Category: Bryant

NEC Saturday Recap: Playoffs Matches Are Set

It’s hard to believe, but the NEC regular season came to an end today. Playoff spots were solidified and first round playoff match-ups have been determined, so let’s sort through the final Saturday of the NEC season.

St. Francis Brooklyn 92, Sacred Heart 80
The widely hyped play-in playoff game lacked the drama throughout, as St. Francis coasted their way to an easy victory and locked up a date with the Robert Morris Colonials next Wednesday. After a second half Pioneer spurt cut the Terriers lead to eight points, Sacred Heart would get no closer thanks to an atrocious defensive effort that allowed 1.33 points per possession. Glenn Braica’s Terriers made 53.1% of their shots for the game, hit 12 bombs from behind the arc, and possessed a superb assist to turnover ratio of 1.78. Ben Mockford led the attack with 22 points, followed by the frontcourt duo of Akeem Johnson and Jalen Cannon, who each had 15 points. Johnson scored his 1,000 point for his career in the victory. In the loss, Shane Gibson ended his career with a bang, scoring a game high 29 points on 12 of 21 shooting. Gibson’s one man show, however, wasn’t enough to overcome a porous Pioneer defense that only forced nine Terrier turnovers. It was the seventh straight loss for Sacred Heart and continues a string of four consecutive seasons with a losing record inside the conference. Read John’s full recap here.

LIU Brooklyn 96, Quinnipiac 90
Jack Perri’s two most important seniors, Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner, combined for 63 points and 15 rebounds, willing the Blackbirds to a season finale victory at the WRAC over Quinnipiac. The fast paced affair (151 total possessions) started off well enough for Tom Moore’s squad, with the Bobcats racing out to a first half lead of 11 points. The Blackbirds countered out of halftime with a 16-0 run, giving them a lead they would not relinquish. After a sluggish first half offensively, LIU exploded for a season best 62 points in the second stanza. Dave Johnson paced the Bobcats with a season high 24 points, while Ousmane Drame continued his dominance down low with 21 points (on 10 shots) and six rebounds. These two teams will meet up again in the first round of the NEC tournament.

Wagner 67, Monmouth 57
Monmouth closed out their disappointing season with a loss to Wagner on Senior Night. Monmouth’s threesome of seniors – Jesse Steele, Ed Waite, and Marcus Ware – were stymied by Wagner’s defense, as they were only able to muster a combined 26 points on 31 shots. As a whole, tonight was the 13th time in 18 conference games that King Rice’s offense failed to register more than 1.00 point per possession. (They’re 1-12 when that happens). For Wagner, the win secures a #2 seed and gives the Seahawks home court advantage throughout the semifinals. Despite committing 16 turnovers versus only five assists, the Seahawks manufactured enough offense via the charity stripe – 23 made free throws – to earn the victory. Jonathan Williams ended the regular season with his second double double of the year, registering 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Bryant 85, St. Francis (PA) 60
Bryant was able to put their bitter Thursday defeat to Robert Morris in the rear view mirror, as they confidently dispatched the inferior Red Flash by more than 20 points for the second time this season. Six players scored in double figures for Tim O’Shea, led by (surprise surprise) Alex Francis with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Corey Maynard added 18 points. The Bulldogs scored at will, achieving their season high of 1.41 points per possession and brought up their average to a NEC best 1.14 points per possession. On the flip side, St. Francis now has undergone eight consecutive losing seasons for a combined record of 55-178. The rebuilding project continues to chug along in Loretto, but Rob Krimmel does possess some respectable pieces moving forward.

Mount St. Mary’s 103, Fairleigh Dickinson 82
Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions. Saturday afternoon’s matchup did little to change that on FDU’s Senior Day, as Jamion Christian’s Mount enjoyed their finest offensive performance of the season. Shivaughn Wiggins led the Mountaineers with 28 points on only nine shots, while Sam Prescott added 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. It was the ultimate team effort with nine Mountaineers scoring and logging at least 11 minutes of action. The win caps off a phenomenal finish to the season and catapults the Mount to fifth place in the standings. The loss mercifully brings the Greg Vetrone era to an end, with the Knights missing their third straight NEC postseason. Seniors Melquan Bolding and Kinu Rochford were their usual efficient selves in defeat, scoring 19 and 14 points, respectively. It was the 14th straight loss for FDU.

