NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s
5’10”, 160 lbs.
Jr., G, Raleigh, NC/Meadowcreek (GA)
Benjamin was the straw that stirred the drink for Mount St. Mary’s, which comes off a sweep last week that extended the team’s win streak to five games. The junior guard provided 20.0 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 spg, and shot an efficient 51.7 percent from the floor. He opened his week with an 18-point, 5-assist effort in the Mount’s 67-56 road win at FDU, then followed by scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as the Mountaineers stopped Saint Francis U, 71-54, at Knott Arena on Saturday. Benjamin hit 4-7 from distance against the Red Flash and added four dimes. The Meadowcreek, GA native leads the NEC with 4.3 apg, and he also ranks third in free throw shooting (.852) and tenth in scoring (13.4 ppg).
Alex Morales, Wagner
6’6”, 195 lbs.
Gr., G, Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)
Another terrific all-around week landed Morales his conference-best fifth NEC Player of the Week award of the season. The graduate student out of Paterson, NJ posted 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, and shot 53.8 percent in two more wins for the Seahawks, who have won 11 straight contests and remain unbeaten in league play. Morales amassed 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists to spark Wagner to a 69-54 victory over SFU on Thursday. Three days later, he scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half of Sunday’s 72-69 win at SFBK. Morales ranks in the NEC top-6 in scoring (17.6, fourth), rebounding (7.7, sixth), assists (3.9, third), steals (1.9, second), FG percentage (.554, sixth), FT percentage (.810, fourth) and A/TO ratio (1.5, sixth).
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Andre Snoddy, CCSU
6’6”, 210 lbs.
Fr., F, Melville, NY/St. Anthony’s (St. Thomas More (CT))
Snoddy’s star continues to rise for the Blue Devils after he nearly averaged a double-double to corral his fourth NEC Rookie of the Week honor of the season and third in the last four weeks. He averaged 10.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and shot 85.7 percent from the line in a 1-1 week for the Blue Devils. He supplied CCSU with six points, nine boards and a pair of steals in a 65-62 comeback win over LIU on Thursday, then came back to record 14 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in his second double-double of the year at FDU on Sunday. Snoddy paces all NEC freshman with 7.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 48.1 percent shooting from the field. CCSU players have won seven of the 12 NEC Rookie awards this season.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Charles Pride (BRY, Jr, G)
Pride fueled Bryant with 15.0 ppg on 52.7 percent shooting, and averaged 5.5 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.5 spg. He finished with 18 points (7-11 FG) and five boards in Thursday’s win over Merrimack. Pride ranks sixth in the NEC with 15.4 ppg, and is third in rebounding (7.8) and second in double-doubles (six).
John Square Jr. (FDU, So, G)
Square Jr. continued his impressive play against league rivals in a 1-1 week for the Knights. He shot 66.7 percent from the floor on his way to averaging 12.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg and 1.0 spg. The soph also went 2-3 from distance. Square ranks 11th in the NEC in scoring (13.5) and second in FG accuracy (.647) during conference play.
Isaac Kante (LIU, Gr, F)
Kante just missed out on averaging a double-double, putting up 14.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.0 spg. He converted at a 59.1 percent clip from the floor. Kante’s fourth double-double of 2021-22 came on Sunday at Bryant when he finished with 16 points and 11 boards. He is second in the NEC with 7.9 rpg.
Jordan Minor (MC, Jr, F)
Minor’s NEC-leading seventh double-double took place at Bryant on Thursday. He scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting and grabbed 10 boards. Minor is currently ninth in the conference in scoring (14.0), seventh in rebounding (7.1), second in blocks (2.6), eighth in steals (1.6) and tenth in field goal percentage (.500).
