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NEC Player of the Week: Qadir Martin, Mercyhurst
NEC Rookie of the Week: Ashton Reynolds, Central Connecticut

Previous NEC Releases: December 15 | December 8 | December 1 | November 24 | November 17 | November 10 | Preseason Poll Release
 
NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Qadir Martin, Mercyhurst
Forward, Sophomore, 6-5, 215 lbs., Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s Boys School
Last Week’s Stats: 14.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 spg, 2.0 bpg, 66.7 FG%
Martin strung together a pair of impressive outings, including his first career 20-point game and double-double, to propel Mercyhurst to a 1-1 record in non-conference action last week. In those two games, which featured a 76-62 defeat to Syracuse on Wednesday and a commanding 82-61 road win over Binghamton on Saturday, the sophomore forward averaged a near double-double with 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. Pulling down eight rebounds, Martin scored nine points against the Orange behind a 4-of-6 clip from the field. He was stellar in the weekend matchup with the Bearcats, draining 10-of-15 shots for a career-high 20 points. In addition to snagging 10 rebounds to complete the double-double, he swatted away a career-best three shots in the triumph. Netting six of the Lakers’ first eight points of the game, Martin did most of his damage in the opening half. He finished that stretch with 12 points to help Mercyhurst take a comfortable 24-point cushion into the break. This is Martin’s first-ever weekly award from the NEC, and the first for a Laker in 2025-26.

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ashton Reynolds, Central Connecticut
Guard, Freshman, 6-4, 185 lbs., Brooklyn, NY/Williston Northampton
Last Week’s Stats: 10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 50.0 FG%
Reynolds picked up significant minutes for the Blue Devils in their lone matchup of the week against in-state foe Fairfield on Thursday. Subbing in with 13:43 left to play in the second half, he did not leave the court for the remainder of the game. The Brooklyn product scored 10 points — a career-best effort against a Division I squad — and nabbed a season-best five rebounds behind a 50.0 percent clip from the field (4-of-8). In addition, Reynolds blocked his second career shot in that stretch. With the 6-foot-4 guard on the floor, Central Connecticut brought a 29-point deficit down to 14 at game’s end. This is Reynolds’ second NEC Rookie of the Week nod, as he previously took home the honor on Dec. 1 after he netted 13 points in a win over Johnson & Wales.


NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
 
Darin Smith, Jr., CCSU (F, So)
One of the nation’s top scorers put together another impressive offensive performance against in-state foe Fairfield on Thursday. Knocking down 4-of-7 shots from long range, the sophomore forward racked up his league-leading seventh 20-point outing of the season after he closed out the game with a team-high 20 points.
 
Jakai Sanders, LEM (G, So)
Sanders’ week was highlighted by a 16-assist effort in a 92-81 defeat at St. Bonaventure on Saturday. Racking up the most dimes by an NEC player against a Division I opponent since Sacred Heart’s Cameron Parker had 16 vs. Quinnipiac on Nov. 24, 2019, the sophomore guard added 10 points to compile the second points/assists double-double in the league this season.
 
Qadir Martin, MU (F, So)
Martin averaged a near double-double in two games for Mercyhurst with 14.5 points and 9.0 boards on 66.7 percent shooting from the field (14-of-21). The sophomore forward tallied nine points, eight rebounds, and a pair of steals in a hard-fought battle with Syracuse on Wednesday before he notched his first double-double in a Lakers’ uniform after racking up 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an 82-61 win over Binghamton on Saturday.
 
Skylar Wicks, SFU (F, R-Sr)
Wicks shredded the defense of the 23rd-ranked team in the nation on Wednesday to the tune of 22 points, his third 20-point outing of the season, against defending NCAA Tournament champion Florida. Three days later, the redshirt senior forward stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in an annual tussle with Robert Morris to average a league-leading 20.5 points and 5.5 carroms on the week.
 
Ridvan Tutic, STO (G, Jr)
Pulling down 10 boards, Tutic made it back-to-back double-doubles on Wednesday when he shot a sizzling 76.9 percent from the floor (10-of-13) for a career-high 21 points in a heartbreaking one-point defeat to New Hampshire. The junior guard came one rebound shy of the double-digit mark on Monday at ACC member Syracuse after he grabbed nine boards in the setback.


