NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tyler Kohl, Central Connecticut
6’5”, 220 lbs.
Sr., G/F, Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College
Kohl picked up right where he left off last season with a terrific all-around week for the Blue Devils. The preseason All-NEC honoree averaged 24.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the stripe in a 1-1 week for CCSU. Kohl opened the season last Tuesday with a game and career-high 30-points to go along with 10 boards, five assists and a pair of steals as the Blue Devils rallied from 12 down at Hartford to post a 75-68 win. He scored all 30 of his points in the final 29:20 of the contest. Kohl was the only player nationally over the first week of the season to post a 30/10/5/2 game. On Saturday, he put up 19 points on 4-7 shooting from distance, and added seven rebounds, five dimes and two steals in a tightly contested 85-78 setback to Georgetown in D.C. He scored 15 points and hit all four of his three-point shots in the second stanza to put the Blue Devils in position to pull off the upset. The Allentown, PA native was a second team All-NEC pick a year ago.
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Koreem Ozier, Sacred Heart
6’1”, 180 lbs.
Fr., G, Racine, WI/Scotland Campus Sports
Ozier comes off a stellar debut for the Pioneers with a 23-point effort at Holy Cross last Tuesday. It was the highest scoring game by an NEC freshman in his first outing since RMU’s Marcquise Reed went for 24 against North Carolina on November 16, 2014. He also became the first SHU freshman to score at least 20 in a game since Cane Broome dropped 23 against Bryant on March 4, 2015. Ozier was an efficient 9-16 from the floor, made all four of his shots from the stripe, and added four rebounds and three assists.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Tyler Kohl (CCSU, Sr, G/F)
Kohl picked up right where he left off with a terrrific all-around week for the Blue Devils. The preseason All-NEC honoree averaged 24.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the stripe in a 1-1 week for CCSU. Kohl opened the season last Tuesday with a game-high 30-points to go along with 10 boards, five assists and a pair of steals as the Blue Devils rallied from 12 down at Hartford to post a 75-68 win.
Ian Krishnan (CCSU, Fr, G)
Krishnan made a bold statement in just his second career game with 28 points at Georgetown for an upset-minded CCSU team on Saturday. While the Blue Devils fell seven points short, Krishnan did his part, hitting 6-11 from three-point range en-route to a game-high 28-point effort. The 28 points were the most by an NEC freshman since late 2016. He averaged 17.0 ppg on the week.
Raiquan Clark (LIU, Sr, G/F)
A preseason All-NEC selection, Clark tallied 18.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.5 spg and shot 58.3 percent from the floor in an oustanding all-around week that saw the Blackbirds win at home against New Rochelle and Brown.
Jalen Gibbs (MSM, So, G)
Gibbs, a transfer from Drake, made an instant impact for the Mount, averaging 22.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.5 apg in games at North Carolina State and Hofstra. He shot 53.3 percent from the floor and led the Mount in scoring both contests, including 24 points on 9-17 shooting vs. the Wolfpack.
Sean Hoehn (SHU, Sr, G)
Hoehn opened his senior campaign with a team-high 25-point effort on just 11 shots from the floor at Holy Cross. Hoehn drained 5-6 from long distance and was 9-11 overall from the field.
Koreem Ozier (SHU, Fr, G)
Ozier dropped 23 points against Holy Cross in his first game in a Pioneer uniform. The freshman guard shot 9-16 and added four rebounds and three assists.
Jalen Jordan (SFBK, So, G)
Jordan lit up Boston College on Sunday, matching career-highs with 22 points and eight rebounds in the Terriers’ near upset of the ACC school. For the week, he averaged 18.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 2.0 apg.
Keith Braxton (SFU, Jr, G)
Braxton was up to his usual tricks, filling up the scoresheet with 19.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.0 spg in an SFU split. He went for 19 points and nine rebounds at Buffalo and came back with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double effort - the 25th of his career - in a 80-62 win over Morgan State. Braxton scored his 1,000th career point in the win over the Bears.
PERFORMANCES OF NOTE
Julian Batts (LIU, Jr, G)
Batts helped power the Blackbirds to a last-second win against Brown on Friday. The junior finished one off his career-high with a game-best 26 ponts on 8-15 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range. He also had four steals and six rebounds in the win.
