MBB: Little East

[7express]

Good win for Western!  That victory sure helps the Colonials and the conference as a whole.  Plattsburgh was doomed by poor free throw shooting and 29 turnovers.  Plymouth got smashed by Endicott.  ECSUalum already covered the Warriors' game well.

For as good a win as Western's was, Plymouth getting smashed by Endicott maybe just as bad.  Eastern losing to Hartwick isn't a good look either (though I know Hartwick was an NCAA tourney team last year)

[AllStar]

Good win for Western!  That victory sure helps the Colonials and the conference as a whole.  Plattsburgh was doomed by poor free throw shooting and 29 turnovers.  Plymouth got smashed by Endicott.  ECSUalum already covered the Warriors' game well.

For as good a win as Western's was, Plymouth getting smashed by Endicott maybe just as bad.  Eastern losing to Hartwick isn't a good look either (though I know Hartwick was an NCAA tourney team last year)

Very true.  Honestly though, unless I'm missing something, I don't see or expect much from Plymouth at this point.  Lost by 27 to Colby-Sawyer, beat a bad Rivier team that struggled against Albany Pharmacy, and lost to Endicott by 28.  The interesting thing was for a time this evening the score was reversed and had Plymouth up by a lot.  Obviously there were problems somewhere, as that was never the case.

[7express]

In the final LEC game of the evening Endicott squashes Plymouth 86-58.
The Gulls have finished with 17 or more wins 3 of the last 4 years but they are out of the CCC, generally a 1 bid league.  I can take a loss because as I said the Gulls aren't terrible by any means, but to lose by 30 points is pathetic!  The Plymouth women's team (3-46 the last 2 seasons) now has a better record then the men's team does!  Not only that, but in the 1 game the women's team lost they played a better opponent...in a true road game....and lost by less than the men's either 2 losses.  Curtis Arsenault had 15 for Plymouth's lone double digit scorer; Kamahl Walker lead the Gulls with 20 points.  Endicott plays Colby in the championship, while the Plymouth plays Daniel Webster in the consolation game.

15-8 for both me & the LEC as we each go a disappointing 1-2 on the day (I won the Endicott/Plymouth game; the conference won the Western/Plattsburgh game).

Saturday schedule:

Brandeis (+1.5) @ RIC.
Brandeis is 0-1 losing to Dartmouth; RIC is 2-1 with wins over Lasell and Brockport with a loss to Marymount sandwiched in between.  RIC won by 1 on a Michael Polumbo basket as time expired last year.  RIC 74-69

Plymouth (-8) vs. Daniel Webster (@ Colby).
Mr. Webster only beat Rivier by 7 at home and survived Suffolk by 2 at home.  So, Mr. Webster falls in the "bad" category like Rivier was instead of the "middling" category like Colby-Sawyer & Endicott was.  Plymouth should roll them, but you never know.  All I know is that if they lose this, I'm not picking them again for a while.  Plymouth 86-59

Eastern (-6) vs. Oneonta State (@ Hartwick).
Oneonta is 2-0 with a win over Williams going through a major coaching change and New York bottom-dweller SUNY-Cobleskill.  Eastern was 3-0 before they ran into the Hawks.  Eastern goes home 1-1; 74-58

Lyndon State (+12.5) @ Keene State.
Another terrible team for the Owls.  Hornets come in 1-2; 28 point loss to Albertus, no shame there, 15 point loss to 8-16 Wilkes (that's pretty bad), and a 2 point win @ WNEU last time out.  Keene beat up on hapless opponents Johnson State & WNEU last weekend before winning a close game @ Elms.  Keene 86-67

Newbury (+13.5) @ Boston.
Newbury is 1-3 losing to D-3 opponents New England College and Eastern Connecticut with a D-1 loss to Yale sprinkled in there coming back from Eastern.  There 1 win was against NCAA tourney team Purchase who just looks awful so far and luckily I replaced them with Western in the undefeated survivor pool at the last minute.  Boston 85-58

Salem State (-2) vs. Dartmouth.
Second straight weekend the Vikings are making the trek down to North Dartmouth, this time to play the Corsairs.  Last weekend the Vikings went 2-0 against the same teams in the same building the Corsairs went 0-2 against, so that's all I need.  Salem 76-73

[ECSUalum]

Eastern defeats SUNY Oneonta 101-78 this afternoon.  Not too much D this afternoon by either team!
Kevine Lumene comes back strong today with 29 pts, 9 boards; Tre Preston with 25pts and Hugh Lindo with 19pts and 6 boards.  Michael-Thomas Sciro came off the bench and played well adding 10 points
FG/3PT/FT shooting % much better today, however too many TOs (effect of a couple of freshmen playing a lot of minutes)
Preston was in foul trouble in 2nd half so he was out for about 8 min.