Nana Opoku (MSM, R-Sr, F)
Opoku recorded 13.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg and sank 12-19 (.632) from the field in a 2-0 week for the Mountaineers. The redshirt senior picked up his fourth double-double of the season on the heels of a 12-points, 11-rebound performance in Thursday’s 67-56 win at FDU. Opoku is averaging a career-high 11.0 ppg. He is 13th on the circuit in rebounding (6.4), fourth in FG percentage (.588) and third in blocks (1.8).
Jalen Benjamin (MSM, Jr, G)
Benjamin supplied the Mount with 20.0 ppg. 4.5 apg and 1.5 spg while shooting at a 51.7 percent clip from the field in a sweep. He dropped 18 points in Thursday’s win at FDU, then scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and sank 4-7 3P over a 29-minute stint in Saturday’s 71-54 home victory over SFU. Benjamin leads the NEC with 4.3 apg, and ranks third in free throw shooting (.852) and tenth in scoring (13.4 ppg).
Michael Cubbage (SFBK, Gr, G)
Cubbage energized the SFBK attack in a 1-1 week with 17.0 ppg on 56.5 percent shooting, to go along with 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg. He scored a career-high 21 points on 9-13 shooting in Thursday’s 71-66 win at SHU. Cubbage ranks second on the Terriers with 12.1 ppg, and is fourth in the league in steals (1.8) and fifth in FT accuracy (.792).
Patrick Emilien (SFBK, Gr, F)
The Western Michigan transfer ran his double-digit scoring streak to eight last week after posting 14.0 ppg on 55.0 percent shooting. He pitched in with 5.5 rpg, 1.0 spg and 1.0 bpg in a Terrier split. Emilien recorded 18 points, two blocks and two steals in Thursday’s victory over Sacred Heart. He currently sits 12th in the NEC in scoring (12.3), 11th in rebounding (6.5) and 10th in field goal percentage (.500).
Alex Morales (WC, Gr, G)
Morales had his typically strong all-around week, averaging 19.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 5.0 apg in yet another sweep for the Seahawks, who have won 11 straight games. He scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half of Sunday’s 72-69 win at SFBK. Morales ranks in the NEC top-6 in scoring (17.6, fourth), rebounding (7.7, sixth), assists (3.9, third), steals (1.9, second), FG percentage (.554, sixth), FT percentage (.810, fourth) and A/TO ratio (1.5, sixth).
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECMBB WEEK TWELVE
WAGNER, BRYANT & MOUNT TURN UP THE PRESSURE
Not unlike in the Tour de France, three NEC teams are attempting to make a break from the rest of the field as we round the turn and head toward the home stretch of the 2021-22 regular season.
A trio of NEC squads have built impressive win streaks, and while impending matchups will put an end to at least two of them, it got us thinking.
When was the last time the NEC had at least three teams carry win streaks of five or more games concurrently?
Let’s start with the current situation.
Wagner has won 11 straight games, a figure that puts them in a position to make history (see note below) and is 10-0 in NEC play, one game ahead of a Bryant team that has pieced together six consecutive wins.
Bryant is two games clear of third place Mount St. Mary’s, which has won five in a row to move into sole possession of third place with a 6-4 mark.
One streak will end this week when the Mount hosts Bryant on Saturday in an ESPN3/MASN game.
Going back to the original question, you’d need to go back to the 2011-12 season to find three teams carrying five-game win streaks at the same time. On February 23 of that season, Wagner won its ninth straight, LIU its eighth in a row and Robert Morris pushed its win streak to six. Ironically, all three lost their next game two days later to snap the streaks.
MOUNTING WINS
The defending champs are making their move.
After dropping two of three games on a road swing, Mount St. Mary’s turned things around in a big way, reeling off five consecutive wins in impressive fashion.
The five game streak is the longest for the program since winning five straight from January 25 to February 8 in 2018.
You don’t have to look far to find the statistical superlatives.
- Four of the five games were double digits victories while at the same time posting a +17.8 ppg victory margin.
- Opponents have shot sub-40 percent from the field in four of the five wins for a composite .367 defensive field goal percentage. Likewise, NEC foes are just 22-88 (.250) from three-point range over the span.
