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:
Grant Riller • College of Charleston
So., G, 6-3, 195 - Ocoee, Fla./Ocoee
Riller averaged 27.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals as Charleston went 2-0 against a pair of in-state foes. The sophomore guard poured in a career-high 31 points in an 80-64 victory over South Carolina State and followed with a team-best 24 points in a 67-65 win at Coastal Carolina. For the week, he shot 67.7% (21-31) from the floor, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Riller has tallied double digits in six straight games.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Kevin Anderson • Delaware
Fr., G, 6-5, 180 - Williamsport, Pa./St. John Neumann
Anderson scored a team-high 22 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in Delaware’s 76-62 triumph over CSU Bakersfield. The freshman guard was 7-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. It was the 8th game in double figures for Anderson, who leads all CAA freshmen in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg).
CONFERENCE NOTES:
CONFERENCE PLAY GETS UNDERWAY ON SATURDAY: Conference play in the CAA gets underway on Saturday with all 10 teams in action. The schedule gets off to a busy start with four games in a nine-day stretch (Dec. 30, Jan. 2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 7) before settling into a Thursday/Saturday slate for the remainder of the season.
THREE TEAMS IN TOP 85 OF RPI: Three CAA teams are ranked in the top 85 of the latest NCAA RPI through games of Dec. 23. Towson leads the way at #53, William & Mary follows at #64 and Hofstra is ranked #84. The CAA is ranked 14th out of the nation’s 32 Division I conferences.
SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: CAA teams have a 66-56 record against non-conference competition with two games to play on Thursday. Towson got off to the best start in program history at 10-1 before dropping a pair of tough road battles at Oakland and Pittsburgh last week. Charleston has won seven of its last eight games, Northeastern has won five of six, William & Mary has won six of eight, Elon has won five of seven and Hofstra has won four of six.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: CAA teams are a combined 37-8 at home this season and also have 12 victories on neutral courts. Five of the league’s 10 teams are unbeaten on their home floors this season.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Young players are making a big impact in the CAA. There are seven sophomores, a freshman and only two seniors among the CAA’s top 15 in scoring through games of Dec. 27. There are also just three seniors among the CAA’s top 10 in rebounding and three seniors among the top 10 in assists.
SCANNING THE STAT SHEET: Several CAA players rank in the top 20 nationally in various statistical categories through games of Dec. 23. UNCW’s Devontae Cacok ranks 2nd in the nation in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys is 14th (10.5 rpg). W&M’s David Cohn ranks 9th in assists (7.2 apg). Drexel’s Austin Williams is 14th (2.9 bpg) and W&M’s Nathan Knight is 24th (2.6 bpg) in blocked shots. W&M’s Connor Burchfield is 3rd in 3-point FG percentage (56.7%) while teammate Matt Milon is 6th (53.7%). Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is 11th (23.2 ppg) in scoring.
W&M, TOWSON AMONG BEST OFFENSIVELY, DEFENSIVELY: William & Mary ranks among the top 15 in the nation in field goal percentage (51.5%/12th), 3-point FG percentage (45.9%/2nd) and free throw percentage (80.1%/3rd). Towson ranks among the top 25 in the nation in FG percentage defense (38.3%/23rd) and 3-point FG percentage defense (28.1%/9th) and is 36th in scoring defense (64.5 ppg/36th).
CAA GAME OF THE WEEK ON COLLEGE SPORTS LIVE: The CAA is teaming with CBS Sports Digital for a 12-game “CAA Game of the Week” on CollegeSportsLive.com. All 10 teams will appear at least two times as part of the broadcast package. Jeff McCarragher will provide play-by-play of the games and former coach Mack McCarthy will be the analyst. The opening game of the package will be on Jan. 2 as William & Mary visits James Madison at 7 p.m.
CHARLESTON, TOWSON AMONG TOP 10 IN MID-MAJOR POLL: Towson was ranked 4th and Charleston was ranked #10 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll released on Dec. 18. The CAA, West Coast Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and Sun Belt Conference were the only leagues with multiple teams in the top 10. A new poll will be released later on Tuesday.
College of Charleston (9-3)
• Beat in-state foes S.C. State (80-64) and Coastal Carolina (67-65) last week. Have won seven of their last eight games.
• Grant Riller scored a career-high 31 points vs. SCSU and had a team-best 24 points at Coastal. He’s topped the 20-point mark five times this season and has tallied double figures in six straight games.
