Category: NEC

Saint Peter’s 56, St. Francis Brooklyn 45: Time For A Break

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Sometimes, we all just need a break, don’t we? College basketball teams have been going since late September, and with Christmas fast approaching, almost everyone appeared in need of some time off Wednesday afternoon at the Yanitelli Center. Saint Peter’s and St. Francis Brooklyn had plenty of will, and eventually it will go down as a solid 56-45 win for the Peacocks, who will resume MAAC play next week at 2-0, but it was far from pretty.

To be fair, when we talk about taking a little break, we’re talking about everybody. It was not the best of days for the officials. This is the time of year where it will become difficult to continue with the freedom of movement initiative as the game was marred with interesting calls, numerous lengthy reviews, and technical fouls. Neither John Dunne nor Glenn Braica are among the more demonstrative coaches around (although Dunne does have his moments, it’s usually not directed at the officials).

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Will The Third Season Be The Charm For Greg Herenda, FDU?

Coming off an unexpected and rather brutal 15-game losing streak that sunk their 2014-15 campaign, Fairleigh Dickinson was an afterthought in the NEC this offseason. Sure, a vast majority still believed Greg Herenda was steering the ship in the right direction, but perhaps this massive rebuilding project in Hackensack would take longer than expected? Continue reading “Will The Third Season Be The Charm For Greg Herenda, FDU?” →

Central Conn. 83, UMass Lowell 79: Dickenman And Crew No Longer Winless

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – We have long since established that the non-conference season means next to nothing for NEC teams, this season even more so than usual with parity abound. However, that zero next to Central Connecticut in the win column was still an eyesore at this point of the season.

Add the fact that of the 351 Division I basketball teams in this great country, only five had yet to win a game, and it grew harder to look at with each passing day.

With UConn and Yale next on the schedule, 69-years-young Howie Dickenman was well aware that a home loss Friday night to UMass Lowell likely meant that his Blue Devils would enter conference play 0-11, and so – now feeling much better after a health scare earlier in the season – he was out leading the warmup himself 45 minutes prior to tip, urging his players to up the tempo.

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Manhattan 71, St. Francis Brooklyn 60: Magnificent Seven For Jaspers

BRONX, N.Y. – Division I basketball coaches aren’t generally a breed that is prone to feeling sorry for themselves, but even among that group, Manhattan coach Steve Masiello has to rank near the bottom of the list.

The Jaspers have carved back-to-back MAAC titles through adversity, so it shouldn’t have been surprising that dressing seven players – not seven scholarship players, but seven total – was but a minor distraction on Monday night as they led start to finish and dominated defending NEC regular-season champion St. Francis Brooklyn 71-60 at Draddy Gym.

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