Robert Morris 81, Central Connecticut 61
In a game that meant very little to either team, Robert Morris raced out to an early first half advantage and coasted to an easy double-digit victory to conclude their regular season. Andy Toole wasn’t terribly cautious with his banged up senior class on the final Saturday of the season, and they produced on the court. Velton Jones finished with 12 points, seven assists and four steals, while senior Russell Johnson led the team with 20 points. Lucky Jones threw in a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) for good measure. It was one of the poorest shooting performances by CCSU for the season with the Blue Devils only making 19 of their 40 two-pointers and 2 of their 19 three-pointers.

Final NEC Standings
1) Robert Morris, 14-4
2) Wagner, 12-6
3) LIU Brooklyn, 12-6
4) Bryant, 12-6
5) Mount St. Mary’s, 11-7
6) Quinnipiac, 11-7
7) Central Connecticut, 9-9
8) St. Francis Brooklyn, 8-10
9) Sacred Heart, 7-11
10) St. Francis (PA), 5-13
11) Monmouth, 5-13
12) Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-16
*Wagner has tiebreakers on LIU and Bryant based on head-to-head-to-head record (3-1)
*Mount St. Mary’s has tiebreaker on Quinnipiac based on head-to-head record (1-0)

NEC Playoff First Round
Wednesday night, March 6th
#8 seed St. Francis Brooklyn at #1 seed Robert Morris
#5 seed Mount St. Mary’s at #4 seed Bryant
#6 seed Quinnipiac at #3 seed LIU Brooklyn
#7 seed Central Connecticut at #2 seed Wagner

The NEC Playoff Picture: A Q&A With Myself

Rather than tire you all with an exhaustive summary of the NEC playoff picture, I decided to ask myself several questions about the last week of NEC regular season play! There are so many things that can still change the complexion of the conference’s playoff race, so if you feel something isn’t factual here, please let me know in the comments section. Before we begin, please familiarize yourself with the updated NEC standings: Continue reading “The NEC Playoff Picture: A Q&A With Myself” →

NEC Makeup Monday: CCSU Clinches NEC Playoff Berth

The snowstorm that nearly destroyed the state of Connecticut a few weeks ago forced two postponements, therefore fans were treated to a rare doubleheader on Monday night. All four teams were seriously jockeying for playoff position, so let’s recap the action and summarize the NEC Standings.

Bryant 84, Sacred Heart 66
Given the recent play of both clubs, this final should surprise no one. The Pioneers hung around for a half thanks to Shane Gibson and Louis Montes’ combined 34 first half points, but the offensive firepower of Tim O’Shea’s Bulldogs was too much to handle as the game moved along. Sacred Heart cut Bryant’s lead to a paltry one point early in the second half, but then O’Shea pulled out the matchup zone. The different defensive look befuddled the Pioneers, and Bryant took full advantage going on a back-breaking 17-2 run. The big four of Bryant was once again unstoppable, as the Starks/Francis/Maynard/Dobbs group combined to log 70 points on a super efficient 44 shots. Starks led the group with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting. In all, Bryant scored 1.20 points per possession (PPP). If the season ended today, Bryant’s 1.12 PPP average would be the best mark in the NEC since Javier Mojica’s Blue Devils scored 1.12 PPP in the 2006-07 season. With the loss, the Sacred Heart ship is capsizing fast. The Pioneers have lost seven of their last eight games and have pretty much guaranteed a St. Francis Brooklyn/Sacred Heart playoff play-in game on Saturday, March 2nd. There’s no way Dave Bike and company could have imagined that scenario after their hot 6-2 start. On the bright side, Shane Gibson became the fifth player in NEC history to crack the 2,000 point milestone. The senior scored 30 points on only 19 shots, which was 20 points more than the Pioneers front-court tonight.

