Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Jan. 18
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - JAN. 18 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Chris Flemmings • UNCW
Jr., G, 6-5, 175 - Cary, N.C/Green Hope
Flemmings averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 rebounds as UNCW went 2-0 last week to move into a tie for first place. The junior guard poured in a career-high 28 points in a 91-82 victory at Elon and followed with 19 points and 8 rebounds as the Seahawks got past William & Mary 97-94 in overtime. Flemmings shot 57.6% from the floor, including 8-of-17 from 3-point range, and also dished out four assists. He’s scored double digits in seven consecutive games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Rokas Gustys • Hofstra
So., C, 6-9, 260 - Kaunas, Lithuania/Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
Gustys averaged 20.0 points and 15.0 rebounds while shooting 79% (15-of-19) from the floor in Hofstra’s two games last week. The sophomore center set career-highs with 25 points and 20 rebounds in an overtime setback to JMU, becoming the first Hofstra player to post a 20-20 game since 1982. He also tallied 15 points and 10 boards in a victory over Drexel. Gustys, who leads the CAA in rebounding and FG percentage, has recorded double-doubles in four straight games and has eight for the year.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Tyler Seibring • Elon
Fr., F, 6-8, 225 - Towanda, Ill./Normal Community
Seibring repeats as Rookie of the Week after averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in Elon’s two games last week. The freshman forward scored a game-high 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and assisted on the game-winning basket as the Phoenix rallied past College of Charleston, 65-64, and scored 11 points against UNCW. For the week, Seibring shot 66.7% (10-15) from the floor, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range. He’s reached double figures in five straight contests.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
SIX-TEAM TIE ATOP CAA STANDINGS: The most competitve conference race in the nation got even tighter last week as six teams -
Hofstra, James Madison, UNCW, Northeastern, Towson and
William & Mary - are now tied for first place at 4-2. The Big 12 (4) and MAC (4) are the only other conferences with more than two teams tied for first through games of Jan. 17. Of the 10 CAA games last week, five were decided by four points or less. There are several head-to-head matchups between the first-place squads this week as Northeastern hosts Hofstra and Towson, and the Pride also faces William & Mary.
ROAD TEAMS IMPROVE TO 17-13 IN CAA ACTION: Road teams have a 17-13 record thus far in CAA play after going 7-3 last week. Seven of the league’s 10 teams have winning road records in CAA play, including unbeaten
James Madison (3-0) and
Elon (2-0). All 10 teams have suffered at least one home loss in conference competition and only four have winning records. Visitors having success in CAA action continues a trend from last year when home teams finished 47-43.
PILING UP THE WINS: The CAA is one of only five Division I conferences to have at least seven teams with 12 or more overall wins through games of Jan. 17. The others are the ACC (11), Big Ten (8), Big East (7) and Pac 12 (7).
FOUR CAA TEAMS AMONG TOP 95 IN LATEST RPI: Four CAA teams are ranked among the top 95 in the latest RPI report released by
Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com) on Jan. 18.
William & Mary leads all CAA squads at #58, followed by
James Madison at #84,
Northeastern at #93 and
Hofstra at #95. The CAA is ranked #9 among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences,
which is its highest ranking ever at this point in the season, and is one of only nine conferences with four teams among the top 95 of the RPI along with the American, A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac 12 and SEC.
CAA EXCELS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: The CAA turned in one of the strongest non-conference performances in conference history with the 10 squads putting together a 75-44 overall record. Making the numbers more impressive is the fact that less than half of those games were at home. CAA teams were dominant (47-8) at home and had 21 victories in true road contests, which is the 3rd-most among all conferences.
HOFSTRA’S GREEN ECLIPSES 2,000 CAREER POINTS: Hofstra guard
Juan’ya Green became the third active Division I player to eclipse the 2,000 career point mark (2,020) last week. He is just 111 points shy of becoming only the fourth player ever to score at least 1,000 points at two different Division I schools (1,131 at Niagara/889 at Hofstra). Green is also second among active Div. I players in career assists (648) and fifth in career steals (206) through games of Jan. 17. He trails only Evansville’s D.J. Balentine (2,168) and High Point’s John Brown (2,026) in points and Texas A&M’s Anthony Collins (650) in assists.
