Courtesy of Dylan Smith of the CAA
CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL WEEKLY RELEASE – FEB. 24
PIRATE5 5URGE
Hampton has jumped out to a five-game winning streak with wins over Northeastern (84-75), Drexel (63-58), Hofstra (67-49), UNCW (83-70) and Stony Brook (81-49). Noah Farrakhan is averaging 15.8 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting from the floor. George Beale Jr. (12.2 ppg) and Wayne Bristol Jr. (10.4 ppg) are also scoring in double figures.
The Pirates are outscoring the opposition by a margin of 15.3 points per game while limiting their opponents to a 24.1 percent clip from distance.
THE BENCH MARK
Hampton and William & Mary are ranked inside the national top 10 in bench points per game this season. The Pirates are averaging 37.1 points per contest from its reserve players (2nd in NCAA), shooting 43.3% from the floor and 35.7%from deep.
The Tribe sits eight places behind Hampton with 32.7 points from its bench, good for 10th in NCAA Div. I. W&M is shooting at an efficient 44.1 percent clip with Kyle Pulliam leading all Tribe scorers with 10.0 points on 48.3 percent shooting off the bench. Caleb Dorsey and Matteus Case have chipped in 7.8 and 7.6 points per game, respectively.
TRIPLE THREATS
As a team, William & Mary ranks 11th nationally with 10.4 treys made per game. The CAA is one of four Division I conferences (ASUN, MVC, SoCon) to have three players with 80+ made 3-pointers this season.
Player (Team) Total 3FGM (NCAA Rank)
Abdi Bashir, Jr. (MU) 102 (2nd)
CJ Luster (SB) 88 (15th)
Gabe Dorsey (W&M) 87 (17th)
John Camden (Delaware) 74
Nick Dorn (Elon) 74
Bashir is rapidly approaching the CAA top 10 in single-season 3-pointers made with 102. The sharpshooting guard is one trey away from reaching the CAA top 10 for most in a season, tying Drexel’s Trevor John and Elon’s Tanner Samson (103) for ninth all-time. Bashir can crack the top five by tying Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman (110).
TIGERS EARNED THEIR STRIPES
Towson earned at least a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship after its 76-67 victory over Campbell on Saturday. Towson can clinch the No. 1 seed in the Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship with a William & Mary loss on Monday.
The Tigers held the longest winning streak in the CAA with 12 straight wins in league play from Jan. 9-Feb. 20. The Tigers became the third team in CAA history to win 12 straight times in league action in the same season, joining George Mason (14) from Jan. 12-Feb. 26, 2011 and Drexel (16) from Jan. 4-Feb. 25, 2012.
HOME SWEET HOME
Two teams – Towson (7-0) and William & Mary (7-0) – are undefeated in conference play at home. The Tribe continues to ride a hot hand inside Kaplan Arena, posting a perfect 12-0 record this season. William & Mary has produced a +15.5 scoring margin and 83.8 ppg. Seven players posting seven points or better: Leader Gabe Dorsey (15.0 ppg).
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
TK Simpkins, Elon
Simpkins averaged 29.0 points per game this week while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range. The junior guard scored 28 points in Elon’s win over CAA-leader Towson last Thursday, handing the Tigers its first loss since Jan. 4 to snap a 12-game win streak. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native added 30 points on Saturday versus William & Mary, his second 30-point game in his past three outings. Simpkins was also 16-of-21 from the free throw line and had a pair of blocks in both contests for Elon last week.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jahnathan Lamothe, N.C. A&T
Lamothe posted 24.0 points, 9.0 boards and 1.5 steals per game in a 2-0 week for the Aggies, marking the team’s first back-to-back wins since November. He also played 40 minutes in both of A&T’s games last week. The sophomore guard scored 25 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining, to go with seven rebounds in A&T’s 53-50 home win over Campbell. The Maryland native followed up with a 23-point, 11-rebound effort in the team’s 73-72 win, going 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. Lamothe also tied with Charleston’s Ante Brzovic for the league lead in double-doubles with eight.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Izaiah Pasha, Delaware
Pasha averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 60.0 percent from the field for the Blue Hens. The rookie neared his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high nine assists to go with a trio of steals against Drexel. In Saturday’s game against Hofstra, the Harrisburg, Pa., native scored 12 points, handed out three assists and registered a pair of swipes. Pasha has captured each of the last three Rookie of the Week awards, marking the first CAA freshman to earn the award in three consecutive weeks since Elon’s Max McKinnon from Feb. 6-20, 2023.
CAMPBELL CAMELS (15-14; 10-6 CAA)
- Nolan Dorsey finished with a team-best 16 points, nine boards and four assists against Towson. Colby Duggan also finished in double figures with 10 of his 12 points coming at the line., marking his 17th straight game scoring in double figures.
- The Camels are sixth in the nation in 3-point defense (27.4%) and lead the CAA with 64.2 points allowed per game.
- Tasos Cook started February averaging 2.2 ppg. He has logged double-digit scoring efforts in four of his last six games, averaging 9.8 ppg on 59.5% shooting (22-37 FG).
CHARLESTON COUGARS (21-8; 11-5 CAA)
- Ante Brzovic registered a game-high 16 points against Drexel. He is one of six Division I players that are averaging 18+ ppg and 8+ rpg.
- CJ Fulton paces the nation with a 4.71 assist/turnover ratio (1st in NCAA) and sits 11th with 6.4 assists per game.
- Deywilk Tavarez has reached double figures in scoring in each of his last seven games, averaging 18.7 ppg with 4.3 made treys.
DELAWARE BLUE HENS (12-17; 5-11 CAA)
- Niels Lane produced a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double against Hofstra, while Izaiah Pasha finished with 12 points.
