MBB: Conference of New England

[CCC Fan]

Some other scores:

Friday:
CSC 92, Maine-Machias 85
Catholic 72, SRU 57
Lesley 83, ENC 64
Endicott 72, Fisher 59
Nichols 88, Becker 61
Wesleyan 68, NEC 63
Gordon 93, FSC 71

Saturday:
Amherst 68, Endicott 57

[CCC Fan]

CSC over Husson 107-91.  St. Clair had 27.  Thorpe had 19 with 10 boards. 

Freshman Duncan Szeliga had 13 yesterday and he had 12 on Friday. So he should be a frosh to watch. 

Next up for CSC is Keene State on the 29th.

[All-around]

How about RWU losing to nebury by 20. RWU top of the leauge, i think not...

[dwebbs]

CSC cannot be happy with those two wins, giving up that many points. They're not going to win the CCC if they play defense like that.

[Onefaceinthecrowd]

I saw Nichols play WPI on Saturday evening and they looked great.  Nichols plays hard at all times. They are a very smart squad. Skill and smarts are hard to beat.  Look for NC to turn a few heads along the way this season.  Well done Bison.

[James]

RWU's Dan Gumb went down with a broken leg early in the second half. The game was witin 4 pts at that time. From what I heard the break was very bad and requires surgery to fix it. It is certainly a season ender for Dan. The 20 pt loss is not indicative of what the results would have been if he had not gotten injured.

I think the players on RWU were visibly shaken with Dan's injury and that added to the loss but they have a lot of talent and they will bounce back. Probably will finish 3rd or 4th this season though.

Sorry to see one of the top CCC players go down so early in the season.

[broke_ya_ankles]

i noticed conrad griffin one of the big name recruits RWU brought in didnt play in either game this weekend.....looks like a rough start to the season for a team with such high expectations

[akirk]

I didn't get a chance to go to GC vs Westfield but i was at the game on Friday night.  Yes GC pulled away in the second half but that was mainly due to foul trouble.  Marstaller has held in check first half due to the physical play of FSC's bid guy #45.  He had three fouls by the end of the first half and quickly added a fourth within the two minutes.  I think GC will be fine but they need to get stronger on the boards.  FSC stole 4 or 5 boards right out of their hands.  If GC can be more aggressive and physical then I will bet they will be right up there with CSC for the top seed but it all comes down to rebounding and second chance points.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Here is the weekend run-down:

Friday

Nichols over Becker 88-61 no stats that I can find anywhere.

Salve goes down to #25 Catholic 55-72.  Coute led all SRU scorers with 12.  Goodridge had 8 assists, but it seems Catholic scored at will, shooting 55% from the floor and from the arc.  Grendal also had 10 points.

ENC loses to Lesley 64-83.  This was the Lesley Men's Basketball Program's first GAME ever.  Not a good showing.  No box score available.

CSC over ME-Machias 92-85.  A lot closer than Foti likes to see them, but a W is a W.  Also, much of the closeness can be attributed to St. clair who fouled out in only 14 minutes.  If he had kept up his pace (9 points, 7 boards) for the whole game, it would not have been nearly so close.  Thorpe and Bray had 15 each, Kenny had 13 and Zeliga 12.  THe post back-up has arrived in Spanos who picked up 21 and 10 in place of St. Clair.  CSC shot only 28% from the arc, which also contributed to the narrow margin.  Thier defense was off, but overall a decent first outing from all acounts.

EC 72 Fisher 59  Marinkovic went 19 and 8.  Ellis had 17 points, George put in a good all-around performance 13 pts, 7 assists and 6 boards (8 turnovers as well).  They played great defense and nearly doubled up Fisher on the glass.  Good start for them, but they probably should have handled Fisher better.

NEC beat Castleton State 86-80.  No box score, but Castleton has been semi-decent that last couple of years.  Maybe there actually is improvement from one year to the next at NEC.

UNE loses a close one to Wesleyan 63-68.  McManus went for 26 and 9, Olvier had 10, Farynaz had 12 and Stinkney had 11 boards.  UNE didn't shoot well, but it seems their defense and rebounding are improved.  I think the North seems stronger all-around this year.

