City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The 2017-18 college hoops season got underway with a bang on Friday night, with 159 games involving Division I teams taking place across the country.

Here’s a roundup of as many area products as we can find, and how they fared in their team’s first game (or two); we will continue to update this throughout the weekend:

Nov. 11

-- Spring Grove's Eli Brooks got his first minutes in a Michigan uniform, as the 6-3 point guard played 14 minutes off the bench in the Wolverines' 86-66 win over North Florida. Getting the chance to run the offense for a stretch, Brooks had a quiet run, with two points (1-4 FG) and one steal. Senior Muhammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman (Allentown CC) played 33 minutes, scoring five points (1-5 FG) and grabbing four rebounds.

-- Lehigh's Pat Andree (Christian Brothers, N.J.) scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Mountain Hawks beat Marist, 84-76 in overtime. Andree, a 6-8 stretch-forward, was 4-of-13 overall and 3-of-9 from 3-point range while hitting both of his two foul shots.

-- Saint Joseph's didn't have any trouble putting up points, but had plenty stopping Toledo from doing the same in a 98-87 road loss on Saturday evening. Lamarr Kimble (Neumann-Goretti) had 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-4 3PT) and two assists in 30 minutes; Chris Clover (St. Joe's Prep) scored eight points (4-7 FG) and grabbed five rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench; freshman Taylor Funk (Manheim Cen.) scored 16 points in 29 minutes off the bench (6-12 FG, 4-8 3PT), grabbing six rebounds, with two blocks, an assist and a steal.

-- In La Salle's 61-40 win over Saint Peter's, redshirt senior B.J. Johnson (Lower Merion) scored 15 points (6-13 FG) and completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. Amar Stukes (La Salle College HS) played 32 minutes, scoring five points (2-6 FG), dishing out five assists, plus three rebounds and two steals.

--Penn shot 9-of-39 from three in an 80-72 loss to Fairfield on Saturday afternoon. Ryan Betley (Downingtown West) led the Explorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Devon Goodman (Germantown Academy) added eight points in the loss.

-- Devin Liggeons (Imhotep Charter) played 17 minutes off the bench to help Wagner to a 60-49 win at NJIT, spoiling the opening of the latter's new arena. Liggeons, a 6-4 wing, scored two points and grabbed four rebounds, with an assist, a block and a turnover. Last year, the junior averaged 3.6 ppg and 2.3 rpg.

-- Trevon Duval and Duke played their second game in as many days, and the Delaware native/IMG Academy grad stepped up from his eight-point outing with a 15-point, 13-assist, 3-steal performance in a 99-69 win over Utah Valley. The 6-3 point guard and likely lottery pick in June was 7-10 from the floor and 1-1 from the line.

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Nov. 10

-- The first team in the region to start play was Penn State, which began its season with an 86-75 win over visiting Campbell University. Roman Catholic alum Tony Carr, a sophomore for the Nittany Lions, flirted with a triple-double, going for a career-high 33 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists. It was the first time in Carr’s college career he’d scored 30-plus; he was 9-of-23 from the floor (2-5 3PT) and 13-of-15 from the foul line.

-- The Nittany’ Lions rotation is chock-full of local talent: Julian Moore (Germantown Academy) played 27 minutes as the team’s starting center, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds; senior Shep Garner (Roman Catholic) also had eight points on 2-9 shooting (2-8 3PT), Lamar Stevens (Roman) had eight points and six boards before fouling out in 28 minutes of play; Nazeer Bostick (Roman) had four points and two rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

-- Quade Green (Neumann-Goretti) came off the bench for Kentucky as the nation’s No. 5 team had a surprisingly tough challenge from Utah Valley; the Wildcats trailed by nine at half but rallied for a 73-63 win. Green missed all four of his field goal attempts in his 21 minutes of action, knocking down four-of-four foul shots for his only points; he also only had one assist but didn’t commit a turnover in his first college game.