- Mount has averaged 1.14 PPP, while opponents have been held to 0.87 PPP with a high of 0.91 PPP
- The Mountaineers have shot 48.8 percent from the floor and 42.7 percent from three-point range, making 7.6 per contest over the five outings
- Mount has posted a +8.0 rebound margin during the streak
- The Mount has risen 48 spots in KenPom
Last week, the Mountaineers downed FDU, 67-56, for their third road win in four games, then came back with a 71-54 conquest of Saint Francis U before 2,154 fans at Knott Arena on Saturday.
Junior guard Jalen Benjamin (Raleigh, NC/Meadowcreek (GA) (UAB)) earned KenPom Game MVP honors in both outings, averaging 20.0 ppg and 4.5 apg. He posted a season-high 148 offensive rating against DI teams in Saturday’s win over the Red Flash that saw him finish one shy of his season-high with 22 points on 9-17 shooting and 4-7 from deep.
At 6-4, the Mount is in sole possession of third place and in prime position to host an NEC playoff game come March.
WAGNER EXTENDS STREAK: FILM AT 11
In stretching its win streak to 11 games, Wagner continued to make its case for a historic season on Grymes Hill.
Here are the facts.
- The 11 consecutive wins established a new mark in the Bashir Mason era and is the longest winning streak for a Wagner squad since the 1978-79 season.
- With a 10-0 start, the Seahawks pulled within five of the NEC record for consecutive wins to start the conference season, a standard that belongs to UMBC, which won 15 in a row in 1998-99 before dropping two of its last three games to settle for a 17-3 record.
- No NEC team has ever completed the regular season with a perfect record. The only teams to finish with one loss are CCSU (19-1 in 2001-02) and Marist (15-1 in 1986-87).
- The 11-game win streak is tied for the fourth longest in the nation at this time with South Dakota State, and only trails No. 1 ranked Auburn (17), Boise State (14) and UNC Wilmington (12).
- Wagner’s 10-0 start in NEC play is the best in the league since CCSU compiled 12 straight wins to begin its conference slate and finished 15-3 as a precursor to winning the program’s first NEC Tournament title in 1999-00.
- The last conference school to rattle off 10 straight NEC wins in a season was...Wagner. The Seahawks won 10 in a row just last year.
- As far as consecutive wins in a single-season goes, Wagner is now tied for eighth on the all-time list. CCSU holds the NEC record with 22 straight conference wins, including the programs’s second NEC title back in 2001-02.
NEC Teams With At Least 9 Straight NEC Wins Over Last 25 Years
Team Streak Year
CCSU 22* 2001-02
UMBC 15 1998-99
Robert Morris 14^ 2007-08
LIU 14& 1997-98
LIU 13* 2010-11
CCSU 12 2006-07
CCSU 12 1999-00
Wagner 11 2021-22
Mount St. Mary’s 11^ 2009-10
Wagner 10 2020-21
FDU 10 2005-06
St. Francis Brooklyn 10 2000-01
Merrimack 9 2019-20
St. Francis Brooklyn 9 2014-15
Wagner 9^ 2013-14
Wagner 9 2011-12
Robert Morris 9 2009-10
Robert Morris 9 2008-09
St. Francis Brooklyn 9 1999-00
^ Includes one NEC Tournament win
& Includes two NEC Tournament wins
* Includes three NEC Tournament wins
THE WEEK AHEAD ON NEC-TV
The NEC returns to the ESPN airwaves with a pair of games this week, featuring a highly anticipated matchup of top contenders.
The action begins on Thursday when FDU pays a visit to the Pope Center to tangle with St. Francis Brooklyn. The game will air exclusively on ESPN+ at 7 pm with Dave Popkin (PxP) and Tim Capstraw (color) are in the booth.