Gordon over Framingham 93-71.  GC allowed Framingham to shoot almost 50% and the rebounding was even, still good results for the opener.  19 and 8 from Marstaller with 4 blocks.  18 and 11 from Herr with 5 assists.  15 from Logan, 13 from Beebe and 10 from Kauffman with 6 assists and 6 turnovers.

Saturday

CSC 107 Husson 91.  Sixteen points is decent against a better than average Husson squad.  The defense still isn't to Foti standards, but with this high powered offense, it may not matter.  St Clair has 27 points, putting him over 1500 for his career early on, with a decent chance at 2000, which is a real accomplishment.  Thorpe continues to prove me right with 19 and 10. 12 points from Kenny and 6 assists each from Kenny and Bray.  Just a note, but this CSC team has the potential to re-write their school record books in this campaign.  St Clair is already the career leader in blocks.  He should be #1 all-time in FG's made, rebounds and steals by the end of the season.  With a healthy campaign Bray will be #1 in assists and #2 in steals.

EC falls to #5 Amherst by 11 68-57.  Either a very good showing for EC or a very poor one by Amherst.  The patented tight D from EC kept them in it early, but were overcome in the end by a superior Amherst team.  No shame in this game for EC.  Marinkovic went for 11 and 9.  Ellis had 16 and Burton 12.  It seems Ellis is feeling right at home in the PG spot.  Although he's not getting too many assists, the move may work out fine for EC.

UNE 90 Suffolk 75.  Impressive win for UNE.  McManus went for 21, trying to get an early lead in the conference scoring average.  Oliver had 12 with 6 assists.  Farynaz also had 12 points. Stinkney went for 10 and 10.  UNE rebounded and shot well, along with playing solid D.  They seem to have inside and outside presence, probably not enough to scare CSC, but certainly enough to improve their showing in the conference.

GC over Westfield State 70-58.  It would be nice if they scheduled better teams to start the year, but good showings nontheless.  Good perimeter defense and decent rebounding continued.  Marstaller went for 23 and 11 and appears to be much improved.  The CCC is looking to be very front-court heavy this season.  Logan had 9 points and 7 assists.

WIT goes down to Lyndon State 72-83.  Not a good showing.  Lyndon state sucks.  WIT couldn't hit anything and couldn't stop Lyndon from making shots.  DaCosta had 14, PB&J had 13 and the Freshman also contributed 14, although only one assist.  Certainly there is room for improvement and this team hasn't had a chance to gel yet, but it doesn't look good for them as NEC and UNE got off to decent starts.

Salve destroyed ME-Ft Kent (although I don't know enough to know how easy that is) 72-49.  Coute scored 20 (996 for his career) and Grendal contributed 13 boards.  Woodworth also had 15 points.  I think Ft Kent just sucks.

Nichols gave #17 WPI a scare with an 82-89 loss.  WPI is being stingy with the stats and info on their team.  Honestly, I think the squad is in free-fall and they are trying to keep it quiet as long as possible.

Curry came real close to beating a very good New Jersey team in Salem, falling 57-59.  Marcus Jones went for 20 and 9, leading the team to a good showing without their two best players.  Bartelle contributed 10 points.  The two stiffs did nothing, really less than nothing for guys of their girth.  The team even got outrebounded.  It seems Curry did well on the perimeter, but New Jersey had their way on the inside.  We really won't know what to make of CC until Lamb and Tim Jones get back.

ENC goes down big to Conn College 53-78.  Get used to huge margins with this squad.  Conn College isn't all that good.  Christian Corey led ENC with 16, Luc Jasmin contributed 13 and 8.  ENC had only 12 assists and 22 turnovers as a team; they also were sorely outrebounded.  CC shot at will and for the most part, uncontested.  This might be the worst team in the conference; we'll see how they do against AMC.

Speaking of which, AMC goes down to Bard (yes, Bard) 54-65.  At this point I am expecting them to get rocked by Becker, which is never a good sign.  No stats for AMC in this one.

RWU goes down to Lasell 60-68.  On the plus side, Lasell seems to be reloaded, so this result could bode well for the abilities of RWU, even without Gumb.  Gumb had 11 points.  Camebrecco had 12, Wooley had 10.  Cormier got shut down for 9 points on 2-10 shooting.  No rebounds, poor shooting percentage.