-- Miami (Fl.) took care of Gardner-Webb, 77-45, though it was just a four-point game at the half. Philadelphia native Ja’Quan Newton, a senior out of Neumann-Goretti and the Catholic League’s all-time leading scorer, had 13 points on 4-6 shooting (4-8 FT), but didn’t grab a rebound and only dished out one assist. Freshman wing Lonnie Walker (Reading) came off the bench to score 10 points and dish out five assists; the 5-star prospect is still making his way back to 100 percent after offseason knee surgery.

-- Neumann-Goretti product Zane Martin got his second career start on opening night, as the Towson sophomore was in the lineup for the Tigers’ season opener against Old Dominion. Martin did his best, with a 22-point effort on 8-of-19 shooting (4-8 3PT), with seven rebounds, but Towson shot 19-of-55 as a team and lost 57-54 to the Monarchs.

-- Sean Lloyd (Imhotep/Mount Zion Prep) has found a home at Southern Illinois, and the redshirt junior wing has quietly been putting together a very strong career in a Salukis uniform. In an 81-66 win over WInthrop on Friday, he led all scorers with 15 points (7-15 FG), grabbing seven rebounds, with four assists and four steals as well. Last year, he averaged 7.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg.

-- Loyola (Md.) sophomore James Fives (Hill School) started and scored five points as the Greyhounds narrowly lost to Northwestern, 77-75, but he did grab 11 rebounds to tie for the game lead. Fives shot 1-4 FG (1-2 3PT) and 2-2 FT.

-- American had a tough night against Kansas State, losing 83-45 to the Big 12 team. Sa’eed Nelson (St. Augustine Prep) shot 2-of-14 (0-4 3PT) en route to five points, with four assists against five turnovers. Freshman wing Sam Iorio (Parkland) had five points in 23 minutes on 1-7 FG (1-4 3PT).

-- Bowling Green’s Daeqwon Plowden (Mastery North) certainly had an impact in his college debut, coming up with nine points and three rebounds as the Falcons picked up a 78-69 road win at Drexel. The 6-5 wing and 1,000-point scorer in high school knocked down his first shot, a 3-pointer, and also had a big-time fast-break dunk off a steal.

-- Fairleigh Dickinson big man Mike Holloway (Schalick, N.J.) had 13 points and four rebounds against an imposing Seton Hall frontcourt, but the Pirates were too good in a 90-68 win. Holloway, a 6-8 junior big man, played 30 minutes and only picked up three fouls, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor.

-- Impressing off the bench for No. 23 Seton Hall in that win was freshman guard Myles Cale (Appoquinimink, Del.). The athletic 6-4 guard scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, hitting 2-of-3 from deep, with five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 19 minutes of action. It might difficult for him to see more than that in a deep Seton Hall guard rotation, but as long as he uses those minutes well, he’ll be a valuable part of the top-25 team.

-- Josh Warren (Downingtown West) saw 17 minutes of action in Cornell's 77-45 loss at Syracuse, making his only shot and one of three free throws for three points, adding in a pair of rebounds. The sophomore big man was the first big off the bench for the Big Red last year, and looks likely to remain in that spot this year.

-- Terry Larrier went down with a torn ACL eight minutes into the fourth game of 2016-17, but the UConn redshirt sophomore out of the Phelps School looks like he's back to full health. The 6-8 wing/forward had a career-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting (3-4 3PT), with six rebounds in a 70-58 win over Colgate.

-- Colgate senior Sean O'Brien played a game-high 36 minutes but was held to 3-of-9 shooting, finishing with seven points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss. O'Brien, who averaged 12.5 ppg as a junior, was 1-of-4 from deep.

-- Stony Brook senior Tyrell Sturdivant led his team with 17 points, but the rest of the Seawolves were generally frustrated in a 76-61 loss at Maryland in a game played at the Nassau Coliseum. Sturdivant, a 6-8 forward out of Chester, was 6-of-18 from the floor, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range; he only had three rebounds, plus an assist and a steal and seven turnovers. He had previously only taken one career 3-pointer, which he made as a sophomore. Freshman big Anthony Ochefu (Westtown) scored two points in two minutes off the bench, with a rebound and a block. Maryland senior Jared Nickens (Westtown) played five minutes in his team's win.

