#CAAHoops MBB Notebook - Dec. 9
Rob Washburn
HAMPTON TOPS A&T IN CAA OPENER
Hampton rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit and beat North Carolina A&T, 82-71, in the CAA opener last Tuesday. George Beale, Jr. came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points for the Pirates and Tyler Rice added 17 as the Pirates’ reserves contributed 52 points.
PHOENIX ARE RISING
Elon extended its winning streak to three with a 79-56 victory over Wofford last Saturday. The Phoenix, who rank 9th nationally in FG percentage defense (36.7%), held the Terriers to 28.8% shooting. Elon’s 6-3 start is its best since 2017-18 and the Phoenix top all CAA squads in the latest NCAA NET ratings at No. 88.
FOUR IN A ROW FOR UNCW
UNCW is on a season-best four-game winning streak after handing rival East Carolina just its second loss of the season (67-53) and beating Marshall (78-69) to improve to 7-2 on the year. The Seahawks, who top the CAA in 3-point defense (27.5%), held their two foes to 11-of-49 (22.4%) shooting from beyond the arc while forcing 30 combined turnovers.
HUSKIES OFF TO BEST START IN 9 YEARS
Northeastern is off to its best start since 2015-16 following wins over La Salle (82-68) and Colgate (78-75) last week. The Huskies shot better than 52% from the floor in both victories and are leading the CAA in FG percentage (48.8%).
LOOKING AHEAD
The schedule is light in CAA basketball this week with exams underway on many campuses, but there are several key matchups. Hofstra (7-3) visits MEAC preseason favorite Norfolk State on Monday before hosting Temple on Sunday. Charleston (6-2) faces a tough test at Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday, while Monmouth visits Ivy League favorite Princeton. North Carolina A&T has road tests at Virginia Tech and Liberty.
Campbell
•Terren Frank set a season-high with 20 points in a one-point loss to Coastal Carolina last Wednesday. It was his third double-digit effort in five games.
•Cam Gregory reached double figures for the fourth time in five games with a season-best 14 points vs. Coastal.
•Campbell leads the CAA and ranks 16th nationally in free throw percentage (80%).
Charleston
•Lazar Djokovic scored a team-high 17 points in a 94-71 win over Tusculum last Tuesday, hitting 5-of-6 FG attempts and going 6-of-6 at the FT line.
•Charleston shot 51.6% from the floor vs. Tusculum, which was the fifth time this season it has topped the 50% mark.
•Ante Brzovic leads the CAA in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and has scored double figures in seven of eight games (19.6 ppg).
Delaware
•Delaware was 17-of-31 (54.8%) from 3-point range in a win over Delaware State last Tuesday. The 17 treys were the most for the Blue Hens since 2000.
•UD had five players score in double figures for the second time this season in the DSU victory, led by Cavan Reilly with 20 points.
•Niels Lane tallied 20 points in 25 minutes off the bench at Duquesne last Friday.
Drexel
•Cole Hargrove posted his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds as Drexel beat Penn in the Big 5 Classic last Saturday.
•Kobe MaGee had 14 points vs. Bryant and added 12 against Penn. He’s scored double digits in all 10 games this season.
•Yame Butler poured in a season-high 28 points against Bryant last Monday, hitting 5-of-6 from three.
Elon
•Sam Sherry scored a season-high 22 points in a 79-56 win over Wofford last Saturday. He was 8-of-13 from the floor and hit a career-best three treys.
•Nick Dorn hit 4-of-6 threes and added 15 points vs. Wofford. Dorn has made at least 2 treys in 8 of 9 games and is shooting 43.7% from beyond the arc.
•The game vs. Wofford was Elon’s first at home since Nov. 9.
Hampton
• Hampton got 52 points from its bench vs. N.C. A&T last Tuesday, led by a career-high 25 points from George Beale, Jr. and a career-high tying 17 points from Tyler Rice. The Pirates rank 8th nationally in bench scoring (39.6 ppg) for the year.
• The Pirates committed just five turnovers against A&T and have had fewer than 10 turnovers in three of the past four games. Hampton leads the CAA in fewest turnovers per game (9.8).
Hofstra
• Hofstra drained a season-high 19 three-pointers in a 114-46 over St. Joseph’s (L.I.). The 19 treys were one shy of the school record set vs. JMU in 2020.
• KiJan Robinson had career-highs of 28 points and seven assists vs. St. Joseph’s (L.I.). He was 10-of-12 from the floor and 8-of-9 from three.
• Five Hofstra reserves scored double figures in the St. Joseph’s win.
Monmouth
• Abdi Bashir, Jr. made three treys and scored a team-best 22 points at Lehigh last Wednesday. It was his sixth game with 20+ points and seventh with at least 3 three-pointers. Bashir leads the CAA in scoring with 20.6 ppg.
• Jack Collins reached double figures for the third straight game with 17 points at Lehigh. He was 11-of-13 at the FT line and is shooting 82.8% from the stripe.
North Carolina A&T
•Ryan Forrest scored a team-best 18 points with 8 rebounds against UNCG last Saturday. He’s reached double digits in all 8 games and is averaging a team-high 19.9 ppg.
•Nikolaos Chitikoudis posted his second career double-double at Hampton with 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds and had 9 points and 11 boards vs. UNCG. He’s averaging 9.0 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds.
UNCW
• Donovan Newby scored a team-high 12 points at ECU and a team-best 18 points vs. Marshall last week while eclipsing 1,000 points for his career. He’s averaging a team-high 17.0 ppg.
• Sean Moore posted his first double-double vs. Marshall with 14 points and a team-best 16 rebounds.
• UNCW has handed out 60 assists during its current four-game winning streak.
Northeastern
• Harold Woods recorded his fourth double-double against La Salle last Tuesday with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He added 13 points vs. Colgate on Sunday, which was 8th double-figure effort.
•Rashad King filled the stat sheet against La Salle with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and scored a team-high 23 points in Sunday’s win over Colgate. He leads NU in scoring with 17.2 ppg.
Stony Brook
•CJ Luster poured in 27 points vs. Air Force last Saturday, which was his most against a D-1 opponent. He was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.
•Collin O’Connor added 13 points vs. Air Force, which was his second straight game in double figures.
•Stony Brook forced Air Force into 22 turnovers, which were the most by a Seawolves’ opponent this season.
Towson
• Dylan Williamson was 4-of-8 from three and scored a team-high 21 points vs. UMBC last Saturday. He’s averaging a team-best 14.7 ppg and shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc.
•Tyler Tejada returned to action after missing six games due to injury and had 18 points and nine rebounds vs. UMBC.
• Mekhi Lowery is averaging 13.3 ppg and 9.0 rpg over his past three games.
William & Mary
• Gabe Dorsey scored a team-high 17 points in only 5 minutes of action vs. Virginia Lynchburg last Wednesday. He was 6-of-6 from the floor, including 5-of-5 from three.
• Noah Collier leads the CAA in FG percentage (65.4%) and tops the Tribe in scoring (13.8 ppg). He’s scored double digits in five of his last six games, including a team-high 18 points at Old Dominion last Monday.