America East Basketball News & Notes: League Play Awaits

Read Time:4 Minute, 9 Second

The final week of non-conference hoops for America East takes place this week. As has been the case since the season began, the league has done very well. The conference is still above .500 overall with a 63-53 record. Seven of the nine schools are over the .500 mark. Both New Hampshire and Binghamton are playing well. There were some individual performances to take notice of. Meanwhile, Vermont is still ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll at #24 while Lowell, Maine, and Vermont are continuing to get attention in the Small Conference poll. Here is how the last week before league play looked.

The top individual performance took place on Friday afternoon at Bryant College. Senior forward Earl Timberlake recorded the first triple-double in seven years for an AE player. It is no surprise that it would also give him the AE Player of the Week honor. The 15-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist game vs Drexel was the first triple-double since January 14, 2017. Jahad Thomas of UMass Lowell pulled it off in a game against Hartford. Timberlake shot 71% from the field and had two steals and no turnovers. The 104-86 win also featured five players in double-figures for the Bulldogs. The team shot 63% (39-of-62) from the field as they improved their record to 8-6. On the season, Timberlake has five double-doubles which tie him for #23 in the country. He leads America East with those double-doubles. The Bulldogs are fifth in the nation in blocked shots with 94 in 14 games an average of 6.7 a game.

The UNH Wildcats (8-4) are playing well of late. Winners of four of their last five games, they went on the road last Tuesday night and came away with a 10-point win, 91-81 over Rhode Island of the A-10 league. The win was backed by a double-double from Clarence Daniels of 27 points and 10 rebounds. He was one of three players in double-figures on the night. Daniels is 26th in the nation in scoring at 19.9 a game.

Another player who recorded a double-double was UAlbany forward Jonathan Beagle. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Great Danes 93-71 win over Sacred Heart last Tuesday night. The double-double was his 4th of the year, which has him second in America East and 41st in the nation. The Great Danes (7-5) also got a double-double from Marcus Jackson of 15 points and 10 rebounds. UAlbany placed four of its five starters in double figures.

Binghamton is another team playing well just as league play is about to begin. They have won three of their last four games. In their 74-69 win over Niagara, the Bearcats got a career-high 21 points from Tariq Balogun. The Bearcats also got a double-double from Armon Harriet of 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Bearcats had four of their five starters in double figures. They are 40th in the country in blocked shots with 58 in 12 games for an average of 4.8 a game. Tymu Chenery is 50th in the country in blocks per game with 22 in 12 games, an average of 1.83 a contest.

The UMass Lowell River Hawks bounced back from a home loss to CCSU to defeat Boston University last Friday afternoon at Case Gym by a 71-63 score. They were led by Yuri Covington’s career-best 28 points. He was one of only three players in double figures for the game. The River Hawks have been a bit of road warriors to start the year, having won five of eight games on the road. UMass Lowell is tied for 27th in the country in rebounding margin at eight a game. They are tied for 24th in defensive rebounds at 29.33 a game.

It has been a bit of a rough start for NJIT. They took out some of their frustration on Medgar Evers, a Division III school. The Highlanders were led by Adam Hess who scored 32 points on the day. He set a school record with 10-three-pointers and the point total. The 10 treys are the third most in league history. The AE Rookie of the Week comes from the Highlands too. Guard Tariq Francis added 12 points and six assists in this game to win the award for the second straight week. It is the fifth time already that a NJIT player has won the award. Sebastian Robinson has won the award three times so far this season.

The league will get some national exposure in January as the game on Jan.11 between UMBC and Vermont at Patrick Gym in Burlington, VT. will be featured on the ESPN network. That is all for this week. We will be back with more from the America East next week.