Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Dec. 26
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - DEC. 26 (PDF format)
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
T.J. Williams • Northeastern
Sr., G, 6-3, 205 - Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville
Williams filled the stat sheet with 22 points, a career-high tying 11 rebounds, six assists and a career-best five steals in Northeastern’s 61-59 victory at Oakland last Tuesday. The senior capped the big night by nailing the game-winning jumper at the buzzer while falling to the floor. It was the second double-double of the season for Williams, who leads the CAA in scoring (21.5 ppg) and assists (5.8 apg) and is fifth in steals (1.4 spg).
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Kari Jonsson • Drexel
Fr., G, 6-3, 170 - Hafnarfjordur, Iceland/Flensborg
Jonsson scored 17 points and dished out a career-high eight assists in Drexel’s 91-74 victory at Quinnipiac last Wednesday. The freshman guard, who leads the CAA with 2.6 three-pointers per game, went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and tallied double figures for the fifth time this season. He also made two steals and had only one turnover in 33 minutes of action.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
CONFERENCE PLAY TIPS OFF ON NEW YEAR’S EVE: Conference play in the CAA gets underway on Saturday with all 10 teams playing their league openers. It’s the tip-off of a busy stretch of four CAA games in eight days to start the conference slate before teams settle into a Thursday/Saturday format for the remainder of the season. Saturday’s schedule is highlighted by defending CAA champion UNCW visiting Towson at Noon. The two teams were picked to finish first and second in the league’s preseason poll.
UNCW RANKED #19 IN LATEST RPI REPORT: UNCW is ranked #19 in the latest RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com) through games of Dec. 25. The Seahawks extended their winning streak to eight with an 81-71 victory over East Carolina last Tuesday and are 6-1 this season away from home. College of Charleston, which is 9-4 overall and has won six of its last seven games, is #55 in the RPI. Towson moved up to #95 after winning four of its last five games. The CAA is ranked #11 among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences.
CAA LEADS THE NATION IN ROAD VICTORIES: CAA teams have won 26 true road games and are 9-8 on neutral courts against non-conference foes this season. The 26 road wins are the most of any Division I conference through games of Dec. 25. Eight CAA teams have recorded multiple road victories, led by UNCW, Northeastern and Drexel with four each. Last season, CAA teams recorded 21 wins in true road games, which was the 3rd-most among all conferences.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Non-conference play for CAA teams concludes this week and the league’s 10 teams have combined for an impressive 68-53 record. UNCW is off to a 11-1 start, which is its best 12-game mark in school history. The Seahawks are riding an eight-game winning streak, which is tied for the 14th-longest in the nation currently. College of Charleston (9-4) has won six of its last seven games after a victory at Western Carolina last Thursday. Towson has captured five of its last seven contests, Hofstra has won six of its last eight and Northeastern has reeled off three straight road victories, including one at Michigan State. Nine of the league’s 10 teams have .500 or better overall records.
College of Charleston
• Fell 75-65 at LSU last Monday, but beat Western Carolina 77-59 on Thursday. Have won six of their last seven games.
• Joe Chealey scored a team-high 23 points at LSU and a team-best 18 points at WCU. He’s tallied double figures eight times and has eclipsed the 20-point mark in 3 games.
• Jarrell Brantley had 17 points and 6 rebounds at WCU and 11 points and 5 boards at LSU. He’s scored double figures in 25 of his past 26 games and ranks 3rd in the CAA in rebounding (7.8 rpg).
• Freshman Grant Riller scored 10 points at WCU. He’s reached double digits five times and ranks third on the team with 10.2 ppg.
• CofC shot a season-best 48% from the floor and 50% from three (10-20) at WCU.
• CofC limited ECU to 35 points on Dec. 15, which was the fewest points scored by an opponent in its Div. I history. CofC has held 11 of its 13 foes under 70 points this season and leads the CAA and ranks among the top 20 nationally in scoring defense (59.9 ppg).
Delaware
• Improved to 4-0 at home after a 59-56 win over Marist last Tuesday, but lost 81-53 at USF on Thursday.