Charles Bain (RMU, So, F)
Bain paced RMU with a career-high 25 points while also notching five rebounds and two blocks at Missouri State on Friday.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB TIPOFF WEEKEND
Here’s all you need to know from the opening weekend of the 2018-19 season...
BLUE DEVILS MAKE SOME NOISE
Year three of the Donyell Marshall era is off to a promising start and then some.
Central Connecticut first scored a quality mid-major win on opening night, rallying from 12 down on the road to knock off a Hartford squad projected to finish second in the America East.
Four days later, the Blue Devils came back from 13 down in the second half to pull to within two points of Georgetown with under five minutes remaining before succumbing, 85-78.
To no one’s surprise, senior swingman Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College) was the straw that stirred the drink for the Blue Devils, averaging 24.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.0 apg and 2.0 spg while shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the stripe.
Kohl, who was named the NEC Player of the Week, scored 11 points in the last six minutes against Hartford, including the go-ahead three-point play with 2:39 to play that gave the Blue Devils a lead they would not relinquish. He also sparked CCSU’s comeback at Georgetown with back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second half that cut the deficit to five points. Kohl would then assist on the next four Blue Devil buckets before hitting another trifecta to slice the lead to two points with 5:15 on the clock.
CCSU also received a huge lift from freshman guard Ian Krishnan (Boyds, MD/Proctor Academy (NH)) and freshman forward Karrington Wallace (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Wood) vs. Georgetown.
Krishnan hit 6-11 from three-point land and led all scorers with 28 points vs. Georgetown. The 28 points were the most by an NEC freshman since Bryant’s Nisre Zouzoua went for 29 against LIU Brooklyn on February 27, 2016.
Wallace hit all four of his shots from the field and the line to finish with 12 points in a 20-minute stint off the bench.
PRETTY KOHL STAT
When CCSU senior guard/forward Tyler Kohl (Allentown, PA/Mineral Area College) posted 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals in his 2018-19 debut, he put himself in rare company.
He was the only player in the nation last week to finish a game with a 30/10/5/2 line. Last year only seven players reached those minimums against DI competition and just 16 have hit the statistical plateau over the last five years.
BRAXTON 1K
It took just two games into his junior season for Saint Francis U guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea) to reach a notable career milestone.
The preseason All-NEC honoree scored his 1,000th career point in an 80-62 win over Morgan State to become the 41st player in SFU annals and the 222nd player in NEC history to reach the standard.
Braxton joined teammate Jamaal King (Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)) and his cousin, FDU senior forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/ Arthur P. Schalick), as current NEC players who hold membership in the 1,000-point club. St. Francis Brooklyn senior guard Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) needs just 32 points to join them.
Just two games into his junior year and Braxton has already compiled 1,014 points, 610 rebounds, 214 assists and 107 steals for the Red Flash. He is the NEC’s active leader in rebounds and ranks third in points behind Holloway and King.
GIBBS SHINES UNDER BRIGHT LIGHTS
On an extremely youthful Mount St. Mary’s squad, sophomore Jalen Gibbs (Waldforf, MD/North Point (Drake)) qualifies as a veteran presence.
The Drake transfer immediately announced his arrival last Tuesday in the Mount’s season opener at North Carolina State.
Gibbs paced the Mountaineers with 24 points and added six boards. He hit 9-17 shots from the field.
The 24 points were the most by a Mount player in a season opener since all-time great Jeremy Goode scored 25 vs. Loyola (MD) in 2008.
He followed up three days later with a game-high 21 points - sinking 3-5 from downtown - to go along with eight boards, two assists and three steals at Hofstra.
Over two games, the Waldorf, MD native is averaging 22.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 spg and hitting at a 53.3 percent clip from the floor.
INTRODUCING SHU’S KOREEM OZIER
There was plenty of preseason hype regarding Sacred Heart freshman guard Koreem Ozier (Racine, WI/Scotland Campus Sports).
The Racine, WI native did not disappoint in his college debut.
Ozier exploded for 23 points at Holy Cross last Tuesday, the most points by an NEC freshman in his first game since RMU’s Marquise Reed went for 24 against North Carolina on November 16, 2014.
