Devil's Sweep Men's Basketball Weekly Awards
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 28, 2013) – USciences' Garret Kerr (Morrestown, N.J.) and Shofolarin DaSilva have been selected as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's (CACC) Men's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week for the reporting period ending January 27, 2013 the Conference announced Monday.
CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Garret Kerr (So., G, Moorestown, N.J.) USciesnces – Major: Physical Therapy
In the Devils only game last week, Garrett recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 31 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore forward made 11-of-17 shots from the field and was 9-of-11 from the free throw line. It was his second 30-point game of the year. Kerr was 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the second half, scoring 15 points as the Devils rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to win.
CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Shofolarin DaSilva (Fr., G, Moorestown, N.J.) USciences – Major: Biology/Pre-Med
DaSilva came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points while shooting 87.5% from the field in the Devils only game last week. DaSilva provided the spark as the Devils rallied from down six early in the second half to tie the score and eventually pull away with the win. He also had five rebounds two assists, two steals and a block.
CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL HONORABLE MENTION
Bradon Whitaker (Sr., G, Harlem, N.Y.) Concordia – Major: Biology
Brandon led Concordia in both games with 23 points in their game against Bloomfield and 27 points in their win over Wilmington. In both games for Concordia, the senior biology major came off the bench and shot a combined 20-of-29 (69.0%) from the field.
Brandon Fox (Sr., F, Deptford, N.J.) Wilmington – Major: Middle Level Education: 6-8
Fox scored a career-high 31 points in the Wildcats only matchup of the week. He shot 11-for-18 from the floor, including a season-high eight free throw makes on nine attempts. The senior forward has now led the offensive attack in seven of the last nine games for the Wildcats
Mark DiRugeris (Sr., G, Woodbury, N.J.) Chestnut Hill – Major: History
DiRugeris averaged 20.5 points per game in a 1-1 CACC week for the Griffins. With 24 points, he led the Griffins to a 73-63 win over, CACC South leading, Holy Family University on January 23. DiRugeris hit four of his six field goals (6-of-14, 42.9%) from three point range (4-of-11, 36.4%) and added an 8-of-9 (88.9%) clip from the foul line to go along with two rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Later in the week, on January 26, he scored 17 points while recording six rebounds and two steals in a 94-86 CACC loss at Dominican College. DiRugeris currently ranks second in the CACC for scoring (18.9 points per game), and among the league top ten shooters in field goals (T9th, 103-of-236, 43.6%), three pointers (3rd, 52-of-121, 43.0%, and three throws (T5th, 82-of-90, 91.1%).
CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM NOTES
BLOOMFIELD - The Deacons went 1-1 for the week, picking up a home victory over CACC North Division rival Concordia College Wednesday, January 23. Sophomore guard Marvin Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) led Bloomfield with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while fellow sophomore Matt Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 17 points and six rebounds. Hall continued his string of stellar play with another 17-point effort in the club's loss to Holy Family University Saturday, leading the Deacons in scoring on the afternoon. Junior forward Kevin Udo (West Orange, N.J.) posted his second consecutive double-double in the victory over Concordia Wednesday night, totaling 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Junior point guard Dondre Whitmore (Trenton, N.J.) notched 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals in the victory over Concordia, continuing his solid play in the loss to Holy Family with 11 points in the setback.
CALDWELL - The Cougars ended a five-game losing streak with a 78-64 victory over visiting Nyack on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Wyatt Polk scored 22 points and delivered a career-best 10 assists, while sophomore guard Kevin Walker had 21 points in the win. Walker scored 18 points on Saturday in a loss at Philadelphia. Caldwell hosts Dominican on Tuesday and USciences on Saturday in a pair of CACC contests.
CHESTNUT HILL - On January 23, A rollercoaster first half saw Chestnut Hill College lead Holy Family University by as many as 13 points, (24-11) before taking a two-point lead, (30-28) to the break. As emotions ran high in Sorgenti Arena, the Griffins kept their feathers cool with senior guard Mark DiRugeris Jr. (Woodbury, N.J.) and sophomore forward Alssene Saintilus (Irvington N.J) leading the home team to a 73-63 CACC triumph. DiRugeris headlined four Griffins in double figures with a game-high 24 points while Saintilus came off the bench for 15 second-half points in a career-high 19-point effort. Unfortunately, the Griffins could not extend their recent CACC success at Dominican College. The Griffins and Chargers went blow for blow in the opening period but with the last basket of the first half the Chargers owned a narrow 48-47 halftime advantage. Despite the second-half efforts of freshman guard Christian Walck (Lancaster, Pa.) and senior guard Francis Ashe (Hyattsville, Md.), 27 bench points from sophomore forward Nick Smith (Middletown, N.Y.) helped the Chargers stay one step ahead of the Griffins in a 94-86 victory.
