Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Nov. 17
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - NOV. 17 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Brian Bernardi • Hofstra
So., G, 6-2, 195 - Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian
Bernardi scored a game-high 22 points in just 26 minutes in Hofstra’s impressive 94-61 victory over Jacksonville last Friday. The sophomore guard was 8-of-10 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point range, and dished out three assists. The SMU transfer hit five treys in the first half as the Pride built a 21-point lead at intermission.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
David Walker • Northeastern
Jr., G, 6-6, 196 - Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
Walker poured in a career-high 23 points as Northeastern rallied past Boston University 71-65 at TD Garden on Sunday. The junior guard was 6-of-10 from three-point range, including back-to-back treys that ignited an 11-2 Huskies’ run that put them in front for good. He finished 7-of-12 from the floor and also handed out four assists.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Donovan Gilmore • College of Charleston
Fr., F, 6-7, 205 - Greensboro, N.C./Wesleyan Christian Acad.
Gilmore came off the bench to score 12 points in 17 minutes as College of Charleston rolled to a 75-40 win at Furman last Friday. The freshman forward was 6-of-8 from the floor, grabbed four rebounds and made two steals as the Cougars won their first game under new coach Earl Grant.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
TOURNAMENT TIME: Several CAA teams will participate in tournaments against top competition this week. Drexel faces Miami (Fla.) in the first round of the Charleston Classic on Thursday and then will meet either USC or Akron in the second round. College of Charleston takes on defending national champion Connecticut on Thursday in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament. The Cougars play either Texas A&M or Dayton in the second round. Northeastern visits Florida State on Tuesday in the first game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament and then has two games at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut this weekend. Elon opens play in the Cancun Challenge with a game at Big Ten foe Northwestern on Saturday.
FOUR WINS ON OPENING WEEKEND: CAA teams posted a 4-6 record on the opening weekend of action. Hofstra rolled past Jacksonville 94-61 last Friday, which was its most points against a Division I opponent in a season opener since 1994-95. Elon won its first game as a member of the CAA with a 64-58 victory over Florida Atlantic on Friday. College of Charleston cruised by Furman 75-40 last Friday in the first game under new head coach Earl Grant. Northeastern rallied past city rival Boston University 71-65 on Sunday. Of the six losses, four came against teams from the Big 5 conferences (#7 Florida, #9 Virginia, Colorado and Alabama).
NEWCOMERS MAKE AN IMPACT: Newcomers made an immediate impact around the CAA last weekend. Hofstra got a game-high 22 points from SMU transfer Brian Bernardi and double-digit efforts from Niagara transfers Ameen Tanksley (16 pts) and Juan’ya Green (14 pts/9 ast) in its win over Jacksonville. Pride freshmen Andre Walker (11 reb/6 blks) and Rokas Gustys (10 reb) also had impressive debuts. Dayton transfer Alex Gavrilovic scored 14 points for Towson in its opener at Alabama. Elon freshman Elijah Bryant averaged 12.0 ppg over two contests, including a team-high 14 points against Charlotte. JMU freshman Hari Hall hit four treys and scored all of his team-high 15 points in the first half against 9th-ranked Virginia.
For more CAA men's basketball news and notes, click on the link for the full release above or check out the
Men's Basketball Notebook on Hoop Scoop.