Broadnax’s heroics send Upstate’s seniors off on high note

USC Upstate honored its seven seniors before Wednesday’s game against Presbyterian. One, Trae Broadnax (12), hit game-winning shot for Spartans. (Photo by Emily Rangel/USC Upstate Athletics)

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — USC Upstate honored seven seniors — Nick Alves, Miguel Ayesa, Trae Broadnax, Dave Dickerson III, Ahmir Langlais, Floyd Rideau, Jr., and Thomas Shieda — during pregame festivities prior to Wednesday’s matchup against in-state and conference foe Presbyterian.

 

Fittingly, one of them provided the heroics.

 

With less than 10 seconds to play, Broadnax surveyed the floor, drove across the lane, and hit an off-balance runner with 1.5 seconds left, lifting the Spartans to an exhilarating 74-72 victory over the Blue Hose. The result also marks the third season in which Upstate has closed out the regular season at home and emerged victorious.

 

“I had the ball and there were eight seconds left,” Broadnax recalled. “Coach was saying, ‘Go!’ and I knew that we had a timeout. I heard them say load up to the ball, but no one was loaded up to the ball. I was pretty confident (in the shot). I knew where I had put it and how it was coming off, that it was going to hit the front of the rim and have a chance. I knew that Ahmir was down there, too.”

 

“It was very appropriate,” Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson added. “He has made that play for us a lot. He made it against Longwood (on January 17) where he got to the rim and missed the shot, but Ahmir was right there. With his size and strength, you want to get him downhill. He struggled tonight from the field (4-for-11), but he came through when we needed him. That’s the mark of a really good senior.”

 

Prior to that shot, it had been quite the back-and-forth battle in the second half between the two sides. Presbyterian picked up a 6-0 burst, featuring a Trevon Reddish-Rhone basket and Kory Mincy triple, which tied the game at 61 with 8:12 to play.

 

“I thought we got off to a slow start in the first half,” Presbyterian head coach Quinton Ferrell stated. “We came out, played better in the second half, and gave ourselves a chance. Kory Mincy was phenomenal and made big shots from the end of the first half and throughout the second half. There’s a lot to learn from this game in terms of mistakes and improvements. We can’t dwell on this too much because there’s going to be a lot on the line Saturday.”

 

A few moments later, an Alves basket reclaimed a three-point Upstate lead, but a Kobe Stewart three-point play created a 64-all deadlock. A Jalen Breazeale layup helped push the Spartans ahead by five, but a Samage Teel bucket trimmed the deficit down to three, 69-66, at the 3:35 mark. 

 

Upstate saw its lead sliced down to one, 70-69, following a Mincy free throw and Stewart basket, but Alves answered with a layup of his own to extend the Spartan advantage back to three with 2:03 left. 

 

“We’ve been through trials and tribulations this year,” Dickerson remarked. “We’ve tried to find our identity and hopefully, we can get some good film from this game to show our guys. The ball was moving well, and guys made some big time individual plays. The guys that scored the ball tonight are the guys that need to score the ball for us. Our seniors gave us a great first half and did the things we needed to do to get that mojo we needed.”

 

Following a missed shot from long distance by Upstate, the Blue Hose gained possession and called a timeout with 18 seconds left and a chance to tie. Mincy curled around a Reddish-Rhone screen on the right wing and drained a game-tying triple with 10 seconds to play. 

 

As the calendar prepares to flip to the third month of the year, it’s not lost as to what can happen during conference tournament time. 

 

“Hopefully, we can build a lot of momentum off of this win,” Broadnax exclaimed. “And then, it’s March. Anything can happen in March.”

 

Alves finished with a team-high of 13 points for Upstate, leading five players in double figures. Breazeale had 12 points and seven assists, followed by Bailey with 11 points. Broadnax tallied 10 points and seven boards, while Patrick Iriel (10 points, nine rebounds) just missed a double-double.

 

The Spartans outscored Presbyterian, 46-32, in the paint, 12-7 in second-chance points, 37-27 in bench scoring, and 38-36 in rebounds (10-9 on the offensive glass). As a team, Upstate was 30-for-61 from the floor. Also, 10 of the 11 Spartans who played scored at least two points or more.

 

Mincy posted a game-high 17 points for Presbyterian, leading four players who tallied double-digit totals. Teel scored 14 points, while Marquis Barnett added 11 points. Reddish-Rhone notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. The Blue Hose and Spartans scored 13 points apiece off turnovers. For the game, Presbyterian was 26-for-57 from the deck and hit 15 of 21 free throw attempts.

 

USC Upstate (10-19, 5-11) has a bye this weekend and will wait to see when it will begin play in the Big South Conference tournament, which starts on March 6. Presbyterian (13-17, 5-10) will finish the regular season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. home game against Charleston Southern.

Ronnie’s love for life is his greatest legacy

Ronnie Weintraub (right) with Rhamel Brown at the Sheraton in Springfield, Mass. after Manhattan won 2014 MAAC championship. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

There are people in this world who, through no fault of their own, become such transcendent legends through the course of their lives that they need only be referred to by their first names, with their popularity and impact already implied by their mere mention.

Elvis. Tiger. LeBron.

Such a phenomenon was also felt in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for the past three decades, as anyone associated with the league in any way, shape or form grew to know one name.

Ronnie.

To a lot of people, Ronnie Weintraub WAS the MAAC and everything it stood for, soon gaining recognition beyond the most extreme outreaches of his niche audience. A one-of-a-kind presence, easily spotted by his thick glasses, ubiquitous Special Olympics medals, and handwritten stat sheets that were so unintelligible that they actually ended up making sense, Ronnie became the constant in a landscape that would soon fall victim to realignment and widespread transfers like most of its mid-major brethren.

