NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Robinson, Mount St. Mary’s
5’5”, 150 lbs.
Sr., G, Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance
Robinson was unstoppable last week in a pair of Mount St. Mary’s wins, averaging 26.0 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 66.7 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from three-point territory and 92.9 percent from the line. He began on Thursday with 25 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with nine assists in the Mount’s 96-80 win over Bryant. In doing so, Robinson became just the tenth player in the nation this season to score at least 25 points on eight or fewer field goal attempts. Two days later the Mebane, NC product scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, including 5-7 from downtown after intermission as the Mount broke open a tie game at the break and pulled away to beat CCSU, 78-51, and even their NEC record at 2-2 on the year. Robinson leads the conference with 21.9 ppg and a 93.3 percent success rate from the stripe, and ranks second in assists (5.2) and seventh in made three-pointers (2.2) per outing.

NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Jonah Antonio, Mount St. Mary’s
6’5”, 190 lbs.
R-Fr., G, Perth, Australia/Sunrise Christian Academy (KS)
Antonio put on another long distance shooting exhibition last week to help spark the Mount to a 96-80 win over Bryant and 78-51 victory over CCSU. The Perth, Australia native averaged 18.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 percent from outside the arc. He hit 10 trifectas over two games to raise his season total to an NEC-best 52 on the year. Antonio hit four from long range in an 18-point effort against the Bulldogs on Thursday and 18 more on 6-11 shooting from distance versus the Blue Devils on Saturday. Antonio ranks second on the Mountaineers and third among NEC freshmen with 11.8 ppg.

Koby Thomas, Robert Morris
6’6”, 190 lbs.
Fr., F, Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter
Now a four-time NEC Rookie of the Week, Thomas put up 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Colonials, who improved to 4-0 in the conference with an 80-79 overtime win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday followed by an 88-79 decision over LIU Brooklyn on Saturday. Thomas posted his first double-double of the year with 16 points - including four in OT - and 12 rebounds against the Terriers. The freshman went on to score 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and finished 7-13 from the floor in the win over LIU. His three-point play with 57 seconds to play gave the Colonials a seven-point edge. Thomas leads all NEC freshman with 13.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg on the year.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Adam Grant (BRY, So, G)
Grant caught fire from three-point territory last week, making 14-22 (.636) en-route to 27.5 ppg in Bryant’s split. He tied his own Bryant single-game record with nine three-pointers in a 29-point outing at the Mount on Thursday. The nine triples were also the most in an NEC game this season. Grant scored 26 points and hit 5-7 from distance in Saturday’s 79-74 victory at SHU.

Joe Hugley (CCSU, So, F)
Hugley made his second start at FDU on Thursday and responded with a career-high 33 points on 10-20 shooting, including 5-11 from three-point range. He added a personal-best 12 boards for his first career double-double. For the week, he averaged 18.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and shot 50.0 percent from the field.

Darian Anderson (FDU, Sr, G)
Anderson contributed 17.5 ppg, 4.0 apg and was active on the defensive end with 3.5 spg last week. He boosted his NEC-leading steals average to 2.4 per game. Anderson totaled 21 points and three steals at Wagner on Saturday.

Dachon Burke (RMU, So, G)
Burke continued his strong play of late with 18.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 3.0 spg in home wins over SFBK and LIU Brooklyn that pushed RMU’s record to 4-0 in NEC play. He scored all 17 of his points in the second half, including back-to-back buckets late in OT to help propel the Colonials to an 80-79 win over the Terriers on Thursday. He added a game-high 20 points vs. the Blackbirds on Sunday.

Joseph Lopez (SHU, Sr, F)
Lopez averaged a double-double with 15.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg last week for the Pioneers. He registered his sixth double-double with 10 points and 12 boards vs. Wagner on Thursday, then rang up 20 points and eight boards against Bryant.

Keith Braxton (SFU, So, G)
Braxton posted two more double-doubles to raise his NEC-leading total to nine on the year. The sophomore averaged 20.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg, and shot 51.8 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from downtown and 88.9 percent from the line. Braxton finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds to spark the Red Flash in a 91-87 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.

Jamaal King (SFU, Jr, G)
King averaged 25.0 ppg on 62.5 percent shooting from the floor and 93.8 percent from the line in two Red Flash wins. He scored 23 against LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, then tallied 16 of his 27 in the second half to help SFU erase an 11-point deficit in a 91-87 victory over SFBK. King has averaged 26.3 points in his last three games to raise his season average to 16.7 ppg.

