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WACBAHoops Reveals First Wave of Postseason Accolades

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wacba-logoBy WACBA Hoops (@WACBAHoops) 

WORCESTER – Nichols swept the men’s major awards while Assumption, Becker, Fitchburg State and WPI took top billing for the women as the Worcester Area College Basketball Association (WACBA) resumed its postseason awards program. Additionally, 12 student-athletes from each gender were tabbed All-WACBA. Voters included sports information directors or primary contacts from each of the nine NCAA schools in Worcester County, as well as three members representing the local media.

Nichols’ Marcos Echevarria was named Player of the Year while teammate DeAnte Bruton was tabbed the Rookie of the Year and head coach Tom Glynn was recognized as the Coach of the Year. WPI’s Ama Biney was unanimously selected as the Women’s Player of the Year as Fitchburg State’s Kyra Rose took home another Rookie of the Year nod. Assumption’s Kerry Phayre and Becker’s David Bostick were chosen as Co-Coaches of the Year.

Echevarria and Becker’s Samuel Durodola earned first team votes on all 12 ballots. Fitchburg State’s Jaleel Bell, Becker’s Kyle Credle, Bruton and Anna Maria’s Mike Rapoza also earned high praise from the voters. WPI bookended the second team with Ian Converse and Sean Doncaster. Joining the Engineer duo was Worcester State’s Paul Brooks, Becker’s Kareem Davis, and Holy Cross’ Malachi Alexander and Robert Champion.

Biney was the lone consensus first teamer on the women’s ballot.  She was followed by Rose, Worcester State’s Britt Herring, Clark’s Ogechi Ezemma, Holy Cross’ Lauren Manis and Becker’s Cassidy Harrison. The women’s second team was the only one to feature student from each NCAA division. DII Assumption’s Jo Impellizeri led the way as WPI’s Priscilla Dunphy, Worcester State’s Kaitlin Berkel, Becker’s Adrianna Dowdy, DI Holy Cross’ Infinti Thomas-Waheed and Anna Maria’s Deja Taitt comprised the rest of the list.

The coaches group is in the midst of voting for the next Paul N. Johnson Award winner and the inaugural Pat Oroszko Courage Award recipient.

WACBA (Worcester Area College Basketball Association) is an organization billed as “one of its kind in the country” featuring 10 colleges, 20 programs plus sports information directors and media members to foster friendships and camaraderie along with promoting the GREAT GAME OF BASKETBALL throughout the TRADITION RICH Worcester Country Area.

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Men’s Player of the Year

Nichols sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.)

Women’s Player of the Year

WPI junior Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass,)

Men’s Rookie of the Year

Nichols freshman DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.)

Women’s Rookie of the Year

Fitchburg State freshman Kyra Rose (Rockland, Mass.)

Men’s Coach of the Year

Tom Glynn, Nichols

Women’s Co-Coaches of the Year

Kerry Phayre, Assumption and David Bostick, Becker

ALL-WACBA TEAMS 

MEN’S FIRST

 

Name

School

Class

Hometown

1stPl

Marcos Echevarria

Nichols

So

Lynn, Mass.

7

Samuel Durodola

Becker

Jr

Rosedale, N.Y.

1

Jaleel Bell

Fitchburg St.

Sr

Dorchester, Mass.

1

Kyle Credle

Becker

Sr

Queens, N.Y.

1

DeAnte Bruton

Nichols

Fr

New London, Conn.

Mike Rapoza

Anna Maria

Fr

Charlton, Mass.

2

 

 

 

 

 

MEN’S SECOND

 

Ian Converse

WPI

Sr

Woodstock, Conn.

Paul Brooks

Worcester St.

Sr

Arlington, Mass.

Kareem Davis

Becker

So

Lowell, Mass.

Malachi Alexander

Holy Cross

Sr

Bowie, Md.

Robert Champion

Holy Cross

Sr

Charlotte, N.C.

Sean Doncaster

WPI

Sr

Medford, Mass.

 

WOMEN’S FIRST

 

Name

School

Class

Hometown

1stPl

Ama Biney

WPI

Jr

Worcester, Mass.

        9

Kyra Rose

Fitchburg St.

Fr

Rockland, Mass.

        1

Britt Herring

Worcester St.

So

W. Brookfield, Mass.

         

Ogechi Ezemma

Clark

So

Hope Valley, R.I.

        2

Lauren Manis

Holy Cross

Fr

Franklin, Mass.

       

Cassidy Harrison

Becker

Fr

Foxborough, Mass.

