#CAAHoops MBB Notebook - Dec. 23
Rob Washburn
HAMPTON, N.C. A&T ON NATIONAL TV
North Carolina A&T and Hampton will receive national television exposure on Saturday as they host games against long-time rivals as part of the CBS Sports Classic: HBCU Showcase. The Aggies face North Carolina Central at 2 p.m., while the Pirates meet Howard at 4 p.m. in contests that will air on CBS and Paramount+.
CHRISTMAS IN HAWAII
Charleston continues play on Monday against a strong field at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. The Cougars fell 74-65 to Oregon State on Sunday and meets Loyola Chicago tonight. CofC will face either Charlotte or Murray State on Christmas.
LOOKING AHEAD
In addition to Hampton and N.C. A&T’s national TV appearances on Saturday, there are several other big matchups ahead this weekend. Delaware visits #24 St. John’s on Saturday in a game televised by FS1. On Sunday, Northeastern travels to Big Ten foe Northwestern on Peacock, while Campbell makes the short trip to North Carolina on ACC Network. Next Monday, Monmouth takes on #2 Auburn.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Charleston point guard C.J. Fulton leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio. Fulton has a CAA-best 60 assists with only 12 turnovers.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Hofstra ranks 14th nationally in FG percentage defense (38.0%), while Elon is 21st (38.6%). Drexel is 12th in 3-point FG defense (27.5%).
CONFERENCE PLAY ON TAP
Conference play in the CAA gets rolling on January 2 with all 14 teams in action. From that point on, teams will compete mostly on Thursday and Saturday, with some contests moved to Monday for broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Hampton and North Carolina A&T met in the CAA opener on Dec. 3 with the Pirates rallying from an 11-point second-half deficit to earn an 82-71 win.
Campbell
• Colby Duggan hit 4-of-5 threes and scored a team-high 13 points against Longwood last Wednesday. It was his 5th double-digit effort in the past six games.
• Caleb Zurliene added eight points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench vs. LU. His 15 blocks are a team high.
• Campbell is shooting a CAA-best 80.8% from the free throw line. Bragi Gudmundsson is a perfect 27-for-27.
Charleston
• Lazar Djokovic tallied team-highs of 13 points and 8 rebounds vs. Oregon State. It was his 5th double-digit effort.
• Ante Brzovic had a team-high 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a career-high 5 blocks vs. Wofford last Monday.
• Deywilk Tavarez hit 4-of-6 threes and tied his season high with 17 points vs. Wofford and added 10 points against Oregon State.
Delaware
•Niels Lane scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 FG shooting at Saint Peter’s last Friday. It was his second 20-point effort of the season.
•Freshman Izaiah Pasha added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists at Saint Peter’s. He’s averaging 10.7 ppg and leads the Hens with 36 assists.
•Delaware is shooting 79.1% from the FT line, which ranks 17th nationally.
Drexel
•Yame Butler tallied team-highs of 16 points and 7 rebounds vs. Penn State and had 16 points at Howard. He’s scored double digits in six straight games.
•Jason Drake scored a career-high 21 points in the win at Howard. He’s averaging 14.3 ppg over the past three contests.
•Drexel’s eight non-conference wins this season are its most since 2013-14. The Dragons are 4-1 in true road games.
Elon
• Sam Sherry set career highs with 28 points and 14 rebounds as Elon erased a 14-point halftime deficit to beat UNCG.
• TJ Simpkins poured in a season-high 27 points at ETSU on Wednesday. He’s tallied double digits in 10 games and leads Elon in scoring with 15.1 ppg.
• Nick Dorn added 11 points at ETSU and 13 vs. UNCG. He has made at least two 3-pointers in 10 of 12 games this season.
Hampton
•Wayne Bristol, Jr. posted his first double-double of the season in the win at Loyola on Saturday with season-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
•Etienne Strothers scored a season-high 13 points vs. Regent and then topped it with 14 points at Loyola.
•Hampton got 65 points from reserves against Regent. The Pirates rank 3rd nationally in bench scoring (40.4 ppg).
Hofstra
• Jean Aranguren averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in Hofstra’s two most recent games. He had 16 points and 14 boards against Temple.
• Cruz Davis hit 5-of-6 from three and scored 20 points in an 80-67 win at Norfolk State. It was his fourth 20+ point outing in the past eight games.
• Hofstra snapped Norfolk State’s 18-game home court winning streak.
Monmouth
• Abdi Bashir, Jr. hit 5-of-10 threes and scored a team-high 27 points in a win over Fairfield on Saturday. It was his 8th game with 20+ points and 9th with at least 3 treys. He’s averaging 21.6 ppg.
• Jaret Valenica filled the stat sheet vs. Fairfield with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 3 steals.
• Jack Collins reached double digits for the 4th time in 5 games with 13 points vs. FU.
North Carolina A&T
• Landon Glasper scored a season-high 29 points and added 8 rebounds vs. Coastal Carolina and followed with 16 points at Arkansas. He has tallied double figures in all 12 games he’s played this season.
• Nikolaos Chitikoudis posted his 2nd double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds vs. Coastal.
• Ryan Forrest led A&T with 19 points at Arkansas, which was his 11th double-digit outing in 12 games.
UNCW
• Donovan Newby scored a team-high 21 points vs FGCU and followed with 20 vs. UNC Asheville in a 2-0 week. Newby has tallied 20+ points four times this season.
•Nolan Hodge averaged 16.0 ppg in the two wins last week, including a career-high 21 points vs. UNC Asheville.
•Noah Ross came off the bench to contribute 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes vs. FGCU.
Northeastern
•Rashad King posted his first double-double at UMass last Wednesday with a team-high 19 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. He ranks in the top 8 in the CAA in scoring, rebounding and assists.
•LA Pratt added 18 points and eight rebounds at UMass. It was his fourth double-digit effort in the past six games.
•NU pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds vs. UMass and had a +12 edge on the glass.
Stony Brook
•Joe Octave matched his season high with 24 points in a win over Maine last Saturday. It was his 10th double-digit effort in 12 games this season.
•CJ Luster scored a team-high 15 points vs. Marist and added 11 against Maine. He’s averaging 18.3 ppg over the past four games and is shooting 43.8% from three.
•Stony Brook was a season-best 21-of-22 at the free throw line against Maine.
Towson
• Tyler Tejada tied his career-high with 30 points at Robert Morris on Tuesday and had a team-best 18 points vs. Bryant. He’s reached double figures in six of his seven games this season.
• Tomiwa Sulaiman posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in the win over Bryant.
• Towson shot 54.3% from the floor at RMU, including 60.9% in the first half.
William & Mary
• Noah Collier averaged 14.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg in the two games last week. He’s tallied double digits in seven of his last his eight contests.
• Caleb Dorsey, who had missed the past 8 games due to injury, hit four treys and chipped in 14 points in 16 minutes vs. UR.
• W&M ranks 8th nationally with 11.3 threes made per game. The Tribe has hit at least nine treys in 9 of 12 games.