Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Feb. 19
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - FEB. 19 (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 30.0 points while shooting 70.6% from the floor and 6-of-11 from three as Charleston increased its winning streak to 10 with a pair of road victories. The sophomore guard poured in 32 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in overtime, to lift the Cougars past JMU, 81-78. He followed with a team-best 28 points as CofC defeated UNCW, 88-74. Riller also contributed 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game last week.
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Matt Lewis • James Madison
Fr., G, 6-5, 180 - Woodbridge, Va./Bishop O’Connell
Lewis averaged 21.7 points in James Madison’s 2-1 week. The freshman guard scored 16 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws, in the Dukes’ 62-61 win over UNCW, tallied a career-high 33 points in a last-second overtime loss to Charleston, and contributed 16 points in a 69-66 road victory at Towson. For the week, he shot 45% from the floor, made seven 3-pointers and was 18-of-21 at the free throw line.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
TWO-TEAM RACE FOR CAA TITLE: Charleston and Northeastern are waging a spirited battle for the CAA regular-season title heading into the final week of play. The Cougars (13-3 in CAA) extended their winning streak to 10 with road victories at JMU and UNCW last week, while the Huskies (12-4 in CAA) increased their winning streak to five by beating Drexel and William & Mary. Charleston can claim at least a share of its first CAA regular-season crown and the #1 seed for the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship with a win this week. Should Northeastern catch the Cougars, it would be the Huskies’ third regular-season title in six years.
COMPETITIVE CONFERENCE: For the first time since 2007-08 and just the third time in conference history, every team in the league has recorded at least five CAA wins. The CAA and Missouri Valley are the only conferences in which all members have five wins.
GUSTYS, CACOK CLIMB REBOUND CHARTS: Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys and UNCW’s Devontae Cacok both grabbed 21 rebounds last Thursday and 17 more on Saturday, continuing their assaults on the record books. Gustys has 1,268 career rebounds and is just 36 behind Navy Hall of Famer David Robinson for the CAA’s all-time rebound record of 1,314. Cacok has broken the UNCW mark for rebounds in a season with 380, which is the 4th-highest season mark in CAA history. Cacok’s current 13.6 per game rebound average would break the CAA record of 13.0 rpg shared by Gustys (2015-16) and Robinson (1985-86).
30-POINT PRODUCERS: Seven players have scored at least 30 points in a game over the past two weeks. Charleston’s Grant Riller (37 and 32), W&M’s Justin Pierce (33), JMU’s Matt Lewis (33), Drexel’s Tramaine Isabell (32), Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman (32), Towson’s Mike Morsell (31) and Charleston’s Jarrell Brantley (30) have all reached the mark. For the season, 14 different players have combined for 31 efforts of 30 points or more.
PILING UP THE WINS: Charleston improved to 22-6 overall last week. It’s the first time since 2009-10/2010-11 that the Cougars have reached the 20-win plateau in back-to-back seasons. Northeastern moved to 12-4 in league play last week and id two shy of tying its record for CAA wins in a season. Hofstra (10-6) reached double-digit wins in CAA play for the third time in the past four years. William & Mary (9-7) can record double-digit wins for the fifth straight season with a victory this week.
CAA GAMES MEAN CLOSE GAMES: Conference play has brought plenty of down-to-the-wire finishes. Nine of the league’s 10 teams have had at least one conference game go into overtime, with UNCW and James Madison having four and Towson playing in three. Of the 79 CAA games played thus far, 11 have gone to overtime and 29 others have been decided by six points or less.
FOUR TEAMS IN TOP 113 OF RPI: Four CAA teams are ranked in the top 113 of the latest NCAA RPI through games of Feb. 18. Northeastern leads the way at #69, followed by Charleston at #73, William & Mary at #100 and Hofstra at #113. The CAA is one of 11 conferences (American, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Pac 12, and SEC) with four teams ranked in the top 113. The CAA is ranked 12th out of the nation’s 32 Division I conferences.