Sunday

Curry beat ME-Maritime in the consolation 61-53.  Mohrin had 15, Marcus Jones and Bartelle had 14 each and Lamarre contributed 14 boards.  Gertbemichael, the really big stiff, got into the action a little bit more with 4 pts, 2 boards and 3 blocks.  Maybe he will round (no pun intended) into form before too long.

RWU got nailed by Newberry in the consolation at Brandeis.  It has been mentioned before that they lost Dan Gumb for the year to what has been described as a "Joe Namath" type leg break... not pretty or fun.  My best to Dan in the recovery.  He had 10 and 7 before going out.  Cormier had 12 points. Camobrecco had 7 assists.  Barranger is going to have to step up in Gumb's absence for RWU to do anything.

AMC goes down to Johnson State 63-66.  No stats available.

WIT over ME-Presque Isle 96-52.  Big win, even if it is over a bad opponent.  PB&J decides to show a second dimension pulling down 8 boards to go along with his 26 points.  13 and 7 for Brian Gaine.  Doyle got in foul toruble and only saw the court for 12 minutes.  Ten points for Jeff Cappa off the bench.  Another huge rebounding game for WIT.

[Popsman]

I was at the RWU - Newbury game and for all practical purposes the game ended when Dan Gumb was injured.   His injury and pain was terrible and felt by both teams, coaches and fans.  It took a long time - half hour or more before play could resume.   I think both teams but particularly RWU  just wanted to get out of there without anything else bad happening.

It is a shame to see such a good kid and a good player lose a season.  I hope the best for him and his family.

[d3bballinboston]

I heard WNEC was accepted to CCC.   Any truth to this?

[24/7/365]

GC's out of conference schedule may not get any power ranking nods, but it is still a decent schedule.  Framingham State has very good guard play, and they are some energetic athletes.  Westfield State, although the score doesn't show it, were a very well-rounded team, who were capable of going outside the arc as well as hammering the ball in down low.   And let's not forget, these schedules are made 2 sometimes 3 years in advance for convenience reasons.  So what looked like even competition a few years ago is now one good team going against some lackluster, rebuilding teams. 

I agree that I would like to see GC go against the Keene State's of the world, but they still have Salem State to play as well as a solid tournament to go down to in Georgia during Christmas Break.  If they continue their winning ways against teams like Framingham State and Westfield, hopefully they'll be able to schedule so much more competitive out of conference games in the near future.   

[roy_williams]

not to read too much into week 1 of play but....

gordon looked decent over the weekend. alot of improvement needed, but like i said it is game 2 of the year. I really think the chemistry of this team is what will get them over the hump. i was really impressed with their free throw shooting. it can be the difference in big games they will have down the stretch.

csc looks like it will light it up on the scoreboard this season. not 100, but they could average in the high 70's.  the defense did look shaky (i woudln't call Husson or Maine-Maritime offensive juggernauts), however i always thought offense is ahead of the defense in the early going anyways. i'm most surprised that a senior, with the smarts/credentials of a St. Clair can foul out in 15 minutes? that seems like a freshman mistake at best. just a thought....
also i agree with hoops, thorpe is overshadowed on that team by St. Clair, but you could agrue he is just as valuable. certainly not as good maybe, but as valuable.

endicott's score against Amherst is a big shocking. Maybe they do still have that vaunted defense....

Unless RWU uses the Gumb injury as motivation of epic porportions, I can't see them beating Curry. At least for the 1 seed in the South. Obviously, anything can happen in a one game play-off. And we still have to make sure Curry gets all of their players back. Also, it is too early to really write off a team because of one injury, even if it is to one of their better players. Lets see how they respond.

I really think its asking alot of a freshman, especially a guard/swingman type to come into the CCC and dominate their freshman year. I know you have been touting Griffin, but i'm not sure he was one of the best in Maine last year. Among seniors in high school, sure he was probably top 10, but I don't see him being a stud until jr year or so.   

[CCC Fan]

Another thing with CSC (and a lot of teams), when the team is running up the score and being overly concerned with scoring baskets, things are usually overlooked on the other end.  I didn't see the two games last weekend, but I have seen that too many times from past Charger teams. 

[john]

to roy williams............does that mean if a pro fouls out he is a freshman............just a thought??