MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[D3HoopJunkie]

26 PPG, 13 REB, no one has shut down JQ yet and I don't see it happening. And to say that they dont have much is absurd. Ryan Pittman and Green Younger play great together. Hanif Bilal has looked really good in the second half and Tyreek Perkins is a great defender and future star with a lot more offensive ability than people give him credit for. I am not saying English wouldn't have helped this team going forward. All I am saying is that the effects of him not being there are minimal. Honestly if I had to choose I would take Green Younger over him any day of the week. Green Younger is a much better shooter and finisher at the rim as well as a stronger defender. English could distribute and get to the hoop, there is no denying that and he was absolutely going to get better with more time but we played 15 other games without him this season and looked just fine. Guard depth has never been an issue for an Oliver coached team and its certainly not lacking this season either.

Have these last 2 games been close, yes they have but thats what conference games are all about. The season for every team is a grind and to hit a wall for a couple games regardless of how superior you are talent wise is inevitable. I am not saying they are perfect and you are right, they can definitely slip up if there not careful but close game or not, within the conference, they haven't yet and todays comeback further solidifies that.

Ferraro13, you know I love my Falcons, have for many years and In Mitch We Trust indeed. Love the passion

[Falcons 25]

Totally agree with you Junkie! THIS team is better off WITHOUT English.
If he comes back next year, it may be a different story! (all I saw from
English, this year, was Mason Jones "Light".)
AMC has a good defensive team that can rebound; I`ll take that any day.
Offensively, I`ve seen better Falcon teams, but the aforementioned "D"
& rebounding will take them far. (in the GNAC)
Looking forward to Tuesday night`s barnburner with J&W!!

[Ferraro13]

Lol I read all dall semester about English, and how everyone was so excited. Now we're better off? No disrespect to anyone on here, especially albertus fans as I am one too, but that's laughable. Like I said go Falcons, but this team isn't a lock for a gnac title like we have been accustomed too, and spoiled, over the years past with Mitch at the helm

[Ferraro13]

Fall* stupid iPhone x

[falcons2010]

Guys, I know we all love Falcons basketball; but I think losing English hurts Albertus more than helps them. He didn't fill up the stat sheet; however, he played good defense. He, along with pittman, was able to keep the primary ball handler in check. This is key because no one else on this team can play defense consistently like that. Too many dribble penetration and kick outs. Also, English was rusty and missed a lot of close range buckets and lay ups but got to basket pretty easily. It was only a matter of time before he would get those shots to fall. He was a good ball handler which help pittman; especially when teams start pressing. JQ is amazing but it's a lot to ask him to carry a team. A guy like English could draw attention away from JQ. Green-younger has been inconsistent and the role players haven't established themselves yet. Hopefully they can but I am not as confident in Albertus winning the GNAC tournament as I was 3 weeks ago.

Of course I am still rooting for the Falcons! Amd I love the guys on the team all good kids! Go Albertus!!

[Saint-Paul]

Don't think you guys have anything to worry about.  Albertus is going to win the GNAC.  The only team that can match your foot speed, athleticism and defense is JWU and i don't think they shoot the ball well enough to win a championship.  A lot of the JWU points come from offensive rebounds and transition layups and that is not going to happen against Albertus.  If JWU has to walk the ball up the court and run a play you guys will win. Even if JWU pulls off the upset in the regular season, you will still have home court advantage in the playoffs and that means a lot. My only suggestion would be to try and get Perryman a few more minutes in the last couple of games.  I think you are going to need his rebounding and shot blocking in the playoffs where games tend to be called a little tighter. Good luck.

[Mr.Know Most Of It]

I know Albertus is the team to beat and they are currently undefeated but why is everyone acting like they can't get bumped? Last two games were 4 point games. It wasn't like Suffolk or Norwich played "out of their minds" either. Both teams played their games and put up their averages. JWU game is going to be very, very interesting.

[Ferraro13]

26 PPG, 13 REB, no one has shut down JQ yet and I don't see it happening. And to say that they dont have much is absurd. Ryan Pittman and Green Younger play great together. Hanif Bilal has looked really good in the second half and Tyreek Perkins is a great defender and future star with a lot more offensive ability than people give him credit for. I am not saying English wouldn't have helped this team going forward. All I am saying is that the effects of him not being there are minimal. Honestly if I had to choose I would take Green Younger over him any day of the week. Green Younger is a much better shooter and finisher at the rim as well as a stronger defender. English could distribute and get to the hoop, there is no denying that and he was absolutely going to get better with more time but we played 15 other games without him this season and looked just fine. Guard depth has never been an issue for an Oliver coached team and its certainly not lacking this season either.

Have these last 2 games been close, yes they have but thats what conference games are all about. The season for every team is a grind and to hit a wall for a couple games regardless of how superior you are talent wise is inevitable. I am not saying they are perfect and you are right, they can definitely slip up if there not careful but close game or not, within the conference, they haven't yet and todays comeback further solidifies that.