CHARLESTON EXTENDS WINNING STREAKS: Charleston has won 15 consecutive games at TD Arena dating back to last season. That home court win streak is tied for the 5th-longest in the nation through games of Feb. 18. The Cougars have also won 10 straight games overall, which is tied with Michigan State and Rider for the 2nd-longest streak nationally behind Grambling (11).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Home teams are 48-31 (.608) in CAA play, but Charleston (8-0) is the only squad that is still unbeaten. Northeastern (6-2), Hofstra (5-3), Charleston (5-3) and William & Mary (5-4) are the only teams with winning records on the road. For the season, CAA teams are a combined 87-39 at home.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: Offenses have taken center stage in conference play. Through 79 league games, the winning team has scored at least 80 points in 47 of them. Seven squads are averaging 76.6 ppg or more in CAA action. Shooting percentages have been impressive as well. Six teams are shooting better than 47% from the floor, five are hitting at least 36.5% from 3-point range, and four squads are shooting better than 73.8% from the free throw line in conference play.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Young players are making a big impact in the CAA. There are six sophomores, one freshman and only two seniors among the CAA’s top 15 scorers through games of Feb. 19. There are also just three seniors among the CAA’s top 10 in rebounding.
UNCW’S CACOK LEADS NATION IN REBOUNDING: UNCW’s Devontae Cacok leads the nation in rebounding (13.6 rpg) and Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys ranks 3rd (12.3 rpg) through games of Feb. 18. Cacok has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in 21 of 28 games and is also 2nd in the nation with 20 double-doubles. Several other CAA players are among the nation’s top 20 statisically. W&M’s David Cohn ranks 14th in assists (6.4 apg) and 7th in FT percentage (91.3%). Drexel’s Austin Williams is 9th (2.9 bpg) in blocks. W&M’s Connor Burchfield is 1st in 3-point FG percentage (51.4%).
WRIGHT-FOREMAN EXTENDS SCORING STREAK: Hofstra junior Justin Wright-Foreman, who leads the CAA and ranks fifth in the nation in scoring with 24.6 ppg, extended his double-digit scoring streak to 50 games last week. The streak is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Wright-Foreman has scored 20 or more points 22 times this season and has topped the 30-point mark in seven games. He’s the first player since Towson’s Gary Neal in 2007 to score 35 or more points in three CAA games in a season.
College of Charleston (22-6, 13-3 in CAA)
• Captured road games at JMU (81-78/ot) and UNCW (88-74) to extend their winning streak to 10 games, which is tied for the 2nd-longest streak in the nation.
• Grant Riller scored a team-high 32 points vs. JMU, including a game-winning trey with 2 seconds left in OT, and had 28 points at UNCW. He shot 71% for the week and is averaging 27.4 ppg over his last 5 games.
• Jarrell Brantley posted his 2nd double-double (20 pts/10 reb) at JMU and followed with 23 points and 7 boards at UNCW. He’s scored 20+ points in 9 of 18 games.
• Cameron Johnson recorded his first-ever double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds at JMU.
• Joe Chealey added 15 points at UNCW, which was his 15th double-digit outing in the past 17 games.
• CofC has topped the 80-point mark in five consecutive games.
• CofC leads the CAA in scoring defense (67.5 ppg) and is 2nd in FG% defense (42.6%).
Delaware (12-17, 5-11 in CAA)
• Fell 67-65 at Towson before ending a 9-game slide with a 72-57 win over Elon. Four of UD’s past six losses have been by five points or less.
• Ryan Daly saw his 1st action since Jan. 25 (ankle) and averaged 20.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg last week, including his 1st double-double (22 pts/12 reb) vs. Elon. He’s scored double figures in 22 straight games and has topped the 20-point mark eight times.
• Ryan Allen hit 3 treys in both games and averaged 16.0 ppg last week. He’s reached double figures in 13 straight games and has been UD’s top scorer in 7 of the past 10 contests. Allen has set a UD freshman record with 75 three-pointers.
• Anthony Mosley scored 18 points on 8-of-10 FG shooting at Towson and averaged 15.5 ppg for the week. He also made 5 steals last week and has a team-best 33 for the year.
• Eric Carter posted his 9th double-double (11 pts/11 reb) vs. Elon. He’s scored double digits in 6 of his last 7 games and ranks 3rd in the CAA in rebounding (9.0 rpg).
