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NEC Co-Player of the Week: Darin Smith, Jr., Central Connecticut
NEC Co-Player of the Week: Malachi Davis, LIU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Elijah Parker, Central Connecticut

Previous NEC Releases: November 10 | Preseason Poll Release
 
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Darin Smith, Jr., Central Connecticut
Forward, Sophomore, 6-7, 210 lbs., Springfield, MA/Vermont Academy
Last Week’s Stats: 16.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 50.0 FG% (12-24), 36.4 3FG% (4-11), 1.000 FT% (4-4)
Central Connecticut took down an ACC team on the road last Tuesday thanks largely in part to the late-game heroics of Smith. With the Blue Devils facing a one-point deficit and just three seconds left on the clock at Boston College, the sophomore drove to the rim, elevated over three defenders and laid it in to lead Central Connecticut to the thrilling 60-59 triumph. The win over the Eagles marked the Blue Devils’ first in program history, and the NEC’s first against an ACC foe since 2019. Finishing with 14 points in that outing, Smith, a Preseason All-NEC honoree, put up 18 points to lead Central Connecticut in an 84-77 defeat at UMass on Sunday. All but four of his team-high point total came during a second half that saw the Blue Devils trim a 21-point deficit down to five inside the final minute. Against the Minutemen, the Springfield, MA native shot a healthy 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from three and 3-of-3 from the line to close out the week at 50.0 percent from the floor (12-of-24) and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. He currently ranks seventh in the circuit in scoring at 15.5 points per contest.

Malachi Davis, LIU
Guard, Redshirt-Senior, 6-4, 175 lbs., Scarborough, Ontario/Central Tech (Arizona State)
Last Week’s Stats: 17.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, 58.3 FG% (14-24), 60.0% 3FG% (3-5)
Davis navigated the Sharks to two big wins last week to push his team’s record to 3-1 on the season. Matching team-best numbers in scoring in both outings, the Preseason All-NEC selection combined to average 4.5 assists and 17.5 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the field (14-of-24) during that stretch. Davis, a redshirt-senior, got his week off to a hot start on Tuesday at Air Force. Turning in a 6-of-11 effort from the floor, he racked up 14 points to tie fellow Canadian teammate Jamal Fuller for a game-best mark and lead LIU to a convincing 76-72 road win vs. the Mountain West foe. With another challenge in Sun Belt preseason favorite James Madison on the docket for Saturday, Davis did not disappoint the Brooklyn faithful. He again matched Fuller’s point total with 21, but did so in efficient fashion, going 8-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-2 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the line. In addition, Davis, who combined for four steals and seven boards in that stretch, racked up eight assists in Saturday’s win against the Dukes. Davis enters the week averaging 13.5 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting, the third-best clip in the league.

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Elijah Parker, Central Connecticut 
Guard, Freshman, 6-3, 175 lbs., Waterbury, CT/St. Thomas More Prep/Holy Cross HS
Last Week’s Stats: 6.5 ppg, 3.0 spg, 2.0 rpg, 13.7 mpg, 50.0 FG% (5-10)
In 13.5 minutes per game, Parker, a local product from Waterbury, CT, averaged 6.5 points off the bench in Central Connecticut’s 1-1 week which featured the program’s first-ever victory at Boston College on Tuesday. He tallied five points against the Eagles but made his presence felt on defense in the big road win at the ACC foe. Three of Parker’s game-high five swipes came in the second half, including a key theft that drew a foul and produced the game-tying free throw with 3:55 left to play. Against UMass, the first-year guard went 3-of-4 from the field and 1-of-2 from deep to finish with eight points. He is averaging 6.3 points per game, which ranks sixth among fellow Blue Devils.


NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Darin Smith, Jr., CCSU (F, So)
Smith provided the heroics on Tuesday night after he delivered the go-ahead bucket with three seconds left to propel Central Connecticut to its first-ever win over Boston College. Finishing the night with 14 points in the road triumph, the sophomore forward added an 18-point performance to his résumé after he went 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from behind the arc in an 84-77 defeat at UMass Lowell on Sunday. Smith was also named the NEC Co-Player of the Week.
 
Marcus Tankersley, CSU (G, Jr)
Highlighted by an outstanding game against Big East foe Butler on Tuesday, Tankersley averaged 18.5 points on 56.7 percent shooting from the field across Chicago State’s two games last week. Against the Bulldogs, the junior guard, who has put up double figures in each of his four games this season for a 17.0 ppg average, shot a sizzling 63.2 percent (12-of-19) for a season-high 24 points while adding five boards and a pair of assists. 
 
Jakai Sanders, LEM (G, So)
Sanders made the most of Le Moyne’s lone game, a Thursday night tilt at UMass. Turning in a 5-of-10 effort from the floor — including a perfect 2-of-2 clip from long range and a 5-of-5 performance from the charity stripe — the sophomore guard racked up a career-high 17 points while adding five assists and six boards.
 
Malachi Davis, LIU (G, R-Sr)
Davis was stellar last week for LIU, which picked up a road win at Air Force on Tuesday and a home win against Sun Belt preseason favorite James Madison on Saturday. Combining to shoot an efficient 58.3 percent from the field (14-of-24), including a 3-of-5 clip from behind the arc, the redshirt senior dished out a combined nine dimes and paced the Sharks in scoring in both games after netting 14 points against the Falcons and 21 against the Dukes. Davis was also pegged the NEC Co-Player of the Week. 
 