         

 

 

 

 

 

WOMEN’S SECOND

 

Jo Impellizeri

Assumption

Sr

Seaford, N.Y.

          

Priscilla Dunphy

WPI

Sr

Barrington, R.I.

          

Kaitlyn Berkel

Worcester St.

So

Waterford, Conn.

          

Adriana Dowdy

Becker

So

East Haven, Conn.

          

I. Thomas-Waheed

Holy Cross

Jr

Newton, Mass.

          

Deja Taitt

Anna Maria

Sr

Cambia Heights, N.Y.

          

 

Thursday Night Was A CRAZY Night Of MASCAC Semifinal Action

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Raegan Mulherin sank the game-winning trey with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to send Framingham State past MCLA in the MASCAC Semifinals on Thursday. (PHOTO CREDIT: Framingham State Athletics/Frank Poulin)

By Matt Noonan (@MattNoonan11) 

If you’re not following the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament, then I suggest you do now!

Last night featured four dramatic games – one being decided in double-overtime (Bridgewater State-Westfield State), two contests saw both teams win their respective game by one point, while Worcester State shocked top-seed Fitchburg State, 71-68.

With four dramatic and exciting semifinals in the books, we now turn our attention to tomorrow’s championships, which promise to be even more exciting.

Yet, before we turn the page officially, let’s revisit all four contests, starting with Framingham State edging MCLA during the final seconds.

Framingham 60, MCLA 59: Following a steal by Framingham State’s Monta Connolly, the Rams called timeout with roughly 10 seconds remaining. After their short breather, the Rams, who trailed by two (59-57), needed a layup or jumper in the paint to send the contest to overtime. However, the Black and Gold did not want to advance to an extra session – they wanted to secure the win. And that they did as Raegan Mulherin sank the game-winning triple with two seconds remaining, which sent the Athletic and Recreation Center into celebration city.

Westfield State 97, Bridgewater State 95 (2OT): A late layup in the second overtime by Bridgewater State’s Sara DaSilva brought the visitors within two-points (97-95) with 40 seconds remaining. 33 seconds later, it appeared Westfield State had secured the win, but a missed layup allowed the Bears an opportunity to tie the game or score the game-winning trey. Unfortunately, the Red and White missed two field goals – a triple and layup – before Susan Bell snatched the game’s final carom, which secured the Owls a spot in Saturday’s title round. Westfield State’s Jill Valley paced all scorers with 39 points.

Worcester State 71, Fitchburg State 68: Since falling to Westfield State – their last regular season contest – something has clicked for Dave Lindberg‘s crew. The Lancers, who will be competing in their first MASCAC championship since 2006 (that season, they fell to Salem State in the title round) knocked-off top-seed Fitchburg State last night, thanks to monstrous performance from Paul Brooks, who recorded a double-double of 19 points and 18 rebounds. Jeremy Bacon also recorded a double-double, finishing the contest with 11 points and 11 caroms. Ryan Dibernardo and Aaron Anniballi combined for three free throws down the stretch, which secured the exciting win for the Lancers.

Salem State 69, Bridgewater State 68: Sean Bryan netted the biggest trifecta of the season with six seconds remaining to lift second-seed Salem State past Bridgewater State by one-point. Bryan’s three-pointer capped an amazing second half, which saw the Vikings net 42 points in 20 minutes. Salem State trailed Bridgewater State, 30-27, at the break. The trifecta in the final seconds was Bryan’s lone basket of the contest. Marcus Faison led the Vikings with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Bridgewater State’s Fawaz Mass led all scorers with 22 points.

To watch Bryan’s game-winning trey – HOP HERE

WACBA Honor Roll (Men’s Basketball) Week 12

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Worcester State’s Paul Brooks was tabbed this week’s WACBA Men’s Player of the Week. (PHOTO CREDIT: Worcester State University Athletics)

By WACBA Hoops (@WACBAHoops) 

WORCESTER, Mass. – Another week of college basketball is in the books, which means it is time to dish out our Worcester Area College Basketball Association (WABCA) Men’s Honor Roll, including our Player and Rookie of the Week.

Men’s Player of the Week: Paul Brooks (Worcester State | Sr. | Arlington, Mass.): The senior center averaged a double-double of 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Lancers. Brooks picked up 10 points and 13 rebounds with four blocks in the 66-54 win over Framingham State. He then collected a game-high 19 points, 13 rebounds, and another four blocks in his team’s setback to Westfield State. Overall this week, Brooks shot 57.1% from the field.

