Northeast Conference Notebook
by Zach Smart
Mt. St. Mary’s Sitting At The Top of the Mountain
A message to anyone intrigued by a Northeast Conference that just might flee from obscurity this season: the college basketball conference that’s about as topsy-turvy as this year’s college football season is back in the fold.
The NEC, commonly tattooed by the outside world as the laughingstock of low-stratum Division I basketball, is beginning to register its presence outside of the northeast landscape. Though usually playing second, third, and fourth fiddle to other conferences along the eastern seaboard, the NEC is looking to make some noise and garner some recognition, an aspect it has lacked so sorely these past few years, this season.
Mount St. Mary’s elevated to credibility after defeating Loyola (MD) and Navy, and coach Milan Brown doesn’t want to see the win streak halt at four games. The Mount jumped out to a 2-0 start in conference play, thumping Long Island by a 73-55 margin before edging out defending champion Central Connecticut 60-59 on December 8.
While they have improved by leaps and bounds even after an uplifting 2006-07 campaign, there’s been a particular recipe for success this year: the play of half-pint sophomore guard Jeremy Goode. Goode, all of 5-foot-9, shot 6-of-10 from the floor and finished with 19 points against Central Connecticut en route to being named Choice Hotels Player of the Week. Goode averaged 15.3 points, 4.7 boards, 3.7 dimes, and 3.0 steals during the week of Dec. 10.
After averaging 10.1 points in 31 games last year, Goode has enhanced his role with the Mount, improving in nearly every major statistical category. He’s played an all-around, fundamentally sound brand of basketball. In the Army win, Goode collected 14 points and four steals, hit 9-of-10 from the line and connected on the game-clincher with 17 ticks remaining. Against Long Island, Goode had 13 points, five assists, three steals, and never balked in the land of giants, snaring six rebounds while running the show. The Charlotte, N.C. native is among the conference leaders in dimes, handing out 5.7 helpers per game. The Mount heads back to the out-of-conference slate with litmus test games against Maine and Winthrop lying ahead.
Over in Fairfield, Conn., the no-nonsense Dave Bike must have done something that lit a fire under his revived Sacred Heart Pioneers. After a listless 0-6 start, the Pioneers have ripped off three straight wins. They battered Monmouth by a cushy 27-point margin before shocking Central with a 68-52 shellacking. After a slow start, Drew Shubik has discovered his niche as a key cog in the Pioneers’ offense. The senior is averaging 11.1 points and 3.8 assists. In the two NEC victories, Shubik recorded a combined 33 points and 13 rebounds.
Wagner, after a frustrating 2006-07 season, has rapidly made its presence felt with a 6-3 start that included a win over Patriot League stalwart Bucknell. Mark Porter and Durrel Vinson have emerged as dual threats – Porter being a presence in the passing lanes with Vinson manning the boards (10.9 rpg). Three-point marksman Joey Mundweiler (11.4 PPG, 22 3FG) has also done his job efficiently.
Geffen Leads Well-Balanced Bobcats
Entering their first Northeast Conference game of the season, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team knew that a well-oiled offensive machine would be an aspect paramount to success. After dropping an ugly loss to Brown on Monday, the Bobcats found themselves in a must-win situation Dec. 6 at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.
So, how would the Bobcats react?
They decided to pull some of the immense weight off senior swingman DeMario Anderson’s shoulders.
Quinnipiac played a cohesive and mindful brand of basketball, en route to recording a 90-79 victory over St. Francis N.Y. before a virtually non-existent crowd in the glitzy 3,500-seat arena. The win gives the Bobcats a 1-0 start on the conference slate, lifting them to 3-4 on the season. The Terriers, who are yet to register a road win, drop to 3-5.
Anderson scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Bobcats, but it was the play of combo guard Bryan Geffen (16 points), an instant sparkplug off the bench and a presence in the perimeter game, that provided most of the firepower. The Queens product shot 6-for-8 from the floor, going 3-for-4 from three-point territory.
“Of our three wins, Bryan Geffen has had two very big games for us,” said Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, referring to the Bobcats’ 85-79 double-overtime win over Hartford, when Geffen went off for 19 points and handed out six assists.
“He is capable of that every night. I know that there’s more to him – that’s why I push him the way I do – to try and get it out of him. He proved what he’s capable of and it’s exciting to see what he can do.”
Power forward Louis Brookins, a transfer by way of Maryland-Eastern Shore, was also exceptional. Brookins scored 17 points and connected on all six of his field goal attempts, floating freely around the cup and finishing, as the Bobcats didn’t hesitate to make the extra pass down low.
The game came with a bit of a billing, as anticipation for an intriguing matchup between DeMario Anderson and Robert Hines loomed. Anderson and Hines, both prolific scorers with a penchant for scoring in traffic and clusters, are surefire first team All-NEC selections. But Hines (18.4 ppg) came out colder than Colorado, misfiring on his first seven attempts. Anderson started off just 2-for-10 before unleashing a pair of acrobatic layups that pumped life into the Bobcats as the first half came winding down.
The Bobcats came out of the gates looking like a new team. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead that caused an irate Brian Nash to signal a timeout.
The Bobcats’ bulge ballooned to 21-11, but St. Francis responded, reeling off an absurd 18-0 run that left the few fans in attendance shaking their heads. This would put the Terriers ahead, 29-21, with just a thread under five minutes remaining in the first half.
In the second half, the Terriers surged ahead, 49-46, before the Bobcats ripped off a 7-0 run. This gave them a 53-49 cushion that they wouldn’t relinquish. Geffen keyed the run with a trey, before pick-pocketing Bass Yessoufou and converting a layup. The lead would swell to as many as 10 after a long-range three by point guard Casey Cosgrove.
Cosgrove drew Moore’s ire early with a pair of back-to-back turnovers, then was relegated to the bench and replaced with seldom-used sophomore Steve Robinson. Cosgrove would return in the second half, nailing a pair of titanic three-pointers.
Jamaal Womack, a quick-strike shooter who was planted behind the arc throughout the night, led St. Francis with 18 points. Hines chipped in with 14 in an irregular performance from the forward.
Anderson copped his second double-double of the season and the Bobcats shot a blistering 55 percent from the field.
Moore will likely get to sleep much easier tonight, as the Bobcats bounced back from a 20-turnover disaster against Brown.
For Geffen, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, such a significant role was inconceivable prior to the season. With the return of an established point guard in Cosgrove, and the arrival of a highly-touted junior college transfer in Jeremy Baker coming in, Geffen was unsure of where he would fall into the picture. He figured he’d have to mudwrestle for some tick this season.
But Baker will sit out this season, as the NCAA has not cleared him to play. Geffen, a transfer via Boston University who sat out last year due to transfer rules, is making some waves in his first season with the Bobcats.
And they just might ripple throughout the Northeast Conference.
Quinnipiac 58, Army 54: Geffen was once again the difference-maker in this one, popping off the bench to score a team-high 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting beyond the arc. Geffen’s three-point fireballs infused stimulation with Army trying to neutralize DeMario Anderson. Anderson scored 12 points and handed out four assists in 28 minutes. Karl Anderson, a 6-foot-9 behemoth beset by injuries the past two seasons, scored eight points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds off the pine. Standout guard Jarell Brown gave the Bobcats all they could handle with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead Army. The Bobcats improve to 4-4 with the victory.