• Joe Chealey had his 27-game double-figure scoring streak end vs. SCSU, but started a new one with 14 points at Coastal. He ranks 8th in the CAA in scoring and 3rd in assists.
• NIck Harris posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards vs. SCSU. He ranks 8th in the CAA with 7.3 rpg.
• All-CAA forward Jarrell Brantley saw his first action of the season last week and averaged 8.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg off the bench.
• CofC leads the CAA in scoring defense (63.0 ppg) and ranks 2nd in FG% defense (39.8%).
• CofC is committing just 10.8 turnovers per game and tops the CAA in TO margin.
Delaware (6-6)
• Topped CSU Bakersfield 76-62 last Wednesday for their second straight win.
• Kevin Anderson hit 4-of-7 threes and scored a team-high 22 points vs. CSUB. He’s tallied double figures eight times and leads all CAA freshmen in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg).
• Ryan Daly added 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists vs. CSUB. It was his 5th 20-point effort of the season and he’s scored double digits in 10 straight games. Daly ranks in the top 20 in the CAA in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals.
• Eric Carter posted his 3rd double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds vs. CSUB. He ranks 5th in the CAA in rebounding (8.6 rpg).
• UD started three freshmen (Anderson, Ryan Allen and Chyree Walker) in a game for the first time since 1989 against CSUB.
• Delaware tied a season-high with 10 three-pointers vs. CSUB.
Drexel (6-7)
• Split a pair of close games last week, edging Quinnipiac (72-71) but falling at Loyola (66-62). Improved to 4-1 at home.
• Tramaine Isabell scored a team-high 23 points and added 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals vs. QU. It was his 4th 20-point outing. Isabell ranks among the CAA’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
• Kurk Lee averaged 17.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg over the two games, including a team-high 20 points at Loyola. He hit a game-winning 3 with 2.1 seconds left vs. QU.
• Austin Williams recorded his 4th double-double with 10 points, a team-high 14 rebounds and 5 blocks at Loyola. He’s 3rd in the CAA in FG% (58.3%), 4th in rebounds (8.8 rpg) and 1st in blocked shots (2.9 bpg).
• Sammy Mojica hit 4-of-8 treys and scored 16 points at Loyola. He’s made a team-best 27 treys this season and has tallied double figures in seven straight games.
• Alihan Demir averaged 11.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg over the two games last week.
Elon (8-5)
• Went 1-1 on the road last week, losing at Canisius (67-51) before bouncing back with a 73-68 victory at Indiana State.
• Dmitri Thompson averaged 14.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg last week, including his 2nd career double-double at ISU (19 pts/10 reb). He’s shooting a team-best 44.7% from three.
• Tyler Seibring was 5-of-8 from three and posted his 1st double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 boards at ISU.
• Brian Dawkins was the lone Elon player in double digits at Canisius, tallying team-highs of 13 points and 7 rebounds.
• Dainan Swoope poured in 17 points at ISU. He leads the Phoenix with 14.7 ppg.
• Elon’s victory at Indiana State was its first-ever over a Missouri Valley opponent.
• Elon was 13-of-33 from 3-point range at ISU, which was its 8th game with 10+ treys. The Phoenix average 10.6 threes per game.
• Elon has won 8 or more non-conference games in each of the last four seasons.
Hofstra (7-5)
• Suffered setbacks to Manhattan (63-61) and #1 Villanova (95-71) last week.
• Justin Wright-Foreman was HU’s top scorer in both games with 25 points vs. VU and 22 against MC. He’s tallied 20+ points in nine of 12 contests and ranks 11th in Div. I in scoring with 23.2 ppg.
• Wright-Foreman’s 34-game double-digit scoring streak is the 8th-longest nationally.
• Rokas Gustys averaged 10.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg last week, including his 5th double-double (10 pts/13 reb) vs. MC. He’s tied for 5th on the CAA’s career rebounds list (1,059). Gustys has 10+ boards in 8 games and is 2nd in the CAA with 10.5 rpg.
• Eli Pemberton contributed 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists over the two games. He’s among the CAA’s top 20 in scoring and rebounding and ranks 3rd in the league in 3-point FG percentage (45.1%).
• Point guard Kenny Wormley chipped in 7 points, a season-high 7 rebounds and 5 assists against Villanova.
James Madison (4-9)
• Dropped a 72-63 decision at SEC foe Florida last Wednesday.
• Ramone Snowden matched his career-high with 18 points at Florida. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from three, and grabbed a team-high 8 boards.
