Saturday, November 29, 2008

Around the League: 11.29.08

Saturday's games:

Vermont 64, Loyola (Md.) 62
Marqus Blakely’s thunderous dunk provided Vermont’s final field goal of the game (to make it 63-58) in a contest that the Catamounts(3-2) led by as many as 13 and only turned close when the Greyhounds (2-5) took a 46-45 lead midway through the second half. Mike Trimboli and Colin McIntosh connected on consecutive treys that pushed UVM’s lead to 59-54. Blakely, Trimboli and McIntosh all finished with 12 points, while Loyola’s Marquis Sullivan was the games’ leading scorer with 19. Sullivan had a chance to tie the game with two seconds left, but missed an off-balance 10-footer.

Binghamton 73, Utah Valley 66
D.J. Rivera continues to look very impressive for Binghamton as he scored 20 points against the Wolverines (5-1), as the Bearcats had five players in double figures. The game was Malik Alvin’s first of the season after being suspended from the team for being charged with the alleged assault of an elderly woman, as well as an alleged robbery. The Philadelphia native scored 14 points to even Binghamton’s record at 2-2. Ryan Toolson led Utah State with a game-high 21 points.

Stony Brook 62, Columbia 60
Stony Brook snapped its three-game losing streak thanks to a put-back by Chris Martin with 38.1 seconds left to put the Seawolves (2-3) ahead, 62-60. Columbia (2-4), trailed by 15 in the second half, but tied the score at 60 on a jumper by Niko Scott with 1:14 remaining. Both Scott and Asenso Ampim missed shots in the final 15 seconds for the Lions. The leading scorers on both teams notched 15 points: Bryan Dougher for Stony Brook and Patrick Foley for Columbia.

Niagara 103, Hartford 63
Believe it or not, this game was actually close with six minutes left in the first half. Then Niagara went on an 18-0 run to close the frame and win the Philly Hoop Group Classic at the Palestra. Rob Garrison tallied a career-high 19 points for the Purple Eagles (5-1) while teammate Bilal Benn scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Niagara’s Tyrone Lewis was named the MVP of the bracket and scored 14 points against the Hawks (2-5), who allowed 17 3-pointers to the Purple Eagles. Sophomore Morgan Sabia led Hartford with 14.

Maryland-Baltimore County 61, Toledo 56
The Retrievers’ defense was the overpowering force in this one as UMBC held Toledo without a field goal for roughly nine minutes down the stretch. Darryl Proctor and Jay Greene both netted14 points as UMBC (4-2) upped its home winning streak to nine games. The Retrievers not only locked down on defense, but also the charity stripe, as they connected on 18-of-20 freebies in the game, including six to end the contest. Richard Flemming threw down an alley-oop from Greene with 3:46 remaining to put UMBC up 51-50. The Rockets’ (1-5) Tyrone Kent was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points.

Tulane 66, Maine, 56
After jumping out to a 3-0 start, the Blackbears have lost four games in a row, their most recent to Tulane in the University of South Alabama Basketball Classic. Maine (3-4) led by 10 points at halftime, but Tulane’s (4-2) Kevin Sims scored a game-high 20 points and spearheaded the Green Wave’s comeback, making 4-of-5 of his attempted 3-pointers. Mark Socoby once again led the Blackbears in points (18) while teammates Gerald McLemore (14) and Troy Barnies (12) also reached double digits.

Albany 73, Penn 63
For all the negatives that surrounded the start of Albany’s season and lowered expectations, the Danes (4-2) are reeling. Anthony Raffa scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half while star-in-the-making Tim Ambrose added 19. Albany was trailing by two with 16 minutes remaining, but used a large run to up the lead to 45-36 and never trailed by less than seven after that. The Quakers (1-5) were led by Tyler Bernardini, who had 19. The Danes connected on 62.5 percent from the field in the second half to seal the deal.

Marist 63, New Hampshire 61
Despite a 22-point effort from Alvin Abreu and a 17-3 run to close the contest, the Wildcats (1-3) couldn’t complete a comeback against Marist, which used three free-throws off the hands of Ryan Schneider in the final 12 seconds to secure the win. David Devezin led the Red Foxes (2-3) with 19 in a game that featured 45 personal fouls and only 43 field goals. UNH shot just 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, something they won’t be able to do often and still expect to win.

Sunday's games:
No games scheduled.

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