America East Basketball News & Notes: Playoffs begin Saturday

Read Time:2 Minute, 36 Second

While a set of regular season games is on tap for Tuesday night, the eight teams that will compete for the America East Conference Tournament Championship, which begins on Saturday, are set. We do not know the matchups and times for Saturday’s games. That will be determined after play on Tuesday night.

Three teams Bryant, Vermont, and Maine already know they will be hosting on Saturday. The fourth spot is still to be decided and right now, the UAlbany Great Danes have that spot. They will finish their season on the road at Vermont on Tuesday night. Binghamton, which is in fifth place at the moment, hosts NJIT on Tuesday. For the Highlanders, they are the team that will have nothing to play for Tuesday. That’s because they are two games back in the loss column on UMBC, with one game to play. For NJIT, trying to snap an eight-game losing streak will be as good as it gets for them.

Bryant has the top spot and the inside track at their first regular season title since joining the league. With a win over New Hampshire on Tuesday, they will wrap up the title, have the #1 seed for the tournament, and finish with a 20-win season. A loss would open the door for last year’s champs, the Vermont Catamounts who will host the Great Danes. They will take an eight-game winning streak into that game and with a win, they too will head to the tournament with a 20-win season.

So who is the sleeper in all of this? Maybe the UMass Lowell River Hawks. Yes, their season has not gone the way they had planned but their last two games are both at home vs Bryant and Binghamton. The River Hawks have shown signs of the team that people picked to make their third straight appearance in the conference finals on March 15. They will have to pull this off on the road, as their place in the standings will probably not allow them to play at home.

The final America East Player of the Week is Bryant’s Earl Timberlake. In the Bulldogs 2-0 week, Timberlake averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.5 blocks, and two steals. He hit the game-winning free throws with 0.7 seconds left to defeat the River Hawks last Thursday night. Against Maine on Saturday, he went for 15 points, five boards, six dimes, and two shot blocks. For Earl, this is his fourth weekly award this season.

The America East Rookie of the Week is River Hawks guard Martin Somerville, his 11th of the year. That sets a new record in the league. In a 1-1 week for UML, Somerville averaged 15 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. He broke a record that has stood in this league since 1993-94. He had 17 points and six rebounds last Thursday night vs the Bulldogs. On Saturday, Martin had 13 points and nine assists vs the Bearcats.

Next week we look back at the quarterfinal round and look ahead to the semifinals.