Central Connecticut 67, Quinnipiac 65
Kyle Vinales long, contested (some would say ill-advised) three-pointer from the parking lot with five seconds remaining hit nothing but the bottom of the net, and pushed his Blue Devils to a thrilling two point victory over Quinnipiac. The Blue Devils were seemingly in control when Malcolm McMillan’s two free-throws gave Howie Dickenman’s group a six point lead with 5:35 left, but severe foul trouble helped the Bobcats go on a 12-3 run to push them ahead with a 65-62 lead. Despite the lapse, the Blue Devils scored the last five points and broke the Bobcats six game winning streak. The supremely confident Joe Efase scored 14 points in the victory and is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in his last four contests. The win guarentees a playoff game for the Blue Devils, while Quinnipiac’s chances for their first regular season title since 2010 have all but vanished. It didn’t help that Quinnipiac missed nine of their 22 free throw attempts. Ousname Drame continued his dominant play with another double double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. In his last nine games – seven of them Quinnipiac victories – Drame has averaged 11.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. It looks like Drame is finally beginning to realize his full potential.

NEC Standings
1) Robert Morris, 12-4
2) Bryant, 11-5
3) Quinnipaic, 10-6
4) Wagner, 10-6
5) LIU Brooklyn, 10-6
6) Mount St. Mary’s, 9-7
7) Central Connecticut, 8-8
8) Sacred Heart, 7-9
9) St. Francis Brooklyn, 7-9
10) St. Francis (PA), 5-11
11) Monmouth, 5-11
12) Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-14
*Quinnipiac earns tiebreaker over Wagner/LIU based on head-to-head-to-head record (2-0)
*Wagner earns tiebreaker over LIU based on head-to-head record (2-0)
*Sacred Heart earns tiebreaker over St. Francis Brooklyn based on head-to-head record (1-0)
*Top seven teams in standings have clinched a NEC playoff berth

NEC Saturday Recap: St. Francis Brooklyn In Trouble

Saturday’s NEC action really hasn’t done anything to make the playoff picture clearer. Instead it has become even more muddled as Central Connecticut defeated Sacred Heart and St. Francis Brooklyn lost at Mount St. Mary’s. At least Robert Morris provided some clarity by destroying Fairleigh Dickinson on senior night.

Continue reading “NEC Saturday Recap: St. Francis Brooklyn In Trouble” →

NEC Thursday Recap: Playoff Picture Still Murky For Some

The second to last Thursday of the NEC regular season had some fantastic finishes and did little to clean up the race to the NEC postseason. Let’s recap all of the action… Continue reading “NEC Thursday Recap: Playoff Picture Still Murky For Some” →

NEC Playoff Scenarios: 10 Teams Fighting for 8 Spots

With four to five conference games remaining, it remains anyone’s guess as to how the NEC playoffs will eventually align. Of course, there appears to be a distinct top five, but then again top seeds Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn haven’t even clinched a spot in the playoffs. (They are really close though.) As a result, please allow me to sift through the madness and break it all down.

Top Tier: Teams in Excellent Shape
1) Robert Morris*, 10-4
2) LIU Brooklyn, 10-4
3) Bryant, 9-4
4) Wagner, 9-5
5) Quinnipiac, 8-5
*owns head-to-head tiebreaker over LIU

I still view Robert Morris, LIU Brooklyn, Bryant, and Wagner as being in the driver’s seat for a NEC home playoff game. Robert Morris must end their regular season at Bryant and CCSU, but with home games versus Monmouth and FDU and with a tiebreaker over LIU (thanks Velton Jones!), the Colonials have the edge to grab the #1 seed. All eyes, however, could be on the Robert Morris at Bryant showdown on February 28th. With the exception of the Bulldogs, all these teams have been playing well as of late. Each team is essentially one more victory away from getting the clinched playoff berth asterisk next to their name.