                        Ecsumb        Onembb
Field goals   35-59 59.3%   31-69 44.9%
3-point FGs   9-18 50.0%   4-16 25.0%
Free throws 22-25 88.0%   12-15 80.0%
Reb (O-D)   41 (11-30)      27 (11-16)
Turnovers            16                13

[AllStar]

Keene over Lyndon 84-63.  People at the end of the bench got a lot of playing time in the second half making the score closer than the game.  No doubt they'll have to play better against the better competition moving forward.

[7express]

Sat results:

RIC over Brandeis 66-60. 
Eric Alleyne had a game high 21 for RIC, Carlin Haymon lead the Judges with 15 points and Colby Smith had 10 points & 10 rebounds.  Both teams are back in action Tuesday: Brandeis @ Lasell, RIC at home vs. Bridgewater.

Plymouth 83-61 over Daniel Webster.
Ray Farmar had a game high 23 points for the Eagles, while the Panthers put 5 in double figures lead by Alex Burt with 18.  Eagles are off until December 6 when they take on Regis in the NECC opener; Plymouth is back in action Tuesday at Castleton State.

Keene clubs Lyndon 84-63.
David Johnson had a team high 17 for the Hornets; Tom Doyle also tied for a game high with 17 points as the Owls finished shooting over 50%.   Hornets are off until December 3 when they open up the North Atlantic Conference schedule @ Castleton State; Keene is back out there Tuesday for a home contest with Springfield.

Dartmouth over Salem State 94-82.
Each team put 5 players in double figures.  Salem State was lead by Bryan Ortiz who finished with a game high 24 and Marcus Faison went for 14 & 14.  Corsairs were lead by Jake Laga's 21.  Even though the Corsairs lost the turnover battle 19-12 they were red hot from the floor shooting 64.5%! from the field!  Vikings weren't terrible by any means either hitting on a little less than 50% of their shots (45.7%).  Both teams are back in action Tuesday: Dartmouth gets Curry at home; Salem plays local area rival Gordon on the road.

Boston crushes Newbury 97-76.
Kenny Ramos and Cameron Owen each had 15 for the Nighthawks.  Carl Joseph & Gregory Young each went for 20 points & 10 rebounds; Joseph had 25 & 11, Young finished with 24 & 10.  Newbury has another pounding on deck as they play city rival and nationally ranked MIT Monday night; Boston plays @ Fitchburg State Tuesday.

6-0 LEC day gets it to 21-8 in the early going; 5-1 day for me (lost Dartmouth/Salem game) drops me to 20-9 for the year.

Next game Monday:

Eastern (-11) @ Conn College 7:30

[Bengalsrule]

Good win for Western!  That victory sure helps the Colonials and the conference as a whole.  Plattsburgh was doomed by poor free throw shooting and 29 turnovers.  Plymouth got smashed by Endicott.  ECSUalum already covered the Warriors' game well.

For as good a win as Western's was, Plymouth getting smashed by Endicott maybe just as bad.  Eastern losing to Hartwick isn't a good look either (though I know Hartwick was an NCAA tourney team last year)

Let me add a Plus K for that win over Plattsburgh yesterday.

And congrats to ECSUalum for their  victory over Oneonta today!

[7express]

Monday pick:
Eastern 78-67.  Start off slow as they've had a lot of travel but pull away in the second.

[7express]

Monday result:

Eastern demolished Conn College 88-60.
Lee Messier with 16 off the bench to lead the Camels; Trachone Preston had 23 for Eastern while Hugh Lindo finished with 16 points & 11 rebounds.   Conn College is off until next Tuesday when they play host to Clark, Eastern has the rest of the week off before playing Stevenson on Friday at the Rochester tournament. 

22-8 LEC; 21-9 me.

7 of the 8 schools in action Tuesday, obviously the only team inactive is Eastern since they played Tuesday.

Curry (+13) @ Dartmouth 7:00
Springfield (-3.5) @ keene 7:00
Bridgewater (+4.5) @ RIC 7:30
Vassar (+12) @ Western 7:30
Boston (-1) @ Fitchburg 7:30
Plymouth (+2.5) @ Castleton 7:30
USM (+8) @ Bates

[AllStar]

Tuesday previews:

Curry at UMass-Dartmouth
The Corsairs have posted back-to-back solid victories over Brandeis on the road (78-76) and home vs. Salem State (94-82) after losing the first two games of their tip-off tournament against Trinity (CT) and Staten Island.  UMD is averaging 80 points per game and is shooting the ball well from behind the arc so far, which is acting to overcome their rebounding problems (-8 per game).  Curry is off to a 1-2 start, with their lone win over dreadful independent outfit Alfred State, who is 0-5 this year and went 0-22 last year.  The Colonels have also been pummeled by Rutgers-Newark and lost to WPI.  Curry finished 5-20 last year and lost 77-64 at home to UMass-Dartmouth in last year's head-to-head matchup.