JoJo Cooper (WC, Sr, G)
Cooper stuffed the stat sheet with 17.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 6.0 apg last week. He hit 5-6 (.833) from three-point range. Cooper drained all three of his shots from downtown and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Wagner’s 73-65 home win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. He leads the NEC with 5.9 apg.

PERFORMANCE OF NOTE

Noah Morgan (FDU, Fr, F)
Morgan, a freshman forward, scored a team-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds, two steals and a block to help lead FDU to an 81-77 home win over CCSU on Thursday.

TOP STORYLINES FROM WEEK NINE OF #NECMBB

Here’s all you need to know from the ninth week of the 2017-18 hoops season...

MOUNT’S ROBINSON & FDU’S ANDERSON HIT MILESTONE

Two of the NEC’s finest added to their already impressive resumes last week.

Mount St. Mary’s senior guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance) and Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Darian Anderson (Washngton, D.C./St. John’s College) - a pair of two-time All-NEC players and preseason All-NEC honorees - both reached the 1,500 career point milestone in their team’s respective wins on Thursday.

Robinson hit the milestone number during a 25-point, 9-assist effort in a 86-70 win over Bryant. The Mebane, NC native scored his 25 points on just eight shot attempts, making seven on the evening. He followed with a 27 point performance against CCSU on Saturday and enters play this week with 1,542 points to rank 15th on the Mount’s all-time list.

With 14 points, Anderson finished with exactly 1,500 after FDU’s 81-77 comeback victory over CCSU on Thursday. He went on to ring up 21 points at Wagner on Saturday to boost his career total to 1,521. Anderson ranks eighth all-time at FDU.

Robinson and Anderson are now the 70th and 71st players to reach 1,500 points in the NEC’s 37-year history.

#NECMBB GAME OF THE YEAR? RMU-SFBK PRODUCE INSTANT CLASSIC

When unbeaten Robert Morris and St. Francis Brooklyn matched up in Pittsburgh on Thursday only one team would walk away with a perfect 3-0 NEC record. But after the instant classic the two teams produced, it’s a shame either team had to lose.

With the back-and-forth affair reaching its final moments, the Terriers found themselves down six points with 4.1 seconds to play.

Enter SFBK junior guard Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s).

Sanabria hit a quick three-pointer to cut the deficit in half with 0.8 seconds on the clock. RMU tried to go long on the inbounds, but the ball deflected off a Colonial player and the Terriers regained possession with 0.6 seconds remaining.

Cue Sanabria once again.

Inbounding the ball 65 feet from the hoop, senior forward Jagos Lasic (Belgrade, Serbia/Morgan County (KY) (New Mexico Military Institute)) fired a pass to a curling Sanabria, who hit a rainbow trifecta from 30 feet as time expired to send the game to OT.

“I think we got lackadaisical and I thought we thought the game was over,” said RMU junior guard Matty McConnell (Oakdale, PA/Chartiers Valley) about the shot. “We were shocked that [Sanabria] hit it. We kept saying ‘next play’ and that we still have five more minutes of basketball left. Just keep grinding.”

The Terriers were up by as much as four in the extra session before Robert Morris freshman forward Koby Thomas (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter), the NEC Co-Rookie of the Week, capped a 5-0 run with two free throws at the 1:32 mark to give the Colonials a 73-72 edge.

From that point, the two teams produced one of the most memorable sequences in recent memory, trading six consecutive baskets without whistle or timeout over the next 1:22, culminating with McConnell’s game-winning conventional three-point play with ten seconds on the clock. Rasheem Dunn’s (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson) three-point shot as time expired was just off the mark and the Colonials secured the heart-pounding 80-79 victory.

“I just saw Coach Toole saying, ‘Go, go, go,’ and I drove and there was no one there and he tried to take a charge,” McConnell recalled about his game-winner.

“Proud of the guys, how they were able to bounce back in overtime being down three,” said RMU head coach Andy Toole after the game. “Not only Sanabria, but being down three to start the overtime and figuring out a way to be able to win. I give us credit for that, however there’s a lot of stuff that we gotta improve on, a lot of stuff that we have to get better at because I don’t think we’re going to be as fortunate if we continue to perform the way we did tonight.”

A footnote to the thriller was ESPN running a minute-plus highlight package on the game on SportsCenter that evening.

