Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Nov. 21
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - NOV. 21 (PDF format)
CAA Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Devontae Cacok, So., F, 6-7, 240 - Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Cacok averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 75% (15-for-20) from the floor in UNCW’s 2-0 week. The sophomore posted a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in a 78-69 overtime win at Eastern Kentucky and followed with a career-high 17 points on 8-of-9 FG shooting, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as the Seahawks topped unbeaten East Tennessee State, 68-59, on Sunday.
CAA Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week
Kurk Lee, Fr., G, 5-10, 150 - Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy
Lee averaged 18.0 points and 3.5 assists in Drexel’s 2-0 week. The freshman guard poured in a career-high 24 points in the Dragons’ 87-73 victory over Hartford last Friday and followed with 12 points, four assists and three steals in a 83-62 win at North Texas on Sunday. For the week, Lee shot 55.6% (15-27) from the floor.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
COFC, W&M FACE NATIONAL POWERS: College of Charleston and
William & Mary will battle two of the nation’s top programs on Wednesday as the Cougars visit #2 Villanova and the Tribe travels to #6 Duke. Both games will be nationally televised with CofC/Villanova airing on FS1 and W&M/Duke airing on ESPNU. Also on this week’s non-conference schedule,
Towson caps a four-game road trip at ACC foe Boston College on Tuesday, while
Elon (NIU Thanksgiving Classic)
, Hofstra (Gulf Coast Showcase) and
UNCW (Challenge In Music City) take part in tournaments.
CAA STARTS THE SEASON STRONG: It’s been a strong start to the season in CAA men’s basketball as the league’s 10 teams have combined for a 21-17 record.
UNCW is off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season after victories over Eastern Kentucky and ETSU last week.
CofC started 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12 before falling to UCF and Wake Forest in the ESPN Gildan Charleston Classic.
Northeastern (3-2) knocked off UConn, 64-61, last Monday night. It was NU’s first win over UConn since 1985.
Towson started 2-0 for the first time since 2013-14 and took #24 Maryland to the wire on Sunday before falling, 71-66.
Delaware (3-3) got off to a 3-1 start for the first time since 2003-04 after getting past Miami (Ohio) last Friday.
Elon picked up a 74-61 victory at USF last Thursday to improve to 2-1 and
Drexel posted back-to-back wins over Hartford and North Texas last week.
William & Mary is 2-1 with its only setback coming to #12 Louisville.
ROAD SUCCESS CONTINUES: Last season, CAA teams recorded 21 victories in true road games, which was the 3rd-most among all conferences. So far this season, CAA teams are 9-10 on the road, with two of the setbacks coming to nationally ranked teams.
College of Charleston
• Finished 4th in the Charleston Classic, beating Boise State (60-47), but losing to UCF (60-40) and Wake Forest (78-61).
• Joe Chealey scored a team-high 19 points vs. WFU and 15 points vs. Boise. Chealey has tallied double digits in 4 of 5 games is averaging a team-best 15.6 ppg.
• Jarrell Brantley tallied a double-double (11 pts/team-high 13 reb) vs. BSU and had 16 points and a team-high 8 boards vs. Wake. Brantley, the 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year, is averaging 12.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
• Cameron Johnson was 3-of-4 from 3-point range and had 9 points in the BSU win.
• CofC limited BSU to 34.6% FG shooting and is holding foes to 41.4% shooting and just 63.4 ppg this season. CofC ranked 8th in Div. I in scoring defense (62.0 ppg) last year.
• CofC was 21-of-23 (91.3%) at the FT line vs. Coastal and is hitting 73.7% for the year.
• Grant Riller came off the bench to score 11 points in the loss to UCF.
Delaware
• Went 1-3 last week, topping Miami (OH) 68-66, but losing 74-68 at La Salle, 74-53 to Northern Ky. and 76-75 to Austin Peay.
• Chivarsky Corbett scored 16 points at Miami, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left. He posted a double-double (11 pts/10 reb) vs. Austin Peay.
• Cazmon Hayes scored a season-high 19 points at La Salle and had 13 points vs. Miami and NKU.
• Anthony Mosley filled the stat sheet at La Salle with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and had 17 points, 5 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals against Miami.
• Freshman Ryan Daly tallied a career-high 19 points and 7 rebounds at La Salle. He added 13 points against NKU and 11 points vs. Austin Peay.
• Devonne Pinkard poured in a career-high 22 points vs. Austin Peay.
• UD is out-rebounding its opponents by 9.3 per game.
Drexel
• Went 2-0 last week, defeating Hartford 87-73 on Friday in their home opener and winning 83-62 at North Texas.
• Freshman Kurk Lee scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-16 FG shooting vs. Hartford and added 12 vs. North Texas. Lee has reached double figures in all 4 games.
• Senior Rodney Williams had 21 points and 8 rebounds vs. Hartford and scored a team-high 20 points at North Texas. He’s averging 18.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg for the year.
• Williams blocked two shots vs. Hartford and now has 109 career blocks, which ranks in Drexel’s top 10.
• Lee and Williams gave Drexel two 20-point scorers in a game for the first time since Feb. 28, 2015.
• Austin Williams grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds vs. Hartford and scored 13 points on 6-of-6 FG shooting at North Texas.
• Freshman Kari Jonsson scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting at North Texas and scored 12 vs. Hartford.
Elon
• Won 74-61 at USF last Thursday after a 100-95 setback to Charlotte on Monday.
• Steven Santa Ana poured in a career-high 32 points vs. Charlotte, hitting 12-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from 3. He hit two treys and added 13 points at USF.
• Brian Dawkins tallied a team-high 13 points on 5-of-9 FG shooting at USF.
