Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Dec. 19
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - Dec. 19 (PDF format)
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Devontae Cacok • UNCW
So., F, 6-7, 240 - Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Cacok was a perfect 15-for-15 from the floor and averaged 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in UNCW’s 2-0 week. The sophomore posted his fourth double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-75 win at Campbell and had 15 points and 9 boards in a 100-64 victory over Radford. Cacok, who ranks second in the nation in FG percentage (80.7%), also contributed two blocks and two steals.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Alex Murphy • Northeastern
Gr., F, 6-8, 225 - Wakefield, R.I./St. Mark’s
Murphy scored a team-high 18 points and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead Northeastern to an 81-73 victory at Michigan State on Sunday night. The Huskies’ forward was 7-of-16 from the floor and drained three treys, including one with 2:47 to go that gave NU a commanding eight-point lead. It was just the fifth win over a Big Ten opponent in Northeastern history and the first since 2008.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Eli Pemberton • Hofstra
Fr., G, 6-4, 190 - Middletown, Conn./Cheshire Academy
Pemberton tallied 18 points, four rebounds and two assists as Hofstra rolled past Long Island rival Stony Brook, 96-58, last Tuesday. The freshman guard was 5-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from three, and hit all six free throws to reach double figures for the ninth time in 12 games this season.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
NORTHEASTERN KNOCKS OFF MICHIGAN STATE: Northeastern earned its second impressive road win of the season, knocking off Michigan State, 81-73, on Sunday night. It was the Huskies’ fifth victory ever over a Big Ten foe and first since defeating Indiana in 2008. Alex Murphy scored a team-high 18 points and T.J. Williams contributed 17 points and nine rebounds for NU. It was Michigan State’s first non-conference loss at home since 2014. Earlier this season, the Huskies defeated Connecticut, 64-61, on the road.
UNCW RANKED #14 IN LATEST RPI REPORT: UNCW is ranked #14 in the latest RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com) through games of Dec. 18. The Seahawks extended their winning streak to seven with a 100-64 victory over Radford on Saturday and are 6-1 this season away from home. College of Charleston, which improved to 8-3 and increased its winning streak to five with a 53-35 victory at East Carolina last Thursday, is #53 in the RPI. The CAA has moved up to #11 among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences.
CAA LEADS THE NATION IN ROAD VICTORIES: CAA teams have won 23 true road games and are 8-6 on neutral courts against non-conference foes this season. The 23 road wins are the most of any Division I conference through games of Dec. 18. The 23 road victories are the same as the combined road win total of the Big 12 (7), Big Ten (7), Pac 12 (6) and SEC (3). Eight CAA teams have recorded multiple road victories and five have at least a .500 mark on the road. Last season, CAA teams recorded 21 wins in true road games, which was the 3rd-most among all conferences.
SOLID START FOR CAA TEAMS: It’s been a solid start to the season in CAA men’s basketball as the league’s 10 teams have combined for a 60-46 record, including a 9-3 mark last week. UNCW is off to a 10-1 start, which is its best 11-game mark in school history. The Seahawks are riding a seven-game winning streak, which is tied for the 14th-longest in the nation currently. College of Charleston (8-3) is off to its best start since 2011-12 and has won its past fIve contests. Towson (7-4) has captured four of its last five after rallying past UMBC on Saturday. Eight of the league’s 10 teams have .500 or better overall records.
MORE TOUGH TESTS AHEAD: It’s another tough week of non-conference competition for CAA teams. College of Charleston visits LSU (7-2) on Monday, Northeastern travels to Oakland (9-1) on Tuesday and Elon faces 5th-ranked Duke (10-1) in Greensboro on Wednesday. Towson heads to Las Vegas where it faces Nevada (9-2) and Iona (7-3) and William & Mary goes to Rhode Island (7-4) on Thursday.
College of Charleston
• On a five-game winning streak following a 53-35 victory at East Carolina last Thursday.
• Joe Chealey scored a team-high 14 points and dished out 4 assists at ECU. He’s tallied double figures six times this season and has eclipsed the 20-point mark twice.
• Jarrell Brantley had 11 points and 8 rebounds at ECU. He’s scored double figures in 23 of his past 24 games and ranks 3rd in the CAA in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
• Freshman Grant Riller chipped in 8 points at ECU. He’s reached double digits four times and ranks third on the team with 10.3 ppg.
