Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Nov. 27
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - NOV. 27 (PDF format)
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Mike Morsell • Towson
Sr., G, 6-5, 210 - Fort Washington, Md./St. John’s College HS
Morsell earned MVP honors at the Gulf Coast Showcase after averaging 14.0 ppg in Towson’s victories over FAU, Penn and previously unbeaten Georgia Southern. The senior guard was the Tigers’ top scorer in the final two games, tallying 18 points vs. Penn and 16 against GSU. Morsell shot 48% from the floor and added 3.7 rpg as Towson won its first regular-season tournament title since 1990.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
David Cohn • William & Mary
Sr., G, 6-2, 168 - Elmhurst, Ill./York
Cohn averaged 14.5 points and 10.0 assists in William & Mary’s 2-0 week. The senior guard was sensational in a 79-77 victory over Old Dominion, scoring a career-high 25 points, dishing out nine assists and tying a career-high with four steals. He was 8-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-6 from three, vs. the Monarchs. Cohn also had 11 assists and no turnovers in just 19 minutes as W&M cruised past Shenandoah.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Matt Lewis • James Madison
Fr., G, 6-5, 180 - Arlington, Va./Bishop O’Connell
Lewis averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds as JMU split a pair of games last week. The freshman guard came off the bench to score a career-best 26 points and grab a career-high seven rebounds to help the Dukes rally past Appalachian State, 105-99 in double overtime. He chipped in six points in a 69-68 setback at Radford.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
TOWSON CAPTURES GULF COAST SHOWCASE: Towson captured the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., posting victories over FAU (76-52), Penn (79-71) and previously unbeaten Georgia Southern (70-67) last week. It was the first regular-season tournament title for the Tigers since 1990. Senior guard Mike Morsell earned MVP honors and was joined on the all-tournament team by backcourt mate Brian Starr. Towson is off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2014-15 and is riding a five-game winning streak.
W&M BEATS ODU ON TOT’S 50-FOOTER AT THE BUZZER: William & Mary edged rival Old Dominion, 79-77, last Saturday when reserve guard Oliver Tot drained a 50-foot shot as time expired. The Monarchs had taken a 77-76 lead with 1.5 seconds left before Tot received an inbounds pass from Justin Pierce and connected on his only field goal attempt of the game. It was Tot’s first made three-pointer this season. William & Mary has now won 21 straight home non-conference games.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: CAA teams are a combined 16-2 at home this season and also have 10 victories on neutral courts.
HOFSTRA’S GUSTYS MOVES TO 9TH ON CAA’S CAREER REBOUNDS LIST: Hofstra senior Rokas Gustys became just the ninth player in CAA history to eclipse the 1,000 rebound mark in a career last Saturday. With 1,002 rebounds, Gustys needs just 85 more to vault to third on the CAA’s career caroms chart. He ranks second among all active Division I players in rebounds, trailing only Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado.
SCANNING THE STAT SHEET: Several CAA players rank in the top 15 nationally in various statistical categories. UNCW’s Devontae Cacok leads the nation in rebounding (13.2 ppg) and Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys is 10th (11.5 rpg). UNCW’s Jordon Talley ranks fifth in assists (8.0 apg), Drexel’s Austin Williams is 9th in blocked shots (3.3 bpg) and W&M’s Matt Milon is 11th in 3-point FG percentage (57.1%).
College of Charleston
• Went 2-1 and placed 4th at the Great Alaska Shootout. Fell 73-68 to Cal Poly, but beat SHSU (59-49) and UA-Anchorage (55-46).
• Joe Chealey was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 18.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 8.7 apg. He posted his 2nd career double-double against Cal Poly with a game-high 26 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.
• Chealey also had a team-best 13 points vs. SHSU and 15 points against UA-Anchorage. He’s scored double digits in all six games.
• Nick Harris averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg in CofC’s two wins in the tournament.
• Marquise Pointer averaged 9.3 ppg for the week, including 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals vs. Sam Houston.
• Evan Bailey hit 3-of-4 treys and tallied 13 points off the bench vs. Cal Poly. He was 6-of-11 from three in the tournament.