Jamal Fuller, LIU (G/F, Gr)
Fuller matched Davis’ team-high scoring marks on the week in LIU’s two wins after following a14-point effort in Tuesday’s road win at Air Force with a 21-point performance Saturday at home against James Madison. In addition to averaging 17.5 points on 52.2 percent shooting, including a 3-of-4 showing from long range on Saturday, the graduate combo guard/forward corralled 5.5 boards per contest in that stretch.
 
Bernie Blunt III, MU (G, Gr)
Blunt, who leads Mercyhurst’s offense and is second in the NEC at 17.8 points per game has continued to score at an elite level for the Lakers. Dropping 19 points in a hard-fought, 58-55 defeat at Canisius on Wednesday, the graduate guard turned the 19-point trick once again on Saturday to propel Mercyhurst to a convincing 86-72 win over visiting Morgan State.
 
Jake Lemelman, MU (G, So)
Lemelman was a consistent offensive threat for Mercyhurst in a 1-1 week that featured a tough three-point setback to Canisius and an 86-72 victory over visiting Morgan State. Averaging 18.0 points after turning in a pair of 18-point outings, the sophomore guard, who combined for five assists, shot an efficient 56.0 percent from the floor (14-of-25), including a 3-for-4 performance from long range in Saturday’s win over the Bears.
 
Jabri Fitzpatrick, NHVN (G, Jr)
New Haven came away with the program’s first — and second — wins against Division I opponents last week behind Fitzpatrick’s 20.5 point-per-game and 7.5 board-per-game averages in 34.0 minutes per game last week. Dropping 23 points against UMass Lowell on Monday night to guide the Chargers to the milestone win by way of a 73-67 final, he helped make it a perfect week after he turned in 18 points in a 65-52 victory over visiting Delaware State on Saturday.
 
Najimi George, NHVN (G, So)
Combining to shoot 56.3 percent from the field (9-of-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (4-of-6), George averaged 16.5 points per game to lead New Haven to the program’s first two wins against Division I squads last week. Adding three assists, two steals and two blocks, the sophomore guard netted 17 points in Monday’s 73-67 triumph before he contributed 16 points to Saturday’s 65-52 victory.
 
Zion Russell, SFU (G, R-Sr)
Russell enjoyed a career day for Saint Francis in Tuesday’s 74-66 defeat to Mount St. Mary’s. Stuffing the stat sheet with four assists, three boards and three steals, the redshirt senior guard put up his first career 20-point game after he registered a personal-best 23 against the Mount. 
 
Hermann Koffi, STO (G, So)
Koffi, a Preseason All-NEC selection who leads the league in scoring at 18.4 points per game, netted 17.0 points over a three-game stretch for Stonehill last week. Contributing 16 points against Rhode Island on Tuesday and 14 in a two-point defeat at Fairfield on Friday, the sophomore guard registered his second 20-point outing of the year on Saturday when he dropped 21 on Loyola Maryland.
 
Nick Jones, WC (G, Jr)
Jones combined to shoot 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from the field and was near perfect from the charity stripe with a 7-for-8 clip for Wagner, which suffered two single-possession defeats last week at Fordham (63-61) and UMBC (71-70 ot). During that stretch, the junior guard averaged 17.5 points per game, which included a season-best performance of 20 points to go along with three steals and five boards against the Retrievers.

#NECMBB BY THE NUMBERS

1 - Darin Smith, Jr. scored the go-ahead bucket on a layup to lead Central Connecticut to the program’s first-ever win over Boston College on Tuesday.
1 - LIU knocked off the preseason number one of the Sun Belt Conference on Saturday when the Sharks defeated visiting James Madison.
21 - Teammates and fellow Canadians Malachi Davis and Jamal Fuller each netted 21 points to propel the Sharks past James Madison on Saturday.


#NECMBB FAST BREAK

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Central Connecticut went on the road and pulled off the upset of ACC foe Boston College for the program’s first win vs. the Eagles.

CHICAGO STATE: Marcus Tankersley has netted double figures in each of his four games this year to average a team-high 17.0 ppg.

FDU: FDU leads the league in three-point field goals, averaging 8.4 makes per game.

LE MOYNE: Le Moyne leads the league in steals per game, averaging 8.25 through its first four contests.

LIU: Off to a 3-1 start with two big wins over Air Force and James Madison, LIU tops the league with 81.3 points per game. 

MERCYHURST: With an NEC-best 3.40 assist-to-turnover ratio, Mercyhurst’s defense has forced a league-best 18.4 miscues per game.

NEW HAVEN: Scoring its first-ever DI win over UMass Lowell, New Haven followed the milestone victory with another win over Morgan State.

SAINT FRANCIS U: Skylar Wicks is the only player in the NEC ranked in the league’s top three in both points (17.7 ppg - 3rd) and rebounds (8.0 rpg - 2nd).

STONEHILL: Hermann Koffi, a 2025 All-NEC Rookie team pick, topst he NEC’s scoring charts with 18.4 points per game.

WAGNER: Each of Wagner’s last two setbacks have been decided by two points or fewer against Fordham (63-61) and UMBC (71-70 ot).


2025-26 NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nov. 10: Greg Gordon (LIU)
Nov. 17: Darin Smith, Jr. (Central Connecticut) & Malachi Davis (LIU) 
Nov. 24: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Nov. 10: David Jevtic (FDU)
Nov. 17: Elijah Parker (Central Connecticut)
Nov. 24: