
Believe it or not, we are nine weeks away from Selection Sunday. After two weeks of America East play, the early clubhouse leader is the Bryant College Bulldogs (8-9, 2-0). Their lone game last week was a home victory over Vermont on Saturday. Another team that had a good week is the Maine Black Bears (10-8, 2-1) who won both games last week. Through three games, the league standings are tight. It looks like it might stay that way until the end of the season, so let’s take a look at the league.
The rankings are out for this week and for America East, it’s really about two teams. In the NET ranking, Bryant leads the way with a ranking of #177 and the River Hawks are at #187. UMass Lowell received 18 votes in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll. In the KenPom, the River Hawks are at #162 and Bryant is at #177. Not great numbers to be sure, but this is now league play where a winning streak is the only way to move up in any poll.
The Bulldogs had only one game last Saturday afternoon. They welcome the Vermont Catamounts to Chace Athletic Center. The Catamounts were finishing a three-game road trip and already had wins over UNH and UMass Lowell. But on Saturday, it would be the Bulldogs that would prevail. They placed four of their five starters in double figures led by Connor Withers who had 19 points in 34 minutes. Three other starters Earl Timberlake, Barry Evans, and Rafael Pinzon were also in double figures. Bryant had this game from the jump with only one lead change for the entire contest. The key stretch was a 23-2 run that bridged the first half into the second half. The 73-53 win was Bryant’s first win over Vermont since joining the conference in 2022. The Bulldogs have two games this week, on the road at UAlbany, and then at home vs UMass Lowell.
Vermont (8-9, 2-1) week got off to a good start at Costello Athletic Center last Thursday night. The 67-63 win over the River Hawks continues the one-sided nature of this rivalry. The Catamounts are now 21-4 vs UMass Lowell, which includes two conference tournament championship wins the past two seasons. Thursday night was more of the same as Vermont starters were more productive than UML. The starting five of Vermont outscored UML starting five by a 60-33 margin. TJ Hurley led with 23, including two big 3-pointers down the stretch. Ileri Ayo-Faleye had a big double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. The key stat was Vermont with 17 offensive rebounds which turned into 16 second-chance points. The only negative was their bench getting outscored 30-7 by UMass Lowell.
The Black Bears had a good week going 2-0 with wins over Binghamton and UAlbany. AE Player of the Week, Kellen Tynes, had a big week averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 steals, and 3 rebounds in those two games. Last Thursday vs the Bearcats, Tynes went for 25 points, six assists, and six steals. Then on Saturday vs the Great Danes, Tynes had 10 points, seven assists, and five more steals. Tynes now ranks second in the country in steals with 3.4 per game. The Black Bears hit the road this week for games at NJIT and UMBC
UMBC (9-8, 1-1) had only one game last week and it was a victory over NJIT, 87-64. UMBC would overcome a seven-point halftime deficit to get the road win. Bryce Johnson, who is third in the league in scoring at 16.9 a game, scored 28 on the Highlanders on 9-of-14 shooting, 2-of-2 from deep, and 8-of-8 from the line. He was one of three starters in double figures. The Retrievers also got 13 points off the bench from Regimantas Ciunys. The Highlanders were missing the top scorer in the league Tariq Francis who is averaging 18.6 a game.
The America East Rookie of the Week is NJIT forward Ari Fulton. The Highlanders went 0-2 last week but Fulton was a double-digit scorer in both games played. Versus UMBC, Fulton went for 11 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes. He backed that up with his first double-double of the year. The 10-point 13-rebound effort against the River Hawks helped keep his team in the game. They would eventually lose that one on the road by a 70-62 score.
Some other notes from the league. River Hawks forward Max Brooks recorded his sixth double-double of the season vs the Highlanders on Saturday with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He is second in the nation in field goal Percentage at .732. He is also sixth in the country in blocked shots per game at 2.8. For the season, Brooks has 269 blocked shots. Binghamton’s forward Gavin Walsh is 13th in the country averaging 10.4 rebounds per game. He is also tied for 19th in the country with seven double-doubles. Brooks is tied for 31st with his six.
Next week we will be back with more from the America East.
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