#NECMBB BY THE NUMBERS

4 - LIU’s four true road victories are tied with Northern Colorado, Hofstra and Troy for the most in the NCAA Division I this season.

30 - CCSU guard Jay Rodgers became the first NEC player this year to achieve a double-double on points & assists vs. Binghamton (14p, 10a).

3 - Three NEC players rank inside the nation’s top-50 in blocks per game: Shilo Jackson (LEM, t-27th), Qadir Martin (MU, t-28th) & Max Frazier (CCSU, t-33rd).


#NECMBB FAST BREAK

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Darin Smith, Jr. is one of two NEC players to score in twin figures in every game this season as he has turned the trick 10 times.

CHICAGO STATE: Chicago State became the second NEC squad to knock off Loyola Chicago on Sunday with an 84-75 road win, joining Mercyhurst.

FDU: FDU has drilled 96 three-pointers this season and leads the circuit with 9.6 long-range makes per game.

LE MOYNE: Le Moyne, which was idle last week, is the most efficient squad in the NEC with a 48.9 shooting percentage from the field.

LIU: Three of the league’s top-10 scorers — Malachi Davis (15.8 ppg), Greg Gordon (15.5 ppg) & Jamal Fuller (14.7 ppg) hail from LIU. 

MERCYHURST: Graduate guard Bernie Blunt III extended his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games, an NEC-best rally, after scoring 15 at Davidson.

NEW HAVEN: New Haven committed a season-low seven miscues in Wednesday’s defeat to NJIT.

SAINT FRANCIS: Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks, who ranks second in the NEC in scoring, has netted twin figures in each of his nine games this season.

STONEHILL: Stonehill knocked down a season-best 12 threes in Friday’s win vs. VTSU-Johnson on 41.4 percent shooting, also a season-best mark.

WAGNER: Wagner’s three overtime games this season are tied for the second-most in the nation.


#NECMBB NEWS & NOTES

WHAT’S ON TAP?
Nine of the NEC’s 10 squads will take the hardwood for at least one game before it is time to break for the holidays. Some challenging tests are on the horizon for several teams, as five of the 14 games on the slate are against Power Four members. LIU and Le Moyne tip off that stretch on Tuesday with road games at SEC member Mississippi State and Texas, respectively. 

Saint Francis also gets in on the SEC action on Wednesday with a road tilt at defending national champ Florida.

Mercyhurst and Chicago State are also set to take on Power Four foes this week when the Lakers head to Syracuse on Wednesday and the Cougars take on Indiana in the Hoosier State on Saturday.

Central Connecticut’s lone matchup serves as an in-state rival against Fairfield in New Britain. The Blue Devils will look to make it a 2-1 record against fellow Nutmeg State opponents on Thursday.

ROAD WARRIORS
LIU’s four true road wins tie the Sharks with two other squads for the most in NCAA Division I this season.

Northern Colorado, Hofstra and Troy join LIU with four road victories in 2025-26.

The Sharks have knocked off IU Indy, Air Force, Missouri State and Lehigh on the road in 2025-26.

WORKING OVERTIME
Wagner has taken three opponents to overtime, and in those games, the Seahawks have come out on top twice. Most recently, the Staten Island squad defeated Bloomfield in extra time by a 95-93 final.

Wagner’s three overtime contests are tied with Northern Colorado for the second-most in the nation. Troy currently leads all NCAA Division I teams with four overtime games. With one-third of their games needing an extra session to decide a winner, though, the Seahawks has seen overtime more than any other team in the nation based on percentage. The Bears have gone into overtime in three of 10 contests (30.0 percent of their games), while 25.0 percent of the Trojans’ 12 games have featured at least one overtime session. 

WINDY CITY WINNERS
Chicago State became the second NEC squad this season to knock off A-10 opponent Loyola Chicago on Sunday.