• Stuckey Mosley added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists at Florida. He ranks 2nd in the CAA in scoring (19.8 ppg), has netted double digits in 6 straight games and has 7 games with 20+ points.
• Darius Banks chipped in 10 points and 3 steals at Florida. The freshman is averaging 13.6 ppg over his past five games and is shooting 54% (27-50) over that stretch.
• Freshman Matt Lewis scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half at Florida.
• JMU made 10 steals vs. Florida, which was its 5th game with at least 10 thefts. The Dukes lead the CAA with 8.2 spg.
• JMU’s last eight games have been decided by 10 points or less.
UNCW (2-9)
• Lost to North Dakota St. (100-63) and Howard (80-75) last week at the Sun Bowl Invitational.
• Devontae Cacok averaged 16.0 ppg and 12.5 rpg last week, including his 8th double-double vs. Howard (19 pts/17 reb). He leads the CAA in rebounding (12.5 rpg) and FG% (65%) and ranks 5th in scoring (18.5 ppg).
• Cacok has scored double digits in 15 straight games and has 5 games with 20+ points.
• Freshman Jeff Gary averaged 11.0 ppg last week, including a career-best 13 points in his first start vs. Howard. He was 6-of-12 from 3-point range over the two games.
• Jordon Talley averaged 11.0 ppg last week. He ranks 11th in the CAA in scoring (15.8 ppg) and 2nd in assists (6.0 apg) and has scored double figures in 10 of 11 contests.
• Jaylen Fornes poured in a team-high 15 points against NDSU.
• UNCW tops the CAA with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game.
Northeastern (7-5)
• Split a pair of road games last week, beating Kent State (81-69) but losing at St. Bonaventure (84-65).
• Vasa Pusica averaged 17.5 ppg and 4.5 apg over the two games, including a team-high 21 points at KSU. He was 21-of-23 at the FT line last week and is shooting 84.5% for the year. He’s scored double figures in 8 straight games and has four games with 20+ points.
• Shawn Occeus tallied 16 points, 6 assists and 3 steals at KSU. He leads the CAA with 1.7 steals per game.
• Anthony Green tied a career-high with 15 points and grabbed a team-best 8 rebounds at SBU. He was 7-of-9 from the floor and is shooting 68.6% for the season.
• NU shot a season-best 56.5% from the floor at KSU. The Huskies have topped the 50% mark in three of the last five contests.
• Freshman Tomas Murphy came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-6 FG shooting at Kent State.
Towson (10-3)
• Dropped road games at Oakland (97-86) and Pittsburgh (63-59) last week, ending a 10-game winning streak.
• Zane Martin was TU’s top scorer in both games with 22 points at Oakland and 20 points at Pitt. He’s tallied 20+ points in six of his last seven games and is averaging 20.9 ppg over that stretch. He ranks among the CAA’s top 10 in scoring and FG%.
• Jordan McNeil scored a career-high 18 points in 22 minutes at Oakland on perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.
• Mike Morsell averaged 14.0 ppg last week, including 17 points at Oakland. He was 4-of-8 from 3-point range at OU.
• Justin Gorham had 8 points and a team-high 8 rebounds at Pitt. He leads the Tigers with 5.7 rpg for the season.
• DeShaun Morman made a career-high 5 steals at Oakland and added 11 points.
• Towson leads the CAA in FG% defense (38.3%) and 3-point FG% defense (28.2%) and ranks 2nd in scoring defense (64.5 ppg).
William & Mary (7-4)
• Fell 86-75 at No. 15 TCU last Friday. Trailed just 70-68 with 6:32 to go.
• Matt Milon hit 6-of-11 treys and tied his season-high with 22 points at TCU. He’s 2nd in the CAA in 3’s per game (3.3) and 3-point FG percentage (53.7%).
• Connor Burchfield was 4-for-7 from three and had 18 points at TCU. He tops the CAA in 3’s per game (3.5) and 3-pt FG% (56.7%).
• Nathan Knight chipped in 10 points and a career-high 6 assists at TCU. He ranks among the CAA’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, FG% and blocked shots.
• Justin Pierce tallied 7 points and a team-high 10 rebounds at TCU. It was his 5th game with 10+ boards this season.
• David Cohn dished out 7 assists at TCU and leads the CAA with 7.2 apg.
• W&M leads the CAA in scoring (87.0 ppg), FG% (51.5%), FT% (80.1%), 3-point FG% (45.9%) and 3-pointers per game (12.2).
• W&M hit 15 threes at TCU, which was its sixth game with 15 or more treys.