Checking In On… the NEC
Posted by rtmsf on February 18th, 2012Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.
Reader’s Take
Opening Tip
A week to go. Barring upsets, LIU Brooklyn appears set for the top seed. They own a one-game lead over Wagner but swept the Seahawks in their two meetings. In the postseason tournament, don’t count out Danny Hurley’s club. Nor Robert Morris or St. Francis (NY). Yes, one more week before the fun really starts.
Standings
Team, NEC record, overall record:
LIU | 14-1, 20-7 |
Wagner | 13-2, 22-4 |
Robert Morris | 11-4, 20-8 |
St. Francis (NY) | 11-4, 14-12 |
Quinnipiac | 8-7, 15-11 |
Central Connecticut St. | 8-7, 11-14 |
Sacred Heart | 7-8, 13-15 |
Monmouth | 7-8, 9-19 |
Mount St. Mary’s | 5-10, 7-19 |
St. Francis (PA) | 4-11, 5-21 |
Fairleigh Dickinson | 1-14, 2-24 |
Bryant | 1-14, 2-25 |
Notables
NEC Co-Players of the Week:
- Jamal Olasewere, LIU, 6’7″, Jr., F– Averaged 26.5 points and 11 rebounds. Posted his eighth double-double of the season with a 21-point, 11-rebound outing in the win over St. Francis (NY) at Madison Square Garden.
- Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart, 6’2″, Jr., G – Averaged 32 points while shooting a blistering 63% from the field. Gibson hit 30 points in the first meeting with Bryant which also allowed him to break the single season scoring record (542 points) for Sacred Heart since they moved to Division I.
NEC Rookie of the-Week:
Ousmane Drame, Quinnipiac, 6’9″, Fr., F – Averaged a solid nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks in a 2-0 week for the Bobcats. Drame has averaged 10.4 rebounds over the last six games and is seventh in the NEC (7.3 RPG) in that category.
Team Recaps
- LIU Brooklyn – Swept rival and Brooklyn neighbor St. Francis (NY). Blackbirds have won five straight and 14 of the last 15 in the series. Julian Boyd had double-doubles in both games. Jamal Olasewere was named MVP of the Battle of Brooklyn for his career high 32 points. Blackbirds are second in the nation with 28.2 free throw attempts per game.
- Wagner – Continued the winning ways by sweeping Mount St. Mary’s. Seahawks hit the 20-win mark for the sixth time in the school’s 91-year basketball history. Wagner also clinched a playoff berth and guaranteed a first round home game. Jonathon Williams led Wagner with a 16.5 points per game and shot 72% shooting from the floor. Senior Tyler Murray also contributed a 12.5 PPG week. Read the rest of this entry »