Men’s Rookie of the Week: Antonio White Jr. (Becker | Fr. | Middletown, Conn.): White was named NECC Rookie of the Week after averaging 16 points on 49 percent shooting with 8.3 rebounds over three games to conclude his standout rookie regular season. The Hawks finished the week 2-1 earning the second seed in the NECC Tournament.

Men’s Milestone: Robert Champion (Holy Cross | Sr. | Charlotte, N.C.): Champion paced the Crusaders with 21 points, along with a pair of steals in a 52-47 setback to Army before stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in a 69-54 win over American. During his team’s contest against American, Champion became the 51st student-athlete to eclipse the 1,000th point mark in program history – he recorded his 1,000th career point on a tip-in with 4:28 remaining in the second half.

Men’s Honor Roll:

Malik Brown (Assumption | Fr. | Waldorf, Md.): Brown came through with a career performance in a 1-1 week for the Hounds while averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The freshman obliterated his previous career high of seven points by going off for 21 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes to help Assumption take down St. Michael’s by a score of 98-88. Later in the week, Brown scored five points with two rebounds in just eight minutes of action.

Damien Rance (Assumption | Soph. | Melbourne, Australia): Rance was dominant in a 1-1 week for Assumption, averaging 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 59.1 percent from the floor and making 10 of 11 free throw attempts. The sophomore opened the week by netting 24 points, while tallying eight rebounds, four assists and one steal as the Hounds nearly took down Merrimack, 80-74. Rance followed it up with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists as Assumption took down St. Michael’s by a score of 98-88.

Samuel Durodola (Becker | Jr. | Rosedale, N.Y.): Durodola’s dominance continued this past week, as he averaged 26.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game on 64.4 percent shooting to lead Becker to a 2-1 week. First, against Wheelock, Durodola scored 28 points with nine rebounds as he powered the Hawks to a 69-65 win. On Thursday the junior scored 17 in a narrow 87-83 loss. Finally, on Saturday, Durodola posted the second highest point total of his career as he finished with 34 points in a 102-88 victory over Mitchell.

Leonny Burgos (Fitchburg State | Sr.| Lawrence, Mass.): Burgos averaged 19.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and three steals per game in a 2-0 week for the Falcons. He netted a career-best 29 points, one board, five assists and three steals in a 96-83 win over Salem State on Wednesday before adding ten points, two caroms, six assists and three steals in a 72-64 triumph against Framingham State on Saturday.

Ian Converse (WPI | Sr. | Woodstock, Conn.): Converse narrowly missed averaging a double-double in the Engineers 2-0 week as he posted 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds to go with four assists, three blocks and three steals. Converse began the week with 24 points and eight rebounds at Wheaton before scoring 23 and grabbing 11 rebounds in the season finale versus Clark. He shot 50 percent from the field in both games.

Jake Wisniewski (WPI | Fr. | West Brookfield, Mass.): Wisniewski averaged 11 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field and 8 for 9 at the charity stripe in 13.5 minutes per game. He went 4 for 6 and 5 for 6 for 13 points at Wheaton, as well as all four of his rebounds on the week. On Saturday versus Clark, Wisniewski added nine points on 3 of 4 from the field and 3 for 3 at the line in just 11 minutes.

WACBA Honor Roll (Men’s Basketball) Week 11

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Fitchburg State’s Jaleel Bell earned this week’s WACBA Player of the Week honors. (PHOTO CREDIT: Fitchburg State Athletics)

By WACBA Hoops (@WACBAHoops) 

WORCESTER, Mass. – Another week of college basketball is in the books, which means it is time to dish out our Worcester Area College Basketball Association (WABCA) Men’s Honor Roll, including our Player and Rookie of the Week.

Men’s Player of the Week: Jaleel Bell (Fitchburg State | Sr. | Dorchester, Mass.): Bell averaged 27 points, 9.5 rebounds, three assists, 1.5 steals and two blocks per contest in a 2-0 week for the Falcons. He netted a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds as well as three assists and three blocks in an 84-70 win over Worcester State on Wednesday before adding a game-best 26 points, eight caroms, three assists, three steals and one block in a 90-65 triumph over MCLA on Saturday.

Men’s Rookie of the Week: DeAnte Bruton (Nichols | Fr. | Lynn, Mass.): Bruton averaged 28 points (55 pct. FG) as the Bison scored a pair of wins to pull into a first-place tie last week with Endicott. He poured in a career-high 38 points on 14-of-29 shooting in a win over the Gulls on Wednesday. He then filled the stat sheet with 18 points and five rebounds in a road win at Salve Regina on Saturday. Bruton also averaged 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game last week, too.

