#CAAHoops MBB Notebook - Dec. 30
Rob Washburn
CONFERENCE PLAY ON THURSDAY
Conference play in the CAA gets rolling on Thursday 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.
HAMPTON, N.C. A&T SWEEP SHOWCASE
North Carolina A&T and Hampton earned nationally televised victories over long-time rivals last Saturday as part of the CBS Sports Classic: HBCU Showcase. The Aggies defeated N.C. Central, 85-72, and the Pirates beat Hampton, 83-67, in games that aired on CBS and Paramount+.
MONMOUTH VISITS #2 AUBURN
Monmouth closes out its non-conference slate on Monday night with a trip to #2 Auburn. It’s the 12th game away from home for the Hawks and 4th against a high-major opponent.
CHARLESTON GOES 2-1 IN HAWAII
Charleston went 2-1 against a strong field at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. The Cougars fell 74-65 to Oregon State in the opener, but defeated Loyola Chicago (77-68) and Charlotte (84-81). Ante Brzovic tallied 32 points and 14 rebounds in the Charlotte win, while Deywilk Tavarez hit seven treys and poured in 30 points against Loyola.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
In addition to the big games by Ante Brzovic and Deywilk Tavarez in Hawaii, there were a number of other stellar individual performances last week. Delaware’s John Camden tied a program record with nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 35 points at #24 St. John’s. Campbell’s Colby Duggan poured in a career-high 32 points at North Carolina, which was the most ever for a CU player against an ACC team. North Carolina A&T’s Ryan Forrest scored 30 points in a win over N.C. Central, while teammate Nikolaos Chitikoudis hauled in a career-high 22 rebounds, which was the most for an Aggies’ player since 2002. Elon’s Nick Dorn set a career high with 29 points in a victory over Marshall.
ON A ROLL
Hampton is on a five-game winning streak, which is its longest since 2018-19. Elon’s .692 winning percentage in non-conference play is its best ever at the Division I level. Charleston and UNCW both won 10 non-conference games, with the Seahawks having captured 7 of their last 8 contests and the Cougars having won 6 of 7. Drexel’s 8 non-conference wins are its most since 2013-14. Elon and William & Mary are both off to 5-0 starts at home.
Campbell
• Colby Duggan made five threes and scored a career-high 32 points at North Carolina on Sunday. It’s the most points ever by a CU player vs. an ACC foe.
• Jason Sinani added 15 points against the Tar Heels. He’s tallied double figures in 8 games and tops CU with 12.6 ppg.
• Campbell is shooting a CAA-best 80.4% from the free throw line. Bragi Gudmundsson is a perfect 31-for-31.
Charleston
• Ante Brzovic poured in a game-high 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a win over Charlotte last Wednesday. He leads CofC with 19.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg.
• Deywilk Tavarez hit seven threes and scored a season-high 30 points in a 77-68 victory over Loyola Chicago last Monday.
• Lazar Djokovic tallied team-highs of 13 points and 8 rebounds vs. Oregon State. It was his 5th double-digit effort.
Delaware
•John Camden tied a program record with nine three-pointers and set a career-high with 35 points in a setback at #24 St. John’s on Saturday. He leads UD in scoring at 16.5 ppg.
•Niels Lane added 14 points against the Red Storm. It was his sixth straight game in double figures.
•Delaware is shooting 78.8% from the FT line, which ranks 19th 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
• Nick Dorn was 6-of-10 from three and set a new career high with 29 points in a win over Marshall on Saturday. It was his fifth game with at least four treys.
• Sam Sherry posted a double-double vs. Marshall with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He’s averaging 22.5 ppg and 13.5 rpg over his past two contests.
• TJ Simpkins has tallied double digits in 11 games and is second on the team in scoring with 14.9 ppg.
Hampton
•Wayne Bristol, Jr. scored a team-high 18 points in Saturday’s win over Howard. He’s averaging 19.5 ppg over his past two contests.
•Noah Farrakhan added 17 points and a team-high seven assists vs. Howard. He leads the Pirates in scoring (13.6 ppg) and assists (37).
•Hampton ranks 3rd nationally in bench scoring (40.2 ppg).
Hofstra
• Jean Aranguren had team-highs of 23 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals at Quinnipiac on Sunday. He’s among the top 15 in the CAA in all 4 categories.
• Cruz Davis added 14 points at Quinnipiac. He’s scored 20+ points four times and tops the Pride with 15.3 ppg.
• Michael Graham had eight points, a team-high 13 rebounds and 3 blocks at QU. It was his 3rd double-digit rebound effort.
Monmouth
• Abdi Bashir, Jr. hit 5-of-10 threes and scored a team-high 27 points in a win over Fairfield. It was his 8th game with 20+ points and 9th with at least 3 treys. He’s averaging a CAA-best 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 hit five treys and scored 25 points vs. NC Central. He has tallied double figures in all 13 games he’s played this season and is averaging 19.2 ppg.
• Nikolaos Chitikoudis grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds vs. NCCU, which was the most by an A&T player since 2002 and 2nd-most nationally this season.
• Ryan Forrest scored a team-high 30 points vs. NCCU, which was his 12th double-digit outing in 13 games.
UNCW
•Noah Ross came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 FG shooting vs. Spartanburg Methodist.
•Harlan Obioha posted his first double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Spartanburg Methodist.
• Donovan Newby has tallied 20+ points four times this season and leads the Seahawks in scoring with 16.2 ppg.
Northeastern
•LA Pratt tallied team highs of 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists at Northwestern. He’s averaging 17.0 ppg over his last three contests.
•Masai Troutman was 4-of-5 from three and added 17 points at Northwestern. It was his 5th straight double-digit outing.
•NU shot over 50% from the floor for the 7th time at Northwestern and tied a season high with nine threes.
Stony Brook
• Ben Wight scored a season-high 19 points and added a team-best 7 rebounds at UAlbany on Sunday.
• Joe Octave added 13 points and a career-high 5 steals at UAlbany. It was his 11th double-digit effort and he leads SBU with 14.2 ppg.
• Jared Frey was 3-of-4 from three and tallied 13 points off the bench at UAlbany. He’s second on the team with 19 treys.
Towson
• Tyler Tejada tied his career-high with 30 points at Robert Morris 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
• Keller Boothby hit 4-of-6 treys and had a season-high 16 points in Sunday’s win over Navy. W&M is now 5-0 at home.
• Noah Collier is averaging 14.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg over his last 3 games. He’s tallied double digits in 8 of his last his 9 contests.
• W&M ranks 6th in Div. I with 11.5 threes made per game and has hit at least nine treys 10 times. W&M has shot 50% from the floor in 4 of its last 5 contests.