• Ryan Daly scored a team-high 17 points at USF and had 10 points and 8 rebounds vs. Marist. He has 6 double-digit efforts in the past 7 games. He’s averaging 11.5 ppg and tops all CAA freshmen in rebounds (6.1 rpg).
• Anthony Mosley had team-highs of 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals vs. Marist. He’s averaging 11.2 ppg and tops the CAA in steals (1.9 spg).
• Devonne Pinkard scored 11 points vs. Marist, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42 seconds left.
• Chivarsky Corbett tallied a team-best 15 points and 6 rebounds at USF.
• Delaware is 4-0 at home for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
• UD out-rebounded Marist 44-40 and ranks fourth in the league in rebound margin (+5.6 rpg).
Drexel
• Earned a 91-74 victory at Quinnipiac last Wednesday. Reached the 90-point mark for the first time since January, 2014.
• Rodney Williams poured in a team-high 25 points in 27 minutes at QU, which was his 6th 20+-point effort of the season. He’s 5th in the CAA in scoring (17.1 ppg) and 9th in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
• Kurk Lee contributed 13 points and 9 assists at QU. Lee has reached double figures 11 times and is 6th in the CAA in scoring (15.3 ppg) and 3rd in assists (5.4 apg).
• Kari Jonsson hit 5-of-8 treys and had 17 points and 8 assists at QU. He’s tied for the CAA lead with 2.6 threes per game and is shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc.
• Austin Williams posted his second straight double-double with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds at QU.
• Sammy Mojica ranks 9th in the CAA in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and is scoring 10.8 ppg.
• Drexel had 25 assists on 33 made field goals at Quinnipiac.
Elon
• Fell 72-61 to #5 Duke in Greensboro last Wednesday. Led 35-34 at the half.
• Brian Dawkins hit 4-of-4 threes and tallied team-highs of 18 points and 9 rebounds vs. Duke. He leads Elon with 12.9 ppg and is shooting 58.3% from the floor, including 20-of-29 (69%) from 3.
• Tyler Seibring has scored double digits in 7 of 12 games and leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
• Steven Santa Ana contributed 11 points vs. Duke, which was his fourth straight game in doublef figures.
• Elon hit eight threes vs. Duke and has made at least seven 3-pointers in all 12 games this season. The Phoenix are second in the CAA with 9.7 treys per game.
• Elon out-rebounded Duke 42-37 and had 11 offensive boards.
• Luke Eddy returned to action vs. Duke. He’s scored double figures in five of the last seven games and ranks sixth in the CAA in assists (4.0 apg).
Hofstra
• Topped Siena 84-64 last Thursday as five players scored in double figures.
• Deron Powers had a season-high 21 points and 8 assists vs. Siena. He’s scored double figures in 10 straight games and ranks fifth in the CAA in assists (4.9 apg).
• Justin Wright-Foreman came off the bench to score 16 points in 24 minutes vs. Siena. He’s averaging 19.0 ppg in his last 2 games.
• Rokas Gustys posted his 5th double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds vs Siena. He leads the nation in rebounding (13.5 ppg) and has two games with 20+ boards and nine with at least 10 rebounds.
• Eli Pemberton added 13 points vs. SIena. He’s reached double digits 10 times and ranks 9th in the league in scoring (14.5 ppg).
• Hunter Sabety tied a season-high with 5 blocks in 11 minutes vs. Siena.
• Hofstra has made 10 or more threes in eight games and is shooting a league-best 39.9% from beyond the arc.
James Madison
• Dropped home games to Richmond (75-55) and UMBC (62-61) last week.
• Joey McLean hit a career-best 5-of-7 from 3-point range and scored a team-high 17 points vs. UMBC. He also chipped in 12 points vs. Richmond.
• Tom Vodanovich averaged 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two games last week. He grabbed 10 boards against UMBC.
• Jackson Kent leads the Dukes in scoring (11.5 ppg) and assists (32) and is 2nd in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
• Seniors Yohanny Dalembert (9.2 ppg/5.1 rpg) and Shakir Brown (8.1 ppg/3.9 rpg) sat out the UMBC game with injuries.