Sadly, arguably the most defining character in the MAAC community — a motley crew of characters in its own right — left our crazy world recently, as Ronnie has passed away, gone far too soon at just 63 years of age.

Ronnie’s story, much like the manner in which he lived, was one that had to be seen to be truly appreciated. Although developmentally challenged, Ronnie never let his limitations get in the way of his passion. He was the kindest of souls, despite the many misconceptions about him, and he always found a way to leave the most memorable impressions in all walks of life.

Ronnie, going over final pregame prep with Jay Bilas before the 2016 MAAC tournament championship. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Once upon a time, or so the story goes, Ronnie met then-Manhattan athletic director Bob Byrnes at a Special Olympics fundraiser, asked him if he could cover a Jaspers game — this was back in the Steve Lappas era — and the rest was history. From that moment on, everybody who was connected in any way with the MAAC knew Ronnie, and Ronnie knew them. And if Ronnie didn’t know you, he made it his business to before the night was over, no matter who you were. Gary Cohen? Not too big a name for Ronnie to schmooze with. Jay Bilas? Ronnie tipped it back with the baron of the ball screen, too. Dan Shulman? Ronnie handed him a copy of his stat sheet before he called the 2016 MAAC championship. Heck, even Hillary Clinton couldn’t escape the charismatic aura of Ronnie, who somehow found his way onto the floor at the Democratic National Convention. Bobby Gonzalez frequently shared stories of Ronnie taking the bus with his Jasper teams from Buffalo, Albany, or anyplace else commutable, and then giving him money to get back to his home on Roosevelt Island. When he suddenly abandoned Manhattan for Saint Peter’s in 2015, partially because two of the Peacocks’ high-ranking administrators at the time also jumped ship from Riverdale, it sent shockwaves through the MAAC community, as no one expected Ronnie to ditch Manhattan College, ever. He was an unofficial mascot of sorts, but always a welcoming presence with his warm greeting and desire to talk hoops. Pregame at Draddy Gym was never complete without his customary, “JD (for some reason, he could never remember Jaden, so he always called me JD), what’s your prediction?” And before the postgame press conferences, he channeled his inner NHL by sharing his three stars of the game.

Ronnie wasn’t just exclusive to the MAAC, though. He could just as easily be found anywhere across the New York basketball scene, frequently showing up in the press boxes at Madison Square Garden, and eventually, Barclays Center, to do his trademark broadcasts and keep score as he went along, sometimes handing out nicknames in the process. Jimmy Patsos, the colorful Loyola and Siena coach, was dubbed “The Showman.” Rick Pitino was “Rick the Rat.” Iona losses were always met with Reggie Miller’s famous choke gesture. Whether at Manhattan, Saint Peter’s, or anywhere on the road in between, Ronnie was always true to himself and usually the most passionate and avid of hoops fans in the building. That always reflected in his work, even when missed free throws were accompanied by a loud “OH, JESUS!”

One of Ronnie’s iconic handwritten stat sheets, which someone always made copies of for him to hand out to the media. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

There were many times that Ronnie could exasperate you, especially if you were a writer on deadline or a broadcaster signing on. He could get on your last nerve, as he did in 2017 when we coincidentally ended up taking the same bus to the MAAC tournament and I was unable to get a few last-minute previews done. But when all the dust settled, you always knew that Ronnie meant well and never had any malicious intent. His compassion just got lost in the shuffle more often than not, and looking back, I wish all of us were more patient with him than we were in the heat of the moment.

But of all the things for which Ronald Weintraub should always be remembered, the sheer love for life and the people who found their into his, even if just for one second, needs to be at the top of the list. And in a buttoned-up, post-pandemic world where an already unforgiving business feels more and more adversarial every day, we can all learn from the example Ronnie set by just being himself, every day he blessed the world with his existence, as only he could.

His MAAC tournament credential every year listed his affiliation as “MAAC #1 Fan.” However, no one was a bigger fan of living his best life and just interacting with people for no other reason besides opening his heart and bringing them into his world than Ronnie Weintraub. We are all better for having known him, because he taught us not only to not judge a book by its cover, but also to appreciate anyone we encounter in our travels just for who and what they are.

May his legacy always be a blessing.

MAAC Monday: Rider’s timely surge and late promise, quick hits, stat leaders, power rankings

Kevin Baggett (second from left) talks to his Rider team. Broncs have won four straight to make belated jump in wide-open MAAC. (Photo by Kyle Franko/The Trentonian)

MAAC Monday returns for the first of three more editions in 2023-24, and this week’s team spotlight features the group that was the consensus choice to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference before the season started. From there, quick hits from around the league, stat leaders and power rankings will close out the latest installment of the most comprehensive weekly MAAC recap you’ll find anywhere.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — A major component of Rider being the coaches’ pick to top the MAAC preseason poll in October was the sheer fact that in a league with so many vacancies and departures from last season, the Broncs boasted two of the conference’s elder statesmen in Mervin James and Allen Powell, a pair of seniors who were easy selections for the conference’s first team at the start of the season.

But while James, the MAAC’s Preseason Player of the Year, lived up to his billing, his supporting cast went through a trial by fire of sorts. Powell struggled from the 3-point line for a majority of the season, Corey McKeithan was tasked with the unenviable duty of having to replace do-it-all point guard Dwight Murray, Jr., and Tariq Ingraham — who played sparingly at Wake Forest before joining the Rider roster as a role player a year ago — was being counted on to carry the load down low.

Add in a non-conference schedule featuring the likes of Marquette, Maryland and Nebraska, plus a surprising 0-3 start to MAAC play, and the Broncs needed to go back to basics. One of those was recommitting to the staunch defense that, although not always a MAAC leader, has always been stout enough to be a constant in 12 years under head coach Kevin Baggett.

