#AEHoops Teams, Players Off to Strong Starts to 2021-22 Season

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BOSTON – The 2021-22 college basketball season is underway and a few #AEHoops men’s basketball teams are off to fast starts.

Looking Back

UMass Lowell is off to its first 2-0 start at the Division I level (since 2013-14).
The River Hawks knocked off perennial Atlantic 10 contender Dayton on Saturday, 59-58, behind a game-high 21 points from Justin Faison.
The Flyers were 27-3 in their last 30 home games.
Vermont went to Northern Iowa and posted a wire-to-wire 71-57 win on Thursday. The Panthers were picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Levell Sanders earned his first win as a collegiate head coach on Sunday as Binghamton won at Sacred Heart, 72-60. Kellen Amos scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Bearcats.
Dylan O’Hearn scored a game-high 23 points to lead NJIT to a 73-56 win at Lehigh on Saturday.
New Hampshire and Maine also won games last week against Division III opponents.

The Week Ahead

Nineteen more games take place this week.
Three teams (UMBC, Vermont, Hartford) host home openers this week.
Prior to its game vs. Boston University on Thursday, Hartford will raise its 2021-22 America East championship banner to the roster.
Fresh off of its win at Lehigh, NJIT faces in-state foe, Rutgers, on Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights reached the Sweet Sixteen last season.
Stony Brook visits #3 Kansas on Thursday at 8 p.m.
After taking Marquette to the wire on Thursday, UNH visits another Big East foe, Providence, on Thursday.

League Links

Fans will once again be able to watch every #AEHoops game this season regardless of where they live!. The majority of games will air on The AE on ESPN, either ESPN+ or ESPN3, in the United States. Games will also be available internationally on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices, and the brand new America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.

The men’s #AEHoops preseason poll was announced on Oct. 21.

2021-22 Weekly Award Winners (Nov. 15)
Player of the Week
Ben Shungu, Vermont – Sr., Guard, South Burlington, Vt.

Averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in a 1-1 week for Vermont.
Shot 55 percent from the floor (16-for-29), including 54 percent from three-point range (7-for-13).
Had a team-high 19 points and added seven rebounds in Vermont’s win at Northern Iowa on Thursday.
Scored a career-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting as Vermont battled #21, Maryland, to the end.
This is Shungu’s first career #AEHoops Player of the Week honor.

Rookie of the Week
Byron Ireland, Maine – Fr., Guard, Annapolis, Md.

Contributed 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in a 1-1 week for Maine.
Averaged 19.5 minutes in the two games coming off the bench.
Had nine points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 21 minutes of action at Virginia Tech.
This is Ireland’s first career #AEHoops Rookie of the Week honor.

Weekly Award Winners
Nov. 15 – Player of the Week: Ben Shungu, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Byron Ireland, Maine

About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement, and leadership, on and off the field.