Men’s Honor Roll

Samuel Durodola (Becker | Jr. | Rosedale, N.Y.): Durodola continued to show why he was one of the most dominant inside players in the region this past week, despite Becker’s losses to Southern Vermont. Durodola averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game, all while shooting 50 percent from the floor. At press time, Durodola ranked in the top five in the NECC in scoring, rebounding, shooting and blocks.    

Antonio White Jr. (Becker | Fr. | Middletown, Conn.): White averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Hawks this past week, while also swatting away three shots. White was an iron man for Becker, averaging 39.5 minutes per game. The freshman continues to be one of the standout rookies not only in the NECC but throughout the region.

Robert Champion (Holy Cross | Sr. | Charlotte, N.C.): Champion led the team at Bucknell with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists. He then scored a team-high 20 points at Lafayette, while hitting six of 12 shots from three-point range. His six made three-pointers at Lafayette tied for the seventh-highest single game total in school history. Champion Finished the week by totaling 13 points, six rebounds and two assists in the victory over Lehigh.

Paul Brooks (Worcester State | Sr. | Arlington, Mass.): Brooks averaged 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and three blocks in a 1-2 week for the Lancers. He tallied a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the 69-65 win over Bridgewater State and a second double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the 84-70 setback to Fitchburg State.

Ian Converse (WPI | Sr | Woodstock, Conn.): Converse averaged a double-double of 17.5 points and 12 rebounds in a 1-1 week. On Saturday he poured in 21 points and hauled in 15 rebounds in a win at Coast Guard. He also handed the Engineers a pair of second-half leads, too. On Wednesday, Converse totaled 14 points and nine boards in an overtime setback to MIT.

WACBA Honor Roll (Men’s Basketball) Week Eight

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By WACBA Hoops (@WACBAHoops) 

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Worcester State’s Paul Brooks netted his 1,000th point last weekend as the Lancers defeated Framingham State on the road. (PHOTO CREDIT: Worcester State University Athletics)

WORCESTER, Mass. – Another week of college basketball is in the books, which means it is time to dish out our Worcester Area College Basketball Association (WABCA) Men’s Honor Roll, including our Player and Rookie of the Week.

Men’s Player of the Week: Jaleel Bell (Fitchburg State | Sr. | Dorchester, Mass.): Bell averaged 26.5 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and 0.5 blocks per game in a 2-1 week for the Falcons. He netted 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 101-66 win over MCLA on Wednesday before adding a game-best 37 points, 11 caroms, two assists, two steals and one block in an 87-83 triumph against Salem State on Saturday.

Men’s Rookie of the Week: DeAnte Bruton (Nichols | Fr. | New London, Conn.): Bruton averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals for the Bison last week. Bruton scored 14 points to go with eight boards and five assists in a home win over Salve Regina on Wednesday before netting a team-high 22 points (50.0 pct. shooting) at Wentworth on Saturday.

Men’s Basketball Milestone: Paul Brooks (Worcester St. | Sr. | Arlington, Mass.): Not only did the senior center average a double-double of 13.5 points and 11 rebounds this past week, but he also reached his 1,000th career point in the Lancers’ 59-55 win over Framingham State on Saturday. Brooks netted a team-high 18 points, going 8-for-13 from the floor, in his team’s setback to Bridgewater State earlier in the week, and then a game-high 15 rebounds and five blocks in the Framingham win.

Men’s Honor Roll:

Samuel Durodola (Becker | Jr. | Rosedale, N.Y.): Durodola recorded a pair of impressive performances last week, averaging 22.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks with 1.5 assists, while shooting 60 percent from the parquet. Against Daniel Webster last Thursday – a 67-62 win for the Hawks – the Rosedale, New York native posted a double-double of 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Then on Saturday, Durodola finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Hawks topped Mitchell, 80-67. Durodola, the NECC’s leading rebounder, has Becker in first place in the standings.

Chris Rodgers (WPI | Jr. | Franklin, Mass.): Rodgers had a career week for the Engineers, beginning with a career-best 21 points and a team-best seven rebounds to go with two assists, one steal and one block at Clark last Wednesday. On Saturday, Rodgers added 16 more points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block against Wheaton. In all, the junior averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds to go with seven helpers, two blocks and two assists on the week.

 

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