• Karolis Kundrotas scored a career-high 16 points in 19 minutes off the bench vs. Charlotte and added 11 points at USF. He was 8-of-12 from the floor over the two games.
• Luke Eddy had 9 points, 7 assists and 5 steals vs. Charlotte and was 3-of-3 from 3-pt range and scored 11 points in the USF win.
• Sheldon Eberhardt was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and tallied 11 points vs. William Peace and added 9 points against Charlotte.
• Elon hit 10 treys at USF, 9 against Charlotte and 10 in the opener vs. William Peace.
• Elon is averaging 90.0 ppg through 3 games.
Hofstra
• Suffered road setbacks at Sacred Heart (90-86) and Manhattan (80-68) last week.
• Freshman Eli Pemberton had a team-high 23 points on 7-of-10 FG shooting, including 5-of-5 from three, at SHU and followed with 15 points at Manhattan. He’s averaging 19.3 ppg and has made 12-of-18 treys.
• Rokas Gustys just missed his second double-double with nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds at SHU. He leads the league in rebounding with 14.7 rpg.
• Brian Bernardi poured in 22 points at SHU, hitting 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three and added 14 points at MC. He’s 35 points shy of 1,000 of his career.
• Junior Ty Greer contributed 12 points on 5-of-7 FG shooting and five boards at SHU.
• Justin Wright-Foreman scored a career-high 17 points at Manhattan.
• Hofstra made 11 three-pointers in each of its first two games. The Pride is shooting an impressive 38.6% from three.
James Madison
• Dropped to 0-3 after an 80-73 loss at Montana State last Friday.
• Point guard Joey McLean hit 4-of-6 from three and scored 15 points at MSU. He’s averaging a team-high 15.0 ppg and shooting 60% from the floor and 50% from three.
• Shakir Brown came off the bench to provide 15 points and a team-high 8 rebounds at MSU. He’s scored double digits in all three contests and is averaging 13.7 ppg.
• Jackson Kent chipped in nine points at Montana State.
• JMU committed 41 turnovers in its first two games but only had nine miscues at Montana State.
• All 10 JMU players who took the floor at Montana State scored in the game.
• JMU led the nation in 3-pt FG percentage defense (29.0%) last season and topped the CAA in FG percentage defense (39.6%).
UNCW
• Started 3-0 for the second straight season after victories over Eastern Kentucky (78-69/ot) and ETSU (68-59) last week.
• Chris Flemmings posted double-doubles at EKU (18 pts/10 reb) and vs. ETSU (15 pts/11 reb). He’s averaging a team-high 20.3 ppg and is second in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
• C.J. Bryce tallied a team-high 21 points and 8 rebounds at EKU and contributed 13 points vs. ETSU. He’s scored double digits in all three games.
• Devontae Cacok recorded his 2nd double-double at EKU (14 pts/13 reb) and scored a career-high 17 points with 8 boards vs. ETSU. He’s shooting 75% from the floor for the second and is averaging 12.3 rpg.
• Guard JaQuel Richmond poured in 12 points in the ETSU victory.
• Denzel Ingram dished out six assists vs. ETSU and has 20 assists in the first 3 games.
• UNCW is limiting opponents to 38.5% FG shooting for the season.
Northeastern
• Went 2-2 last week, including a 64-61 win at UConn last Monday. It was NU’s first victory over UConn since 1985.
• T.J. Williams had a team-high 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists at UConn, a team-best 24 points at BU and 26 points and a career-high 10 assists vs. Maine. He’s scored 20+ points in 4 of 5 games and leads the CAA with 23.6 ppg.
• Alex Murphy added 9 points and a team-high 15 rebounds at UConn and had 13 points in setbacks to BU and LIU.
• Donnell Gresham scored 13 points at UConn. He’s 7-of-12 from 3-point range for the season.
• NU, which made 10 or more 3-pointers in 16 games last season, has hit 47 treys in five games this season. The Huskies are shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc.
• Freshman Bolden Brace posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Maine.
Towson
• Split a pair of road games last week, beating Morgan State (78-72) before dropping a narrow 71-66 decision at #24 Maryland.
• William Adala Moto posted double-doubles vs. MSU (19 pts/13 reb) and Maryland (11 pts/12 reb). He’s averaging 17.3 ppg and 10.3 rpg for the season.
• Mike Morsell scored a team-high 22 points at MSU and a team-best 17 points vs. Maryland. He leads the Tigers with 20.0 ppg.
• Towson, which led the CAA and ranked nationally in rebound margin last season, beat MSU 43-35, and Maryland, 46-33, on the glass. The Tigers have outrebounded 22 straight opponents.
• Senior John Davis recorded a double-double at MSU with 10 points and 10 rebounds and chipped in 10 points at Maryland.
• Towson hit 8 of its first 9 three-pointers in the second half at MSU after going 0-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half.
• Transfer DeShaun Morman had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals at Maryland.
William & Mary
• Lost 91-58 at #12 Louisville last Monday, but rolled past Presbyterian 89-59 on Saturday.
• Omar Prewitt scored a team-high 14 points at Louisville. He’s six points shy of 1,400 for his career.
• Freshman Nathan Knight tallied team-highs of 14 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench at Louisville.
• Daniel Dixon hit five threes and scored a team-high 20 points vs. PC. He ranks 6th on W&M’s career treys list with 177.
• W&M shot 52.5% from the floor and was 15-of-34 from 3-point range in the victory over Presbyterian.
• Junior Jack Whitman scored a career-high 16 points on 5-of-6 FG shooting vs. PC and Paul Rowley added a career-best 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting.
• W&M had 27 assists on 32 FG’s vs. PC, which was the 6th-most in school history.
• William & Mary set a program record with 22 steals in the opener vs. Bridgewater.