• Ramone Snowden contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds against UMBC.
• JMU out-rebounded UR 38-27 and UMBC 33-27. JMU has beaten 11 of its 12 opponents on the glass and is +5.7 in rebound margin for the year.
UNCW
• Continued the best start in school history with an 81-71 victory over rival East Carolina last Tuesday. Have won 8 in a row.
• Denzel Ingram scored a season-high 26 points on 10-17 FG shooting vs. ECU. He’s averaging 12.9 ppg and ranks 2nd in the CAA in assists (5.7 apg).
• C.J. Bryce topped the 20-point mark for the 5th time with 25 points vs. ECU. He’s tallied at least 13 points in 11 of 12 games. Bryce also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
• Devontae Cacok has made his last 17 shots from the floor and ranks 2nd in Div. I in FG percentage (81.2%). He’s also 2nd in the CAA in rebounding (9.3 rpg).
• Chris Flemmings had 12 points and a team-high 9 rebounds vs. ECU. He’s reached double digits in 16 of his last 17 games and ranks 4th in the CAA with 17.6 ppg.
• JaQuel Richmond had 8 points vs. ECU and is averaging 12.3 ppg over the past 4 games.
• UNCW has committed only 29 turnovers (7.3 tpg) over the past four games.
Northeastern
• Picked up their 3rd straight road win last Tuesday, edging Oakland 61-59 on T.J. Williams’ jumper at the buzzer.
• T.J. Williams posted his 2nd double-double at OU with a team-high 22 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. He’s scored double digits in all 12 games, including eight 20+-point efforts. He leads the CAA in scoring (21.5 ppg) and assists (5.8 apg).
• Freshman Max Boursiquot tallied career-highs of 16 points and 8 rebounds off the bench at Oakland.
• Forward Anthony Green contributed 8 points on 4-of-5 FG shooting, five rebounds and three blocks in 17 minutes at Oakland.
• Alex Murphy ranks 10th in the CAA in scoring (14.0 ppg) and leads NU in rebounds (5.5 rpg) He’s shooting 51.6% from the floor.
• NU’s defense held Oakland to a season-low 59 points on 34.9% FG shooting.
• All five Northeastern losses this season have been by six points or less.
Towson
• Went 1-1 at the South Point Holiday Classic in Las Vegas, beating Iona 76-69 after an 81-72 loss to Nevada.
• Mike Morsell had a team-high 19 points vs. Iona and scored 16 against Nevada. He’s reached double figures 12 times. Morsell was named to the all-tournament team.
• DeShaun Morman tied his career-high with 18 points vs. Nevada. He’s averaging 11.7 ppg over the past eight games.
• William Adala Moto tallied 14 points vs. Iona and has scored double figures in 10 of 13 games. He recently went over 1,000 points for his career.
• Brian Starr averaged 11.5 ppg during the two games in Vegas, including a career-best 14 points in the win over Iona.
• Towson beat Iona 45-34 on the glass and has out-rebounded 29 of its last 32 foes. The Tigers top the CAA in rebound margin (+7.8 rpg).
• Zane Martin tied a career-high with four steals against Nevada.
William & Mary
• Rolled over Savannah State (112-85) but lost at Rhode Island (73-62) last week.
• Omar Prewitt scored a team-high 21 first-half points vs. SSU and added 12 at URI. He’s topped the 20-point mark in four of his past six contests and is averaging 14.6 ppg.
• Daniel Dixon drained 4-of-8 from 3-point range and scored a team-high 14 points off the bench at URI.
• Greg Malinowski had 14 points vs. SSU and is averaging 14.2 ppg over his last five games. He’s 14-of-24 from 3 in that stretch.
• Connor Burchfield hit five treys and had 19 points and a career-high 7 assists vs. SSU. He’s 11-of-20 from three in the past three games and is shooting 50% for the year.
• Jack Whitman posted his first double-double with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds vs. SSU. He leads the Tribe in rebounding with 7.1 rpg.
• W&M set a school record with 19 three-pointers in the Savannah State win.