• Nick Harris tied his career-high with 13 rebounds at ECU. He’s 6th in the CAA in rebounds (7.4 rpg) and 2nd in blocks.
• CofC limited ECU to 35 points, which was the fewest points scored by an opponent in its Div. I history. CofC has held 10 of its 11 foes under 70 points this season and tops the CAA and ranks 8th nationally in scoring defense (58.6 ppg).
Delaware
• Suffered an 81-68 setback at Seton Hall last Saturday.
• Anthony Mosley scored a season-high 21 points and dished out 5 assists at SHU. He was 13-of-14 at the free throw line.
• Ryan Daly tallied 19 points and a team-high 7 rebounds at SHU. It was his fourth double-digit effort in the past five games and he’s the first UD freshman to score 19+ points in consecutive games since 2012.
• Chivarsky Corbett was held to 5 points at SHU, ending a four-game double-figure scoring streak.
• Eric Carter has grabbed 10 or more rebounds four times this season and ranks 4th in the CAA with 7.7 rpg.
• Delaware was a season-best 20-of-22 (90.9%) from the free throw line at Seton Hall.
• UD was beaten on the glass (43-35) at Seton Hall but still ranks second in the league in rebound margin (+7.4 rpg).
Drexel
• Split games last week, losing 90-82 at Rider before topping Kean, 84-44.
• Rodney Williams poured in a team-high 23 points in 27 minutes at Rider, which was his 5th 20+-point effort of the season. He’s 5th in the CAA in scoring (16.4 ppg) and 12th in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
• Kurk Lee contributed 19 points at Rider and dished out a career-high 10 assists vs. Kean. Lee has reached double figures 10 times and is 6th in the CAA in scoring (15.5 ppg) and 3rd in assists (5.1 apg).
• Sammy Mojica averaged 13.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg over the two games last week. He’s 11th in the CAA in rebounding (6.4 rpg).
• Kari Jonsson ranks 2nd in the CAA with 2.4 treys per game and is shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc.
• Austin Williams posted his first double-double (16 pts/11 reb) vs. Kean.
• Miles Overton came off the bench to score 15 points in 20 minutes at Rider. He was 6-of-10 from the floor and hit two treys.
Elon
• Ended a three-game slide with a 68-53 victory at Saint Peter’s on Sunday.
• Brian Dawkins hit 4-of-5 threes and scored a team-high 18 points at SPU. He leads Elon with 12.5 ppg and is shooting 58.9% from the floor, including 16-of-25 (64%) from 3.
• Tyler Seibring contributed 14 points and a team-best 8 rebounds at SPU. He’s tallied double digits in 7 of 11 games and leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg).
• Dainan Swoope scored 12 points and dished out a career-high 8 assists at SPU. It was his 4th straight game in double figures.
• Elon hit 14-of-29 threes at SPU and has made at least seven 3-pointers in all 11 games this season. The Phoenix lead the CAA with 9.8 treys per game.
• Elon is 6-2 this season when at least four players score in double figures.
• Luke Eddy missed the SPU game with an injury. He’s scored double figures in five of the last six games and ranks sixth in the CAA in assists (4.3 apg).
Hofstra
• Rolled past rival Stony Brook 96-58 last Tuesday as six players scored double figures.
• Justin Wright-Foreman came off the bench to contribute career-highs of 22 points and 8 rebounds vs. SBU. He hit 8-of-12 FG’s.
• Rokas Gustys posted his 4th double-double with 11 points and 18 rebounds at SBU. He leads the nation in rebounding (13.4 ppg) and has two games with 20+ boards and eight with at least 10 rebounds.
• Deron Powers contributed 13 points and 7 assists vs. SBU. He’s scored double figures in nine straight games and ranks fourth in the CAA in assists (4.7 apg).
• Eli Pemberton tallied 18 points vs. SBU. He’s reached double digits nine times and ranks 8th in the league in scoring (14.6 ppg).
• Ty Greer recorded his first double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. SBU.
• Hofstra has made 10 or more threes in seven games and is shooting a league-best 38.9% from beyond the arc.
James Madison
• Fell 73-61 in overtime at Appalachian State on Saturday.
• Jackson Kent had a team-high 16 points, 6 rebounds and a team-best 6 assists at ASU. Kent is averaging 18.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg over his past three games and has made 11 of his last 17 from 3-point range.