All eyes will be on Knott Arena this Saturday as Mount St. Mary’s plays host to Bryant in a rematch of the 2021 NEC title game. Bryant has won six in a row, while the Mount carries a five-game win streak. Dave Popkin (PxP) and Joe DeSantis (color) have the call in a game set to air on ESPN3 and regionally on MASN at 4:00 pm.
The 13-game men’s TV package includes a pair of linear telecasts on CBSSN and one on ESPNU. Seven regular season games will be broadcast on ESPN3/ESPN+ with two games also airing on SNY and one on MASN.
The NEC semifinals are set to be carried on SNY and ESPN3 on March 5, and the final on ESPN or ESPN2 on March 8.
REUNITED & IT FEELS SO GOOD
It was a reunion of sorts for two old friends.
When FDU hosted CCSU on Sunday, it marked a return to the Rothman Center for first year Blue Devils head coach Pat Sellers. Sellers served as an assistant for the Knights under Greg Herenda from 2017-19 and helped FDU capture the 2019 NEC crown.
NEC insider Ryan Peters looked at the impact Sellers made during his FDU stint in his most recent NEC Overtime! blog piece.
KRISHNAN EARNS #NECBIGSHOT OF THE WEEK HONORS
With a young CCSU team on the precipice of a big win, the Blue Devils turned to their wily veteran.
After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half against LIU, the Blue Devils put an exclamation point on their Thursday night comeback when they called on junior guard Ian Krishnan (Gaithersburg, MD/Proctor Academy (NH)), who drilled a clutch go-ahead three-pointer with 37 seconds on the clock.
Krishnan finished 6-8 from deep for the night, the second-highest 3P total of his career, and tallied 19 points.
SNEAKERS, SUITS & BOW TIES FOR SFU STAFF
The Saint Francis U men’s basketball coaching staff supported the Sneakers and Suits Coaches vs. Cancer initiative by wearing quarter zips with those words embroidered on them during its game against Wagner last Thursday. It was the first time this season the coaches did not wear suits for a game.
The Red Flash coaches returned to suits for its game against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday and wore a bow tie in honor of legendary men’s basketball head coach Jim Phelan, an NEC Hall of Famer who passed away in June. Phelan coached at the Mount for 49 years, won 830 games and captured NEC titles in 1995 and 1999.
Legend has it that when he started coaching in Emmitsburg in 1954-55, he asked his wife what to wear and she gave him the bow tie. Phelan started that season on a five-game winning streak that included an 86-79 win against SFU’s Maurice Stokes-led “Frankies” on December 12, 1954 and the rest is history.
“Our staff will wear bow ties on Saturday to honor Coach Phelan and his family for what he meant to the game of basketball and to the Mount St. Mary’s community,” said Krimmel prior to the game. “We were all saddened to hear of his passing this summer. The success he had as a basketball coach is well documented. However, his impact on people off the court is something all coaches at all levels should try to emulate.”
RED FLASH BALANCE
Saint Francis U has taken a scoring by committee approach this season.
The Red Flash are the lone NEC team with five players averaging in double-digits, with redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, NJ/South Kent (CT)) leading the way with 12.3 ppg.
NEC ANALYTICS ZONE WITH RYAN PETERS
Each week throughout the 2021-22 season, NEC Overtime! blogger and NEC on the Run podcast collaborator Ryan Peters (@pioneer_pride) will contribute a series of analytically based tidbits covering NEC hoops.
In somewhat of a surprise, Mount St. Mary’s leads the conference in three-point shooting this season at 36.3 percent, good for 56th nationally. One reason for the uptick from 33.4 percent the year prior? Per Shot Quality, the Mountaineers “open three rate” in 2021-22 registers at 48 percent, the 29th-best rate in college basketball and up 4 percent from last season at a 44 percent open three rate.