Springfield at Keene State
Both teams have gotten off to 4-0 starts, albeit against questionable competition.  Both Springfield and KSC have beaten Western New England (Keene, 80-69 at home/Springfield 90-77 on the road) and Elms (Keene, 70-68 on the road/Springfield, 62-56 at home).  The Pride's other two victories came in the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament over SUNY-Cobleskill and the host Brewers.  The Owls' other two wins came against Johnson State and Lyndon State.  With the exception of last year's 82-65 Springfield win at Blake Arena, the series has generally featured close games.  However, the Owls haven't beaten the Pride since 2009-2010, an 89-84 overtime win at Springfield.  The competition no question gets tougher for both teams from now on, and both will be looking to go into Thanksgiving with momentum and a good victory.

Southern Maine at Bates
The Huskies haven't played since last Wednesday, where they opened the home schedule with a 69-51 blowout win over University of New England at home.  That came after a poor showing at the Connecticut College Tip-Off Tournament where they fell to both Anna Maria (86-83) and were hammered by the host Camels 75-60.  The Huskies have averaged 21 turnovers a game so far this season, certainly not a recipe for winning.  Bates is off to a 3-0 start, collecting three point wins over both Nichols and nationally-ranked Babson at the Babson Tip-Off Tournament.  The Bobcats also took down in-state foe Husson on the road 74-65.  Bates will be playing in their home-opener and no doubt looking to improve their home record after last year's 4-5 mark.  For the Huskies to have any chance, they'll have to slow down Graham Safford and Mike Boornazian, who have averaged 36 points per game combined for the Bobcats.  Bates won last year at Southern Maine, 79-68.  Southern Maine won in their last trip to Lewiston two years ago, 71-66.

Bridgewater State at Rhode Island College
The Anchormen are off to a 3-1 start under their new head coach Michael Byrnes, taking care of Brockport State on a neutral court and Lasell on the road.  They also beat Brandeis in their home-opener last Saturday.  RIC's lone loss was a 67-59 decision at Marymount.  Chris Burton (18.7 ppg) and Eric Alleyne (16.8 ppg) have led the Anchormen so far in scoring.  Bridgewater has a 2-2 record, alternating wins and losses.  The Bears lost to New Jersey City and rolled Washington and Jefferson by 41 at the Franklin and Marshall season opening tournament.  In New England, they lost to Clark 72-70 at home before rebounding to beat lowly Medgar Evers, also at home.  This game at the Murray Center will be their first true road game this season.  Michael Lofton has scored 25 and 19 points in the last two games after not playing in the first two.  RIC won last year in Bridgewater, 76-68 and hasn't lost to the Bears since 11/24/2009.

Vassar at Western Connecticut
Western has only played two games so far and is coming off a good win over Plattsburgh State last Friday night.  The Colonials have put up points, scoring 91 in a romp over TCNJ and 89 in a five point win over Plattsburgh.  Short-handed Vassar is off to a rough start this year, with their two wins coming against Wheelock, 72-66 (who won 3 games last year and is 1-3 this year) and New Paltz, 70-61 (who won 6 games last year and is 0-4 this year).  The Brewers were drubbed by the better competition they've faced, losing 82-44 against Springfield.  They also lost 80-60 to a Drew team who hasn't had a winning record since 1996-97.  Vassar, who finished with a rare winning record of 19-8 last year, won the matchup at home against Western, 78-70. 

Plymouth State at Castleton State
The Panthers have had an up-and-down beginning to the season, easily beating pitiful Rivier 81-32 and Daniel Webster 83-61 while being soundly beaten by Colby-Sawyer at home (81-54) and Endicott (86-58) in Waterville, Maine.  So, out of four games played, the "closest" game they've had (win or loss) has been decided by 22 points.  Castleton, which will represent a tough road challenge for the Panthers, has posted a 1-1 mark so far.  The Spartans opened the season with a 73-65 loss at Skidmore before winning their home-opener over MCLA, 96-80.  Castleton loves to score points, which could be an issue for the Panthers who have not stopped anybody in either of their two losses.  Plymouth won 83-80 at home last year over the Spartans, while Castleton took the last game between these two teams in Vermont, 95-89.