GRANT’S 3-POINT BARRAGE

Nearly one year ago today, Bryant’s Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate) made himself a household name among Northeast Conference followers when he sank an NEC freshman record nine three-pointers in arguably the Game of the Year in the league, a 112-110 double-overtime setback to Sacred Heart. The nine trifectas ranked him sixth all-time on the NEC single-game list.

Fast forward to this past Thursday when the 2016-17 NEC All-Rookie honoree was back to his old tricks, draining nine more triples in a 29-point outing at the Mount. The nine three-pointers (in 15 attempts) tied Saint Francis U’s Andre Wolford (Willowick, OH/Saint Ignatius) for the most by an NEC player this season.

Grant now holds the distinction of being only the third player in conference history and first in nearly 27 years to twice register at least nine triples in a game against an NEC opponent. The Mount’s Scott Murphy hit 10 against Wagner on February 7, 1991 and nine vs. Robert Morris on January 24, 1991. SFU’s John Hilvert recorded a pair of nine three-pointer games against Monmouth on February 16, 1989 and LIU Brooklyn on February 25, 1989.

HOME SWEET HOME FOR THE MOUNT

The hoops at Knott Arena must look enormous to Mount St. Mary’s players.

The Mount improved to 5-1 at home this season after a pair of wins last week, and did it once again with deadeye shooting.

The Mount shot a season-high 56.4 percent from the field in a 96-80 win over Bryant and followed by hitting at a 50.0 percent clip in a 78-51 victory over CCSU.

The Mount is averaging 82.3 ppg at home, shooting 48.4 percent overall and 42.8 percent from three-point range. On the road, the Mount is putting up 64.3 ppg, while converting 41.1 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from outside the arc.

Senior guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance) has scored 25 or more points in five of the Mount’s six home games, including 25 and 27 in last week’s victories. The NEC Player of the Week is averaging 26.8 points and 5.2 assists at Knott Arena this year, shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 52.6 from three-point territory and 91.5 percent at the foul line.

SUMBRY KEYS WAGNER DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN

Wagner has posted league-leading defensive numbers across the board this season, and one of the key factors in the lockdown has been the play of junior forward AJ Sumbry (East Windsor, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep).

The 6’8” native of East Windsor, NJ leads the NEC with 2.3 blocks per game on the year, and has been an intimidating presence in the paint against league competitors with 3.8 bpg over the first four games of the conference season.

Last week Sumbry rejected four shots apiece in the Green & White’s wins over Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson. He also averaged 10.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg.

Wagner paces the NEC in scoring defense (69.7 ppg overall and 66.8 ppg in conference play), field goal percentage defense (.399 overall and .388 in conference play) and blocks (5.0 bpg overall and 5.5 bpg in conference play).

HOME TRIVIA

Wagner (8-0) and Saint Francis U (6-0) remained unbeaten at home last week with two wins apiece, but they’re not the only ones who have found success in the friendly confines of their own arena.

Wagner, SFU, Mount St. Mary’s (5-1), CCSU (4-1), Fairleigh Dickinson (4-1), Robert Morris (4-1) and St. Francis Brooklyn (4-1) are a combined 35-5 at home this season, an .875 winning percentage. Overall, NEC teams are 43-17 (.717) at home in 2017-18.

In league play, NEC teams have won 70 percent of games over the first two weeks. Last year, home teams won just 55.6 percent of conference games and were at an even 50.0 percent in 2015-16.

QUICK HITTERS

When CCSU sophomore forward Joe Hugley (Gaithersburg, MD/Magruder (Baltimore City CC)) exploded for 33 points at FDU on Thursday it marked the first 30-point game by a Blue Devil since Matt Mobley recorded 31 at Bryant on February 26, 2015.

Fairleigh Dickinson has forced a turnover on 25.5 percent of its possessions and recorded a steal on 13.5 percent of possessions in NEC play, both league-leading figure by a wide margin. The Knights are also +9.0 in turnover margin through four games. Senior guard Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John’s College) is 40th nationally in steal percentage (3.97).

LIU Brooklyn senior guard Jamall Robinson (Cheltenham, MD/Paul VI (VA) (Hofstra)) has made 11 shots in NEC play, all three-pointers. He’s shooting 11-21 (.523) from distance in four conference contests.