While most NEC players in the top ten of Shot Quality’s points per posses ion (SQ PPP) metric are frontcourt players, St. Francis Brooklyn forward Tedrick Wilcox Jr. (Pawtucket, RI/ William E. Tolman (Dominican)) possesses a 1.04 SQ PPP, putting him in the top 87th percentile in DI with respect to quality shots. His best takes, according to the analytics website, are off the catch and shoot variety where Wilcox has drained 52 percent of those attempts.
FDU picked up its second win of the season in Sunday’s victory over the Blue Devils, and the Knights did it with defense by holding the Blue Devils to 0.82 points per possession while forcing 16 turnovers. It was the third time all season that FDU held their opponent to under 1.00 PPP and the Knights are 2-1 in such games. Extending this 1.00 PPP marker to last season as well, FDU is now 7-1 in such games.
Bryant’s Peter Kiss (New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers/QU)) has cracked the 25-point threshold eight times this season and each of the Bulldogs’ last five games. Over that five-game stretch, he’s posted an effective field goal percentage of 53.3 percent with a splendid free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 60.4 percent after attempting 55 charity stripe attempts. Currently, Kiss is seventh nationally in the percentage of shots he’s taken relative to his team while playing. 34.7 percent of Bryant’s shots come out of the senior’s hands when he’s on the floor this season.
KISS SCOOP
Just dropping some facts on Bryant redshirt senior guard Peter Kiss (New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers/QU)) and his point scoring spree.
- Kiss ranks third in the nation with 22.8 ppg.
- If Kiss were to maintain his scoring average, it would be the highest since Sacred Heart’s Cane Broome recorded 23.1 ppg in 2015-16. In fact, Broome is the only player this century in the NEC to average more than 22.8 ppg.
- Broome (23.1 ppg, 8th in 2015-16), SHU’s Shane Gibson (22.0 ppg, 4th in 2011-12), CCSU’s Kyle Vinales (21.6 ppg, 8th in 2012-13) and Quinnipiac’s Rob Monroe (22.7, 4th in 2004-05) are the lone NEC player this century to rank in the NCAA top-10 at year’s end. Prior to that St. Francis Brooklyn’s Ray Minlend finished second in the nation with 24.3 ppg in 1998-99. LIU phenom Charles Jones was the NCAA scoring leader in both 1996-97 (30.1 ppg) and 1997-98 (29.0 ppg), and earned NEC Player of the Year accolades each year.
- Kiss is producing 25.8 ppg against NEC rivals. The last player to average more over the course of a conference season was SFBK’s Ray Minlend, who pumped in 25.9 ppg in 1998-99.
- Kiss is the first player with 25 or more points seven times in an eight-game stretch since LIU’s Charles Jones scored 25 or more in nine straight games from December 13, 1997 to January 14, 1998.
- Kiss is the first NEC player with at least four 30+ point games in a season since the Mount’s Junior Robinson posted five in his NEC Player of the Year season back in 2017-18
MILESTONE ALERT
Saint Francis U senior forward Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) grabbed his 653rd career carom on Saturday to reach the top-20 on the school’s all-time list. He is tied for 20th place with William Saller (653, 1952-56).
WAGNER INCHES UP TWO SPOTS IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Like a hit record, Wagner continues to climb the charts.
For the first time in over five years, the Seahawks earned a spot on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 rankings, entering the poll at No. 25 on January 11.
One week later on the heels of a seven-game win streak, Wagner rose another five spots to No. 20.
On January 24, the Seahawks jumped two more spots to No. 18.
Wagner continued its rise on Monday, rising to No. 16.
Wagner became the first NEC team ranked in the poll since Bryant hit #25 on January 12, 2021. In Wagner’s previous appearance in the poll, the Seahawks reached #14 on November 14, 2016.
The last NEC team to end a year ranked was Robert Morris, which finished 25th in the final 2012-13 poll.
The Green & White also occupy the following spots in various ranking systems:.
- 84th in NCAA NET
- 106th in KenPom
- 116th in BartTorvik
NUMBER CRUNCHING
Bryant has won 13 straight NEC regular season home games dating back to the start of the 2020-21 conference campaign.