COFC’S BARRY UNDERGOES SEASON-ENDING SURGERY: College of Charleston junior guard
Canyon Barry will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery last week to repair a shoulder injury. Barry was leading the CAA in scoring at 19.7 ppg and had posted seven 20+-point outings in his 13 contests this season.
THREE-POINT SUCCESS: Several CAA teams are among the nation’s best at scoring from the 3-point line and defending it.
Elon (10.6 pg/7th),
James Madison (9.5 pg/22nd) and
Hofstra (8.7 pg/48th) are among Division I leaders in 3’s per game while JMU (38.4%/38th) is ranked in 3-point FG%. Defensively,
William & Mary is 11th in 3-point FG percentage defense (28.6%) and JMU is 13th (29.1%). Individually, Elon’s
Tanner Samson (3.16 pg/25th) and Hofstra’s
Brian Bernardi (2.89 pg/45th) and W&M’s
Daniel Dixon (2.81/54th) are among Division I leaders in treys per game and 3-point FG% - Bernardi (44.4%/30th), Samson (43.2%/44th).
UNCW RANKS SEVENTH IN TURNOVER MARGIN: UNCW ranks seventh nationally in turnover margin (+5.6 tpg) through games of Jan. 17. The Seahawks are forcing 17.0 turnovers per game, which ranks 9th in Division I, while committing 11.4. UNCW is also 12th nationally with 8.9 steals per game.
W&M’S TARPEY AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN STEALS: W&M senior
Terry Tarpey ranks 4th nationally in steals (2.75 spg) and Drexel freshman
Terrell Allen (2.18 spg) is 21st through games of Jan. 17. In scoring, CofC’s
Canyon Barry ranks 32nd (19.7 ppg). Hofstra’s
Juan’ya Green (6.6 apg) is 13th in assists, while the Pride’s
Brian Bernardi is 11th in FT percentage (90%). Delaware’s
Marvin King-Davis is 14th in double-doubles (9) and 40th in rebounding (9.2 rpg). Hofstra’s
Rokas Gustys is 21st in double-doubles (8) and ranks 22nd in rebounding (10.1 rpg).
ELON’S SAMSON TOPS 300 THREES: Elon senior
Tanner Samson broke the school’s career record for three-pointers in a win over FIU on Dec. 4 and currently has 302 treys. The 302 career threes is tied for first among all active Division I players. Samson drained a school-record 103 three-pointers last season, which was the third-highest total in CAA history, and has made 60 shots from beyond the arc this season, which leads the conference.
W&M RANKED IN MID-MAJOR POLL: William & Mary was ranked #24 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll released on Jan. 11. Five CAA teams -
Hofstra, James Madison, Northeastern, College of Charleston and
Elon - were among other teams receiving votes in the poll. A new poll will be released on Monday night.
CLEANING THE GLASS: Eight of the CAA’s 10 teams are out-rebounding their opponents for the season as of Jan. 18. Towson has a league-best +7.5 rebound margin, followed by James Madison (+4.1 rpg) and Delaware (+3.4 rpg).
College of Charleston
• Suffered narrow home losses to William & Mary (63-61) and Elon (65-64) last week.
• Cameron Johnson had a game-high 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists vs. W&M and a team-best 16 points vs. Elon. He has 12 double-digit scoring efforts this season.
• Marquise Pointer chipped in 12 points against Elon. He’s averaging 13.1 ppg over his last 8 games and has reached double figures nine times.
• Jarrell Brantley tallied 15 points and a team-high 7 rebounds vs. Elon. He’s averaging 14.2 ppg over his last six games and leads all CAA freshmen in scoring and rebounding.
• Evan Bailey made seven threes and averaged 14.0 ppg off the bench last week, including a career-high 16 points vs. W&M.
• Junior Canyon Barry underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week. He was averaging a CAA-best 19.7 ppg.
• CofC has limited five of its six CAA opponents to 65 points or less.
Delaware
• Fell 79-77 to Towson and 69-60 to Northeastern last week.
