Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Feb. 20
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - FEB. 20 (PDF format)
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Mike Morsell • Towson
Jr., G, 6-5, 215 - Fort Washington, Md./St. John’s College HS
Morsell averaged 25.5 points and 4.0 rebounds as Towson increased its winning streak to six with victories over Elon (85-66) and James Madison (75-65) last week. The junior guard matched his season-high with 32 points against Elon and followed with a team-best 19 points vs. JMU. For the week, Morsell shot 60% (18-of-30) from the floor, including 7-of-15 from 3-point range. He also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career against the Phoenix.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Ryan Daly • Delaware
Fr., G, 6-4, 185 - Ardmore, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Daly averaged 22.0 points and 9.5 rebounds as Delaware went 1-1 last week. The freshman guard posted his fourth double-double with team-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds, and also hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go in a 68-67 victory over Drexel. He followed with a team-best 20 points and seven boards against William & Mary, which was his 9th 20-point effort of the year. Daly broke the UD freshman records for points and rebounds in a season last week.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
RACE REMAINS TIGHT ATOP CAA STANDINGS: Heading into the final week of regular-season play, the top three teams in the CAA standings remain separated by two games after all three went 2-0 last week. UNCW (13-3) kept a one-game edge over College of Charleston (12-4) as the Seahawks and Cougars both recorded road victories at Hofstra and Northeastern. Towson (11-5) stayed close behind after beating Elon and James Madison to extend its winning streak to six. UNCW and Towson meet on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum, while Charleston entertains Delaware.
CLOSE GAMES CONTINUE: Four of the five CAA games last Thursday were decided by four points or less, including a pair of one-point decisions and an overtime contest. Ten of the 30 CAA games (30%) played over the past three weeks have been decided by two points or less.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES: It was a week of outstanding offensive performances around the conference. Along with the efforts turned in by Player of the Week Mike Morsell (25.5 ppg) and Rookie of the Week Ryan Daly (22.0 ppg), seven other players averaged at least 20.0 ppg in the two games. Reaching the mark were Charleston’s Joe Chealey (23.5 ppg), Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman (26.0 ppg), UNCW’s Chris Flemmings (24.0 ppg) and C.J. Bryce (20.5 ppg), Northeastern’s T.J. Williams (25.5 ppg) and W&M’s Daniel Dixon (27.0 ppg) and Omar Prewitt (20.0 ppg).
PILING UP THE WINS: UNCW (24-5) is one of 13 teams in Division I with at least 24 wins this season as of Feb. 20. The others are #1 Gonzaga (28-0), #2 Villanova (26-2), #3 Kansas (24-3), #4 Arizona (25-3), #5 UCLA (24-3), #6 Oregon (24-4), #15 Cincinnati (24-3), #17 SMU (24-4), #20 Saint Mary’s (24-3), #25 Wichita State (25-4), Vermont (24-5) and Middle Tennessee (24-4).
THREE CAA TEAMS IN TOP 92 IN LATEST RPI REPORT: Three CAA teams are ranked in the top 92 in the latest RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com) through games of Feb. 19. UNCW (24-5), which has won 21 of its last 25 games, leads the way at #40. College of Charleston (21-8), which has captured 18 of its last 23 contests, is ranked #65. Towson (19-10), which has won 11 of its last 12 games, is ranked #92. Only 10 other conferences (American, ACC, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac 12, SEC and West Coast) have three teams in the top 92 of the RPI. The CAA is ranked #11 among the nation’s 32 Division I leagues.
TOURNAMENT TIME APPROACHES: The CAA Men’s Basketball Championship wil be held at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C. on March 3-6. It’s the first of a three-year agreement for the CAA to bring its showcase event to the Lowcountry after a three-year run in Baltimore, Md. Known for rich history, well-preserved architecture, and a celebrated restaurant community, the Charleston area has been recognized as a world-class top travel destination by a number of publications, including Condè Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. Most recently, it was recognized as the No. 1 Small U.S. City by Condè Nast Traveler 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards. Tickets are currently on sale at TicketMaster.com.
STREAKING: Towson’s six-game winning streak is tied for the 17th-longest in the nation, while William & Mary’s 12-game home court winning streak is tied for 14th in Division I.
HOME SWEET HOME: Home teams have won 65.0% (52-28) of their games in CAA play this season, reversing a trend from the past two years. William & Mary is 7-0 at home, while Elon, UNCW and Towson have just one home setback. All 10 teams have won at least three conference games at home. Only UNCW and CofC have winning records (7-2) on the road in league action. Home teams were 45-45 in CAA play last season and 47-43 in 2014-15.
College of Charleston
• Earned back-to-back road wins at Hofstra (76-72) and Northeastern (85-71).