-- Daron Russell (Imhotep Charter) played 14 minutes off the bench in his first game at Rhode Island as the Rams beat UNC-Asheville 84-60. The 5-11 combo guard scored six points on 2-5 shooting, with four assists and two rebounds.

-- Koby Thomas (Imhotep Charter) led Robert Morris with 22 points in his first college game, as the bouncy 6-6 wing went 8-for-17 from the floor (3-6 3PT) and grabbing six rebounds plus two steals in 30 minutes. The Colonials lost to Ohio State 95-64.

-- Josh Sharkey and Samford struggled with the Arkansas Razorbacks, as the Bulldogs fell 95-56 on the road to start their season off. Sharkey, a 5-9 guard out of Archbishop Carroll, scored six points, plus four assists, three rebounds and two teals, but that was offset by six turnvers; he was 2-7 from the floor (0-1 3PT) and 2-3 FTs.

-- Mohamed Bamba started up front and played 23 minutes in Texas' 105-59 win over Northwestern State Friday night. The 7-footer out of the Westtown School had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, shooting 6-9 FG (0-2 3PT); he's expected to be a top-5 NBA pick come June.

-- Izaiah Brockington played just three minutes in his freshman debut at St. Bonaventure, going scoreless; the only impact the Archbishop Ryan product had on the box score was a single rebound.

-- Hill School product John Carroll and Hartford won a fun one, 85-84 over Central Connecticut State in overtime. Carroll, a 6-7 Ireland native, had 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting (1-2 3PT, 7-11 FT) and nine rebounds plus three assists in 37 minutes.

-- Former Archbishop Wood guard Collin Gillespie scored six points in Villanova's 75-60 win against Columbia. Neumann-Goretti product Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree played nine minutes for the Wildcats. 'Nova got 13 points in 19 minutes on 4-7 shooting from redshirt sophomore Donte DiVincenzo (Salesianum, Del.), while Mikal Bridges (Great Valley) had eight points and seven boards in 32 minutes, though he was 2-8 FG (0-5 3PT).

--Austin Tilghman and Monmouth took down Bucknell and Nana Foulland, 79-68. Tilghman, an Archbishop Carroll product, scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds in the win. Foulland, a Berks Catholic alum, put up 15 points and secured four rebounds in a losing effort.

--Ryan Daly (Archbishop Carroll) picked up right where he left off after a terrific freshman season at Delaware. Daly tallied 22 points and four rebounds in the Blue Hens' 76-63 win.

-- Rider's 90-75 win over Hampton featured plenty of Philly influence. Jordan Allen (Dover, Del.) had a game-high 21 points on 6-15 FG (5-12 3PT) as the redshirt freshman guard made his college debut; sophomores Stevie Jordan (Advanced Prep Int'l, Tex.) and Tyere Marshall (Putnam Science, Conn.), two Philly natives who spent their final years of high school elsewhere, added 17 points/6 assists and 10 points/12 rebounds, respectively. Anthony Durham Jr. (Abington) had 13 points and four rebounds in 31 minutes.

-- George Washington opened its season with an 84-75 win over Howard, and Jair Bolden (Westtown) had plenty of say in that. The 6-2 sophomore scored 17 points and grabbed four rebounds, shooting 5-13 overall and 2-6 from 3-point range.

-- DeAndre Hunter (Friends' Central) played 10 minutes in his Virginia debut, after sitting out last season to redshirt and get stronger. The skilled 6-7 wing went scoreless, missing both of his shots.

--  DNPs: Chuck Champion (Loyola), Clifton Moore (Indiana), Miles Overton (Drexel), Brandon Randolph (Arizona), Yosef Yacob (Binghamton)