Mount St. Mary’s matched a school record with 11 three-point field goals in the second half against CCSU on Sunday. The Mount made four three-pointers over a span of 57 seconds midway through the period to stretch a 45-40 lead to 57-40. The Mountaineers previously hit 11 three-pointers in a half against UMBC, in the first half of an 82-74 overtime win on February 11, 2003.

Following a one-point overtime win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, Robert Morris is now 54-32 (.628) under Andy Toole in games decided by five points or less.

With 80 and 88 points last week, Robert Morris eclipsed the 80-point plateau in back-to-back games for the first time since 2013-14 campaign. That year the Colonials opened that year with an 86-66 victory over Savannah State (11/9/13) and a 90-81 road win at Lafayette (11/12/13).

Sacred Heart senior forward Mario Matasovic (Slavonski Brod, Croatia/St. John’s NW Military (Western Michigan)) is shooting an NEC-best 66.7 percent on two-point shots this season, a figure that ranks him 70th nationally.

Saint Francis U is shooting a scintillating 85.7 percent from the line in its first four NEC games. Last week, the Red Flash hit 14-16 (.875) against LIU and 27-31 (.871) against St. Francis Brooklyn.

SFU sophomore guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Lawrenceville Prep) is ranked nationally in three categories: double-doubles (ninth with 14), rebounding (23rd with 9.8/gm) and defensive rebounding (fifth with 8.3/gm).

Wagner has made it to the line at an astounding rate in its four conference games. The Seahawks have posted a 52.9 free throw rate, by far the highest percentage in the league, and made 111 trips to the stripe in four games. For the season, the Green & White are 21st nationally in free throw rate (42.9).

NEC-TV PACKAGE TO TIPOFF ON THURSDAY

The NEC’s 27-game TV slate is set to open with a marquee matchup this Thursday when western Pennsylvania rivals Robert Morris and Saint Francis U meet up on ESPN3 in a game to air live from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The game, which will tipoff at 7:00 pm, is the first of seven NEC games on ESPN3 this season.

Dave Popkin (PxP) and Joe DeSantis (color) will have the call.

NEC & WINGWARP PARTNER ON NEW NEC FRONT ROW GRAPHICS PACKAGE

The start of conference play saw the debut of the NEC’s latest tech innovation with the unveiling of its new in-game graphics solution for NEC Front Row broadcasts.

The NEC once again partnered with WingWarp, a San Francisco-based technology company, to create the new look for the conference.

Optimized for viewing on both desktop and mobile devices, the cutting edge graphics system provide a sleek, modern look for NEC Front Row events with a clean, colorful, flat design. The WingWarp app seamlessly integrates with both Stat Crew and arena scoreboards to ingest timing, scoring and statistical data for real-time display. On the production end, system functionality and components can be accessed by simple, point-and-click operation, and the app arms producers with a wide assortment of in-game graphic options, including the following:

    - Scorebug
    - Player Lower Thirds
    - Starting Lineups
    - Statistical Comparisons
    - Game Reset
    - Replay Wipes
    - NEC Scoreboard

The new graphics solution complements the NEC’s existing partnership with WingWarp to provide instant replay systems in both basketball and football. The 2017-18 campaign marks the second year the conference has incorporated WingWarp technology to power official review in basketball, while the NEC debuted its football instant replay system this past fall.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Every team has to go through trials and tribulations before you can become a dominant team. You have to go through some adversity before you can be as good as you can be. Our response is the most important part, because we have the talent.”

- Jamion Christian, Mount St. Mary’s head coach

NEC in NCAA STATS (Top-25)

Name                    School    Category    Rank    Value
Junior Robinson         MSM       PPG         18th    21.9/gm
Keith Braxton           SFU       RPG         23rd    9.8/gm
JoJo Cooper             WC        APG         23rd    5.9/gm
Darian Anderson         FDU       SPG         17th    2.38/gm
Andre Wolford           SFU       3PFG%       7th     .500
Junior Robinson         MSM       FT%         6th     .933
Joseph Lopez            SHU       Off. Reb.   14th    3.56/gm
Keith Braxton           SFU       Def. Reb.   5th     8.27/gm
Keith Braxton           SHU       Doub-Doub   14th    9

Team                    Category     Rank    Value
Fairleigh Dickinson     Steals       12th    9.2/gm
Wagner                  Off. Reb.    18th    13.60/gm
Sacred Heart            Rebounds     21st    40.71/gm
Robert Morris           TOs Forced   9th    18.06/gm
Fairleigh Dickinson     TOs Forced   16th    17.33/gm