Posts Tagged ‘Jimmy Gray’

Turning on the Jets

Sunday, January 13th, 2013
Binghamton guard Mike Horn (left) and forward Jordan Reed (right) chase after Boston University guard D.J. Irving Saturday afternoon. Irving scored 16 points and BU blew out Binghamton 83-59 (photo by Sam Perkins)

Binghamton guard Mike Horn (left) and forward Jordan Reed (right) chase after Boston University guard D.J. Irving Saturday afternoon. Irving scored 16 points and BU blew out Binghamton 83-59 (photo by Sam Perkins)

(Boston, MA) – The reports of the Boston University Terriers’ demise are greatly exaggerated.

Through their first two games of the America East conference schedule, the Terriers were listless and lifeless: Holding eight-point second half leads on the road against Maine and at home against Hartford, the Terriers went softly into that good night and flat-lined down the stretch in back-to-back losses. Fast forward two games and the Terriers are alive and kicking.

They’re running, too.

After gassing America East heavyweight Vermont down the stretch in a gut-check win on Tuesday, Boston University turned on the jets and left visiting Binghamton in the rear-view mirror on Saturday in an 83-59 win.

“I was proud of the way they responded,” said Terriers head coach Joe Jones. “In the Vermont game: that was unbelievable effort. And to come back and get the job done [today]: that was big.”

The Terriers played a near perfect game, attacking the hoop off the dribble, making the extra pass to the open man, burying open three’s, pounding the ball into the post and finishing with authority above the rim. And as the game wore on, they only played harder, crisper and with more resolve.

The Terriers shot 54.5 percent from the floor (30-of-55) and 44.4 percent from downtown (12-of-27) while tying a while tying a season-high with 12 made three’s. BU dished out 19 assists, held the Bearcats to just 30.9 percent shooting from the floor (21-of-68) and won the rebounding battle 41-35.

“If we get stops and rebound and run; I don’t think there are many teams in the league that can stop us,” said Terriers’ junior guard D.J. Irving.

Irving paced four Terriers who scored in double figures with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with a game-high seven assists. Freshman deadeye guard John Papale scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and just missed his first career double-double with a game and career-high nine rebounds. (more…)

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Going Down Fighting

Monday, December 10th, 2012

Binghamton forward Roland Brown and Bryant center Vlad Kondratyev battle for a rebound Saturday. Bryant won 78-56 (Photo by Sam Perkins).

(Smithfield, RI) – Bryant sophomore guard Dyami Starks found the hole in Binghamton’s zone, and quickly got into one of his own: one of those zones where the hoop is as big as the ocean, and everything he shot was wet.

Starks buried his first three-pointer, and then his next, and the next, and the next. The 6’2” guard nailed his first six three-point attempts of the day, and when the dust had settled, the first-year transfer from Columbia had poured in a career-high 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting from long range, all before the first half buzzer had sounded.

“‘Hot’ didn’t even begin to describe it – it’s not like [Starks] had a decent half: he had maybe a career half; you can’t do much more than that in a half,” said Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey, “you had a shooter in a zone and that gave them a lot of separation.

“He really made some tough shots once he got it going.”

Behind Starks’ first-half fireworks, the Bulldogs went into the halftime locker room up 51-30. Starks didn’t score a point in the second half, taking just three shots after the intermission, but Bryant never looked back, romping over the visiting Bearcats, 78-56.

“We moved the ball well, we broke that zone, and we got really great shots,” said Starks. “Like [Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea] said, the game was almost over in the first half.”

Bryant shot 48.2 percent from the floor (27-of-56) and 52.2 percent from behind the arc (12-of-23), while holding Binghamton to just 36.5 percent shooting on the night (19-of-52).

“I thought we lost [Starks], and weren’t communicating well on the shooter. And then once he got going, then I don’t think he even saw the defense the rest of the half,” said Dempsey.

The Bulldogs kept high-flying Bearcats’ freshman Jordan Reed grounded for most of the afternoon. Reed came in fresh off of a 26-point, 10-rebound effort against Monmouth, and entered the game as the America East leader in both scoring and rebounds at better than 18 points and 10 boards per game. Reed, who does most of his damage on effort and athleticism plays around the hoop, finished with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds, but was a non-factor for most of the day. (more…)

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2012 America East Tournament in Microcosm — Moment 3, 3/3/12: Walking-Tall

Saturday, March 10th, 2012

Photo Courtesy of America East Athletic Communications

(West Hartford, CT) — Third-year Binghamton head coach Mark Macon’s press conferences are already the stuff of legend: The outspoken coach has been known to offer thoughts, insights, jokes, commentary, and stream-of-conscious detours about any and all topics related to the game played, the sport of basketball, and life in general.