Bobcat fans may take offense to the first sentence, but they conclude with a difficult final five games (38-29 combined record of opponents left), with four of them on the road. On the other hand, Wagner finishes the season off with FDU, Monmouth, and St. Francis Brooklyn. The Bobcats may only be a half game back of Wagner and are hot, but I’d be surprised if they leapfrog Wagner. If anything, Quinnipiac’s upcoming home showdown with Bryant could determine who plays in their friendly confines for the first round of the playoffs. As the last team in this cluster, Quinnipiac currently holds a comfortable 2.5 game lead over ninth place St. Francis Brooklyn.

Second Tier: Plenty of Work to Do
6) Sacred Heart, 7-6
7) Mount St. Mary’s, 7-7
8) Central Connecticut, 6-7

A few weeks ago, the Mount had a NEC record of 2-6, in serious danger of missing the NEC postseason for the third straight year. Since then, Jamion Christian’s club has won five of their last six, and now with a very manageable schedule to finish the season (LIU, SF Brooklyn, @Monmouth, @FDU), the Mount is in the best shape of the second tier to play playoff basketball. If they can find a way to split their two home games versus LIU and SF Brooklyn, then they’re probably in. It also helps that the Mount owns head-to-head tiebreakers on Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, and CCSU. It sure sounds like someone will have Mayhem visiting their gym in the first round. (Ooh ooh, can I request a Mount St. Mary’s at LIU Brooklyn first round matchup??)

Sacred Heart is going in the opposite direction, and with a brutal schedule remaining (39-28 combined record of opponents left), it wouldn’t surprise me if they continued their tailspin out the playoffs. With the exception of Mount St. Mary’s though, the teams below SHU are struggling just as much, so I still believe they’ll find a way to sneak into the NEC tournament bracket. It would certainly behoove them to pick up a win or two versus Quinnipiac and CCSU coming up at home, because after that, a three game road stretch of Bryant, LIU, and SF Brooklyn is less than ideal.

Third Tier: Teams in Big Trouble
9) St. Francis Brooklyn, 6-8
10) Monmouth, 5-9

Monmouth kept their season alive with a badly needed home victory over SF Brooklyn and in the process may have crippled the Terriers’ playoff prospects. Still, Monmouth is on life support sitting at two games back of CCSU and having lost head-to-head tiebreakers over SHU, Quinnipiac, and CCSU. Anything short of a perfect finish to the season most likely knocks the Hawks out, so King Rice needs to find a way to defeat Robert Morris and Wagner on the road. Good luck with that.

For SF Brooklyn, the playoffs essentially begin on Thursday when they host Wagner. After that, they square off against a Mount St. Mary’s team that is very good in Emmitsburg (8-2 overall). Without the tiebreaker against CCSU, you have to think the Terriers must win AT LEAST three of their final four games and then hope that SHU or CCSU continues their downward spiral. Right now, the best Glenn Braica could hope for is that their final game of regular season against SHU becomes a play-in game for the NEC tournament. If that’s the case, I may have to make the 3.5 hour bus trip to Brooklyn just to see the game! (I can already see my wife rolling her eyes.)

Follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

NEC Saturday Recap: Old Guard Learns New Tricks

This new NEC looks a lot like the old NEC after Saturday’s action. Once again Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn are sitting at the top of the standings as Wagner, Bryant and Quinnipiac chase. The bottom of the standings though is getting tighter by the week as nine teams are fighting hard for just eight spots. Continue reading “NEC Saturday Recap: Old Guard Learns New Tricks” →

NEC Thursday: The Valentine’s Day Recap!

With my wife out of town, I was able to keep my eye on the NEC basketball scene for what turned out to be a special Valentine’s Day recap! Enjoy…

Mount St. Mary’s 84, Bryant 70
Sam Prescott had the performance of his life with 44 points on 16 of 24 shooting to help lead the Mount to an impressive drubbing of league leader Bryant. After the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead thanks to Dyami Starks’ three points, two assists, and one rebound in four minutes, Bryant struggled offensively when Starks was saddled with two quick fouls. After that, a Prescott onslaught from behind the three-point line guided the Mount to a double-digit lead at the half. In all, Prescott tied a Mount record for the most threes scored in a game (10-14), while also breaking the school’s D-I record for most points in a game. Perhaps quietly, Shivaughn Wiggins and Julien Norfleet did a wonderful job fasciliating on offense. The duo dished out 16 assists versus only one turnover. Bryant shot the ball well, but couldn’t overcome 15 turnovers and a porous effort defensively on the perimeter that allowed the Mount to sink 50.9% of their shots. Alex Francis scored a team high 25 points to go along with ten rebounds, but it simply wasn’t enough to overcome Prescott’s special night.