• Ramone Snowden scored a season-high 13 points at ASU on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from three. It was his 2nd double-digit effort in the last three games.
• Yohanny Dalembert tallied 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks at ASU. He’s scored double figures in four straight contests.
• Senior Ivan Lucic grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and also scored six points in 25 minutes off the bench at ASU.
• JMU was hurt by 22 turnovers in the ASU loss. The Dukes are averaging 17.1 tpg.
• JMU out-rebounded ASU 43-27 and has beaten 9 of their 10 opponents on the glass. JMU is +5.1 in rebound margin for the year.
UNCW
• Off to their best start in school history after vicories over Campbell (96-75) and Radford (100-64) last week. Have won 7 in a row.
• C.J. Bryce scored a career-high 26 points at CU and had 14 vs. RU. He’s tallied at least 13 points in 10 of UNCW’s 11 games.
• Devontae Cacok posted his 4th double-double (18 pts/10 reb) at CU and had 15 points and 9 boards vs. RU. He was 15-of-15 from the floor last week and ranks 2nd in Div. I in FG percentage (80.7%). He’s also 2nd in the CAA in rebounding (9.9 rpg).
• Denzel Ingram ranks 2nd in the CAA in assists (5.8 apg) and is averaging 11.7 ppg.
• Chris Flemmings scored a team-high 17 points vs. RU and has reached double digits in 15 of his last 16 games. He ranks 2nd in the CAA in scoring with 18.1 ppg.
• JaQuel Richmond had 14 points vs. RU and is averaging 13.7 ppg over the past 3 games.
• UNCW has committed only 20 turnovers over the past three games.
Northeastern
• Knocked off Michigan State, 81-73, on Sunday. It was the fifth win ever for NU over a Big Ten opponent.
• Alex Murphy scored a team-high 18 points with 6 rebounds at MSU. He’s averaging 19.2 ppg over the past five games. He also leads NU in rebounds (6.0 rpg) and is shooting 51.6% from the floor.
• T.J. Williams had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists at MSU. He’s scored double digits in all 11 games, including seven 20+-point efforts. He leads the CAA in scoring (21.5 ppg) and is 2nd in assists (5.8 apg).
• Devon Begley was 10-for-10 at the FT line and finished with 16 points at MSU. He also handed out a team-high six assists.
• Jeremy Miller was 2-for-2 from 3-point range and added 8 points at MSU. He’s shooting 45.2% from beyond the arc.
• All five Northeastern losses this season have been by six points or less.
Towson
• Rallied from a 15-point 2nd-half deficit to beat UMBC 73-72. Have won 3 in a row.
• Mike Morsell posted his first career double-double (14 pts/10 reb) and scored the game-winning basket with 11.7 seconds left at UMBC. He’s led TU in scoring 7 times and is averaging a team-best 17.6 ppg.
• John Davis just missed recording his 5th double-double with 10 points and 9 rebound at UMBC. Davis has scored double figures in seven straight games.
• William Adala Moto added 13 points and 6 rebounds at UMBC. He’s scored double figures in 9 of 11 games. Adala Moto also went over 1,000 points for his career.
• Towson has out-rebounded 28 of its last 30 foes. The Tigers rank 16th nationally in rebound margin (+8.7 rpg)/
• DeShaun Morman scored a team-high 17 points at UMBC and is averaging 11.2 ppg over the past six games.
• TU shot 65.5% (19-29) from the floor in the 2nd half at UMBC and 49.1% for the game.
William & Mary
• Cruised past Milligan 113-59 on Friday to stop a two-game slide.
• Greg Malinowski scored a season-high 20 points vs. Milligan and is averaging 16.0 ppg over his last three games. He’s 10-of-18 from 3-point range in that stretch.
• Daniel Dixon scored 20 points on 7-of-8 FG shooting in the win over Milligan.
• Connor Burchfield made 6-of-8 treys and tied a career-high with 20 points vs. Milligan. He’s shooting 53.3% from three.
• Freshman Nathan Knight posted a double-double (14 pts/10 reb) and blocked 7 shots against Milligan.
• Paul Rowley also had a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards vs. Milligan.
• Omar Prewitt, who played just 6 minutes vs. Milligan, is leading the Tribe and is among the CAA’s top 10 in scoring (14.3 ppg). He’s topped the 20-point mark three times.
• W&M has out-rebounded six of its eight foes and is +6.1 in rebound margin.