• CofC is second in the CAA in scoring defense (63.5 ppg) and FG% defense (40.5%).
Delaware
• Went 2-1 at UNCG Spartan Classic, beating Longwood (65-57) and NC Wesleyan (88-70), after losing to host UNCG (79-66).
• Ryan Daly scored double digits in all three games and averaged 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for the tournament.
• Freshman Ryan Allen came off the bench to score a team-best 19 points in the win over Longwood. He was 8-of-13 from the floor and made three treys.
• Derrick Woods posted his first double-double vs. NC Wesleyan with career-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and nearly had another vs. Longwood (11 pts/9 reb).
• Freshman Kevin Anderson scored a season-high 17 points against UNCG and matched it with 17 points vs. NC Wesleyan. He has four double-figure outings in six games.
• Delaware has had five different players lead the team in scoring over the past five games (Daly, Anderson, Woods, Allen and Eric Carter).
Drexel
• Suffered a 65-53 setback at NJIT last Saturday in their only action of the week.
• Kurk Lee scored a team-best 13 points at NJIT and added three assists. Lee is averaging 12.8 ppg and ranks 4th in the CAA with 4.0 apg for the season.
• Tramaine Isabell added 11 points and 6 rebounds at NJIT, which was his fifth straight game in double figures. Isabell ranks 2nd in the CAA in scoring (20.0 ppg) and 3rd in rebounding (8.6 rpg).
• Austin Williams grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds at NJIT. He’s averaging 8.3 rpg and has three games with 10+ boards. Williams also tops the CAA with 20 blocked shots and is shooting 65.8% from the floor.
• Sophomore Alihan Demir made his Drexel debut at NJIT and contributed five points and eight rebounds off the bench.
• Drexel played without guards Troy Harper (10.6 ppg) and Miles Overton at NJIT due to injuries and Sam Green was limited to less than a minute after getting hurt.
Elon
• Improved to 2-0 at home following a 77-74 victory over Radford last Wednesday.
• Dainan Swoope hit 5-of-10 threes and scored a team-high 24 points vs. Radford. It was the fourth straight game with 20+ points for Swoope, who is 4th in the CAA in scoring (17.7 ppg). He also had a team-high 8 rebounds in the win.
• Brian Dawkins added a season-best 21 points on 9-of-16 FG shooting vs. Radford. His layup with 35 seconds to play snapped a 74-74 tie.
• All-CAA forward Tyler Seibring was limited to 6 points vs. Radford but had a team-best 6 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds.
• Dmitri Thompson is 12-of-22 from 3-point range this season after going 18-of-66 last year. He leads the team in rebounds (6.3 rpg) and is fourth in scoring (9.7 ppg).
• Elon made a season-high 15 three-pointers vs. RU and is averaging a CAA-best 12.1 treys made per game. The Phoenix are shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc.
Hofstra
• Dropped an 85-76 decision at Siena last Saturday.
• Justin Wright-Foreman poured in a team-best 25 points at Siena. He leads the CAA in scoring (20.2 ppg) and has tallied double figures in all six games this season, including three games of 20 or more points.
• Rokas Gustys posted his third double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds at Siena. He’s grabbed 10+ rebounds in 5 of 6 games and is 2nd in the CAA with 11.5 rpg.
• Gustys became only the 9th player in CAA history to eclipse 1,000 career rebounds (1,002). He ranks 2nd among all active Div. I players in career rebounds.
• Eli Pemberton contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists at Siena. He’s scored double digits in all five games and is 7th in the CAA in scoring (17.4 ppg).
• Hofstra committed a season-low six turnovers at Siena. The Pride’s 11.5 tunovers per game is the second-lowest in the CAA.
James Madison
• Rallied for a 105-99 win over Appalachian State in 2ot, but dropped a 69-68 decision at Radford last week.
• Stuckey Mosley scored a career-high 32 points vs. ASU, which was the most by a JMU player since 2011. He added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Mosley is averaging a team-high 17.6 ppg.
• Joey McLean added 22 points vs. ASU and a team-best 19 points at Radford. He shot 50% from the floor, including 6-of12 from 3. He’s averaging 16.1 ppg for the season.