• Marvin King-Davis tallied team-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds vs. NU and had 19 points and 11 boards vs. TU. He has a CAA-best 9 double-doubles and is averaging 23.7 ppg and 11.7 rpg over his past 3 contests.
• Kory Holden averaged 20.5 ppg and 6.0 apg last week, including a game-high 29 points vs. Towson. He has reached double figures in 12 of his last 13 games and ranks 5th in the CAA in scoring and 3rd in assists.
• Anthony Mosley scored 11 points against TU but had his 6-game double-digit scoring streak end vs. NU (9 pts). He’s averaging 13.9 ppg over his last seven games.
• Cazmon Hayes scored 15 points vs. NU and 14 against TU. He’s tallied double digits in 10 of his past 11 contests.
• UD shot 45.9% from the floor vs. Towson, which was its 2nd-highest of the season.
• UD used a 6-man rotation in both games.
Drexel
• Dropped road games at Hofstra (69-61) and Towson (69-50) last week.
• Terrell Allen filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals at Hofstra and scored a team-best 15 points at Towson. He ranks 2nd in the CAA in steals and is 3rd among CAA freshmen in scoring.
• Sammy Mojica scored 13 points at Hofstra and 12 points at Towson. He has nine double-digit efforts in the past 14 games.
• Kazembe Abif recorded his third double-double with team-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds at Hofstra.
• Tavon Allen chipped in 10 points at HU and has tallied double digits in 14 of 17 contests.
• Rodney Williams added 8 points at Towson and is averaging 12.7 ppg over the past six contests.
• The Dragons were 19-of-26 at the FT line last week and are 47-of-61 (77.0%) from the stripe over the past three games.
Elon
• Rallied for a 65-64 win at CofC following a 91-82 home loss to UNCW last week.
• Guard Luke Eddy scored a team-high 21 points against UNCW and 15 points at CofC. He’s averaging 14.5 ppg over his last 4 games and ranks 2nd in the CAA in assists.
• Tanner Samson was held to 8 points in each game last week but has tallied double figures in 11 of his last 14 contests. Samson is Elon’s career 3-point leader with 302 and tops the CAA with 60 treys this season.
• Christian Hairston posted his 4th double-double (14 pts/10 reb) vs. UNCW and is averaging 12.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg over the past four contests.
• Tyler Seibring was 7-of-11 from 3 and averaged 14.5 ppg last week, including a game-high 18 points and 7 rebounds at CofC. He’s tallied double digits in 5 straight games.
• Dainan Swoope hit a game-winning 3 with 20 seconds left and had 12 points at CofC.
• Elon has made 10+ treys in 12 of 19 games.
Hofstra
• Split two home games last week, beating Drexel 69-61, but losing 86-82 in OT to JMU.
• Rokas Gustys averaged 20.0 ppg and 15.0 rpg last week on 79% FG shooting, including career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds vs. JMU. It was HU’s first 20-20 game since 1982. He tops the CAA in rebounds (10.1 rpg) and FG% (62.7%), has grabbed 10+ boards 12 times and has 8 double-doubles.
• Juan’ya Green scored a game-high 25 points vs. DU and went over 2,000 points for his career. He’s scored double figures in 17 of 18 games and also leads the CAA in assists.
• Ameen Tanksley averged 10.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg last week. He has reached double digits in 17 of 18 contests.
• Brian Bernardi chipped in 12 points vs. Drexel and JMU. He has made a team-high 52 threes on 44.4% shooting this season.
• Denton Koon just missed a double-double (11 pts/9 reb) vs. JMU. He’s scored double figures 12 times and grabbed 10+ boards four times this season.
James Madison
• Improved to 6-0 on the road after victories at Northeastern (75-63) and Hofstra (86-82 in OT). Have won 12 of their last 14 overall.
• Ron Curry averaged 18.0 ppg and 6.0 apg last week, including a team-high 22 points at NU. He’s hit double digits in 11 straight games and has 20+ points in six of them.
• Yohanny Dalembert averaged 15.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg last week, highlighted by 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds at Hofstra.
