America East Basketball News & Notes: Bryant Claims Top-4 Seed

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With two weeks left in the regular season, things are starting to become a little clearer as the postseason nears. Bryant College became the first team to claim a top-4 seed in the America East Tournament. Two more spots can also be taken this weekend as teams continue to jockey for position with the postseason close by. Let’s see where things are with two weeks left.

The NET rankings are out and Bryant is just outside the Top 150 at #153. Maine is inside the Top 200 at #193. In the KenPom, the Bulldogs are once again outside the Top 150 at #156. Maine is just outside the Top 200 at 202. These two schools for the most part have been #1 and #2 in the league during conference play. We shall see where they finish and how they do come playoff time.

Don’t look now, but the defending champs may be hitting their stride at just the right time. The Vermont Catamounts won both of their games last week with wins over New Hampshire and Maine. It has put them into a tie for second place in the league. Vermont has now won four in a row which is their longest win streak of the year. With a victory this week, they can clinch a Top 4 seed themselves.

Another team that can secure a home game in the quarterfinals of the tournament is the Maine Black Bears. The Black Bears already have nine wins to their credit, which is the most since the 2010-11 season. Maine can also claim a Top 4 seed this weekend with a win, but they will have to do that on the road in upstate New York to face both UAlbany and Binghamton.

Speaking of the Great Danes. Their only game last week was an exciting overtime win at Costello Athletic Center over the UMass Lowell River Hawks. The 90-88 win saw the Great Danes outscore the River Hawks 25-4 in fast break points. They also had a 33-14 advantage off the bench and six UAlbany players finished the game in double figures. At this moment, UAlbany is in fourth place in the league and this week, they are home to Maine and New Hampshire hoping to better their league standing. UAlbany has won four of their last seven games.

It was a rough week for those River Hawks as they would lose twice and both losses were tough ones. On Saturday, they made the trip to Durham, NH to face the Wildcats. Up 17 with 15 minutes left in the game, the River Hawks would lose the lead and the game on a three-point basket by Sami Pissis with 1.2 seconds left to give UNH an 80-79 win. Pissis scored all 21 of his points in the second half to help his team make that comeback The Wildcats also boast this week’s America East Rookie of the Week in Khalil Badru who averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds. In the big win over UMass Lowell, he had 13 points, four assists, and two steals.

Bryant’s 11 league wins match last season’s total and they will take a three-game win streak into this week’s play. The Bulldogs have this week’s America East Player of the Week in Earl Timberlake. He averaged 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists last week. He had double-doubles in both wins with 21 points, 10 boards, three assists, and two blocks effort vs NJIT on Thursday night. Then on Saturday, a 20-point, 11 rebound, six assists performance vs UMBC. The double-doubles give him 11 on the year which ranks him in a tie for 15th in the country. On Thursday night, they hit the road to face Vermont.

In other league news, River Hawks forward Max Brooks leads the country in field goal percentage at .697. He is seventh in block shots per game at 2.7. Binghamton forward Galvin Walsh is fourth in rebounding at 11.1 a game. He is 10th in the nation with 12 double-doubles. Maine’s guard Kellen Tynes is second in the country in steals per game at 3.15. He is less than a steal away from Hayden Gray of UC San Diego who is at 3.46 per game.

Next week we take a look at the final stretch of the league season.