CONCORDIA – Concordia began the week falling at Bloomfield, 81-76, and then grabbed an 85-77 victory over Wilmington on Saturday. Senior Brandon Whitaker's (Harlem, N.Y.) season-high 27 points were scored on a 10-of-13 shooting display from the field in 29 minutes of action off the bench in the Clippers' win. Senior Lavor Morris (Bronx, N.Y.) added 18 points and five rebounds while junior Norman Pope (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 17 points and a team-high five assists for Concordia. Gil recorded 13 points and tied for a team-best seven rebounds in 31 minutes of play as the Clippers out rebounded the Wildcats 41-25. For the upcoming week, Concordia (9-13, 5-7 CACC) will travel to Chestnut Hill on Saturday in their lone game regular season of the season.
DOMINICAN - The Chargers went 3-0 in action last week to improve to 16-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play and are on a three-game winning streak. DC currently has four players who are averaging double figures in scoring this year and one player averaging a double-double in points and rebounding. Senior Cory Quimby currently ranks third in NCAA Division II in double-doubles this season.
FELICIAN - Junior center Ayotunde Oyeniyi has seven games this season with multiple blocked shots, including his last four in a row. Senior Antoine Obery is the fifth Felician male to surpass 1,200 career points (1,201), the fourth with 700+ rebounds (730), the fourth with 250+ assists (274)... and the first to do all three.
GOLDEY-BEACOM – The Lightning saw their losing streak reach seven straight games after a pair of tough CACC setbacks last week. Now 5-14 overall and 2-9 in the CACC, the Lightning dropped a 74-53 decision at Philadelphia University on Wednesday night before suffering a 76-72 loss against Post on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore guard Marcus Porter led the Lightning last week by averaging 16.0 points per game, including an 18-point effort against Post. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Kyle Steinbergin had a pair of 11-point efforts to extend his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to three games. The Lightning will play a pair of games this week, traveling to the University of the Sciences on Tuesday before hosting Felician on Saturday.
HOLY FAMILY – Holy Family went 1-1 this past week as the Tigers came up short at Chestnut Hill (73-63) on Wednesday night, but bounced back Saturday with a 69-64 victory versus Bloomfield. Against Bloomfield, junior Alberto Munoz became the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone. Munoz hit the milestone in the 7:48 mark of the second half with a jumper to record career points 1,000 and 1,001. He finished the game with a game-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds.
PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia is on a season-high four-game winning streak after knocking off Goldey-Beacom (74-53) and Caldwell (84-61) last week. Senior guard Jim Connolly (Harleysville, Pa.) scored 23 points and freshman forward Peter Alexis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds in the win over the Lightning. Against Caldwell, freshman forward TJ Huggins (Alexandria, Va.) had a career-high 21 points and six rebounds. Connolly is seven points away from becoming the 24th men's basketball player to score 1,400 career points and 31 points from moving into 23rd place on the all-time scoring list. Philadelphia travels to Bloomfield on Saturday.
POST – During a 1-1 week for Post, the Eagles bounced back from a 68-63 loss to Dominican on Jan. 23, with a 76-72 win at Goldey-Beacom on Jan. 26. Against the Lightning, Post opened the second half on a 29-9 run to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into a 13-point advantage as it defeated Goldey-Beacom 76-72 in a CACC contest at the Jones Center on Saturday afternoon. Junior Zach Krischer scored a game-high 25 points, and it marked the third time this season he notched at least 25 points. He netted 20 points in the second half. The Eagles are in third place in the CACC North Division and will travel to Felician on Jan. 29, before it hosts Holy Family on Saturday, Feb. 2.
U. SCIENCES – In the Devils only game last week, Garret Kerr recorded his 12th double-double of the season, which ties him for the most in NCAA Division II this year. The sophomore forward had 31 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second 30+-point effort of the season and the fifth time this season he has scored 28 or more in a single game. Kerr currently leads the CACC in both scoring and rebounding. Will Kernan (Medford, N.J.) had seven assists against Felician which moved him into 15th place on the Devils all-time assist list with 272 for his career. He also had two steals and moved into 9th place on the Devils all-time list with 117 steals for his career.
In the most recent NCAA Division II statistics report (1/25), Kerr is ranked 3rd nationally in rebounding and 44th nationally in scoring. The Devils as a team are ranked 40th in three-point field goal percentage defense with teams shooting just 30.8% from beyond the arc against them. Sciences is also 40th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 63.2 points/game.
The Devils will host Goldey-Beacom College on Tuesday (8 p.m. start) before traveling to Caldwell College on Saturday (3 p.m. start).
WILMINGTON - Brandon Fox's career high 31 points was not enough for the Wildcats in their only contest of the week, as they fell on the road at Concordia, 85-77, on Saturday. Fox carried most of the load for Wilmington on Saturday, while James Pee and Shaq Gaskins each added 10 points in the loss. Fox shot 11-for-18 from the floor, adding 8-of-9 from the foul line playing in all by one minute. The Wildcats were out rebounded 41-25 overall, 18-8 on the offensive glass. The Clippers converted that into 23 seconds chance points and 14 WU turnovers into 24 points. The Wildcats return home this week, first against Holy Family on Tuesday before hosting Nyack on Saturday.