- Delaware has five players averaging over 11.0 points per game with Camden (16.1 ppg) and Lane (13.9 ppg) leading the way. Cavan Reilly (12.4 ppg), Pasha (11.5 ppg), Erik Timko (11.4 ppg) round out the pack.
- Delaware paces the league with an overall 47.0% shooting clip from the floor and second with a 36.7% mark from distance.
DREXEL DRAGONS (15-14; 7-9 CAA)
- Kobe MaGee registered four of the team’s nine treys en route to a 19-point effort as Drexel secured a 64-55 win over Charleston. Jason Drake and Cole Hargrove chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
- MaGee averaged 16.0 points and 5.5 boards per game in two wins last week. Drake also added 13.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
- Drexel is second in the CAA with 35.1% 3-point shooting and holding the opposition to 30.5% shooting from distance overall.
ELON PHOENIX (17-12; 8-8 CAA)
- TK Simpkins finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor with a trio of triples against W&M. Teammate Sam Sherry also posted 19 points and eight boards. He is averaging 30.0 ppg over his last three games.
- The Simpkins brothers have accounted for 36.9% of the team’s scoring this season.
- The Phoenix have won four straight games when TK hits four or more treys in a game.
HAMPTON PIRATES (16-13; 8-8 CAA)
- Daniel Johnson registered 15 points in the Pirates’ 81-49 win over Stony Brook, marking the team’s fifth straight win. George Beale Jr. and Wayne Bristol Jr. chipped in 12 points with the latter pulling down 10 boards.
- Hampton is averaging 37.1 points per contest from its reserve players (2nd in NCAA), shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from deep.
- The Pirates are outscoring the opposition by a margin of 15.3 ppg while limiting their opponents to a 24.1 percent clip from deep.
HOFSTRA PRIDE (13-16; 5-11 CAA)
- Cruz Davis sank six of the Pride’s 13 treys en route to his second 28-point showing against Delaware. He went 11-for-20 from the floor with five boards and four assists. Khalil Farmer notched 19 points and seven boards.
- Jean Aranguren and Cruz Davis are second and third in the CAA with 4.31 and 4.25 assists per league game.
- Hofstra paces the conference with a 39.0% field goal defense.
MONMOUTH HAWKS (10-18; 8-7 CAA)
- Madison Durr recorded 15 of his team-best 19 points from the free-throw line to guide Monmouth to a 68-62 comeback victory over Hofstra.
- Durr joined Florida State’s Jamir Watkins and Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn as the only three Division I players to register at least 14 makes at the charity stripe in three different games this season.
- Abdi Bashir Jr. is approaching the CAA top 10 in single-season treys made with 102. The sharpshooting guard is one make away from tying Drexel’s Trevor John and Elon’s Tanner Samson (103) for ninth.
N.C. A&T AGGIES (7-22; 3-13 CAA)
- Bryson Ogletree drained a GW free throw with under a second remaining to lift N.C. A&T to a 73-72 win over Stony Brook. He posted 19 points on four treys with five boards in A&T’s third win in four games.
- Jahnathan Lamothe tied CofC’s Ante Brzovic for the CAA lead with eight double-doubles after a 23-point, 11-board outing against the Seawolves. He has posted five straight 20-point efforts, logging 22.0 ppg and 10.2 rpg.
- Nikolaos Chitikoudis has chipped in 14.0 pgg and 9.8 rpg over the last four games.
UNCW SEAHAWKS (21-7; 11-4 CAA)
- Noah Ross led the Seahawks with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Hampton.
- Can clinch top four seed in CAA Tournament with a win against William & Mary on Monday. In conference play alone, UNCW paces the league with 114.6 offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.
- Donovan Newby (14.6 PPG) and Khamari McGriff (11.4 PPG) lead 10 players averaging seven or more points per game.
NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES (15-13; 7-8 CAA)
- Harold Woods finished with a team-best 19 points to go with seven boards, five assists and four steals against Charleston.
- Rashad King is among the league leaders with 36.3 minutes (1st), 18.2 points (3rd) and 1.5 steals (4th) per league contest.
- The Huskies are first in the CAA with 4.7 blocks per game through 28 contests. They also rank second in the league with 7.4 steals per game.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (6-23; 2-14 CAA)
- CJ Luster finished with 23 points against N.C. A&T, while Andre Snoddy notched a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double with three blocks.
- Colin O’Connor saw his six-game streak of 40-minute outings come to an end on Saturday. He matched the longest stretch by a CAA player since Hofstra’s Juan’ya Green (6 games, Feb. 7-Feb. 25, 2016).
- Snoddy has posted 19.8 points on 58.7% shooting to go with 10.3 rebounds per game over his last four outings.
TOWSON TIGERS (19-10; 14-2 CAA)
- Christian May led four players in double figures with a season-high 21 points with five triples in a 76-67 win over Campbell.
- Clinched a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship with Saturday’s win. Can secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a William & Mary loss on Monday.
- Tyler Tejada has produced double-digit scoring in 21 of 22 outings, leading with 16.8 ppg. Nendah Tarke produced his first career double-double with a 16-point, 10-rebound showing on Saturday.
WILLIAM & MARY TRIBE (17-11; 11-4 CAA)
- William & Mary remained unbeaten at home (12-0) after earning a 72-59 victory over Drexel. It marks the longest home winning streak in a single season since Drexel won 13 consecutive games from Nov. 17, 2023-March 2, 2024.
- One of six NCAA Div. I teams that are undefeated with 12 or more wins at home. William & Mary has produced a +15.5 scoring margin and 83.8 ppg at home.
- The Tribe paces the conference with 16.7 assists and 10.6 made 3-pointers per game.