The NEC Rookie of the Week was an efficient 9-16 from the floor, made all four of his shots from the stripe, and added four rebounds and three assists.
TERRIER TRIO TERRORIZES BC
St. Francis Brooklyn seems to be stacked in the backcourt year in and year out.
After watching the trio of Jalen Jordan (Conyers, GA/Rockdale County), Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) and Chauncey Hawkins (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional) pile up points in the Terriers’ near upset of Boston College on Sunday, this year doesn’t appear to be any different.
They combined for 51 of the team’s 69 points and hit 10-22 from three-point range as SFBK was within two points with under a minute ago against the ACC opponent.
Jordan matched a career-high with 22 points, while Hawkins came off the bench to score 18 and Sanabria hit 4-7 from downtown in a 12-point outing.
NEWCOMERS OF NOTE
A host of newcomers to the NEC made good first impressions last week. Here are the most notable ones.
Byron Hawkins (BRY, R-Sr, G)
The Murray State transfer paced the Bulldogs with 17.5 ppg last week, netting 16 at URI and 19 more at Seattle.
Joe Kasperzyk (BRY, Fr, G)
Kasperzyk ranks second on Bryant in scoring after two games with 9.5 ppg.
Ian Krishnan (CCSU, Fr, G)
Krishnan averaged 17.0 ppg and shot 54.2 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from outside the arc. He scored a game-high 28 points at Georgetown on Sunday, hitting 6-11 from long range.
Xzavier Malone-Key (FDU, Fr, G)
A Rider transfer, Malone-Key registered 10 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in FDU’s opener at Rutgers last Friday.
Tyrn Flowers (LIU, R-So, F)
Flowers, a redshirt sophomore who came to LIU from UMass, put up 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks in his first game against New Rochelle on Tuesday.
Vado Morse (MSM, Fr, G)
Morse finished with 11.5 ppg and 2.0 apg over his first two games in a Mount uniform. He posted 16 points and four assists in his debut at North Carolina State last Tuesday. The 16 points were the most by a Mount freshman in his first collegiate game since Landy Thompson scored 28 at NC State back in 2002.
Josh Williams (RMU, Sr, G)
Williams scored 20 points in his Robert Morris debut to lead the Colonials in their opener at USC on Tuesday. Williams, a transfer from Akron, knocked down four shots from beyond the arc, while recording three rebounds and three assists.
Koreem Ozier (SHU, Fr, G)
Ozier finished with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists at Holy Cross to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors. He hit 9-16 from the field and 4-4 from the stripe.
Jare’l Spellman (SHU, R-Jr, F)
Spellman, a shot-blocking forward who transferred in from Florida Southern, totaled nine points on 4-4 shooting to go along with a game-high eight rebounds and three rejections at Holy Cross last Tuesday.
Rosel Hurley (SFBK, Jr, G)
Hurley contributed 9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 1.5 spg in his first two outings at St. Francis Brooklyn.
Deniz Celen (SFBK, Jr, F)
Celen chipped in with 7.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg in St. Francis Brooklyn’s split last week.
Myles Thompson (SFU, Fr, F)
Thompson scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in his collegiate debut at Buffalo last Tuesday and averaged 12.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg on the week for the Red Flash. His 16 points vs. Buffalo were the most by an SFU freshman in a debut since WIll Felder scored 17 in a win over American to open the 2009-10 season.
HERE AND THERE
Bryant freshman forward Patrick Harding (Fairfield, CT/Suffield Academy) pulled down 10 rebounds at URI to match Alex Francis’ D1 program record for a collegiate debut.
Robert Morris sophomore forward Koby Thomas (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) registered his fourth career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at USC last Tuesday.
Wagner redshirt senior forward AJ Sumbry (East Windsor, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep (Quinnipiac)) posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at UMass Lowell on Sunday. It was his fifth career double-double.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Robert Morris brother backcourt combination of senior Josh Williams (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron)) and sophomore Jon Williams (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) started each of the first two games for the Colonials last week.
Josh Williams, an Akron transfer, scored 20 in his RMU debut at USC on Tuesday. Jon Williams tallied 11 points, five rebounds and four assists at Missouri State on Friday.