Binghamton opens America East play at New Hampshire

During the trip to Binghamton, AExtra was able to catch part of the Binghamton men's basketball press conference. Here are some clips from head coach Mark Macon and senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi.

Hitting the Links: 1/7/2011

It's been a long week of conference-opening games on the hardwood for both the men and women of America East. Last night was no different.

On Thursday, it was the Binghamton women opening up on the right note, beating Stony Brook at home, 63-43. Not only did the Bearcats get the win, they also got a good amount of media coverage. The Bearcat women graced the pages of the Press & Sun Bulletin. They also hit the TV screens on a number of local news outlets (Fox 40, WIVT and WBNG).

Vermont Downs Albany in Battle of Unbeatens

With just one week gone by since the start of America East play, there are only a few unbeaten teams left. Two of them squared off last night in Burlington, where Vermont moved to 2-0 in league play with a 60-48 win over Albany. The Catamounts outscored the Great Danes, 38-26, in the second half to to win for the 11th time in 14 games this season. AmericaEast.com has your full recap and box score.

Check out the highlights and postgame thoughts from UVM head coach Mike Lonergan and junior forward Matt Glass.

Hitting the Links: 1/6/2011

The opening week of 2011, and the opening week of the America East conference hardwood schedule, continued last night. No matter where you looked, be it at the women's or men's schedule, you were checking out a dual between the Maine Black Bears and the Hartford Hawks.

Both games on last night's schedule pitted Maine against Hartford, with the women taking center stage in West Hartford and the men holding court in Orono. 

In West Hartford, it was the women taking center stage. There, the Hawks protected their home court, topping the Black Bears, 73-43. As the Hartford Courant's Lori Riley wrote, it was Hartford's passing that led to easy buckets and a Hartford win. The Hawks racked up 19 assists as a team.

Binghamton Opens America East Play With a Visit From Stony Brook

With the Binghamton women's basketball team set to open America East play against Stony Brook, AExtra decided it was time to make its first trip out to campus. After a delightful drive, followed by a look around the outstanding Events Center, AExtra was lucky enough to speak with Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl about the progress of her young team and the challenges of preparing for America East play.

Kurowski Reaches Milestone at Stony Brook

As a native of Hicksville, N.Y., UMBC junior guard Michelle Kurowski does not get many opportunities to play in front of her friends and family. When the Retrievers opened their conference schedule at Stony Brook on January 3, Kurowski gave all her fans in attendance something they would never forget. Along with helping UMBC earn a 65-52 victory, Kurowski reached the 1,000-point milestone in her career.

While the individual achievement was a special moment for Kurowski, she was much more excited about helping her team open conference play with a key road victory. The junior guard believes that this win is an indication that UMBC can play with anyone in the America East.

“We knew it was going to be rough going on the road,” explained Kurowski. “They [Stony Brook] are always scrappy and are always working hard. We knew we had to come out with the win to make a statement to the America East that we want to be the team to beat. We knew we had to go out there, and whether it was us winning by one or winning by 20, we knew we had to perform.”

Hitting the Links: 1/5/2011

As we push through the first week of the year, America East men's and women's basketball continues to roll on with the opening week of conference play.

Last night, three more teams opened their conference slates. Tonight, one team begins its America East schedule.

After winning nine games in their non-conference schedule, the Vermont men headed to Stony Brook for their first conference game. The Catamounts continued their winning ways with a 55-49 victory over the Seawolves. With the win, the defending America East champions are the first AE team to reach 10 wins on the season.

Vermont Earns 55-49 Win at Stony Brook

Vermont opened the America East portion of its schedule with an impressive 55-49 win at Stony Brook. Here are some highlights from the game courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics.

Vermont remains at No. 20 in Mid-Major Top 25

For the second consecutive week, the Vermont Catamounts are ranked No.20 in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. In its lone game of the past week, Vermont picked up a thrilling 68-61 (OT) victory over Mount Saint Mary's. The Catamounts were led by a game-high 20 points from senior forward Evan Fjeld. UVM remains the only America East team to be ranked and is set to being its conference schedule later tonight with a matchup at Stony Brook.

Hitting the Links: 1/4/2011

Kurowski scored her 1,000th point against Stony Brook

Just two days into the conference schedule (and with several teams yet to play an America East game), two players have already made the 2011 America East slate memorable as they reached the 1,000-point milestone for their careers.

New Hampshire senior guard Tyrone Conley dropped 15 points in a loss to Albany on Sunday. However, in the second half, Conley slammed home his 1,000th career point to become the 28th Wildcat to reach the mark.

Not to be outdone, UMBC guard Michelle Kurowski reached 1,000 points last night on the road at Stony Brook. Kurowski is the 17th member of the Retrievers' 1,000-point club.

Not only did Kurowski reach the mark with her game-high 19 points (she had 981 points heading into the game, which puts her at exactly 1,000), she also led the Retrievers to victory. UMBC opened its America East season with a 65-52 win over Stony Brook.

Conley Reaches Milestone

Conley is averaging a career-high 12.7 points per game

Since stepping foot on the New Hampshire campus four years ago, senior guard Tyrone Conley has proven to be one of the most consistent performers in the America East. Conley has averaged over eight points per game in each of his first three seasons, and is averaging a career-high 12.7 in 2010-11. When Conley hit a jumper in the second half of a 59-44 loss to Albany on Sunday, the consistency Conley has demonstrated throughout his career was rewarded, as he became just the 28^th player in UNH history to reach 1,000 points.

While Conley has always been the type of player to lead by example, he was forced to embrace even more of a leadership role when fellow senior guard Alvin Abreu was injured earlier in the season. Although Conley isn’t overly vocal on the court, his ability mentor the younger guys on the team has been valuable for UNH.

“I’ve definitely had to step up as a leader [since Abreu was hurt],” explained Conley. “I’m really not one of those vocal types, but I really just try to lead the best I can by example. I really just try and help out the younger guys when they make mistakes here-and-there during a game or practice.”

Hitting the Links: 1/3/2011

Happy New Year, America East fans!

Every year, many of us view the changing of the calendar as a fresh start, a chance to begin anew. For America East basketball, that new beginning comes in the form of the conference schedule. Gone now (or almost gone, at least) are the non-conference foes, making way for the most important part of the schedule. As Vermont women's coach Lori Gear McBride says, everyone is 0-0 when you start conference play.

Starting off at 0-0, four women's teams and three men's teams opened conference play on Sunday.

Albany Opens America East Play with Impressive Win

The Albany men's basketball team opened America East play with a convincing 59-44 win over New Hampshire. The Great Danes were led by a strong effort from senior guard Tim Ambrose, who scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists in the win.