“When we were in that little bit of a losing streak, we were giving up 70-plus points,” Baggett recalled. “We had to guard better. I think the other thing, too, is guys are coming together and starting to peak, right? They’re starting to play at the right time and everybody fits now, where we were trying to fit the puzzle and it wasn’t fitting at that point.”

“Guys needed to find their roles and be comfortable in those roles, and now everybody understands where they are and what it is we’re asking each and every one of them to do. Now they’re able to play out of it without thinking or worrying about what it is they need to do. They know.”

Having a significant amount of underclassmen, something nearly every coach in the MAAC has dealt with this season, and will continue to in the current landscape of the sport — with the transfer portal always a threat to poach veteran players who blossom at the mid-major level — has forced coaches to throw their youth to the wolves earlier than they would probably like to in a perfect world. Rider was no different, with Baggett having to rely on freshmen Ruben Rodriguez and D.J. Dudley early and often to help McKeithan along his own path as Murray’s successor. The results in the first part of the year, perhaps to no surprise, were unkind to the Broncs. However, the game experience gained in that stretch has paid dividends now as Rider has won four straight to not only hold a winning record in conference play at 9-8, but also become one of the hottest teams at the most opportune of times, with the MAAC tournament slated to begin just 15 days from today in Atlantic City.

“We were waiting on them,” Baggett said of his freshmen. “We played a tough schedule, and when we put those guys out there at that time, they weren’t ready for that. That’s on me, but as time went on, they got into league play, they got in the gym, got into January and you could see these guys getting better in practice. It was just a matter of allowing them to go out there and play, and allowing them to make some of those mistakes and play through them, where at one point, their ropes were short. As they continued to show me their progress in practice, I continued to allow them to play through mistakes. Now, they’re not looking over, they’re not worried.”

Rodriguez has become a perfect complement to McKeithan at the point guard spot, and seems more than capable of continuing a lineage that has seen stalwarts such as Jimmie Taylor, Stevie Jordan and Murray make their marks in Lawrenceville in such a way that each is still remembered despite the Broncs still looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance in three decades.

“We knew (Rodriguez) was a winner,” Baggett proudly proclaimed. “He broke all the records at Reading (Pa.) High School. He just won everything, and you just need that in your program, a guy who’s around the ball. Ruben’s always around the ball, getting rebounds, getting steals, defending. He just finds himself at the right place at the right time, all the time. You see the intangibles that he brings to us now, and you’re seeing him grow.”

Rider still has three more games to navigate in the regular-season MAAC minefield. A telltale sign of the team’s improvement has been its mettle remaining strong in three of its last four contests, a defensive struggle against Mount St. Mary’s, a comeback after a blown lead to Iona, and a gritty win over previous league leader Quinnipiac. A blowout win over Manhattan where the Broncs shot 76 percent from the floor was also in that stretch, but according to Baggett, the results would not have happened if not for the adversity his outfit endured in November and December, something he credits for the collective backbone being forged as well as it has become.

“We’ve had to learn how to get here,” he reiterated. “Early on, we were playing those high-major games, and more often than not, we weren’t in those games. It doesn’t allow you to put yourself in those situations to learn from them. We’ve been in a number of these games now, and I think these guys are more comfortable with it. Those are things that tell me these guys have learned from some of the things we didn’t understand early on.”

Quick Hits Around the MAAC

“We had some early turnovers early in the second half that got under my skin a little bit, but I think we’re fighting that battle and we’re learning the value of the basketball. I think we’re improving at it.”

— Reggie Witherspoon on Canisius’ progression

“I thought in the first half, we looked like a scared dog or something, and then in the second half, we just started playing. We played with some guts and some toughness. To be honest, the last week has been a soap opera.”

— Tobin Anderson on Iona’s performance at Rider and without Greg Gordon

“We became a little too finesse-driven. We’re not playing as physical and nasty as we need to be. We talked about extending our defense, being up and into guys, but we weren’t able to do that early on. It’s easy to say we’re gonna do something, and then you gotta go out and do it.”

— Tom Pecora on Quinnipiac’s recent skid and loss to Fairfield

“I felt different in the huddles, like we were gonna close that one out, we weren’t gonna turn the ball over down the stretch. I thought we grew up (Sunday) as a basketball team. The resolve, the fight, even the other night versus Saint Peter’s, I thought our guys showed a lot this weekend. Hopefully they can carry that as we close out the stretch.”

— Dan Engelstad on Mount St. Mary’s execution against Iona

Scoring Leaders

1) Mervin James, Rider (19.0 PPG)

2) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (18.4)

3) Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary’s (17.4)

4) Jalen Leach, Fairfield (16.4)

5) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (16.0)

6) Greg Gordon, Iona (16.0)

7) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (15.2)

8) Idan Tretout, Iona (14.3)

9) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (13.7)

10) Brycen Goodine, Fairfield (13.5)

Rebounding Leaders

1) Frank Mitchell, Canisius (11.3 RPG)

2) Seydou Traore, Manhattan (8.5)

3) Harlan Obioha, Niagara (7.8)

4) Greg Gordon, Iona (7.3)

5) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (7.0)

6) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (6.9)

7) Tariq Ingraham, Rider (6.4)

8) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (6.1)

9) Giovanni Emejuru, Siena (6.1)

10) Mervin James, Rider (6.1)

Assist Leaders

1) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (7.1 APG)

2) Jaden Winston, Manhattan (4.7)

3) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (4.6)

4) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (4.3)

5) Joel Brown, Iona (3.8)

6) Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary's (3.8)

7) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (3.6)

8) Corey McKeithan, Rider (3.4)

9) Luke Bumbalough, Niagara (3.2)

10) Zek Tekin, Siena (3.0)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (.628)

2) Harlan Obioha, Niagara (.600)

3) Frank Mitchell, Canisius (.570)

4) Giovanni Emejuru, Siena (.561)

5) Greg Gordon, Iona (.548)

6) Max Allen, Marist (.530)

7) Mervin James, Rider (.524)

8) Daniel Rouzan, Manhattan (.523)

9) De’Shayne Montgomery, Mount St. Mary’s (.519)

10) Braxton Bayless, Niagara (.518)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

1) Jalen Leach, Fairfield (.912)

2) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.869)

3) Braxton Bayless, Niagara (.841)

4) Mervin James, Rider (.839)

5) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (.836)

6) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (.833)

7) Ahmad Henderson, Niagara (.831)

8) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (.829)

9) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (.796)

10) Jeremiah Quigley, Iona (.792)

3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Brycen Goodine, Fairfield (.481)

2) Javon Cooley, Marist (.456)

3) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.413)

4) Jalen Leach, Fairfield (.390)

T-5) Marcus Randolph, Saint Peter’s (.385)

T-5) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (.385)

7) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (.381)

8) Josh Pascarelli, Marist (.378)

9) Luke Bumbalough, Niagara (.377)

10) Corey McKeithan, Rider (.367)

Steal Leaders

1) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (2.5 SPG)

2) Jaden Winston, Manhattan (2.2)

3) Joel Brown, Iona (2.2)

4) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (1.9)

5) De’Shayne Montgomery, Mount St. Mary’s (1.8)

Blocked Shot Leaders

1) Seydou Traore, Manhattan (1.2 BPG)

2) Killian Gribben, Siena (1.2)

3) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (1.0)

T-4) Jaden Daughtry, Marist (1.0)

T-4) Mervin James, Rider (1.0)

T-4) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (1.0)

Power Rankings

1) Fairfield (18-10, 12-5 MAAC)

Last Week: 3

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 vs. Siena (W 88-64)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 at Marist, 7 p.m.

2) Quinnipiac (19-8, 11-5 MAAC)

Last Week: 1

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 at Rider (L 88-78)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 at Iona, 7 p.m.

3) Saint Peter’s (15-11, 11-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 5

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 vs. Marist (W 69-60)

Next Game: Sunday 3/3 vs. Manhattan, 2 p.m.

4) Niagara (15-12, 10-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 2

Last Game: Friday 2/23 at Canisius (L 69-59)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 vs. Rider, 7 p.m.

5) Marist (15-10, 10-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 4

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 at Saint Peter’s (L 69-60)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 vs. Fairfield, 7 p.m.

6) Rider (12-16, 9-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 7

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 vs. Quinnipiac (W 88-78)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 at Niagara, 7 p.m.

7) Iona (13-14, 8-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 6

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 at Mount St. Mary’s (L 72-65)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 vs. Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

8) Mount St. Mary’s (12-16, 8-9 MAAC)

Last Week: 8

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 vs. Iona (W 72-65)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 at Canisius, 7 p.m.

9) Canisius (11-14, 6-10 MAAC)

Last Week: 9

Last Game: Friday 2/23 vs. Niagara (W 69-59)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 7 p.m.

10) Siena (4-23, 3-13 MAAC)

Last Week: 10

Last Game: Sunday 2/25 at Fairfield (L 88-64)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 vs. Manhattan, 7 p.m.

11) Manhattan (5-20, 2-14 MAAC)

Last Week: 11

Last Game: Friday 2/23 vs. Marist (L 57-50)

Next Game: Friday 3/1 at Siena, 7 p.m.

UConn delivers latest statement on marquee day for program

Cam Spencer exhorts crowd as UConn soundly defeated Villanova Saturday. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

STORRS, Conn. — UConn delivered such a dominant second-half performance against Villanova at Gampel Pavilion Saturday night that Dan Hurley’s mind went other places after the horn sounded on a 78-54 win, one which preserved the immaculate vibes from the spectacle of College Gameday and jersey retirement for Husky legend Richard Hamilton, all within a matter of 12 hours.

“I did not go all the way,” Hurley said. “I stopped myself.”

Hurley was addressing the viral video of him allegedly blurting an F-bomb on national television after coming away empty taking half-court shots on the Gameday set. Whether that was true or not may be up for debate. But, as it stands, it is hard to deny that Hurley hasn’t become a massive target of fans around the college basketball landscape as he tries to accomplish the incredibly difficult feat of leading UConn to back-to-back national championships.

On a more positive note, Hurley was pleased with how UConn repeatedly kicked Villanova in the teeth en route to a triple-double from Tristen Newton (10 points, 10 assists, 16 rebounds) and bounce-back game for fan favorite Cam Spencer, who dropped 25 points with five threes to his name.

“Championship response from us today,” Hurley said.

UConn led Villanova, 31-21, at halftime, following an up-and-down opening stanza for the defending champs. Both teams, especially the Wildcats, left a lot to be desired offensively from the opening 20 minutes. Villanova only shot 30 percent from the field, including just 1-for-10 from deep, and Eric Dixon was especially overwhelmed by the size and might of Donovan Clingan inside on a night where the Villanova big man took 19 shots and made only seven.

The only saving grace from the opening proceedings was the defensive intensity brought by both teams. UConn itself was sloppy with the ball in the opening minutes, a testament to Villanova’s stingy guard play led by Mark Armstrong. Still, the Huskies launched a 13-6 run over the final 5:57 of the initial frame, thus establishing the aforementioned halftime margin, and never looked back from there. Yet again, Spencer was the gift that kept giving for the Huskies, supplying two three-pointers during that stretch and bringing a full array of head fakes and pump fakes to fool the Wildcat defense. 