Ferraro13, you know I love my Falcons, have for many years and In Mitch We Trust indeed. Love the passion

Love the passion junkie. It's ok to disagree with one another lol go Falcons

[Saint-Paul]

Lasell Lasers looking playoff ready as they smoke the Saints, 84 - 64.  This was only a game for about the first 8 minutes, then Lasell kicked it into high gear going on a 20 - 2 run to close out the first half. This is the second time the Saints have switched from their standard 2 -3 zone to play man to man against the Lasers and the second time Lasell has picked apart the Saints defense.  Cannot figure out why the Saints keep changing their defensive game plan against Lasell ?  They don't play man to man against anyone else. Lasell scored on back door cuts, dribble drives down the middle of an unguarded lane, and with wide open three's.  Lasell really moves the ball nicely and when they get an open look from the arc they make threes.  Lasell shows good clock management, good transition decisions, great offensive rebounding.  May have to pick Lasell as my dark horse team in the GNAC playoffs.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons showed why they are the toast of the GNAC last night as they take down the JWU Wildcats 82-73. Overall I thought it was a very good performance for the team as a whole. Falcons lead from start to finish and even when it looked like JWU was going to go on a little run, the Falcons, specifically Jahmerikah Green Younger was able to stifle the run and keep Albertus in the driver seat.

As usual JWU was prepared to face us and this rivalry continues to be the best in the GNAC. I have said it here many times, I really believe Coach Oliver and Coach Benton have respect for each other as coaches of their respected teams but you can just tell that they won't be having a beer and playing a round of golf together in the offseason LOL.

Not going to touch on individual performances last night but I thought it was one of the most complete games the Falcons have played as a team to date, which is a good thing to see considering we're at that time of the season where this is most important.

Saturday's matchup with St. Joes is intriguing. The Monks are a very well coached team and always play hard and give us trouble.

The most important takeaway from last night, and hopefully my math is correct (which it very well might not be) the Falcons secured the #1 seed in the GNAC tourney which gives them home court advantage throughout the playoffs. We all know that for any team this is important but specifically for the Falcons this is extremely important because they play so well at home. I would be interested to see the numbers on their home court record over the last 5 season.  It has to be the best in the country if not without question in the Top 5.

Lets keep soaring Falcons!

[Falcons 25]

Your math is spot-on, Junkie! The GNAC contenders will have to come to THE NEST!
Now for the game last night...J. Green-Younger put a big exclamation mark on his
great game with a beautiful baseline dunk late in the game! Forget the numbers (23 pts.), Green- Younger
adds an explosive quality that this team really needs. Both on offense & defense, his quickness
has bolstered the Falcons like almost no one else. (save for J. Walters & Tyreek Perkins)
Last, but not least, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ST.JOE`S desire to knock off the top team
just before the playoffs! This game is very important for them & J.W.U. for 2nd place!
(Do not be suprised if JWU loses Saturday @ Norwich!)
See you Saturday @ 4pm vs THE MONKS!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2018/02/men-regional-rankings-first

[Saint-Paul]

Watching Regis play is like looking in a mirror and seeing Emmanuel.  Both teams like to run wild with every rebound and then full court press.  Both teams take shots that don't come from their offensive sets.  Both teams commit a lot of fouls and turnovers. Neither team has any concept of time and score.  And as far as defense , I don't think either team could defend a thin mint at a girl scout convention.  I have never seen so many dribble drives down the middle of the lane with no secondary defender anywhere in sight.  This was like watching a Saturday morning YMCA game. 
     Regis won the game 86 - 79, but the score was back and forth.  Regis jumped out to an early 13 - 2 lead, but Emmanuel held a four point halftime lead.  Saints held onto the lead through 12 minutes of the second half but some poor shot selection combined with a few unforced turnovers allowed Regis to take control of the final eight minutes.  At one point during one of the Saints full court presses there were more players on the floor from trips, falls, collisions, pushes, than standing in an upright defensive position.  What do these players do for two hours every day at practice, learn how to fall down?  Thankfully, this season will be over soon.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons looked great on Saturday against an always prepared St Joes team.

This team is clicking on all cylinders at the right time. Jahmerikah Green Younger has been fantastic and JQ Walters continues to amaze. The defense that this team displays as well is extremely gritty and they do a great job of applying on ball pressure to opposing point guards.

Tyreek Perkins is a future star and if he continues to score the basketball its a weapon that not a lot of teams will be prepared for. Not to mention the toughness he brings on the defensive end. A freshman that really doesnt play like one!

Lets keep it going! This team is going to be really tough to beat!

[Saint-Paul]

With nothing to lose, and nothing to play for, the Saints came out firing and never stopped.  From the opening tap to the final buzzer the Saints fired up all kinds of shots, good shots, bad shots, wild shots, off balanced shots, didn't matter, they all went in.  Saints blow out Norwich Cadets 96 - 66, behind a record 16 three's to push their season total to 3 -21.  Saints wait until the second to last game of the season to get behind the other side of a lopsided score.  Saints have never been in this position this year so they didn't know how to handle it.  Three Saints players received technical fouls for taunting, something that should have been addressed from the bench.  With 21 losses already in the books, the only thing they should have been taunting was the cheerleaders.  I am sure that the Norwich team was caught by surprise seeing all those three's going right in, the Saints haven't  made that many three's in their last four games combined.