Drexel (11-18, 5-11 in CAA)
• Suffered road setbacks at Northeastern (75-69) and Hofstra (88-76) last week.
• Tramaine Isabell averaged 26.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg last week, including 29 points and 6 boards at Hofstra. He ranks among the CAA’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals and 12 20-point games.
• Troy Harper contributed 17 points in 25 minutes at NU and added 11 points at HU. It was his 9th double-digit effort in CAA play.
• Sammy Mojica averaged 11.5 ppg in the two games last week. He leads the Dragons with 53 three-pointers this season.
• Austin Williams, who ranks 2nd in the CAA in FG%, 5th in rebounds and 1st in blocks, had 6 points in 15 minutes at NU but missed the Hofstra game due to a foot injury.
• Drexel shot 52.9% from the floor at NU and 48.4% at Hofstra. The Dragons have shot 47% or better in five straight games.
• Kurk Lee has tallied double figures in 5 of his past 6 games. He’s averaging 12.7 ppg and leads the team in assists (96).
Elon (14-14, 6-9 in CAA)
• Dropped road games at UNCW (87-63) and Delaware (72-57) last week.
• Tyler Seibring averaged 20.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg last week, including a team-high 22 points and 8 rebounds at UD. He’s reached double digits in 16 straight games and is averaging 18.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg while shooting 52.7% from the floor and a league-best 47.9% from 3 in CAA play.
• Dainan Swoope added 14 points at UNCW and 10 points at UD. He’s scored double figures 19 times, including 10 in CAA play.
• Seth Fuller (8 pts/3 reb) and Collin Luther (2 pts/7 reb/3 steals) made their first starts of the season at Delaware.
• Sheldon Eberhardt tallied 9 points on 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range at UNCW.
• Brian Dawkins (12.0 ppg/5.6 rpg) missed both games last week due to a hand injury.
• Elon hit 10 threes at UNCW and 12 at UD. The Phoenix have made 10+ treys in 20 games and are averaging 10.8 threes per game for the year.
Hofstra (17-11, 10-6 in CAA)
• Beat W&M (90-84) and Drexel (88-76) last week to take over 3rd place. Have won 10+ CAA games in three of the past four years
• Justin Wright-Foreman averaged 25.5 ppg and 6.5 apg last week, including 32 points and 6 assists vs. DU. He’s scored double digits in 50 straight games, has tallied 20+ points in 22 games and has topped 30 points seven times.
• Rokas Gustys posted the 3rd 20-20 game (22 pts/21 reb) of his career vs. W&M and added his 13th double-double (10 pts/17 reb) of the season vs. DU. He’s Hofstra’s all-time D-1 leading rebounder (1,278) and is 2nd on the CAA’s career list.
• Eli Pemberton scored a team-high 26 points vs. W&M and posted his 1st career double-double (16 pts/10 reb) vs. DU. He’s averaging 20.7 ppg over the past six games.
• Freshman Jalen Ray hit 4-of-8 treys and scored 13 points vs. W&M and also added a career-high four steals.
• Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich recorded his 350th career win vs. W&M.
James Madison (9-19, 5-10 in CAA)
• Won 2-of-3 last week, defeating UNCW (62-61) and Towson (69-66) but falling to CofC (81-78/ot). 13 of JMU’s 15 CAA contests have been decided by single digits or in OT.
• Matt Lewis averaged 21.7 ppg last week, including a career-high 33 points vs. CofC which was the 2nd-most ever by a JMU freshman. He’s scored at least 13 points in 14 straight games and is averaging 17.2 ppg in CAA play.
• Darius Banks scored 16 points vs. UNCW and followed with 17 points, 6 rebounds and a career-high 5 steals vs. CofC.
• Stuckey Mosley scored a team-high 19 points at Towson, which was his 20th double-digit effort in 21 games. He has topped the 20-point mark 12 times and has three 30-point efforts.
• Freshman Greg Jones had a career-high 9 points, 5 rebounds and a key blocked shot in the final seconds at Towson.
• JMU was 46-of-56 (82.1%) from the free throw line last week. The Dukes are shooting 72.3% in CAA play.