St. Francis (PA) 64, Sacred Heart 60
In the upset of the night, St. Francis (PA) notched their third win of the season by knocking off a significantly banged up Sacred Heart team on the road. Phil Gaetano was out with the flu leaving the Pioneers devoid of a true point guard on the roster and limiting Dave Bike to seven healthy scholarship players and walk-on Louis Cramer. Shane Gibson did his part registering 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and five steals, but it wasn’t enough as no other Pioneer logged a game efficiency rating higher than a six (for non-stat heads, a six isn’t very good). Four players scored in double digits for Rob Krimmel’s club, led by double-double machine Earl Brown with 13 points and 11 boards. St. Francis lost the edge on the boards, but shot well enough from the perimeter (7-16 behind the arc) and at the charity stripe (19-26) to pull through. The win moves St. Francis (PA) out of the cellar with a 3-10 record, while Sacred Heart nows find themselves only up 1.5 games on the 9th place team in the conference. With no more “cupcakes” on the schedule, it’s now or never for the Pioneers coming up.

LIU Brooklyn 82, Monmouth 66
A nearly down-and-out Monmouth team hung tough and even led the back-to-back defending champs with 11 minutes left in the second half, 52-51. But then a 20-5 LIU run put the game out of reach and made certain the Hawks would lose for the fifth time in six games. The offensive numbers won’t make Jack Perri all too happy (1.02 PPP, 14 assists versus 24 turnovers), yet the defense stepped up to force 17 turnovers and a mediocre 40% shooting mark for Monmouth. In addition, the Blackbirds won the rebounding battle 35-27 and hit 14 more freebies from the line. Jamal Olasewere led the team with 23 points, but C.J. Garner was equally as excellent with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Ed Waite led Monmouth with 24 points, but he needed 19 shots to get there. After him though, only two Hawk players – Jesse Steele and Stephen Spinella – scored more than five points.

Wagner 101, Central Connecticut 82
If Wagner scores the basketball like that the rest of the season, then I’m pretty confident they’ll join Robert Morris, Bryant, and LIU Brooklyn in the upper third of the league at season’s end. Wagner shattered their season high in points per possession with 1.32 PPP, while draining over 61% of their shots in a blowout home win over the suddenly defensively challenged Blue Devils. Seven Seahawks scored at least eight points with Marcus Burton claiming 23 points on only nine shots. The game moved at a feverish pace with 155 total possessions, but it was Wagner who benefitted the most from the tempo. Central Connecticut, led by Kyle Vinales’ 42 points on 24 shots, cut Wagner’s lead to seven points early in the second half, but a 15-0 run by the Seahawks essentially turned the game into a laugher. Odd enough, CCSU falls to 4-8 on the season when they average more than 73 possessions in a game. Is it safe to say the lack of depth hurts CCSU in these games that turn into track meets? Whatever the reason, Howie Dickenman shouldn’t be happy that Wagner outscored his club in the paint, 44-24, while also allowing the Seahawks to drill nine of their 15 long-range jumpers. It was a lousy defensive effort whichever way you slice it.

St. Francis Brooklyn 85, Fairleigh Dickinson 61
When it rains it pours, and right now it’s pouring losses for FDU. The Knights dropped their ninth straight to a struggling St. Francis team, as they were unable to overcome 21 point efforts from both Akeem Johnson and Travis Nichols. The Terriers were efficient on offense, and while that may be from FDU being in the bottom 10% of the nation defensively, Glenn Braica certainly has to be pleased with 16 assists versus a mere five turnovers, a 25-28 shooting performance from the free-throw line, and the fact that his team surged despite a zero point overcome from Jalen Cannon. Kinu Rochford had another monster game for FDU (what else is new) with 20 points and 16 rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent FDU’s slide into the NEC basement.