Bryant graduate student Adham Eleeda (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto Basketball Academy (Northern Kentucky)) is hitting an NEC-best 3.67 triples per game in conference play. On the year, 61 of his 65 buckets (.938) have come from beyond the arc.
CCSU junior guard Ian Krishnan (Gaithersburg, MD/Proctor Academy (NH)) is now just seven points shy of 1,000 for his career. He led the Blue Devils with 12.0 ppg and hit 7-11 (.636) from outside the arc last week. He has hit 12 of his last 21 from deep over the four games and ranks fourth in the NEC in conference play at 44.3 percent accuracy.
FDU junior guard Brandon Rush (Warrensville, OH/Warresnville Heights) stepped up his game in Sunday’s 75-55 win over CCSU with a game-high tying 16 points, and pitched in with six rebounds and five assists.
FDU freshman forward Anquan Hill (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) posted his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds against the Mount on Thursday.
LIU sports three of the top-five rebounders in the NEC. Graduate student Isaac Kante (Brooklyn, NY/Paul Robeson (Hofstra)) ranks third with 7.9 per game, followed by classmate Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)) in fourth (7.4) and redshirt senior Eral Penn (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Academy (MD)) in fifth (7.3).
Merrimack sophomore guard Malik Edmead (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) is in the midst of a five-game double-digit scoring streak in which he has averaged 14.4 ppg. Edmead has made 10 of his last 14 shots from three-point range (.714).
Merrimack junior forward Jordan Minor (Kingston, MA/Brimmer and May) posted his league-leading seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds at Bryant on Thursday.
Mount St. Mary’s redshirt senior forward Nana Opoku (Woodbridge, VA/Potomac) has made 21 of his last 32 shots from the field over his last four games, a 65.6 percent success rate. During that stretch, he has provided the Mount with 11.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
Sacred Heart sophomore forward Bryce Johnson (Stockton, CA/St. Mary’s (Pomfret)) is coming off his best game of the conference season. He made 6-7 shots and tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists against SFBK on Thursday. Johnson is shooting .786 from the floor over his last two contests.
St. Francis Brooklyn junior guard Rob Higgins (Middletown, NJ/Middletown North) has hit double-digits in four straight contests, putting up 13.5 ppg and 5.4 apg while playing 147 of a possible 160 minutes.
Saint Francis U sophomore guard Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller) reached double digits for the sixth time during conference play with a team-high 17 points at Mount on Saturday at the Mount.
Wagner grad student Alex Morales (Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)) needs 20 more points to hit 1,000 over his three years in Staten Island.
Wagner freshman guard Zaire Williams (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy) scored 13 points in just 16 minutes in Sunday’s 72-69 win at SFBK. He has averaged 11.7 ppg and hit 9-19 (.474) from three-point range over the last three games.
LIU MOVING THE ORANGE
They’re not exactly playing one-on-one ball in Brooklyn.
LIU’s ball movement this season is paying off with the Sharks ranked 26th nationally in assist percentage at 59.8 percent.
LIU sports four of the top-20 players with the highest assist rates in the NEC this season, led by redshirt junior guard Tre Wood (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. John’s College), who ranks 11th at 20.9 percent.
FLOWERS CHART CLIMB TRACKER
The weekly Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)) update sees the LIU star rising up the NEC scoring and rebounding lists.
Flowers Career Numbers at LIU (as of 1/30)
1,597 points, 821 rebounds, 256 assists, 225 3P, 144 steals, 157 blocks
Flowers Overall Career Numbers (as of 1/23)
1,746 points, 906 rebounds, 280 assists, 258 3P, 153 steals, 172 blocks
With 806 rebounds to his credit, Flowers moved up one spot last week to No. 24 all-time in the conference, and is within 15 boards of reaching the top-20.
