The last Saturday of 2012 was the final non-conference hurrah for four of the seven NEC teams that competed yesterday. Five of those seven games saw the NEC team as the favorite, yet the day concluded with a mixed bag of results overall. Many of these games were decided in the final seconds, and that should serve as a microcosm for the conference season ahead. Offense will be difficult to come by and tightly contested games should be determined deep into the second half. It will make the NEC completely unpredictable; therefore anyone who says they can reasonably forecast which teams will land in the NEC postseason aren’t being truthful! Onto the action from yesterday…
St. Peter’s 71, Central Connecticut 69
The first final of the afternoon ended in disappointing fashion for CCSU, as the Blue Devils were seemingly in firm control of the MAAC/NEC showdown. Adonis Burbage’s fifth three-pointer with 7:32 remaining gave CCSU a 60-47 lead and Burbage a career high 25 points on 16 shots (along with five rebounds). But then, as he had tortured LIU a few weeks ago, St. Peter’s Desi Washington scored ten points late to spur a Peacock 24-9 run to close it out. CCSU, who had enjoyed a respectable offensive output for a majority of the game, sputtered in the closing minutes with only nine points in their final 13 possessions, including six costly turnovers in that span. After a scorching start to the season, Kyle Vinales has cooled off a bit during CCSU’s three game losing streak. The sophomore has scored 33 points (11.0 points per game average) on 44 shots with 14 turnovers against nine assists. Maybe Vinales is beginning to feel the effects of playing 40 minutes per game?
Mount St. Mary’s 58, UMBC 55
The Retrievers gave Jamion Christian’s Mountaineers all they could handle in the midday showdown between in-state rivals, as UMBC’s Joey Getz had an open mid-range jumper with 34 seconds left that just rimmed out. If Getz had made the shot, UMBC would have taken the lead and may have handed the Mount a bitter home defeat and a four game losing streak. Instead, the Mount held on, thanks in large part to UMBC’s 19 turnovers and an excellent performance from Kristijan Krajini. The junior center poured in 14 points, eight rebounds and sank two critical free throws in the final minute. The Mount’s half-court offense is still a mess … err work-in-progress (0.90 points per possession, 41% from the field), yet they improved to 5-1 when holding opponents to less than 1.10 points per possession. The more this team is in transition creating mayhem, the better.
Maine 76, Quinnipiac 71
The perplexing home woes continue for Quinnipiac, as the Bobcats dropped their fourth home non-conference game to the four-win (if you only count D-I wins) Maine Black Bears. Once again, Quinnipiac struggled mightily in the half-court set, but what else is new. The Bobcats hit 37% of their two-pointers and 18% of their threes, and allowed the exceptionally athletic Justin Edwards to log a game high 26 points in Maine’s victory. The bouncy Edwards – only a sophomore – is in the midst of a fantastic season, averaging 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.2 steals a game. All-America East first team anyone? On the other hand, no one for Quinnipiac, with the exception of Ike Azotam, is playing remotely close to an all-conference level 11 games in. It’s a major reason why these Bobcats are only scoring 0.91 points per possession. Now in his sixth season, Tom Moore has never coached a Bobcat team that has scored less than 0.98 points per possession. They have some offensive issues that must be worked out.
Lamar 81, LIU Brooklyn 80
Pat Knight’s Lamar Cardinals went into their unusually late home opener with only one win in their first 11 games. Yet after committing 18 turnovers, missing ten free throw attempts, and allowing Lamar to shoot 55% from the floor (Lamar was in the nation’s bottom 15% in effective field goal percentage), LIU Brooklyn lost their third straight game in excruciating fashion. C.J. Garner had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but his mid-range jumper was off the mark. Since their inspired victory over a reeling Manhattan club, LIU has now allowed an average of 83 points per game heading into NEC play. The defense needs to drastically improve, but first the Blackbirds will be without the services of Jamal Olasewere, C.J. Garner, and Troy Joseph in their upcoming road games versus Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac (remember those suspensions?). First year head coach Jack Perri sure has some difficult work ahead of him, since his Blackbirds could be 0-2 in the NEC a week from now.
Virginia Commonwealth 96, Fairleigh Dickinson 67
This final score was the least surprising of the seven games, as Shaka Smart – Jamion Christian’s old boss – used his patented havoc attempt to extract 33 FDU turnovers. Despite the lopsided defeat which saw VCU leading by as many as 39 points in the second half, Kinu Rochford had himself a monster game. The senior power forward scored 30 points (12 of 14 from the field), corralled 16 boards, dished out four assists, and blocked three shots. Rochford’s historic effort yielded an efficiency rating of 41. It’s the best efficiency game rating for any NEC player since Ken Horton dropped 39 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and six steals on Mount St. Mary’s last February. In his first seven games, Rochford is leading FDU with 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Seniors Melquan Bolding and Lonnie Robinson are also playing well, but Greg Vetrone needs more production from his supporting cast if FDU wants to qualify for the NEC postseason. The journey begins with … guess what, more havoc as FDU visits Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday night.
Wagner 68, Penn 63, OT
Penn had their chances to seal the deal late, but Kenneth Ortiz was too much down the stretch. The crafty junior scored eight of his 23 points in overtime to give Wagner another tight, yet well earned, victory. Wagner is now 3-1 in contests that have been extended into overtime, and has shown an uncanny ability to execute in crunch time. Latif Rivers came back from a knee injury to contribute 15 points, and perhaps more importantly three triples. Wagner was without the services of Jonathan Williams due to a hip injury, although it’s expected the wing will return for Thursday’s NEC matchup with Monmouth. It would be the first time since the Syracuse game more than a month ago that Williams and Rivers would be on the floor together. Wagner’s defense was terrific once again, holding Penn to only 0.83 points per possession. A NEC championship is certainly a possibility if Bashir Mason can get his Seahawks to play more efficiently on the offensive end.
Bryant 80, Lehigh 79
I saved the best for last. In a tight game that contained four ties and eight lead changes in the second half alone, a Frankie Dobbs layup with two seconds remaining was enough to end Lehigh’s nine game winning streak and hand Bryant the biggest win of their young D-I history. In essence, the shocking upset ended any chance the Mountain Hawks had at acquiring a NCAA at-large bid, had they slipped up in the Patriot League postseason final to Bucknell. The game was dominated by seven players, which surprisingly did not include Preseason All-Patriot League first team selection Gabe Knutson. Knutson was held in check with seven points and three rebounds, although Preseason All-American C.J. McCollum scored a game high 36 points in defeat. The scoring outburst brought the senior’s six game average versus NEC teams this year to an amazing 26.8 points per game. The NEC will not miss you, Mr. McCollum. In the end, however, Bryant got the last laugh and a fantastic road win to boot. Alex Francis led the Bulldogs with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Bryant will now head to Moon Township for a much anticipated battle versus the NEC favorite, Robert Morris. I bet you didn’t anticipate that being the marquee matchup on the first Thursday of NEC play, did you?
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