• Junior Shakir Brown averaged 16.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg last week. He posted his 4th double-double at Hofstra, hitting 6-of-9 threes and finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
• Dimitrije Cabarkapa has made at least one 3-pointer in 25 of the last 27 games and has reached double figures in 5 of the last 8.
• JMU limited NU and HU to 36% FG shooting, including 13-of-62 from 3. The Dukes lead the league in FG% defense and 3-point FG% defense in CAA games.
• JMU is now 12-0 when leading at the half.
UNCW
• On a 3-game win streak after defeating Elon (91-82) and W&M (97-94 in OT) last week.
• Chris Flemmings averaged 23.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg last week, including a career-high 28 points at Elon. He’s scored double digits in 14 of the past 15 games and is averaging 17.8 ppg in CAA play.
• Denzel Ingram made 8 threes and scored a career-high 30 points vs. W&M. He added 14 points, 5 assists and 3 steals at Elon and has hit double digits in 8 of the last 9 games.
• Craig Ponder went 4-of-6 from three and had 21 points, 5 assists and 4 steals at Elon. He’s 10 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• C.J. Bryce scored 20 points vs. W&M, which was his 10th double-digit outing.
• C.J. Gettys had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks at Elon and a team-high 11 boards and a school-record 6 blocks vs. W&M.
• UNCW shot over 50% against Elon (55.7%) and W&M (54.1%) and made 24 treys in the two contests.
Northeastern
• Went 1-1 last week, losing to JMU (75-53) but winning at Delaware (69-60).
• David Walker averaged 18.5 ppg last week, including a team-high 24 points at UD. It was his league-leading 8th 20+-point effort.
• Freshman Jeremy Miller recorded a career-high 19 points and 6 rebounds vs. JMU. He’s scored double digits in 3 of the last 5 games.
• Quincy Ford contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds at UD and has scored double digits in 18 of 19 games. He’s among the CAA’s top six in scoring and rebounding.
• Zach Stahl had 9 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and 4 assists at UD.
• Junior T.J. Williams added a season-high 11 points off the bench against JMU.
• NU committed just 8 turnovers against JMU and UD and has only made 30 turnovers over the past four contests (7.5 tpg).
• NU made 8 second-half 3-pointers at UD.
Towson
• Beat Delaware (79-77) and Drexel (69-50) last week to move into a tie for first place. Have won 6 of their last 8 overall.
• William Adala Moto posted double-doubles vs. UD (22 pts/15 reb) and DU (16 pts/11 reb). He’s scored double digits in 14 consecutive contests and is averaging 17.8 ppg and 9.8 rpg in CAA play.
• John Davis scored a season-high 22 points at UD, which was his first double-figure outing since Dec. 20. He also had 7 rebounds.
• Mike Morsell averaged 10.5 ppg last week. He’s reached double figures in 8 straight games and is scoring 13.3 ppg in CAA play.
• Byron Hawkins tallied 14 second-half points at UD and added 12 vs. Drexel. He’s reached double digits in 13 of his last 16 games.
• The Tigers out-rebounded DU 45-33 and are a CAA-best +7.5 in rebound margin.
• Towson was 15-of-38 (39.5%) from 3-point range in the two games last week.
William & Mary
• Edged CofC 63-61, but fell 97-94 in OT at UNCW. Have won 7 of their past 9 games.
• David Cohn hit 3 treys and scored a team-high 15 points at CofC and posted his first double-double (14 pts/11 ast) at UNCW. He’s averaging 12.2 ppg over his last six games.
• Sean Sheldon averaged 15.0 ppg last week, including a career-high 20 points at UNCW. He was 12-of-15 from the floor for the week and is shooting 61.9% for the season.
• Terry Tarpey averaged 12.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg last week. He ranks 4th in the CAA in rebounding, 1st in steals and 2nd in blocks.
• Omar Prewitt poured in 20 points at UNCW. He’s scored double digits in 17 of his last 19 games and has 7 20+-point efforts.
• Greg Malinowski averaged 11.0 ppg last week and was 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
• Daniel Dixon missed the UNCW game due to injury. He leads W&M with 45 treys and is shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc.