and has scored double figures in seven straight games.
• John Davis nearly had a double-double at FDU with 14 points and 9 rebounds and had 13 points and 8 boards vs. Rio Grande.
• Mike Morsell poured in a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 FG shooting vs. UMBC and dished out a career-best 7 assists.
• The Tigers out-rebounded UMBC 38-25 and are +8.2 in rebound margin.
• Walter Foster hit double figures for the 4th time in 5 games with 10 points vs. UMBC.
• Towson shot a season-best 57.6% from the floor against UMBC.
William & Mary
• Moved to 5-0 at home after edging High Point 78-75 in OT last Monday.
• Omar Prewitt scored 17 points with 6 assists vs. HPU and has reached double figures in 12 straight games. He’s 17 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Daniel Dixon scored a team-high 20 points vs. HPU, including a game-winning 3 with 3.4 seconds left in OT. He leads the team with 33 treys and is shooting 45.2% from the arc.
• Terry Tarpey, who ranks third in the CAA in rebounding (8.3 rpg), first in steals (3.1 spg) and fourth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg), added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals vs. HPU.
• Greg Malinowski, who had his first career double-double vs. UMW (15pts/11reb), had 8 points off the bench against HPU.
• Sean Sheldon scored 10 points on 4-of-6 FG shooting and is shooting 57.4% for the year.
• W&M ranks 2nd in the CAA in FG percentage defense (38.9%) and 1st in 3-point FG% defense (26.6%).