Northeast Conference Notebook
by Zach Smart
Coleman Making Some Noise For RMU
Robert Morris Guard Derek Coleman, not long after putting on an outside shooting clinic to lead the Colonials to a hard fought victory over Quinnipiac, continued his fine play this season with a 31-point performance that lifted the Colonials to a 97-85 triumph over Charleston Southern on Saturday.
The undersized junior guard netted 21 second half points, many of them coming on big shots, at the Sewall Center in Moon Township, Pa. Coleman, who alongside teammate Tony Lee crafts perhaps the most formidable three-point shooting duo in the Northeast Conference, finished 9 of 15 from the floor. Coleman connected on 6 of 7 treys. He now has 21 threes in eight games played. The Colonials shot an eye-popping 13 of 21 (62 percent) from three-point range on the day.
Similar to what Coleman did in the aforementioned Quinnipiac game, he mounted the team on his shoulders and carried them throughout the second half. He did this by hitting timely shots to slowly melt the visiting Buccaneers.
For his efforts, Coleman (whose averaging 13.1 points and over five assists per game) was named the Choice Hotels Player Of The Week.
The Colonials are off to a 4-4 start, and they currently stand at 1-0 in conference play.
La Salle 107, Central Connecticut 106 (4 OT)
At New Britain, Conn., a pair of game-clinching free throws by La Salle’s Darnell Harris did the Blue Devils in during the game’s fourth and final overtime. Steven Smith, who led all scorers with 41 points, drained a 3-pointer to pull the Explorers within one with 8.6 ticks remaining in the fourth overtime session. The Blue Devils couldn’t get it done on the other end of the floor, and with time running out Harris sped down the floor and pulled up from beyond the arc. His three-point attempt drew a foul with zero seconds left. With a chance to put the game away, Harris’ first free throw rattled off off the rim. He calmly sank the next two to put an end to one of the highest scoring affairs seen in college basketball this season. Blue Devil sophomore Tristan Blackwood had a memorable game, scoring 28 points and dishing out nine assists in the heartbreaker.
Quinnipiac 88, Dartmouth 77
At Hamden, Conn., Kevin Jolley stepped up his game in the absense of injured big men Karl Anderson and Victor Akinyanju. Jolley enjoyed his best performance in a Bobcat uniform, scoring a career-high 19 points and pulling down 11 boards. With the game tied at halftime, the Bobcats jumped out to an early second half lead that they would not relinquish. Freshman Job Casimir, inserted into the starting lineup for the first time since the beginning of the season, was key. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound floor general scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, handed out five assists, made three steals and never stopped getting after the basketball. Senior captain Craig Benson, after having been slowed down by injury the past couple of games, scorched the nets with 17 points. John Winchester added 15 points and six rebounds for Quinnipiac, which improved to 5-3 with the win. Michael Giovacchini led the struggling Big Green (1-5) with 19 points.
Seahawks Picking Up Where They Left Off: After a drastic turnaround to an abysmal start last season, Wagner has carried last year’s success (during a surge which saw them win eight of their last nine NEC games) over to this season. Their recent 63-61 victory over Rhode Island (a team which topped in-state rival Providence this season) was Wagner’s sixth against just one loss to start off the season. Mark Porter (14.0 ppg) is slowly establishing himself as the go-to-guy, while forward Durrell Vinson (12.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) has been strong crashing the boards and scoring around the basket. Reigning NEC Defensive Player of the year DeEarnest Mclemore also deserves some of the credit.
Power Rankings
1. Farleigh Dickinson (5-4): Klaiber underachieving so far but the Knights will stay at the top until knocked off by an NEC team
2. Wagner (6-1): Turned many heads with URI victory
3. Central Connecticut (4-4): Blue Devils have many weapons to work with this season, including 3-point assassin Justin Chiera
4. Quinnipiac (5-3): ‘Cats pulled off a pair of promising victories over Ivy League opponents, played right there with FDU, must prove that RMU loss was a fluke
Honorable Mention: Robert Morris, Monmouth