• Freshman Matt Lewis came off the bench to contribute career-highs of 26 points and 7 rebounds vs. ASU.
• DeVelle Phillips recorded his first double-double (15 pts/11 reb) vs. ASU and averaged 11.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg for the week.
• The Dukes have made at least seven steals in all seven games this season and lead the CAA with 8.7 spg. Ramone Snowden ranks 2nd in the league with 13 thefts.
UNCW
• Lost to Loyola Chicago (102-78) and Valparaiso (79-70) at the Savannah Invitational.
• Jordon Talley earned all-tournament honors after averaging 16.5 ppg and 4.5 apg. He scored a team-high 20 points vs. Loyola and followed with 13 against Valpo. He leads UNCW in scoring (17.6 ppg) and tops the CAA in assists (8.0 apg).
• Devontae Cacok posted his 3rd double-double of the season vs. Valpo (12 pts/10 reb). He leads the CAA in rebounding (13.2 rpg) and is scoring 16.2 ppg on 55.4% shooting.
• Ty Taylor has scored double digits in four straight games after tallying 14 points against Loyola and 13 vs. Valpo. He’s 10-of-24 (41.7%) from 3-point range this season.
• Marcus Bryan nearly averaged a double-double for the week, contributing 8.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg.
• UNCW is leading the CAA in scoring (84.4 ppg) and has reached the 70-point mark in all five contests.
Northeastern
• Fell to Utah State (71-67) and Furman (78-67) in Nashville to close out the PK80 Invitational.
• Vasa Pusica poured in a career-high 27 points vs. USU and followed with a team-best 17 points against Furman. He was 16-of-25 (64%) from the floor for the week, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
• Shawn Occeus made a career-high 7 FG’s and scored 15 points vs. Furman in his first start of the season. He also grabbed five rebounds, which tied for the team high.
• Donnell Gresham, Jr. was 4-of-6 from 3-point range over the two games and is shooting 54.2% from the arc for the year.
• NU shot 50.1% from the floor for the week, including a season-best 52.2% vs. Utah St.
• Bolden Brace was 2-of-4 from three and chipped in 11 points against Furman.
• Jeremy Miller came off the bench to contribute a season-high nine points and five rebounds in 12 minutes against Furman.
Towson
• Captured the Gulf Coast Showcase with wins over FAU (76-52), Penn (79-71) and Georgia Southern (70-67). It was TU’s first regular-season tournament title since 1990.
• Mike Morsell scored a team-high 18 points vs. Penn and a team-best 16 points against GSU to earn tournament MVP honors.
• Brian Starr was also named to the all-tournament team after tallying 15 points vs. GSU. He averaged 10.0 ppg for the week.
• Zane Martin poured in a team-high 23 points in the FAU win and leads the Tigers in scoring for the season with 15.7 ppg.
• Towson, which ranked 7th nationally in rebound margin (+7.9 rpg) last year, tops the CAA with a +7.3 rpg margin this season.
• Eddie Keith II averaged 11.3 ppg in the tournament and was 12-of-22 (54.5%) from the floor.
• Towson leads the CAA in scoring defense (60.7%), FG% defense (36.4%), 3-point FG% defense (20.2%).
William & Mary
• Defeated Old Dominion (79-77) and Shenandoah (103-54) last week to extend their non-conference home win streak to 21.
• David Cohn scored a career-high 25 points vs. ODU on 8-of-10 FG shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3. He added nine assists and four steals. Cohn dished out 11 assists with no TO’s vs. Shenandoah and averaged 14.5 ppg and 10.0 apg for the week.
• Oliver Tot drained a game-winning 50-foot shot at the buzzer against ODU.
• Justin Pierce recorded his 2nd double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds vs. ODU. He’s averaging 15.0 ppg and 8.6 rpg for the season while shooting 54.5% from the floor.
• Matt Milon averaged 14.0 ppg in the two wins last week and was 8-of-10 from 3-point range. He’s shooting a CAA-best 57.1% from the beyond the arc (16-28) for the year.
• W&M made a school-record 20 threes vs. Shenandoah and was an incredible 35-of-57 (61.4%) from 3 for the week. The Tribe is shooting 44.1% for the year.