NE10 Men's Basketball Report: Week 15

Posted: Feb 26, 2024

Week 15 - February 26, 2024

NE10 Player of the Week

Preston Santos, Southern New Hampshire
Senior l Guard/Forward l Providence, R.I.

Santos put together a pair of stellar performances during a 2-0 week for SNHU, as he recorded 26.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest, while shooting a sizzling 79.3 percent (23-29) from the field, including 50 percent (3-6) from distance, and knocking down all four free throws. Santos erupted for a career-high 27 points (12-14 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 2-2 FT) to go with eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks in an 82-70 victory at Southern Connecticut on Wednesday. Santos came back Saturday in a 91-69 win versus Assumption with 26 points (11-15 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 10 boards, three helpers and two more blocks.

NE10 Rookie of the Week

Jah'Likai King, New Haven
Freshman | Guard | Newburgh, N.Y.

Another 30+ performance for the rookie guard as he increased his career-high to 36 points in the final game of the weekend at Saint Rose on Saturday. For the week, King averaged 27 points across two games, putting up 18 in the opening game at Saint Anselm. All combined, he shot 39.6 percent on 19-of-48 with five of those field goals from outside the arc. He was also 11-of-13 at the line and finished with four rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks.

NE10 Weekly Honor Roll

Elijah Lewis, Adelphi (So., G - Watchung, N.J.)
In a 2-0 week for Adelphi, Lewis was the program's leading scorer, averaging 26.5 points per contest. In a narrow 86-81 victory over Saint Rose, he went 9-for-12 from the field with three three-pointers for 24 points. His 29-point performance against Saint Michael's was aided by a perfect 15-for-15 clip at the free throw line.

Justice Ellison, American Int'l (Jr., G/F - Windsor, Conn.)
Ellison was in control of the floor in two games for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 24 points per game. He shot 50 percent at Pace, collecting 19 points and seven boards, and followed with an 11-for-18 day against Saint Anselm, recording a 29-point output, and also grabbed four swipes in that contest.

Kasey Draper, Assumption (Sr., F - Roanoke, Va.)
Draper averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for the Greyhounds. At Saint Michael's on Wednesday, he poured in 29 points while pulling down seven rebounds for Assumption. He capped off the week with a 17-point, five rebounds, and two steal performances at Southern New Hampshire. With his 3-pointer at 6:39 of the second half on Saturday, Draper surpassed 2,000 career points, making him the sixth active player in Division II with 2,000+ points.

Cash McClure, Bentley (So., G - Readfield, Me.)
During a 1-1 week, McClure averaged 21.5 points, seven rebounds, four assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting .684 overall, hitting six of nine from deep and achieving perfection at the foul line (11 of 11). In a 102-54 win at Franklin Pierce, the sophomore was eight of ten from the field, three of three from beyond the arc and was four of four at the line while finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Against Pace, McClure gave the Falcons 20 points (5/9 FG, 3/6 3's, 7/7 FT), eight boards and two dimes. His effective FG percentage was .842 and his true shooting percentage was a sparkling .902.

Bryan Powell, Pace (Sr., F - Middletown, N.Y.)
Powell continued his torrid offensive stretch for the red-shot Pace Setters. His two 20-point performances are the sixth time he's eclipsed the 20-point mark in the last seven games. In a commanding 78-57 win over AIC, Powell netted a game-high 21 points on 10-14 from the field in just 26 minutes to go along with four rebounds, four steals and three steals. In the Setters comeback win over Bentley, Powell was once again the game's top scorer, pouring in 27 points while hauling in five rebounds and seven assists. On the week, the graduate student averaged 24 points on 55 percent shooting from the field.

Josh Morissette, Saint Anselm (So., G - Exeter, N.H.)
Morissette dropped 53 points and shot 50.0 percent from behind the arc (9-18) to help the Hawks go 2-0 on the week. He scored a game-high 29 points including six triples in a win over American Int'l on Feb. 24. He also poured in a game-high 24 points against New Haven posting a pair of rebounds and a block. Morissette has now recorded five straight games with 23-plus points for Saint Anselm and ranks third in the conference in three-pointers per game after knocking down 80-of-191 attempts this season.

Darrel Yepdo, Saint Michael's (So., G - Dracut, Mass.)
Yepdo averaged 17.5 points on 48.0% shooting, including 5-for-11 (45.5%) from three-point range, to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal during a 1-1 week. In a 70-65 win over Assumption on Wednesday, Yepdo had 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, connecting on 5-of-8 from deep. During a 90-75 loss at regionally-ranked Adelphi on Saturday, he turned in nine points and a board.

Ata Turgut, Saint Rose (Jr., F - Ankara, Turkey)
Turgut provided 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game for Saint Rose this week. Turgut started the stretch with a 24-point effort against Adelphi on Wednesday before logging a 13-point, 11-board double-double to beat New Haven over the weekend. Overall, the forward shot 64.0 percent (16-for-25) for the floor, which includes a 50 percent clip from three-point range in the two contests.

Kazell Stewart, Southern Conn. St. (Jr., F - East Hartford, Conn.)
In a 1-1 week, Stewart averaged 17.5 points, 11 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. Against Southern New Hampshire, Stewart had 14 points - hitting 7-of-8 from the floor, with eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Against Franklin Pierce in a 77-63 win, Stewart had 21 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

NE10 Weekly Winners

2023-24 NE10 MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

	Conference				Overall
-	GP	W-L	PCT	GP	W-L	PCT
Saint Michael's	22	17-5	0.773	33	24-9	0.727
Bentley	22	14-8	0.636	30	19-11	0.633
Adelphi	22	14-8	0.636	29	18-11	0.621
Pace	22	14-8	0.636	29	18-11	0.621
So. New Hampshire	22	13-9	0.591	35	24-11	0.686
So. Connecticut	22	13-9	0.591	33	22-11	0.667
Saint Anselm	22	12-10	0.545	31	16-15	0.516
Assumption	22	11-11	0.500	30	16-14	0.533
Saint Rose	22	8-14	0.364	29	11-18	0.379
New Haven	22	7-15	0.318	29	10-19	0.345
American Int'l	22	7-15	0.318	29	9-20	0.310
Franklin Pierce	22	2-20	0.091	29	4-25	0.138