America East News & Notes: Another Solid Week for the League

Read Time:3 Minute, 23 Second

The non-conference portion of the college basketball schedule is paying dividends for the America East Conference. It was another week of above .500 basketball combined by the league members. The teams went 12-5 last week and so far, the overall record is 45-33. Five different teams finished last week with two victories. Eight of the nine teams have at least a .500 record. The news in the league is good and hopefully gets better with conference season right around the corner. Here is a look at what is going on in America East.

The Albany Great Danes (5-3) had a great last seven days. First, they have put together a four-game winning streak. Second and maybe more importantly, they opened up their brand new facility, the Broadview Center. The building was christened when they hosted the Boston University Terriers last Wednesday night before a crowd of 3,103 where the Great Danes won 86-72. UAlbany placed five players in double-figures led by Tyler Bertram with 20 points off the bench. On Saturday, the Great Danes made it two for two in their new building by defeating Dartmouth 73-68. Sophomore forward Jonathan Beagle had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds in the win. The two games drew a combined crowd of 5,178 fans. Very good news for the league and the Great Danes.

Another team that had a good week was the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (6-3). Last week they put together two wins over Sacred Heart and Columbia. Against the Pioneers three members of the Wildcats starting five finished the game in double-figures. Clarence Daniels had 24 points and this week’s AE Player of the Week Ahmad Robinson with 21 points. This included nine made free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win. In the win over the Lions, all five starters finished the game in double-figures. Robinson led the way with 24. For the week, Robinson averaged 21.3 points, six assists, 4.3 rebounds, and two steals in winning his first Player of the Week honor.

The Maine Black Bears (6-4) took down both Brown and Holy Cross by double figures last week. In the win over the Bruins, four players were in double digits. The Black Bears defense held Brown to 3-of-16 (18.8%) from deep. They forced 15 Brunis turnovers in the 60-49 win. Against the Crusaders, the Black Bears placed four in double-figures. Forward Peter Filipovity had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. They held Holy Cross to 39% shooting from the field (23-of-59) in getting the road win 72-57.

The defending champs, the Vermont Catamounts (7-2), picked up a couple of home wins last week. They defeated a couple of Ivy League teams in Dartmouth 64-53, then a comeback win on Saturday night vs Yale. In a game that featured seven ties and two lead changes. The Bulldogs had a 65-62 lead with three seconds left in the game. However, the Catamounts had an answer in TJ Hurley who coming off a screen knocked down a three-pointer while getting fouled to tie the game at 65-65. He then went to the free throw line and hit the game-winning free throw with no time left to give Vermont a 66-65 win.

For the third straight week, NJIT guard Sebastian Robinson has been named the AE Rookie of the Week. In two games last week, Robinson averaged nine points, four rebounds, and 2.5 assists. In a loss to FDU, Robinson scored 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists in a close but tough loss 71-68 to Fairleigh Dickinson University. The Highlanders did get a double-double from Elijah Buchanan (16 points, 13 rebounds) in that game.

Next week the league will play 16 games and we will take a look at how they did and the rest of the news from America East.