Unlike Tuesday night at Creighton, when he was held in check with six points, Spencer got better as the game went on. His expertly crafted and-1 on an up-and-under layup extended the Huskies’ lead to 45-37, which he soon followed with another three and second conventional 3-point play to get the UConn lead to 11 at the 10:19 mark, inspiring even more life in an already electric Gampel Pavilion crowd. 

Hurley described Spencer as being in a foul mood the whole week following Tuesday’s loss at Creighton. On Saturday, he rose from the shadows of defeat with 25 points, tying a season high he set against Mississippi Valley State in the third game of the season.

“I sucked against Creighton,” Spencer said bluntly. “I felt like my defense and my performance pretty much lost us the game, in my opinion.”

Hurley admitted to wanting Spencer to pull the trigger more against Creighton. Still, the coach was quick to voice his respect for how his senior guard deals with criticism, and how his absence on social media points to where his priorities are.

“He doesn’t live in a world most kids his age live in,” Hurley said about Spencer. “He’s not on social media, so this is just a man who doesn’t give a crap about what people are saying, and it’s more his own standards which make him special.”

The final 10 minutes allowed the Huskies to pad their lead for good measure while giving way to Newton’s fourth career triple-double, a program record he will have a chance to break for - third time the rest of the way. Newton’s first triple-double of the season — 15 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in a rout of Manhattan — came all the way back on November 24.

“Before the game our GA told me I have to get a triple-double,” Newton said with a smile. “Credit to Steph (Castle) and Donovan for boxing out, and the rebounds just fell to me.”

Hurley thought UConn settled at times after watching his team shoot 32 threes, making 10 of them. He wanted to get Clingan the ball more in his mismatch with the undersized Dixon, but will take those minor details and stow them away for now in favor of a 24-point win.

After reeling from the messy exit of former head coach Kevin Ollie, Hurley has placed a large emphasis on welcoming back alums to celebrate the past and present successes of UConn basketball. The retirement of Hamilton’s No. 32 was just the latest reminder of that.

Jim Calhoun (right) addresses crowd as UConn retired No. 32 in honor of Richard Hamilton (left), who led Huskies to 1999 national championship. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

“We’ve embraced that right away,” Hurley said about reuniting with old faces who may have flocked away over the years. “My relationship with Jim Calhoun was one of the most important things to me, and that relationship has helped me become a better coach. It’s helped me navigate this job, as well as my relationship with Geno (Auriemma).”

Fittingly, UConn got to boast the passion and glory of its program against a Villanova program that had won two national championships over the past seven years. Nevertheless, on occasion, the growing strength of one program met head-on with the gradual decline of another. In the grand scheme of things, that means something for UConn.

“Even (Saturday), they were out there talking,” Newton said. “We made a statement.”

Kevin Willard quote book: Rutgers

On defending Jeremiah Williams:

“I think the good thing about it is everyone’s had seven games now with him, or eight games of watching him on film. I think we were the second game he played, I think they beat Michigan and they came to us, so they play totally different than before he was there. Now, you can game plan for him, and I think you have to game plan for him because he’s that good. So it was a little bit easier this time because we kind of knew what they were going to do with him, where last time — you don’t get a trade in college, but it was like they got a trade halfway through the season.”

On Maryland's physicality:

“If you watch us play, my guys play really hard. They’re really good defensively. We have really struggled shooting the basketball this year, it’s just been one of those years, unfortunately. We’ve been in every game, we’ve missed some tough free throws, we’ve missed some open shots at the end of games. We just kind of practice it and we know that there’s a pretty good chance that we might not make that shot, so the best thing to do is just go get it. And so we’ve kind of gotten used to when we shoot it, we go get it. It’s kind of our best offense.”

On Maryland's 3-point shooting:

“I think we were getting some really good open looks to start, and we just kept talking on the bench, ‘hey, guys, the offense is really good, defense is really good.’ Something that we’ve really talked about as a team is just not getting down when we miss 3-point shots. If you watched earlier in the year, we would go through some tough stretches when we’d miss shots that would affect our defense. We’re much better now when we miss shots, we’re not getting down as much as we were before. I just think we’ve gotten used to missing shots. I guess that’s a little bit of it, too, but that’s really the big thing.”

On Rutgers’ field goal drought of nearly 12 minutes:

“We’re the fifth-ranked defensive team in the country, so we’ve had some really, really good runs. Even going in at halftime, I thought we really should have been up 18 or 20 with just how well we played defensively, and that’s kind of been our Achilles’ heel. We’ve defended everybody at a pretty high level, and it was good. Again, this time of year, you could either pack it in a little bit and have a s****y attitude, or you can try to keep on fighting and make something happen. And these guys have had — we practiced for almost three hours yesterday, I mean, I got on them — we practiced for three hours and they responded. It’s good to see. They’ve had a great attitude all year and we’ve played hard all year. We’ve just struggled in close games.”

On Jersey Mike’s Arena and Rutgers’ crowd:

“Yeah, I hate this place, Jerry. I’m really hoping I don’t have to come back next year, to be honest with you. This is — I think my last year at The Hall, I had to come here, and I think we got smacked.”

Jerry Carino: “By 20.”

Willard: “Yeah, thanks. This is — I know it’s an old building and I think they’re trying to build a new one or maybe redo this, but I really hope it doesn’t lose its character because the student section is great, they’re right on top of you, the fans are great, they’re right on top of you. I think this is an old-school college atmosphere that Steve has done an unbelievable job building. It wasn’t like this before Steve got here, so the fact that Steve’s built it so well and it’s become a place where it’s really tough to win.”

On winning comfortably after struggles in close games:

“We’re 20 points away from probably being like, the 10th team in the country, as crazy as that sounds. That can get a little frustrating, and that can make you kind of go the other way. I think what’s great about this is that these kids have stayed extremely competitive, extremely hungry to win. I think you saw a team that hasn’t given up, which a lot of teams can this time of year, so to go out and play well, and get rewarded — because we’ve played well, I thought we played really well at Wisconsin, we played good at Illinois, had a couple tough calls in both those games that changed momentum late — so to see these guys come out and play well, I think it’s very rewarding.”

On four double-figure scorers:

“I just said this on the radio: DeShawn (Harris-Smith) and Jamie (Kaiser) are doing exactly what I hoped would happen. They’re no longer freshmen. They’ve really grown, you could see the confidence that they both have when they’re on the floor. We’re playing two freshmen a lot of minutes, and in today’s college basketball, that’s very rare. So to see those guys kind of take a jump and have the confidence they have at a place like this and a defensive team — I think Rutgers is sixth or seventh in the country in defense — so to be able to do it against a really good defensive team, it feels great for those guys because they’ve gone through their lumps.”

On responding after Rutgers drew within 10 points:

“We kind of knew they were going to make a run. Again, they’re a good basketball team, they’re a competitive basketball team. They went really small and kind of messed with us a little bit, so just making a little adjustment to try to get the basketball into Juju (Reese) a little bit and just try to make them guard us a little bit, I think that was the big difference.”

Postscript:

Willard: “Jerry, I had an unbelievable Italian meal last night.”

Carino: “You beat me to it!”

Alex Schiffer: “Where at?”

Willard: “Right downtown, right across the street from the hotel.”

Carino: “Here?”

Willard: “Yeah.”

Brian Fonseca: “Catherine Lombardi’s?”

Willard: “Yeah, it was that place.”

Fonseca: “I took my girlfriend for Valentine’s Day there.”

Willard: “It’s expensive. You must be doing really well!”

Sha Sounds Off: Butler

On Seton Hall’s defensive effort:

“I was happy with the way we came out. I thought we had three solid days of practice. This was a good bye week for us, we kind of needed it, guys were banged up. I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t keep that same energy, but Butler’s a good team, they can score the basketball. I told our guys, when you go win at Creighton and you go win at Marquette, hostile environments like that, they’re not afraid of being on the road. So I tried to make sure that we…the first half, I was disappointed because they had eight threes. At halftime, we made some adjustments and they had four, and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

On Butler’s field goal drought:

“Just being solid. I thought the first half, they spaced us out a little bit. Our pick-and-roll defense was up too much, so I pushed it back out to the college 3-point line and once we did that, it kind of closed the court up a little bit. So when they had those short rolls, we were scrambling and they were getting threes. The second half, the last, I think, 12 minutes of the game, we did a better job with that.”

On Seton Hall’s backcourt:

“That’s something they’ve been doing all year. They don’t get enough credit. I don’t think Dre gets a lot of credit, but we’re not worried about that. Things speak for themselves. We’re just trying to take these games day by day.”

On Dylan Addae-Wusu and Jaden Bediako:

“I got on Dylan because Dylan normally gives us a lot of little plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet. I thought the last — from the 8-minute mark down, I thought he got a lot of loose balls, 50-50 balls for us, that I was on him about getting. JB is JB. He’s been doing this for us all year. He’s somebody that, I told you guys in the beginning of the year, ‘don’t worry about him, he’s gonna be fine,’ and he’s kind of being fine.”

On Seton Hall’s alumni turnout Saturday night:

“It’s huge. I thought it was good for Fuquan Edwin to get honored today in the hall of fame, he deserved it, he had a great career. And for everybody else coming out here supporting us and showing love, it’s always good. I told you guys before, Seton Hall, when I’m here, they’re here. So we’re all together. It’s big. You see my boy Isaiah (Whitehead) was here, he was here all week with us, so it was good. I don’t want to leave people out, I know we had a lot of alums here, I saw a lot of people in the stands. It was good to see everybody. (Whitehead) came to school, not practice. He came to school.”

On Seton Hall’s fan support:

“It was good. I think Kooks said it, it’s a Saturday night, right? It’s Saturday night, 8:30, they could have been anywhere doing things. For them to be out here and understand the importance of this game and the next couple games, it’s super important. But not just for the students, I want to say all the regular fans have been coming out all year, and I want to thank those guys for coming out as well. But it’s always good to have the students there. They bring a lot of energy, I think tonight was Greek night if I’m not mistaken, they came out and we kind of felt their energy.”

On positioning entering the Big East tournament:

“Just keep defending, keep playing Seton Hall basketball and share the ball. Our three guys gotta be our three guys, period, and just try to stay solid. Don’t try to get ahead ourselves, take every game step by step.”

On Seton Hall’s improved consistency:

“Better. We’ve still got some ways to go, but a lot better. I thought we came out with a lot of energy, then we kind of died down and we came out in the second half with some more energy. In this league, you gotta be careful doing that. Teams are too good.”

Winthrop responds the right way, never trails in win over Upstate

 

Winthrop's Micheal Anumba paced the Eagles with 15 in Saturday's win over Upstate.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics/PPG)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Just shy of 72 hours before the ball was tossed in the air Saturday afternoon in Winthrop Coliseum, Winthrop coach Mark Prosser sat on press row, telling Jim Szoke and Brett Ferguson of the Winthrop Radio Network that he was “at a loss” regarding what he had just seen from his team. Saturday, the response – from both Prosser and his Eagles – was significantly differed.

Four Eagles finished in double figures in a game Winthrop never trailed, as the Eagles used 38 paint points and 22 second-chance points to run past Upstate, 83-74, before an announced crowd of 2,225.

“I thought for 40 minutes we played hard enough and smart enough,” Prosser said. “When we made mistakes, we were aggressive and trying to make plays. I think that we played hard.”

Winthrop (17-12, 8-6 Big South) opened a 5-0 lead on a Kelton Talford bucket and Kasen Harrison triple, only for Justin Bailey to eventually draw the game level at seven after back-to-back triples. Upstate (9-19, 4-11) drew the game level at 18 at the 11:50 mark on a trio of consecutive triples from Trae Broadnax. Winthrop seized back the lead on a Nick Johnson layup, with Noah Van Bibber providing eight of the next 16 Eagle points off the bench to stretch the Eagle advantage to six.

“He’s earned it in practice,” Prosser said of Van Bibber. “I thought he stood his ground and helped our team win. He was prepared the first time that ball hit his hands and he buried a three. He was rewarded. He rewarded our team today.”

Winthrop ventured to the interval with a 40-37 lead, buoyed by four straight Johnson free throws. Talford and Harrison again teamed to expand the Eagle lead as the second stanza got underway. The duo booked the first seven points of the half to put the Eagles ahead by seven. The lead grew to 12 at the nine-minute mark on back-to-back buckets from Alex Timmerman.

Simultaneously, the Eagle defense clamped down on Upstate further away from the bucket, forcing several errant looks from the Spartans after they cashed nine first-half threes. Upstate hit just 2-of-11 tries in a nine-plus minute span that allowed the homestanding Eagles to build a more comfortable margin. Winthrop expanded its lead to 16 before seven straight Jalen Brazeale points cut it to 11. Upstate continued to peck away at the margin before finally cutting it to five on a Broadnax bucket with 20 seconds remaining, but Winthrop closed out the Spartans from there to get the victory.

“The biggest problem today was that we came a little bit unglued,” Upstate coach Dave Dickerson said after the game. “We took 32 threes – which, for us, that’s way too many – and I thought in the second half, in that stretch, we took some ill-advised shots. We should have been driving the basketball and getting to the free throw line and trying to get ourselves in the bonus a little bit quicker.”

“We talked about that at halftime, that they would do a good job of taking away threes in the second half. We had to play in the paint. We had to play inside-out basketball. We just were not able to do that. We failed to play chess. We played checkers the whole day.”

The Eagle effort surely had much to do with that Upstate game plan. Winthrop responded after Wednesday’s challenging result, led by strong games from the Eagle upperclassmen. Guard/forward Micheal Anumba turned in a 15-point effort and grabbed five boards without committing a foul in 30-plus minutes of game action.

“It was definitely a big win,” Anumba said. “After what happened Wednesday, we came back Thursday and had a great practice. We were ready.”

“We took (Wednesday’s loss to Presbyterian) personal. We definitely took it personal. I know we’re the best team in the conference, though sometimes we don’t show it. We came in (today) and we were ready to go.”

Anumba’s 15 guided the Eagles, with six of his eight tries from the field finding the net. Sin’Cere McMahon poured in 13 in reserve duty, hitting three triples to help build the total. Talford booked 12 and finished two boards shy of a double-double, while Johnson hit 9-of-10 from the line to finish with 11. Winthrop shot 49.1 percent (26-for-53) from the field and got to the free throw line 35 times for the ninth time in a game this season, with 25 of those tries (71.4 percent) connecting.

Broadnax led Upstate and all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-17 from the field (4-for-8 from three) and 2-for-3 from the line. Bailey added 15 for the Spartans, cashing 5-for-8 from the deck, 3-for-4 from three, and 2-for-3 from the stripe. Brazeale contributed 15 in reserve duty, hitting all four of his three-point tries and all three of his free throw attempts. Nick Alves added 11, hitting 5-of-10 field goal attempts. The Spartans shot 25-for-56 (44.6 percent) on the day, making a season-high 14 threes and hitting 43.8 percent from deep. Upstate got to the line just 14 times, hitting 10 (71.4 percent).

Both teams return to Big South play Wednesday evening. Winthrop travels to the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C., to square off with the first-place High Point Panthers, while Upstate hosts Presbyterian in the Hodge Center in Spartanburg, S.C. Both games are slated for 7:00 (Eastern) starts, with streaming coverage available over ESPN+.

WINTHROP 83, UPSTATE 74

UPSTATE (9-19, 4-11 BIG SOUTH)

Ochoa 0-3 0-0 0, Alves 5-10 0-1 11, Bailey 5-8 2-3 15, Broadnax 8-17 2-3 22, Ayesa 2-7 0-0 6, Surratt 1-2 1-2 3, Brazeale 4-5 3-3 15, Rideau 0-2 2-2 2, Sheida 0-0 0-0 0, Placer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 10-14 74.

WINTHROP (17-12, 8-6)

Talford 5-6 2-3 12, Doucet 2-5 2-4 6, Anumba 6-8 3-5 15, Johnson 1-6 9-10 11, Harrison 3-7 2-2 9, McMahon 4-13 2-2 13, Claxton 1-1 1-2 3, Timmerman 2-4 2-4 6, Diallo 0-0 0-0 0, Van Bibber 2-3 2-3 8. Totals 26-53 25-35 83.

Halftime:  Winthrop 40-37. 3-Point goals:  Upstate 14-32 (Ochoa 0-1, Alves 1-5, Bailey 3-4, Broadnax 4-8, Ayesa 2-7, Brazeale 4-4, Rideau 0-2, Placer 0-1), Winthrop 6-23 (Doucet 0-2, Anumba 0-2, Johnson 0-4, Harrison 1-2, McMahon 3-9, Timmerman 0-1, Van Bibber 2-3). Fouled out:  Bailey (UPST).  Rebounds:  Winthrop 40 (Talford 8), Upstate 24 (Broadnax 6). Total fouls:  Upstate 28, Winthrop 18. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 8, Upstate 4.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 38, Upstate 20.  Second-chance points:  Winthrop 22, Upstate 6.  Fast-break points:  Upstate 13, Winthrop 9.  Bench points:  Winthrop 30, Upstate 20.

 

Fairfield enacts revenge on Quinnipiac in instant MAAC classic

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

HAMDEN, Conn. — Any successful business trip on the road is a good feeling in college basketball. 

Fairfield had even more to play for Friday night against Quinnipiac, considering how things ended last time these two teams met on January 28, when Matt Balanc hit a game-winning layup with 3.5 seconds left to secure a huge road win for the Bobcats. Nearly three weeks later, Fairfield played like there was everything to lose and with a sense of urgency that led to a rousing 85-81 victory at M&T Bank Arena.

It was unfortunate that only one team would emerge victorious in this game after 40 minutes of captivating plays on both ends, as well as nine lead changes and six ties. The largest lead was nine points for Fairfield early on, and seven for Quinnipiac in the second half of a game Bobcats head coach Tom Pecora compared to an NBA game given the high level of shot making on display. There was also the fact the three-pointers rained all night, with Fairfield going 13-of-26 and Quinnipiac firing away at 15-of-33.

“In the first game, I think both teams were like two good fighters in a 12-round fight and they tried to feel each other out,” Fairfield head coach Chris Casey said about the sequel to the Stags’ 66-64 loss to Quinnipiac at Mahoney Arena. “In this game, both teams knew each other and went at each other.”

This game was too close to call for almost the full distance before the Fairfield guards found a different gear late. The four-headed monster of Jalen Leach, Caleb Fields, Jasper Floyd and Brycen Goodine carried the Stags like it has the whole season, and arguably had its best collective performance Friday on the biggest stage.

A late 7-1 run, made possible by a Goodine layup and three before setting up Louis Bleechmore for another basket inside, gave Fairfield a 76-70 lead with 2:32 left. The Stags, who have shot 75 percent on the season from the foul line as a team, never relinquished the lead from there and iced the game with a handful of free throws in the final minute. 

For the guards, this game was personal after falling victim to Balanc’s late heroics last month. Fields opened the game with two threes before Leach scored 13 of the Stags’ next 17 points. Their ability to beat Quinnipiac inside and out, and in Leach’s case, to draw fouls, was huge. Leach had a near flawless performance with 27 points, six rebounds, three assists on 4-of-6 shooting from three and 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. 

“We take those things personal,” Fields said about the matchup with Quinnipiac’s dynamic guards. “We know the preseason all-conference guys, and I believe every guard is a preseason all-conference player.”

On a night where Leach made his latest argument for MAAC Player of the Year, the Stags received big plays from Jasper Floyd down the stretch and had their spark plug in Goodine show up when needed by overcoming some missed shots. Not often does a team have a guy who scored 40 points in a game come off the bench, but Fairfield is far from an average team in the backcourt. 

“He’s such an unselfish player,” Leach said about Goodine. “Any other player may have pouted given his pedigree. He just has a very positive mindset, and for him, it doesn’t matter.”

That unselfishness is apparent just by how the Stags communicate with each other on the court and how they speak about each other off of it. The resilience is just as special, too. Fairfield trailed 47-40 at the 16:58 mark following a three from Amarri Tice, before responding with a 7-0 run to tie the score. Even after Tice tied the score at 39 on a last-second heave near the edge of the logo to beat the first half buzzer, a cool, calm, and collected Casey made enough adjustments in the second half to find success on both ends. Quinnipiac worked hard for their points and were forced into 14 turnovers by Fairfield, who also prevented the Bobcats from going to the line until the 3:08 mark of the second half. Quinnipiac ended with six free throw attempts, whereas Fairfield went 16-of-20 from the line. The disparity was not an indictment on the referees, but instead a testament to Fairfield’s ability to make Quinnipiac settle for long threes. 

“Our big men did a great job not fouling,” Leach said. “We did a great job keeping them in front of us and not fouling until the end.”

While Doug Young and his 17 points off the bench had the look of an unsung hero for Quinnipiac, Birima Seck flew under the radar for Fairfield. Seck played 25 minutes and had five rebounds, plus a career-high four steals. His minutes had outsized importance, with Casey only playing Alexis Yetna six minutes and Peyton Smith five. 

“It’s game to game,” Casey said about how he deploys his trio of bigs. “It’s the same thing with the guard spot and the small forward spot. We have multiple guys and I have confidence in all of them.”

Fairfield, now winners of 16 of their its 20 games, is only a half-game behind Quinnipiac in the MAAC standings and is the most healthy it has been all season. Casey has proven to be a boon for Fairfield’s fortunes as well. The veteran coach is not only a prime candidate for MAAC Coach of the Year, but has also proven he should be the leader of the Stags program going forward. Casey’s counterpart on Friday was handed a contract extension earlier this week for the resurgence that has taken place at Quinnipiac this season.

Both Casey and Pecora have each authored great stories this season with still more to be written. As for Casey, there is still much to be gained and lost for his chances of getting the full-time job as the calendar will soon turn to March. Still, none of that has taken away from Casey’s focus on his team and what his players mean to him and the entire Fairfield community.

“They’ve been through so much yet they still stay together,” Casey said. “They still work hard and still have a great approach and it’s helping them win games.”