Needless to say, when Macon talks, you fasten your seat-belt and enjoy the ride.

Following the two-win Bearcats all-heart, near-herculean effort in a narrow loss to top-seeded Stony Brook in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament, Macon was effusive in his praise of his team’s effort and guts. He also spent time praising the tremendous talents of freshman forward Ben Dickinson – a potential star in the making — who followed up a 21 point performance in Binghamton’s win over UMBC on the opening night of the America East tournament with 20 points in the near-upset.

But it was the smallest – and perhaps the least known — player on the Bearcats roster who drew the biggest praise, and most airtime, from Macon: walk-on Mike Horn. Macon spent more time talking about the scrappy and diminutive guard than any other topic in the entire press conference.

After praising the Bearcats’ collective group of walk-ons — Javon Ralling, Jabrille Williams, Jimmy Gray (who earned a partial scholarship this year) and Horn — for their impressive contributions during the season.

“They just give you everyting, said Macon. “They fight for this family, and I can’t be more proud of those guys They do yeoman’s work.

Macon singled out Horn specifically for his contributions.

“Let me tell you a story about Mike,” said Macon. “He is THE hardest worker on that floor every night and every practice – he gives you everything he’s got.”

That Mike Horn ever set foot on the floor at the division I level is perhaps equal parts fate and luck; cosmic karma and random chance; persistence and perseverance; and one kid’s immense love for the game of basketball. (more…)

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Two days later: “Good Lord! That’s Ben Dickinson’s music!”

Monday, November 14th, 2011

One game is a small sample size. An otherwise mediocre player can blow up in a single game, but sustaining a high level of performance over an extended period of time is more indicative of actual quality. For that reason, we generally refrain from making extreme proclamations based on 40 minutes of basketball.

That being said, there are exceptions to every rule. Here is one such exception: Ben Dickinson is The Truth. (Yes, that’s already Paul Pierce’s nickname, but nothing about periodically collapsing on the court like you got shot, only to return to the game five minutes later, qualifies a player to be nicknamed “The Truth,” so we’re stripping Pierce of his nickname.)

Let’s start with the numbers. If you haven’t already heard, Ben Dickinson broke Binghamton’s freshman scoring record in his first game by scoring 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe; the freshman record was previously held by Dylan Talley. Eighteen of those 27 points came after halftime as the Bearcats tried to dig out of a hole that grew to 18 points shortly after the break.

Dickinson also added seven rebounds (including six offensive rebounds, which led all players), two assists, and three steals. He did all this while staying out of foul trouble – his third foul came with just 35 seconds remaining – which allowed him to play effective defense and stay on the court for 38 minutes.

The above stat line would be extremely impressive for any player, let alone a freshman in his first Division-I action. It also sells Dickinson short. (more…)

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Both sides of the same coin: positives and negatives from last night’s Battle of the BUs

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

It was a glass half-full, glass half-empty kind of game for both Boston University and Binghamton Wednesday night at the Agganis Arena.

Darryl Partin scored 20 points and John Holland added 16, including six key free throws during the Terriers comeback, to lead Boston University to a 71-66 win. Mahamoud Jabbi was brilliant in defeat, scoring 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal.

The game had a “Twilight Zone” feel, tipping off at 9:30, as the second part of a men’s/women’s double-header, inside a nearly empty state-of-the art arena as a snowstorm raged outside. (more…)

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AE Daily: Jan. 13

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

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).

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Week in review: Jan. 3 – 9

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

The results of this past week’s results haven’t yielded any major shuffles in the conference pecking order, but one team took a hard fall while at least one other is clearly on the upswing. To whom could that refer? Read our America East Power Rankings to find out.

1. Vermont Catamounts (11-4, 2-1 AE)
Last week: Won at Stony Brook, 55-49, on Tuesday; Won vs. Albany, 60-48, on Thursday; Lost at Boston University, 74-65, on Sunday
This week: Saturday vs. UMBC
No team wants to lose a game, but for the Catamounts, an wake-up call early in conference play might not be the worst thing in the world. Vermont didn’t display the requisite hustle or execution in their loss to the Terriers yesterday, something head coach Mike Lonergan can use to rekindle his team’s sputtering spark. While the defense had remained sound prior to Sunday, the Catamounts’ last real offensive outburst (84 points at Iona) has been in the rear-view mirror for three weeks now. Vermont has posted three straight games of sub-50 eFG% for the first time since January of last season. Saturday’s walkthrough, er, game against the Retrievers in Burlington should provide a necessary tune-up. (more…)

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