• Joe Chealey averaged 23.5 ppg last week, including a game-high 29 points and 7 rebounds at NU. He was 11-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-8 from 3 at NU and has reached double figures in 11 straight games.
• Grant Riller hit 5-of-9 threes and scored 21 points at NU. He has tallied double digits in 13 straight games and has eight 20-point efforts. He’s averaging 17.1 ppg in CAA play.
• Jarrell Brantley averaged 19.0 ppg last week, including 21 points at NU. He was 17-of-21 (81%) from the floor in the 2 games. He’s scored double digits 25 times this season and is third in the CAA with 8.1 rpg.
• Marquise Pointer added 10 points at HU.
• CofC reached the 20-win mark and won 10 road games for the first since 2012-13.
• CofC shot a season-best 62.7% from the floor at NU and 54.5% at HU. CofC is shooting 58.5% over the past three games.
Delaware
• Edged Drexel 68-67 for their first 3-game winning streak since 2013-14, but had it end with an 85-64 loss to William & Mary.
• Ryan Daly posted his 4th double-double vs. DU (24 pts/12 reb) and hit a game-winning 3 with 12 seconds left. He had 20 points vs. W&M, which was his 9th 20-point effort.
• Daly has been UD’s top scorer in 15 of the last 18 games and top rebounder in 14 of the past 17 contests. He broke the UD freshman records for points and rebounds.
• Darian Bryant scored 15 points on 7-of-10 FG shooting vs. Drexel. He’s tallied double figures in 5 of the last 7 games.
• Anthony Mosley had 12 points, a career-high tying 7 assists and 3 steals vs. Drexel.
• Eric Carter is contributing 10.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg over the past seven games.
• UD committed just nine turnovers while forcing Drexel into 20 miscues.
• Devonne Pinkard chipped in 10 points vs. W&M, which were his most since Jan. 12.
Drexel
• Fell 68-67 at Delaware and 65-56 to Elon last week.
• Kurk Lee scored a team-high 21 points at UD and had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists vs. EU. He’s averaging 19.6 ppg and 5.4 apg over the last 7 games. He ranks 10th in the CAA in scoring and 4th in assists.
• Mohamed Bah posted his first double-double with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds against Elon. He was 7-of-9 from the floor.
• Rodney Williams scored 17 points on 7-of-11 FG shooting at UD. He has 10 20-point outings this season and has scored double figures in 16 of the past 18 games.
• Sammy Mojica added 15 points against Elon and has scored double digits in 9 of his last 11 contests.
• Kari Jonsson, who leads the CAA in 3-point FG% (44.4%), didn’t play in either game last week due to an injury.
• Drexel made 11-of-24 threes at Delaware.
Elon
• Split a pair of road games, falling 85-66 at Towson but winning 65-56 at Drexel.
• Tyler Seibring averaged 18.0 ppg last week, including a team-high 22 points at TU. He made 8-of-11 threes in the two games. Seibring has five 20-point efforts and is scoring 15.4 ppg in CAA play.
• Dainan Swoope scored a team-best 21 points and grabbed a career-high 8 boards at DU. It was his 4th 20-point effort. He had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals at TU.
• Brian Dawkins added 13 points at DU and 10 points at TU. He has 16 double-digit effort in the past 20 games.
• Elon limited Drexel to 34.9% FG shooting and improved to 9-1 when holding opponents under 40%.
• Elon has clinched its first winning season since 2013-14.
• Elon made 11 three-pointers at Drexel and averages 9.4 threes per game. The Phoenix have hit double-digit treys 14 times.
Hofstra
• Suffered close losses to CofC (76-72) and UNCW (83-76) last week. 13 of HU’s 16 CAA games have been decided by 8 pts. or less.
• Justin Wright-Foreman scored a team-high 26 points against CofC and UNCW. He’s reached double figures in 19 straight games and has tallied 20+ points in his last 9 contests. He’s averaging a league-high 22.7 ppg in CAA play.
• Rokas Gustys posted double-doubles vs. CofC (16 pts/12 reb) and UNCW (14 pts/12 reb). He has 17 games with 10+ boards and has recorded 10 double-doubles.
• Brian Bernardi hit 7-of-12 threes and scored 21 points vs. CofC. The seven treys were one shy of his own school record. He’s had double figures in 9 of his past 12 contests.
• Deron Powers dished out a season-high 11 assists vs. CofC and scored 15 vs. UNCW.
• Eli Pemberton added 17 points vs. UNCW, which was his 18th game in double figures.
• HU made a season-high 25 FT’s vs. UNCW, with Wright-Foreman going 15-for-15.
James Madison
• Went 1-1 last week, edging William & Mary 95-92 in OT, but falling 75-65 at Towson. Five of JMU’s last seven games have been decided by 6 points or less.