UMass-Boston at Fitchburg State
Who would have thought?  A matchup between two teams who haven't lost yet, the Beacons starting 3-0 and the Falcons starting 5-0.  They've already combined for as many wins as these two teams combined for last year, which saw UMB finish 6-20 and Fitchburg finish 2-22.  The Falcons lost scorer Mike Ingram-Rubin, but transfers Kwame Lee and Keyon Armstrong have stepped up to average 14 and 16 points, respectively.  The Beacons have averaged 86 points and 57 rebounds per game so far this season, while dominating the glass by 17 boards on average.  One of UMB's six wins last year came at home against Fitchburg, 89-77.  That victory stopped a nine game losing streak.  The Falcons took the last game in Fitchburg, 76-73.  That Fitchburg team was a surprising winner of the MASCAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament before falling at Rochester, 91-86.

[7express]

I think Vassar has some injuries that are holding them back.  Western shouldn't have much trouble with them tonight.

[7express]

Dartmouth 76-54
Springfield 78-76
USM 76-73
RIC 69-56
Western 81-58
Castleton 106-86.  Points a plenty.  Castleton can score and both teams give up a lot of points.  I have more confidence in Castleton outscoring the Panthers than the Panthers outscoring the Spartans.
Fitchburg 79-77

[AllStar]

Dartmouth 76-54
Springfield 78-76
USM 76-73
RIC 69-56
Western 81-58
Castleton 106-86.  Points a plenty.  Castleton can score and both teams give up a lot of points.  I have more confidence in Castleton outscoring the Panthers than the Panthers outscoring the Spartans.
Fitchburg 79-77

So you pick against Western last Friday against Plattsburgh and Western wins.  Tonight I pick against Keene vs. Springfield and Keene wins.  Go figure!

[7express]

Tuesday results:

Keene all over Springfield 100-72.
Sean Martin with 14 to lead th Pride, Tom Doyle with 33 to lead the Owls.  Obviously competition will get tougher upcoming, but won't lose many games if you shoot close to 60% from the floor.  Keene is off until next Thursday when they go to Colby-Sawyer, Springfield plays @ Trinity next Wednesday.

Dartmouth over Curry 80-90.
Antonio Jones with a game high 35 to lead the Colonels, Jordan Rezendes with 27 to lead the Corsairs.  I don't know where this Rezendes kid showed up from, but I think he's lead them in scoring 4 out of 5 games scoring 20+ in all 4 games.  if your a junior, but are in the league for the first time can you still win rookie of the year??  If you can, he'd have to be your winner after 1 month of play.  Dartmouth plays Saturday vs. Roger Williams, Curry plays Wesleyan also on Saturday.

Bates over USM 56-47.
Brothers Marcus & Malcom Delpeche each shared game-high honors for the Bobcats with 12 points: Marcus had 10 rebounds & Malcolm had 12 rebounds.  Zach Leal lead the Huskies with 13 points while Fred Knight had 9 points & 16 rebounds.  Both are back in action Sunday vs. state rivals: Bates goes to UNE, USM hosts St. Joseph's.

RIC edges Bridgewater 58-56.
Michael Lofton & Barrett Murphy each had 13 points for the Bears.  Eric Alleyne lead the Anchormen with 16 points.   RIC plays @ Salve on Saturday, while the Bears are off until November 4 when they take another crack at an LEC foe taking on Dartmouth.

Western clobbers Vassar 91-52.
Curtis Smith lead the Brewers with 14 points and Luka Ladan pulled down a game high 10 boards and added 6 points as well for the Brewers.  Phil Starks added 14 to lead Western, who didn't play anybody longer than 21 minutes.  Western is back in action next Tuesday @ Framingham State, Vassar plays Trinity on a Sunday afternoon matinee.

Castleton over Plymouth 75-70.
Alex Burt had 17 for the Panthers.  Chad Copeland lead the Spartans with 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Cornelius Green also tied for the team lead with 11 rebounds and added 17 points.  Spartans are back in action Sunday vs. Southern Vermont; Plymouth resumes game action Monday night against region punching bag Lesley.

Boston defeats Fitchburg 77-67.
Kwame Lee had 20 points to lead the Falcons; while the Beacons were lead by Carl Joseph who poured in a game high 24.  Fitchburg next plays Saturday @ MIT; Boston plays Friday opening up their annual Thanksgiving tournament.  The Beacons play USCAA school St. Joseph's of Vermont on the undercard at 4 PM with the main event being undefeated Eastern Nazarene vs. Colby at 6 PM.  granted, the Beacons have played NOBODY but at least they are 4-0.  Baby steps far, hopefully they get some confidence heading into LEC play this year.   

27-10 LEC; 25-12 me.

Next up, 1 game on black Friday:
St. Joseph's (VT) @ Boston 4:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[7express]

So you pick against Western last Friday against Plattsburgh and Western wins.  Tonight I pick against Keene vs. Springfield and Keene wins.  Go figure!

We should just pick against our teams every game then, lol