UNCW (9-19, 6-10 in CAA)
• Went 1-2 last week, beating Elon (87-63) but losing to JMU (62-61) and CofC (88-74).
• Devontae Cacok averaged 20.7 ppg and 15.3 rpg last week with double-doubles vs. Elon (17 pts/21 reb) and CofC (29 pts/17 reb) to up his season total to 20. He leads the nation with 13.6 rpg and set UNCW’s season rebounds mark with 380. He also went over 1,000 points for his career on Saturday.
• Jordon Talley averaged 14.7 ppg and 6.0 apg last week. He’s 11th in the CAA in scoring and 2nd in assists, and has scored double digits in 19 consecutive games.
• Ty Taylor scored 19 points vs. Elon and is averaging 16.0 ppg over his last 6 games.
• Marcus Bryan scored 11 points at JMU and grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Elon.
• Freshman Jay Estime’ scored 9 points vs. JMU and Elon and is averaging 8.8 ppg over his past six contests.
• UNCW out-rebounded Elon 53-28 with 18 offensive boards and tallied 15 offensive rebounds vs. Charleston.
Northeastern (19-9, 12-4 in CAA)
• On a five-game winning streak after beating Drexel (75-69) and W&M (69-67) last week.
• Vasa Pusica scored a team-high 24 points vs. DU and had 19 points vs W&M, including a game-winning layup at the buzzer. He’s reached double digits in 14 straight games, has 12 20-point efforts and is in the CAA’s top 10 in points and assists. He’s averaging 23.4 ppg during NU’s 5-game win streak.
• Anthony Green matched his career-high with 16 points vs. DU. He was 11-of-13 from the floor last week and is shooting 72.5% for the season.
• Maxime Boursiquot had a season-high tying 13 points on 6-of-7 FG shooting vs. W&M.
• Shawn Occeus made a career-high six steals vs. Drexel and leads the CAA with 1.9 spg.
• Bolden Brace is shooting 44.1% (30-of-68) from three in CAA play.
• NU held W&M to 6-of-21 3-point shooting and has held 10 of its last 11 opponents to 6 treys or less. The Huskies lead the league in 3-pt FG% defense (30.5%) in CAA play.
Towson (18-11, 8-8 in CAA)
• Went 1-1 at home last week, beating Delaware 67-65 but losing 69-66 to JMU.
• Mike Morsell scored a team-high 19 points vs. UD and had 10 points and 8 boards vs. JMU. He’s scored double figures in 11 straight games and moved up to 8th on Towson’s career scoring list (1,487 pts).
• Brian Starr added 15 points vs. UD. Towson is 10-0 when he scores double figures.
• Zane Martin tallied a team-high 21 points vs. JMU. He’s recorded 17 20-point outings and has reached double figures in 22 of the past 23 contests.
• Eddie Keith had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks vs. JMU and blocked a game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer against UD.
• Jordan McNeil hit 3-of-3 treys and netted 11 points vs. JMU, which was his top scoring effort since Jan. 5.
• TU tops the CAA in FG% defense and rebound margin and is 2nd in 3-point defense.
• Towson has won at least 18 games in five of the past six seasons under Pat Skerry.
William & Mary (16-11, 9-7 in CAA)
• Dropped road games at Hofstra (90-84) and Northeastern (69-67) last week.
• Justin Pierce recorded his 7th double-double at Hofstra with team-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds. He’s averaging 21.8 ppg and 9.9 rpg over the past eight games.
• Matt Milon scored a team-high 21 points at NU, which was his best outing since Jan. 5, and had 16 points at Hofstra. He’s scored double digits in 4 of the past 5 games.
• Nathan Knight averaged 15.5 ppg last week. He’s scored double figures in 26 of 27 games and ranks among the top 6 in the CAA in scoring, rebounding, FG% and blocks.
• David Cohn tallied 18 points at HU and set the W&M record for assists in a season with 173. He leads the CAA with 6.4 apg.
• Connor Burchfield leads the CAA in 3-point FG% and ranks 2nd in 3’s per game.
• W&M shot 52.1% at NU, which was its 17th game shooting at least 50% from the floor.
• W&M leads the CAA in scoring, FG%, FT%, 3-point FG% and 3-pointers per game.