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) South Division and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division.

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Others to Watch: Bloomsburg (5-4, 3-2 PSAC East), East Stroudsburg (6-3, 3-3 PSAC East), USciences (5-4, 3-1 CACC)

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5. Lock Haven Bald Eagles (OW)
Record: 8-2 (4-2 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Mansfield (W, 83-72), vs. Gannon (W, 68-60), vs. Clarion (W, 74-66)
Star Watch: Tracy Peal (Sr./F)--11.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Update: The Bald Eagles’ game against Kutztown will be a meaningful one for Peal, who played his first three seasons at KU before transferring to Lock Haven for his final year of eligibility. He’s coming off his best game at his new school, scoring 17 points in the win over Clarion, the team’s sixth win in a row after starting off the season 2-2, including losses in its first two PSAC games. All 16 games remaining on LHU’s schedule are league games, beginning with Kutztown and Millersville before a two-week layoff, so these games will certainly help determine just how happy Christmas is for Mike Nestor and staff.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Kutztown (Dec. 16, 7:30 PM), vs. Millersville (Dec. 19, 4:00 PM)

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4. Philadelphia University Rams (2)
Record: 9-2 (4-2 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Goldey-Beacom (W, 66-64), @ Wilmington (W, 59-48), @ Holy Family (L, 61-54), @ Chestnut Hill (W, 69-54)
Star Watch: Peter Alexis (Sr./C)--18.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.7 bpg
Update: Despite having just nine players on the varsity roster, the Rams keep chugging along, losing a tough road game at Holy Family while picking up three other wins since our last update. Having Alexis and 6-7 sophomore Eric Long (6.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg) up front has proven to be a problem for opponents; Long grabbed 17 rebounds in the losing effort to HFU. Speaking of Holy Family, Philly U and their cross-town rivals head up to Worcester, Mass. next weekend for a pair of games against Northeast-10 opponents: Saint Rose (6-4, 3-2 NE10) is the more threatening of the two opponents, as it has been a rough year for Assumption (4-5, 1-5 NE10).

Next Two Weeks: vs. Saint Rose (@ Assumption, Dec. 19, 1 PM), @ Assumption (Dec. 20, 3 PM)

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3. West Chester Rams (1)
Record: 7-1 (5-1 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Shippensburg (W, 83-68), vs. Slippery Rock (W, 65-62), vs. Edinboro (L, 69-66)
Star Watch: Mike Wilson (Sr./G)--14.3 ppg, 3.5 apg
Update: The Rams’ perfect start to the season looked like it would end against Slippery Rock, but they closed a 10-point gap in the final five minutes; instead, it was against PSAC West leader Edinboro that West Chester finally took one in the loss column. But it’s been a very good start to the year for WCU, with several players stepping up big-time to make up for some graduations; one such player is Wilson, a 6-2 guard out of Martin Luther King who’s upped his averages from 8.9 ppg and 2.9 rpg a year ago. He’s scored in double figures in three straight, including a 26-point outing against Slippery Rock. They’ve got one more PSAC game before the new year, followed by a visit from a CACC opponent in Bloomfield.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Bloomsburg (Dec. 16, 7:30 PM), vs. Bloomfield (Dec. 19, 3 PM)

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2. Kutztown Golden Bears (5)
Record: 7-1 (5-1 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Millersville (W, 69-60), vs. Pitt-Johnstown (W, 90-84 OT), vs. Indiana (Pa.) (W, 78-76), vs. Penn State-Berks (W, 115-75)
Star Watch: Ryan Connolly (R-Jr./F)--14.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Update: Sure, Josh Johnson (16.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg) continues to have a stellar season for the Golden Bears, who’ve won four straight following their only setback, a 71-70 OT loss to a 6-3 Mercyhurst squad on the road. But Connolly, a 6-6 forward from Souderton who’s shooting 23-of-48 (47.9 percent) from 3-point range, has been consistent all year, hitting double figures in all but one game. Bernie Driscoll’s squad has two challenging league games before the year flips over, and there’s a matchup with USciences on Dec. 30 looming after the holiday break. If Kutztown can take down a streaking Lock Haven squad and then beat a Ship team that’s more dangerous than its 5-5 record indicates, they’ll be ready to take over the top slot should Holy Family stumble on its own pair of tough road games.

Next Two Weeks: @ Lock Haven (Dec. 16, 7:30 PM), @ Shippensburg (Dec. 19, 3 PM)

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1. Holy Family Tigers (3)
Record: 8-2 (4-0 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Goldey-Beacom (W, 77-58, @ USciences (W, 47-44), vs. No. 2 Southern Connecticut State (W, 90-70), vs. No. 25 Philadelphia University (W, 61-54)
Star Watch: Reggie Charles (Sr./SG)--15.7 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.1 rpg

Update: The Tigers surge into the top spot thanks to a terrific 14 days that saw them win three league games and take down a top-5 opponent nationally by 20 points, a win that combined with the victory over Philly U seems certain to vault Holy Family into the rankings for the first time in nearly a decade. Charles, a 6-3 Philly native out of Father Judge who’s one of the more entertaining scoring guards around, scored 51 points in the two wins over ranked opponents, including 30 points against Philly U. As mentioned above, the Tigers’ next two games will be in Massachusetts with Philly U against two NE-10 opponents.

Next Two Weeks: @ Assumption (Dec. 19, 3 PM), vs. Saint Rose (@ Assumption, Dec. 20, 1 PM)

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Dropped out: East Stroudsburg (4)