The Cougars did so in impressive fashion with an 84-75 win inside Joseph J. Gentile Arena, the home of their crosstown rival.

Senior forward CJ Ray (Four Oaks, NC/South Johnston (Southern Arkansas)) and Doyel Cockrill III (Nashville, TN/Pearl Cohn (Fisk University)) teamed up to deliver two powerful performances in the victory. Cockrill, who contributed 12 free throws to a Cougars’ 22-of-24 effort from the free throw line, helped steer Chicago State to the win with his season-best performance of 22 points, while Ray hit a trio of crucial three-pointers in the second half to finish with 19 points and nine boards.

Chicago State led by as many as 17 points with 15:30 left in the second half. 

SCORING STREAKS
Several NEC ballers enter the new week looking to keep double-digit scoring streaks intact.

Two players — Central Connecticut sophomore Darin Smith, Jr. (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central/Vermont Academy) and Saint Francis redshirt senior Skylar Wicks (Jersey City, NJ/Surge Christian Academy (Missouri State)) ­— have scored in twin figures in every game they have played in this season. Smith has turned the trick in each of Central Connecticut’s 10 games this year, while Wicks has netted double figures in each of his nine games in his Red Flash debut.

Smith’s current 10-game double-figure scoring streak is tied with Mercyhurst grad student Bernie Blunt III (Morgantown, PA/Peddie School (Quinnipiac)) for the longest active rally in the NEC. After opening the campaign with an eight-point game against Northwestern, Blunt has strung together 10-straight games with double digits in points.

LIU redshirt senior Malachi Davis (Scarborough, Ontario/Central Tech (Arizona State)) also rides an impressive double-digit streak into the week, as he has accomplished the feat in each of his last nine outings.

SOPHOMORE SENSATION
Central Connecticut sophomore Darin Smith, Jr. (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central/Vermont Academy) has burst onto the scene in a big way for the Blue Devils in 2025-26.

The Springfield, MA native averaged 6.9 ppg in his Central Connecticut debut a year ago to earn NEC All-Rookie Team distinction at season’s end. This year, he has more than doubled his scoring average as his 20.0 ppg clip currently leads all NEC players. In addition, Smith, who is 36th in the nation in scoring, is currently the 10th-best underclassman scorer in all of NCAA Division I.

SKYLAR’S SCORING
Landing in Loretto following stints at UTSA, Incarnate Word, State College of Florida and Missouri State, redshirt senior Skylar Wicks (Jersey City, NJ/Surge Christian Academy (Missouri State)) has provided a major boost to the Red Flash offense this season.

One of two NEC players to score in double figures in every game he has appeared in this season, the combo 6-foot-6 guard/forward is averaging 18.8 points per game to rank second in the league. That scoring average is the highest by a Red Flash player since Josh Cohen put up 21.8 per night in 2022-23.

Wicks is in elite company in the NEC statistics this season. Adding 2.78 dimes and 7.8 boards per contest, he is the lone player in the league to rank in the top-10 in scoring, assists and rebounding. His assist average is the ninth-best in the conference while his rebounding clip is third-best.

RODGERS CAN ASSIST
Central Connecticut senior Jay Rodgers (Pickerington, OH/Cochise College (University of New Orleans)) has been dropping dimes like they are going out of style this season.

The 6-foot-6 guard is handing out assists at a 7.0-per-game clip, an average that leads all NEC players and is the seventh-best among all NCAA Division I players.

In his last time out, Rodgers compiled his first double-double in a Blue Devil uniform when he scored 14 points and recorded 10 assists in Saturday’s 84-67 road win at Binghamton. 

In addition to turning the double-double trick for the first time, the Buckeye State native also became the first NEC player to notch a double-double on points and assists this year. Furthermore, Rodgers, who also dropped 10 assists in his team’s overtime win over Sacred Heart last month, became the first league player since 2019-20 to have multiple double-digit assist performances (against DI opponents) in the same season. 

That year, Merrimack’s Juvaris Hayes turned the trick three times, while Sacred Heart’s Cameron Parker had 10-or-more dimes in four games. 

