City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Here are the area’s current top five Division II teams, consisting of squads from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)’s South Division and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)’s East Division.

Amazingly, there are less than three weeks left in the regular season, so this will be the penultimate power rankings of the 2015-16 D-II season; check back in three weeks to see who finishes on top!

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Others to Watch: Bloomsburg (13-8, 11-6 PSAC), Shippensburg (14-8, 11-7 PSAC) USciences (12-10, 9-6 CACC)

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5. Philadelphia University Rams (4)
Record: 18-5 (11-3 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Wilmington (W, 71-58), vs. Bloomfield (W, 79-75), @ Dominican (L, 65-54)
Star Watch: Peter Alexis (Sr./F)--19.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg

Update: Alexis, who’s had a terrific final year under Herb Magee, is second in the conference in scoring and FG percentage (62.0) plus fourth in rebounding. The 6-foot-11 center had at least 19 points in all three games the Rams played this week, including a season-high 28 points in the win over Wilmington where he shot 12-of-15 from the floor, the 14th-straight game where he’s made at least half of his field goal attempts. He’ll have a challenge against USciences sophomore big man Will Gregorits (16.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) on Tuesday, and the Rams will need to keep winning to have a chance of catching up with Holy Family for the CACC South title.

Next “Two” Weeks: @ USciences (Feb. 9, 8 PM), vs. Nyack (Feb. 13, 4 PM), @ Georgian Court (Feb. 18, 8 PM), vs. Holy Family (Feb. 20, 4 PM), vs. Chestnut Hill (Feb. 23, 8 PM)

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4. East Stroudsburg Warriors (1)
Record: 16-5 (12-5 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Millersville (W, 94-51) vs. Bloomsburg (L, 91-84), @ Shippensburg (L, 74-69), @ Cheyney (W, 104-62)
Star Watch: Will Brown (Sr./G)--13.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Update: A pair of losses have the Warriors tumbling from the top of the rankings, and they’re also in a bit of trouble in the PSAC East, two games back of a pair of teams with only five to play. But they can make up both of those games with West Chester and Kutztown first up on the slate; if they can win those two, the last three will have meaning in the division race. Otherwise, the Warriors will just be trying to build up some momentum for the PSAC playoffs. Brown, a Penn Wood alum--this will be an unintentional theme in these Power Rankings--had 26 points against Cheyney in as many minutes, his second-best outing of the year after his 37 against Seton Hill in November.

Next “Two” Weeks: vs. West Chester (Feb. 10, 7:30 PM), @ Kutztown (Feb. 13, 3 PM), @ Mansfield (Feb. 17, 7:30 PM), vs. Lock Haven (Feb. 20, 3 PM), @ Millersville (Feb. 24, 7:30 PM)

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3. West Chester Rams (3)
Record: 18-3 (14-3 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Kutztown (L, 84-75), vs. Shippensburg (W, 64-59), @ Bloomsburg (W, 87-64)
Star Watch: Malik Jackson (Fr./G)--15.6 ppg, .381 3PT%

Update: West Chester bounced back well from a home loss to Kutztown, beating two tough teams in Ship and Bloom to keep pace in the division, but another challenge awaits with a trip to East Stroudsburg that begins the closing stretch of the season. Mansfield, Cheyney and Millersville are the bottom three teams in the division before a showdown with Kutztown to end the year and potentially determine the PSAC East champion. Jackson, a terrific rookie from Penn Wood (Pa.), has been the Rams’ leading scorer all year long and kept that going with 18 points against Shippensburg and 22 against Bloomsburg while managing 13 against Kutztown. Another Penn Wood alum, junior forward Thomas White, had 11 points in all three games while collecting 11 boards for a double-double against Shippensburg.

Next “Two” Weeks: @ East Stroudsburg (Feb. 10, 7:30 PM), vs. Mansfield (Feb. 13, 3 PM), vs. Cheyney (Feb. 17, 5:30 PM), @ Millersville (Feb. 20, 3 PM), @ Kutztown (Feb. 24, 7:30 PM)

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2. Kutztown Golden Bears (5)
Record: 17-4 (14-3 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ West Chester (W, 84-75), vs. Millersville (W, 87-69), vs. Lock Haven (W, 90-71), vs. Shippensburg (W, 81-78)
Star Watch: Josh Johnson (Jr./F)--14.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg

Update: The Golden Bears have pulled even with the Rams at the top of the PSAC East Division thanks in part to that nine-point win on Jan. 27, which saw Kutztown shoot a terrific 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the floor and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the foul line--nothing too shocking for a team that is at 47.9 percent overall and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe on the season. Johnson, a 6-8 forward who had 24 and 11 against Lock Haven, and redshirt freshman Anthony Lee (13.7 ppg, 4.7), who’s scored in double figures in 10 straight and 14 of the last 16 games since moving into the starting lineup, are as good a 1-2 punch as any in the league. Top seed in the playoffs could very well come down to Kutztown’s senior night, when West Chester visits with revenge on its mind.

Next “Two” Weeks: @ Bloomsburg (Feb. 10, 5:30 PM), vs. East Stroudsburg (Feb. 13, 3 PM), @ Cheyney (Feb. 15, TBD), @ Mansfield (Feb. 20, 3 PM), vs. West Chester (Feb. 24, 7:30 PM)

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1. Holy Family Tigers (2)
Record: 19-4 (13-1 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Caldwell (W, 89-71), @ Goldey-Beacom (W, 64-53), vs. Post (W, 75-57)
Star Watch: Marvin Crawford (Sr./SF)--14.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Update: The Tigers are in the stretch run as they close in on the top seed in the CACC’s playoffs, where they currently hold a two-game lead on Philly U with five games to play. That matchup on Feb. 20 would seal it for the Tigers, assuming they can take care of business against the rest of the league; the game against North division leader Bloomfield (11-11, 10-5) is their most likely chance for a loss outside that game against the Rams, but it’s their South Division rivals who present the biggest threat to a league championship. Their previous meeting, at Holy Family on Dec. 10, was a 61-54 HFU win. Crawford, one of nine seniors on the roster, had a solid last three games with seven rebounds in each matchup as well as well as going for 15, 12 and 13 points respectively.

Next “Two” Weeks: vs. Georgian Court (Feb. 9, 8 PM), @ Bloomfield (Feb. 13, 3 PM), vs. Chestnut Hill (Feb. 17, 8 PM), @ Philly U (Feb. 20, 4 PM), @ Wilmington (Feb. 23, 8 PM)

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