America East Daily Word - February 17

The Tewaaraton Award, given to the Player of the Year in both men’s and women’s lacrosse, could go to an America East player after the Watch Lists were announced on Wednesday. Five men and two women are up for consideration to receive college lacrosse’s top honor.

America East lacrosse is no stranger to the Tewaaraton Award. Stony Brook’s Kevin Crowley was one of five finalists for the award two seasons ago.

This year, members from five of six conference men’s lacrosse squads cracked the list: Carter Bender of the defending champion Hartford Hawks, UMBC’s Rob Grimm, Albany’s Joe Resetarits, Stony Brook’s Jeff Tundo and Binghamton’s Ben Waldron.

Bender and Resetarits both heard their names called in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft back in January.

For the women, Albany’s Arian Parker, who scored 44 goals last season as a freshman, and Boston University’s Danielle Etrasco, the conference’s 2011 Co-Player of the Year, made the list.

Check out the full lists for the men and women.

It’s a big weekend for lacrosse as a majority of our teams play their season openers. Defending champion Hartford is at #7 Maryland tomorrow while Stony Brook travels to Fairfield, Albany takes on #8 Syracuse, UMBC tangles with Robert Morris and Vermont is at Colgate. Albany-Syracuse will be televised on Time Warner Sports and Sportsnet NY.

On the women’ side, three squads all play home games as Albany opens against Niagara, UMBC against Florida and Stony Brook looks to go 3-0 to start the Joe Spallina era against Central Connecticut.

It’s also BracketBusters weekend in men’s hoops and all nine squads are in action for the first time ever highlighted by the Stony Brook-Northeastern contest in Boston. Albany, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont all play home games this weekend. Here is the full schedule.

To add even more excitement to the weekend, the women’s hoops slate is jammed with crucial conference bouts. Boston University can clinch the regular season title with a win over second-place Albany on Saturday while Hartford and UMBC battle for the No. 3 seed Sunday on national television.

And to top it all off, the 2012 indoor track and field championship is underway at Boston U.’s Track and Tennis Center where Albany looks to sweep the team title for the third straight year.

America East Daily Word - February 16

We had some big news come out of Albany yesterday as the University announced plans for a $24 million upgrade to its athletic facilities. Construction on the new complex is slated to begin in mid-April.

Among the upgrades are a new football and soccer facility as well as renovations to the current track and field facility and the installation of a turf playing surface for recreational use. University sources anticipate the football complex to be ready for the Danes’ final home game of 2012.

 "Now, thanks to overwhelming public and private support, we are moving forward with a project that will upgrade our athletic facilities ... to the standard that our successful Division I program merits," University President George Philip said during the press conference.

The site of the new facility will be adjacent to SEFCU Arena where Varsity Field, home of the Great Dane soccer teams, currently stands.

This is exciting news for the America East as it represents the second announcement in less than a week of one our schools building new facilities. Boston University announced the planned construction of a new venue earlier this week.

Check out some media coverage from the Troy Record and the Times Union.

It was a busy night last evening on the hardwood as we saw a changing of the guard at the top of the conference men’s standings. Vermont hung on at Albany, defeating the Danes 50-47 to climb above Stony Brook. John Fantino recaps the game from the Catamount perspective while the Troy Record and Times Union have more from Albany.

New Hampshire picked up a huge win on the road at Boston U., 56-54. The Wildcats have now won three in a row. The Boston Herald wraps things up from Case Gym.

Hartford showed supreme confidence last night holding Maine down for a 64-50 win at the Chase Family Arena. Nate Sikma scored 20 points for the streaking Hawks. Lastly, Binghamton and UMBC squared off in Vestal. The Retrievers used great defense in the second half to pull away, 70-56. Check out some highlights from WICZ in Vestal.

Results on the women’s side last night set up a crucial weekend. The Boston U. winningat New Hampshire and Albany winning at Vermont, those two teams match up in a showdown of the top two teams on Saturday. The Terriers can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win.

Also, with UMBC’s win over Binghamton and Hartford’s win at Maine, the Hawks and Retrievers square off Sunday on national television for an inside track at the No. 3 seed with both teams at 8-5.

Maine baseball coverage picked up yesterday after the release of the conference preseason poll that saw the Black Bears sitting just behind Stony Brook for the top spot. The Maine Campus breaks down some of the top players in Orono.

Keep an eye out later this afternoon for a great feature on the UMBC swimming and diving teams as our own Warren Lane hops in the pool with the Retrievers.

Hawks and Black Bears Meet in Crucial Game on ESPN3

AExtra continues to preview national broadcasts of America East basketball..

Maine at Hartford, 7 p.m. – ESPN3

There is nothing quite like crucial basketball games in late February.

Throw the ESPN tag into the mix and we’ve got ourselves a big time game tonight in Hartford between the Black Bears of Maine and the Hawks.

Hartford enters the game holding on to the fifth spot in the conference standings at 6-7. One of those wins came at Maine’s expense earlier this season in Orono. The Black Bears, meanwhile, sit a game back and look to snap a three-game losing streak and jump back into the hunt for a higher seed.

Expect both of these teams to wear out the three-point line. Hartford is second in the league in three-pointers made per game with just over seven. Maine ranks second in three-point shooting percentage at nearly 35 percent from downtown.

Keep an eye on an interesting matchup between two of the league’s top rookies in Maine’s Justin Edwards and Hartford’s Wes Cole. Edwards ranks sixth in the conference in scoring at 14.7 points per game while Cole connects on over two three point every game.

AExtra spoke with both Hartford's John Gallagher and Maine's Ted Woodward about this big matchup.

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Gallagher on playing big games down the stretch…

"I think the players realize the magnitude of the game and there is nothing like playing big games in February that really count for something. