America East Basketball News & Notes: A Tough Non-Conference Stretch and Individual Standouts

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The Non-Conference Struggle

If there is one league that can’t wait for conference play to begin, it’s the America East. Non-league play has been a difficult mountain to climb this season, and the conference is currently weathering a particularly tough stretch. As of December 23, America East teams have lost a combined ten games in a row, and the conference has endured two consecutive weekends without a single victory.

While the America East is traditionally a “one-bid” league, these early-season losses carry significant weight. If the trend continues, the winner of the conference tournament in March may be staring down a #16 seed on Selection Sunday.

Individual Bright Spots

Despite the league’s collective struggles, several individual performers are turning heads.

DJ Armstrong (UMBC): Armstrong has been lethal from deep, leading the league in both 3-point percentage at .405 (34-of-84) and 3-point field goals made, averaging 2.5 per game.

Demetrius Lilley (Binghamton): Currently the league’s premier rebounder, Lilley is pulling down 9.4 boards per game. He leads the conference with nine double-doubles and is a workhorse for the Bearcats, ranking third in the league in minutes played (33.5) and fifth in scoring (14.5 PPG). With conference play looming, Lilley is the early frontrunner for Player of the Year.

Austin Green (UMass Lowell): The big man has been remarkably consistent, averaging 15 points and 7.9 rebounds. He has five double-doubles this season—two of which came against D-I opponents—and has scored in double figures in his last four games, including three efforts of 20+ points.

Weekly Honors

This week’s AE Player of the Week is Vermont’s Gus Yalden. The conference’s leading scorer (17.7 PPG) had a monstrous week, averaging 26.5 points and 6.5 rebounds on 59% shooting.

Vs. Siena: Yalden dominated with 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a Catamount win.
Vs. Iona: He followed up with 24 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort. This marks his second weekly award of the season.

The AE Rookie of the Week honor goes to Binghamton’s Jake Blackburn. Although injuries have limited the freshman guard to just four games, he made a statement last week against Pittsburgh, scoring 12 points for his first double-digit performance. If Blackburn can stay healthy, he’ll be a major X-factor for the Bearcats in January.

Vermont’s Statistical Dominance

The Vermont Catamounts continue to be the gold standard in the league’s statistical categories:

Offense: Leading the league at 78 PPG.

Efficiency: Tops in FG percentage (47.8%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39).

Glass Work: Leading in opponent rebounding (30.6) and rebounding margin (+4.3).

Fans are still flocking to Patrick Gym, where Vermont is averaging 1,912 fans per game—second in the league only to UAlbany.

Looking Ahead

Non-conference play is nearly in the rearview mirror. We will return next week to preview the start of conference action, which officially tips off on January 3rd.