City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

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.

~~~

Others to Watch: Bloomsburg (7-7, 5-5 PSAC), Lock Haven (10-5, 6-5 PSAC), Shippensburg (10-5, 7-4 PSAC), USciences (9-5, 6-1 CACC)

~~~

5. Philadelphia University Rams (4)
Record: 12-4 (6-2 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Saint Anselm (L, 77-73, OT), vs. Concordia (W, 78-67), vs. Felician (W, 80-49)
Star Watch: Peter Alexis (Sr./F)--19.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg

Update: It’s tough to fault Philly U for losing on the road to a Saint Anselm squad that’s 13-1 and unbeaten in eight games at home, but considering that was the Rams’ second loss in a row and third in a five-game stretch, that’s enough despite the two wins that followed. Alexis continued his stellar senior season with a big three games, averaging 21.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg; in the win over Felician, he became the seventh player in program history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds with his third board of the day. With three of the next four on the road, they’ll need to play at a high level to keep Holy Family in their sights in the CACC; that shouldn’t be a problem under Herb Magee.

Next Two Weeks: @ Caldwell (Jan. 11, 7 PM), vs. Kutztown (Jan. 13, 7 PM), @ Goldey-Beacom (Jan. 20, 8 PM), @ Post (Jan. 23, 3 PM)

~~~

4. West Chester Rams (2)
Record: 12-2 (8-2 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Wilmington (W, 103-92), vs. Seton Hill (W, 86-62), @ California (Pa.) (W, 81-67), vs. East Stroudsburg (L, 87-60)
Star Watch: Malik Jackson (Fr./G)--15.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Update: Things were rolling along for the Rams, who had risen to No. 22 in the NABC Division II poll that came out a week ago thanks to a 12-1 start. Jackson, a 6-0 Penn Wood grad who’s leading West Chester in scoring, dropped 34 on Wilmington and 22 on Seton Hill during a strong two-week stretch, but then the Rams ran right into East Stroudsburg, missing their first 19 shots from the floor and turning it over 27 times on their home court against their PSAC archrival. They’ll have to shake that off quickly with three of the next four on the road; a division title is still very much in the cards with both games against Kutztown and one more against East Stroudsburg still to be played.

Next Two Weeks: @ Cheyney (Jan. 13, 7:30 PM), @ Mansfield (Jan. 16, 3 PM), vs. Millersville (Jan. 20, 7:30 PM), @ Lock Haven (Jan. 23, 4 PM)

~~~

3. East Stroudsburg Warriors (OW)
Record: 11-3 (7-3 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ New Haven (W, 79-73), vs. California (Pa.) (W, 103-77), @ Slippery Rock (W, 98-72), @ West Chester (W, 87-60)
Star Watch: Rasheed Moore (Jr./F)--14.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Update: The Warriors return to the power rankings thanks to a five-game winning streak capped off by that dominant victory over West Chester on Saturday afternoon. Jeff Wilson’s starting to get useful contributions from his bench, including Quindell Brice (8.3 ppg), redshirt freshman big man Chris Bing (5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and freshman Nick Giordano (5.0 ppg), who are all seeing minutes and production go up as the games go on. Moore, a 6-5 forward from Wilkes-Barre’s Meyers HS, scored his 1000th point against West Chester, scoring 10 points for his ninth double-digit performance of the season and 13th out of 14 games.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Mansfield (Jan. 13, 7:30 PM), vs. Kutztown (Jan. 16, 3 PM), @ Lock Haven (Jan. 20, 7:30 PM), @ Shippensburg (Jan. 23, 3 PM)

~~~

2. Kutztown Golden Bears (3)
Record: 12-2 (9-2 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. USciences (W, 61-55), vs. Gannon (W, 80-49), @ Clarion (W, 74-67), vs. Bloomsburg (W, 99-76)
Star Watch: Anthony Lee (R-Fr./G)--11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Update: Bernie Driscoll has guided the Golden Bears to wins in nine of 10 after a clean 14 days to close out the winter break. Lee, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Abington, continues to play well since his insertion into the starting lineup a month ago, scoring 16 against Gannon, 22 against Clarion and 18 against Bloomsburg; for the two weeks; he shot 27-of-40 (67.5 percent) from the floor, including a nifty 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from 3-point range. They’ll need him to continue to produce alongside junior forwards Josh Johnson (14.5 ppg) and Ryan Connolly (29 pts vs. Gannon) if they want to keep it going, with games against fellow power ranking members Philly U and East Stroudsburg coming up this week.

Next Two Weeks: @ Philly U (Jan. 13, 7 PM), @ East Stroudsburg (Jan. 16, 3 PM), vs. Mansfield (Jan. 20, 7:30 PM), @ Cheyney (Jan. 23, 3 PM)

~~~

1. Holy Family Tigers (1)
Record: 13-3 (7-0 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: @ American International (L, 74-65), @ Chestnut Hill (W, 59-48), @ Dominican (W, 91-69), @ Nyack (W, 76-60)
Star Watch: Marvin Crawford (Sr./SF)--13.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Update: Another D-II update, another two weeks with Holy Family as the area’s top dog, though the loss to a 6-8 AIC squad just before New Years brings them back to the pack somewhat, especially with two hot programs right behind them. Crawford, a senior wing from J.P. Stevens (N.J.), had a double-double against Dominican with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and was one rebound shy of one against CHC with 15 and nine. Nothing but CACC play the rest of the year for head coach R.C. Kehoe’s Tigers, who have sights set on a conference championship and nothing else. Their first matchup against USciences was their closest of the year; the Devils slowed things down and made it ugly, but HFU was able to escape with a 47-44 win.

Next Two Weeks: @ Concordia (Jan. 12, 7 PM), vs. Wilmington (Jan. 16, 3 PM), vs. USciences (Jan. 20, 8 PM), vs. Felician (Jan. 23, 3 PM)