NEC Career Rebounding Leaders
16. Lucky Jones RMU 846 2011-15
17. Julian Boyd LIU 843 2008-13
18. Ken Horton CCSU 842 2007-12
19. Alan Tomidy MAR 838 1991-96
20. Freddie Burton LIU 836 1986-89
21. Nigel Wyatte WC 834 2000-04
22. Largest Agbejemisin WC 829 1983-87
23. Raiquan Clark LIU 828 2015-20
24. Ty Flowers LIU 821 2018-22
25. Rik Smits MAR 811 1984-88
And with 1,597 points, Flowers jumped eight spots to 56th on the all-time scoring list. One of the players he passed was former LIU star Richie Parker. He is now just 26 points away from reaching the NEC top-50 and ranks tenth all-time at LIU.
NEC Career Scoring Leaders
50 Chipper Harris RMU 1,623 1981-84
51. Darwin Purdie SFBK 1,613 1985-89
52. Isaiah Blackmon SFU 1,606 2015-20
53. Julian Norfleet MSM 1,605 2010-14
54. Tristan Blackwood CCSU 1,605 2004-08
55. Corey Albano MU 1,599 1993-97
56. Richie Parker LIU 1,594 1996-00
57. Izett Buchanan MAR 1,593 1989-91
58. Gordon Klaiber FDU 1,589 2002-06
59. Deon Hames RID 1,589 1992-96
60. Velton Jones RMU 1,588 2009-13
61. Mark Porter WC 1,577 2004-08
62. Bobby Hopson WC 1,568 1990-94
63. Danny Basile MAR 1,555 1991-96
64. Ty Flowers LIU 1,552 2018-22
On January 22, the graduate student from Waterbury, CT became the first DI player over the last 30 years to accumulate 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 250 assists, 200 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals over the course of his career.
Only two players have even come close to reaching these numbers over the 30-year time span.
Duke all-time great and NBA star Shane Battier finished 11 assists shy of meeting the criteria with 1,984 points, 887 rebounds, 246 3P, 239 assists, 266 steals & 254 blocks from 1997-2001
Tulane’s Jerald Honeycutt, himself a former NBA player, missed making the cut by seven triples, piling up 2,209 points, 870 rebounds, 193 3P, 419 assists, 235 steals and 163 blocks from 1993-97.
Flowers has an opportunity to become the fifth player in the league history to be ranked in the career top-20 in both scoring and rebounding. Needing 163 points to reach the top-20 in scoring, he will look to join Saint Francis U’s Keith Braxton (2067, 7th in scoring; 1,145, 2nd in rebounding), Bryant’s Alex Francis (2085, 5th in scoring; 990, 6th in rebounding), CCSU’s Ken Horton (1,966, 7th in scoring; 842, 18th in rebounding) and LIU’s Jamal Olasewere (1,871, 13th in scoring; 963, 10th in rebounding) in an elite quintet.
KRIMMEL QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Let’s hear again from the NEC’s Quotemaster General...
Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel reflecting on Thursday’s setback at Wagner.
“I told our guys, I’m proud of the effort and when things are bad you still need to play for each other. I thought there was a stretch there where there were some teachable moments, I thought we took some quick shots that led to getting Wagner running. There are two things, rebounding and taking care of the basketball. On the road against a really good team, you have to minimize those mistakes. I’m proud of the way our guys battled, they executed the game plan, but just needed to rebound better and take care of the basketball.
NEC in NCAA STATS (TOP-25)
Name School Category Rank Value
Peter Kiss BRY Scoring 3rd 22.8
Hall Elisias BRY Blocks 9th 3.22
Team Category Rank Value
Wagner W/L% .875 8th
Bryant Reb. 41.2 9th
Bryant Def. Reb. 28.7 15th
Wagner Scoring Margin +13.6 17th
LIU Assists 16.5 19th
Wagner FG% .483 20th
Wagner Reb. Margin +6.9 24th