Quinnipiac 63, Robert Morris 61
In perhaps their last meeting before Quinnipiac departs for the MAAC, the Bobcats outlasted the banged-up Colonials in a ridiculously tight game throughout. Velton Jones supposedly did his best Willis Reed impersonation (OK, maybe not) by suiting up right before tipoff, yet he struggled with only six points on 13 shots. Evan Conti led Quinnipiac with 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists and has been the unsung hero in this recent run for Tom Moore. Conti has scored in double figures in four straight, while also averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. The big difference in the game was free throws, as Robert Morris uncharacteristically went to the charity stripe just 13 times (and missed eight of them). On the other hand, Quinnipiac had 17 points from the line and also doubled the Colonials output on the boards (44-22). The Bobcats are officially the hottest team in the NEC, winning five of their last six contests to move into a tie for fifth place. A home playoff game is now absolutely within reach.

NEC Standings
1) Bryant, 9-3
2) Robert Morris, 9-4
3) LIU Brooklyn, 9-4
4) Wagner, 8-5
5) Sacred Heart, 7-5
6) Quinnipiac, 7-5
7) Central Connecticut, 6-6
8) St. Francis Brooklyn, 6-7
9) Mount St. Mary’s, 6-7
10) Monmouth, 4-9
11) St. Francis (PA), 3-10
12) Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-11
*Robert Morris holds tiebreaker on LIU based on head-to-head record (1-0)
*Sacred Heart holds tiebreaker on Quinnipiac based on head-to-head record (1-0)
*St. Francis Brooklyn holds tiebreaker on Mount St. Mary’s based on head-to-head record (1-0)

America East to Add UMass-Lowell As Full Time D-I Member

Take a deep breath, NEC fans. The America East conference will not be raiding your conference any time soon.

Soon to be official, multiple sources have confirmed that the America East will add Division II member UMass-Lowell. UMass-Lowell, who’s been playing Division II sports in the Northeast-10 conference since 2000, will replace the departing Boston University when they head to the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season.

Sam Perkins of Onebidwonders.com penned an excellent piece on his personal and prospective thoughts on the move. Perkins supports the move, but is rightfully critical of the conference’s lack of urgency the past few seasons when they failed to add schools such as Quinnipiac or Bryant when the opportunity arose. When the Terriers chose to join the academically elite Patriot League, the America East was finally forced to be, as Perkins calls it, reactively proactive.

In addition to UMass-Lowell, rumor has it that Great West member NJIT has been lobbying hard to join the America East, and currently has the support of four America East presidents. If they can garner the support of another president or two, then it’s possible NJIT will be announced as the tenth member of the conference in the coming days or weeks. Such an addition would certainly make sense for the conference, since it would give the America East a much-needed presence in the New York metro area.

For now, the news of the America East’s expansion ends the incessant rumors that NEC programs such as Bryant and Central Connecticut would jump at an opportunity to make a parallel leap into the America East. Several sources, including Sacred Heart’s beat reporter Bill Paxton, have confirmed that both schools turned down the America East’s overtures to join, which made it necessary for the mid-major conference to reach into the Division II ranks to grab a replacement school for Boston University.

Frankly, I never believed a move from the NEC to the America East would make sense for Bryant and Central Connecticut, mainly because of their loyalty towards the NEC and, perhaps more importantly, football. America East lacks a football conference, therefore the prospect of possibly not being granted an associate membership if they bolted, both Bryant and Central Connecticut likely deemed a move too risky. After all, the NEC presidents made a clear and conscious decision earlier when they decided to reject Monmouth’s associate membership for football when the Hawks announced they were joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the near future.

For now though, the NEC will remain at ten full-time schools, which is terrific news for the conference’s fans. It turns out a leap into the America East wouldn’t have been an upgrade after all.

Rest easy, NEC fans.