• Paulius Satkus posted his first career double-double (13 pts/10 reb) at TU and had 14 points and a team-high 8 boards vs. W&M. He’s averaging 11.9 ppg in CAA play.
• Jackson Kent scored 16 points vs. W&M and has reached double digits in 14 of the past 17 games. He’s scoring 15.9 ppg in CAA play.
• Ivan Lukic scored a career-high 19 points in the W&M win and is averaging 11.4 ppg over his past seven games.
• Ramone Snowden scored a career-high 18 points and tied his career high with 8 rebounds against W&M.
• Joey McLean had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists vs. W&M. It was his highest point total since Nov. 13.
• Dimitrije Cabarkapa hit 3-of-5 threes and scored a team-high 14 points at Towson.
UNCW
• Earned road victories at Northeastern (66-65) and Hofstra (83-76) last week. Set a school-record for regular-season wins.
• Chris Flemmings was the top scorer in both games with 27 points at HU and 21 at NU. He has five 20-point efforts and has 13 double-figure outings in the past 15 games.
• C.J. Bryce averaged 20.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg last week, including 23 points and 7 boards at HU. He’s tallied double digits in 24 of his last 25 games and has 20+ points eight times.
• Denzel Ingram leads the CAA in 3’s per game and assists, and ranks 12th in scoring.
• Devontae Cacok leads the nation in FG percentage (78.7%), ranks 2nd in the CAA with 9.9 rpg, and has 10 double-doubles.
• UNCW committed only five turnovers at NU and six against HU. The Seahawks rank 2nd in the CAA with 10.4 tpg.
• The Seahawks improved to 11-3 on the road. The 11 road victories are tied for the most of any team in the nation.
Northeastern
• Dropped home games to UNCW (66-65) and CofC (85-71) last week.
• T.J. Williams scored a career-high 33 points vs. UNCW and a team-best 18 points vs. CofC. He’s tallied double digits in 28 straight games with 17 20+-point efforts and three 30-point outings. He’s been NU’s leading scorer in 20 of 28 games.
• Alex Murphy averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg last week. He’s scored double figures in nine consecutive games.
• Anthony Green had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks vs. UNCW and scored 13 points on 5-of-5 FG shooting vs. CofC. He’s averaging 11.3 ppg over the past four games.
• Bolden Brace scored 11 points vs. CofC and is averaging 11.8 ppg over his last 6 games.
• Freshman Max Boursiquot was 4-for-4 and chipped in 10 points against CofC.
• NU made 11 treys against CofC. The Huskies are averaging 9.5 treys per game in CAA play while shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc.
Towson
• Pushed winning streak to six after beating Elon (85-66) and JMU (75-65) last week. Are 11-1 since starting 0-4 in CAA play.
• Mike Morsell scored a game-high 32 points vs. Elon and a team-best 19 points vs. JMU. He’s averaging 19.2 ppg over the last 6 games. He went over the 1,000-point mark for his career in the Elon win.
• Freshman Zane Martin hit 3-of-4 treys and tallied 16 points vs. JMU and had 12 points in 15 minutes vs. Elon. He’s averaging 11.5 ppg over the last four games.
• Towson has out-rebounded 44 of its last 48 foes. TU leads the CAA and ranks 7th in Div. I in rebound margin (+8.0 rpg).
• Freshman Justin Gorham had 8 points and 7 boards in his first career start vs. JMU.
• John Davis, who averaged 11.8 ppg and a team-high 7.6 rpg, will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury,
• TU has held 4 straight foes under 70 points.
• Towson made a season-best 10-of-24 from 3-point range vs. Elon.
William & Mary
• Went 1-1 on the road last week, falling 95-92 in OT at JMU before picking up an 85-64 victory at Delaware.
• Daniel Dixon scored a game-high 29 points at JMU and a team-best 25 points and 8 rebounds at UD. He’s reached double figures in 20 straight games, has 12 20+-point efforts and is averaging 21.7 ppg in CAA play.
• Omar Prewitt had 23 points, 7 boards and 6 assists at UD and posted his 3rd double-double (17 pts/11 reb) at JMU. He’s averaging 21.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg over his last 4 games.
• Nathan Knight is averaging 11.0 ppg in the past 6 games and tops the CAA with 1.4 bpg.
• Jack Whitman, who contributed 18 points and 9 rebounds at JMU, is shooting 70.7% in CAA play.
• Connor Burchfield hit 4-of-6 treys and scored 17 points at JMU. He’s shooting 48.8% from 3-point range for the year.
• W&M shot 51.9% from the floor at UD, which is the 14th time overall and 10th in the past 15 games it has topped 50%. The Tribe also has 13 games with 10+ treys.