SEEING DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Le Moyne graduate forward Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, IN/North Central/Vincennes (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)) enters the week riding a four-game double-double streak. His current double-double spree is the longest by an NEC player since Merrimack’s Jordan Minor, the 2023 Co-Player of the Year, registered four-in-a-row against Hartford (Feb. 16), Sacred Heart (Feb. 18), Central Connecticut (Feb. 23) and LIU (Feb. 25) in the 2022-23 campaign.

He enters the week with six total double-doubles, which are tied for sixth-most in the nation.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES, PART II
Le Moyne’s Shilo Jackson’s (Indianapolis, IN/North Central/Vincennes (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)) current four-game double-double rally is the nation’s second longest, behind St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell, who has turned the trick in six consecutive games.

His four-game rally is tied for the fifth-longest in NCAA Division I this season.

Longest Double-Double Streaks in 2025-26
9: Delrecco Gillespie - Kent State
6: Michael Ajayi - Butler
6: Frank Mitchell - St. Bonaventure
5: Thomas Dowd - Troy
4: Mohammad Habhab - Eastern Michigan
4: Shilo Jackson - Le Moyne
4: Charles Johnston - Furman
4: Caleb Wilson - UNC

THE THREE MUSKETEERS
LIU’s offense packs a potent punch with the trio of redshirt senior Malachi Davis (Scarborough, Ontario/Central Tech (Arizona State)), graduate guard/forward Jamal Fuller (Toronto, Ontario/Central Technical/Academy of Art) and senior guard Greg Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park (UAB)).

Combining for 445 points, the threesome accounts for 58.6 percent of the Sharks’ scoring this season. 

All three players are ranked inside the league’s top-10 in scoring, led by Fuller, who is tied for fifth with 15.8 ppg. 

LIU is the lone squad to have three scorers ranked inside the NEC’s top 10 this year.

DAVIS, FULLER & GORDON
The aforementioned LIU trio of Davis, Fuller and Gordon took over in Saturday’s 70-60 win over La Salle. 

Combining to net LIU’s first 16 points, with Gordon accounting for three-fourths of the scoring, they opened the second half with 20-straight points and accounted for all but seven of the Sharks’ 36 points during that final stretch.  

DIRTY 30
LIU redshirt senior guard Malachi Davis (Scarborough, Ontario/Central Tech (Arizona State)) became the NEC’s first 30-point scorer to achieve a double-double this season. Dropping 30 on Lehigh in the Shark’s 87-82 win earlier this month (Dec. 6), he pulled down 10 boards for his first double-double of the season.

Davis’ 30/10 double-double marked the NEC’s first since Bryant’s Charles Pride had 44 points and 12 rebounds against Saint Francis on Feb. 3, 2022.

SHARP-SHOOTING SHILO
Le Moyne graduate forward Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, IN/North Central/Vincennes (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) has torched the nets this season. 

Hitting at least 50.0 percent of his shots from the field in each of his 10 games in a Dolphins’ uniform — including a 90.0 percent clip (9-of-10) in last month’s overtime win vs. Monmouth — the Hoosier State product is converting at a 67.9 percent clip. That percentage ranks him first in the conference and eighth nationally in field goal accuracy.

Jackson also leads the NEC and is 30th in the nation in rebounds per game (9.3), while his 2.2 blocks per game and six double-doubles are also conference-best marks.


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: Jay Rodgers (Central Connecticut)
Dec. 1: Darin Smith, Jr. (Central Connecticut) & Nick Jones (Wagner)
Dec. 8: Malachi Davis (LIU)
Dec. 15: Greg Gordon (LIU)
Dec. 23: Qadir Martin (Mercyhurst)
Jan. 30: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Nov. 10: David Jevtic (FDU)
Nov. 17: Elijah Parker (Central Connecticut)
Nov. 24: Tristan Burth (New Haven)
Dec. 1: Ashton Reynolds (Central Connecticut)
Dec. 8: Paris Papadatos (Saint Francis)
Dec. 15: Roddy Jones (Central Connecticut)
Dec. 23: Ashton Reynolds (Central Connecticut)
Jan. 30: