One-Bid Wonders

Maine guard Justin Edwards flies above the fray and skies past Northeastern forward Reggie Spencer (44) for two of his career-high 30 points Wednesday night. Edwards powered the Black Bears to a 76-73 win.

(ORONO, Maine) – The America East’s top scorer, and arguably the league’s most dynamic, athletic and physically gifted player is taking his talents elsewhere: University of Maine sophomore scoring-machine Justin Edwards is leaving the Black Bears.

In a press release published earlier today, the University of Maine announced that Edwards would transfer from the school at the end of the semester, confirming rumors that had swirled for several days.

“Justin is a fine young man and we thank him for his hard work and accomplishments in our program. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors,” said Maine head coach Ted Woodward in a prepared statement.

A 6’2” guard with jaw-dropping athleticism, Edwards averaged 16.7 point per game to tie for the league-lead in scoring with Binghamton freshman Jordan Reed. Edwards averaged 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a 1.9 steals (which led the league) and 32.7 minutes per game while being named to the America East Second Team All-Conference as voted on by the coaches (he was selected to the OBW Third-Team).

As a freshman, Edwards averaged 13.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, was named to the All-Rookie Team and finished as the runner-up to then Vermont guard Four McGlynn for league Rookie of the Year Honors.

Edwards played elbows above the rim and reigned as the league’s best dunker – regularly rattling the back-board in games with dunk contest-worthy slams, including multiple 180-degree reverse jams on of alley-oops. (more…)

The America East Tournament is always a place where one can expect to find the good, the bad, and the ugly, usually in equal parts. Yesterday, though, the bad and the ugly took center stage, with the first game of the evening session providing both in abundance.

If fans were looking for offense in this one, there wasn’t much. As Groucho Marx would put it, “In the beginning, there was nothing.”

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was still nothing, but you could see it.” (more…)

(Providence, RI)–Good teams find a way to win even when they don’t play well.

On Friday afternoon, the Maine Black Bears didn’t bring their “A” game – or even their “B” game for that matter.

Team leading scorer Gerald McLemore was held to less than half his season average. Starting point guard Andrew Rogers – the America East leader in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, and the Black Bears offensive catalyst – spent the majority of the game on the bench. For the entire first half, the Black Bears were lethargic, a step slow and out of position.

But Maine still registered a commanding 71-58 win over the host Brown Bears in a game that was not as close as the final score.

Freshman wing Justin Edwards scored 17 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out five assists. Sophomore center Alasdair Fraser scored 17 points, to go with eight rebounds and a block, and the Black Bears had four players score in double-figures and eight players play double-digit minutes in the win. (more…)

(Kingston, RI)-Fighting tired legs and an injury-depleted bench, the Maine Black Bears showed grit, guts and heart, winning a grueling and physical road contest in overtime Sunday afternoon, 76-74, against a URI squad desperate to rescue a 2011-2012 campaign that has gone pear-shaped from the very beginning.

The Black Bears also showed talent that hasn’t been seen in Orono for the better part of the decade – talent which could soon make Black Bears fans forget about the disastrous end to last season.

“That was an awfully hard fought win,” said Maine head coach Ted Woodward following the game. “I thought we made some shots when we needed to, made some stops when we needed to.”

Maine got big games from their three-headed monster of Alasdair Fraser, Gerald McLemore and Justin Edwards, and contributions from almost every healthy player in uniform to register a team win. (more…)

The notion that “it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season,” has been heard by anyone who’s been interested in team sports for a significant period of time. This saying, of course, is demonstrably false. Thousands of games played at every level conclusively show that when one team beats another in each of their first two meetings, the victor in those games is significantly more likely to win the third game as well.

Add another data point to the sample. No. 6 Hartford pulled the nominal upset on Saturday, but the Hawks’ regular-season sweep of No. 3 Maine proved to be a reliable indicator of how the nightcap would conclude.

How the Hawks got there, however, proved to be completely unpredictable. With Hartford’s primary outside shooters mired in 0-fers, it was time for the big men to go to work. And Genesis Maciel let it fly. (more…)

After a quick but relatively decisive shakeup at the top of the conference, the pecking order among the league’s top three teams is relatively clear, at least for now. But look below them – yes, there’s a gap, keep going – and the race for position is furious, if not exactly fast. The gap between Albany, currently in 4th place at 5-6 in conference play, and UMBC and Stony Brook, deadlocked at 4-7, is just a single game. And while 4th and 5th place are essentially identical for seeding purposes, each of the seeds that follow will have a very different experience come tournament time. Who has the edge over whom as the AE gears up for its stretch run? Here’s how we see it in the newest edition of our America East Power Rankings:

1. Vermont Catamounts (19-5, 10-2 AE)
Last week: Won vs. New Hampshire, 63-49, on Monday; Won at Hartford, 61-47, on Thursday; Won vs. Stony Brook, 65-42, on Sunday
This week: Wednesday vs. UMBC, Saturday at Binghamton
Remember earlier in the year, back when Vermont was turning out wins in bunches, but by relatively modest margins? Yeah… about those margins. They’re not modest anymore. Seven of the Catamounts’ 10 conference victories have been by 10 points or more, including five of their last six games. Vermont has won seven straight and now has the chance to really put the pressure on the two teams remaining in pursuit by winning the next two games against the bottom of the conference. Vermont finds itself in an enviable position. What year is this, again? (more…)

Postseason awards are a funny and fickle thing in the America East. The culmination of the season, they are often the highlight of the careers of players toiling in small-conference obscurity, many of whom will never experience the bright lights of March Madness.

Sadly, many times, the most deserving players don’t win the awards their play on the court should have earned. Awards are supposed to be based on merit, but the AE coaches and athletic directors often take other factors into account. Some of these factors are born from good intentions – the desire to give graduating seniors, many whom have previously been snubbed, one last piece for their trophy cases, one last “hurrah,” among them. But many elements that factor into the voting, sadly, fly in the face of what college basketball – and the America East – is all about. Grudges against opposing coaches and players, attempts to avenge previous players who were wronged, and trying to make a statement to 18-to-20 year old kids who are too outspoken are among the dozens of petty – not to mention stupid – reasons that have influenced the AE’s behind-closed-doors voting and contributed to countless snubs.

My awards are based solely on merit and merit alone. I don’t care what class someone belongs to – a fifth-year senior who has never won an award competes on equal footing with a first-year freshman. These are not “lifetime achievement” awards. Rather, these awards are simply based on my opinion about who has been the best player – or players – this season. I will update my rankings at the conclusion of the final regular season game of the America East slate for my final picks, but if the season were to end today, here’s how I think the awards should play out: (more…)

Good things happen for Boston University (11-13, 6-4 AE) when John Holland asserts himself and attacks the basket. On Tuesday night, the Terrier senior scored 24 points – including the 2,000th point of his career – and ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds, leading the Terriers to an 88-78 win over first-place Maine (14-8, 8-2 AE). The win puts BU two games ahead of fourth-place Hartford in the win column, while the Black Bears’ loss drops them back into a tie with Vermont.

Holland entered the game as the leading scorer in the America East, but the story of his season has been his ever-increasing tendency to play passively and sit on the perimeter, as well as disappear in big games. At 6’5” with high-major athleticism, he has always been capable to taking games over by attacking the basket, but has fallen into a groove of lethargic play and has struggled to bring energy to the court every night – once a staple of his.

But on Tuesday night, Holland was brilliant, the star of the night. Holland’s 24 points made the senior just the second player in school history to crack the 2,000 point plateau, joining Tunji Awojobi. A tornado of energy, Holland attacked the basket for several emphatic dunks and tough lay-ups, while also helping the Terriers stay close in the rebounding battle with the much larger Black Bears. He even added two authoritative rejections on the defensive end. Holland’s 12 rebounds were not only the most he has pulled down during his senior campaign, but also the first time he has cracked double-digits on the glass in a game this year. (more…)

Alisdair Fraser is immovable in the post - photo courtesy of UMaine Media Relations

“There are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman on the make.” -J.M. Barrie

A 6-foot-7, 255-pound wrecking ball, Quinnipiac senior forward and reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Year Justin Rutty is used to having his way in the low post. Rutty has averaged over 13 points and almost nine rebounds while shooting over 57 percent from the floor for his career. Rutty has posted monster games against tough competition, including a 30 point, 15 rebound explosion against Rhode Island last season and 21 points and 10 boards against UMass this year. Rutty has been particularly terrifying against the America East, going off for 30 points and seven rebounds two years ago against Maine, then 19 and nine against Vermont and 26 and 10 against Boston University earlier this year.

In short, when Justin Rutty sets foot in the low post, he usually owns it.

So when Rutty saw a first-year freshman standing between him and the basket in an early season game in November, he leaned into him and pushed – which for most of Rutty’s career has resulted in his defender lying flat on his back and the ball in the hoop. There was one small problem, though: the freshman in Rutty’s path was Maine forward Alasdair Fraser, and Fraser pushed back. Fraser cleared Rutty out of the paint and didn’t stop pushing until he had moved him out to the 3-point arc. In the blink of an eye, Rutty found himself posting up on the perimeter. (more…)

In last night’s action: Binghamton maintained its position atop the AE standings, while Maine solidified its stance as a conference contender.

Binghamton 83, UMBC 75
Don’t look now, but the Binghamton Bearcats (6-10, 3-0 AE) – the same team that looked like it would struggle to win in a rec league at times earlier this year, and which has only seven scholarship players on it’s roster – now sit alone atop the America East standings. After going into the half tied at 33, the Bearcats pulled away in the second half over the hapless – not to mention winless in conference play – Retrievers. Walk-ons Jimmy Gray and Mahamoud Jabbi walked tall for Binghamton, with Gray scoring a team and career-high 23 points and Jabbi ripping down a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with 17 points. Chris De La Rosa continued to excel for the Retrievers – and continued to get little help from anyone – dropping a game-high 31 points to go with five assists, but also committed eight turnovers. The Retrievers played hard and didn’t look like the trainwreck they’ve been for much of the season, but couldn’t pull it out.

The game featured a terrific one-on-one battle between De La Rosa and Gray, with each putting on a dribbling display that would have made And1 Productions proud. The win was especially impressive for the Bearcats, who were playing without leading scorer Greer Wright, although it is worth noting that the Bearcats have appeared more cohesive without their star as of late. The next six games will determine if the Bearcats are a true conference contender, or simply a flash in the pan benefiting from an easy start to their schedule. Binghamton will play conference contenders Maine (twice), Boston University, Vermont, Albany and Hartford.

Maine 66, Albany 64
Throw the records out the window – these two teams will be fighting at the top of the conference come America East tournament time. This game was nothing short of a war. Maine guard Gerald McLemore scored a game high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and hit two key free throws to tie the game with 34 seconds left. Raheem Singleton dished out 10 assists and hit two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to win the game for the Black Bears. Troy Barnies continued his stellar senior year for the Black Bears, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and pulling down seven rebounds.

Albany was led by point guard Mike Black, who scored 18 points, and also got 12 points from Tim Ambrose and 10 from Luke Devlin. The Great Danes returned home after two tough road losses to conference contender Vermont and a hot shooting Hartford squad, and looked to rebound against the Black Bears, but could not overcome cold shooting from top scorers Ambrose (5-of-17) and Logan Aronhalt (3-of-8).

All America East teams are idle today and tomorrow. America East play will resume on Saturday with four games: New Hampshire at Stony Brook (1 PM), UMBC at Vermont (1 PM), Binghamton at Maine (3:30 PM), and Boston University at Albany (7 PM).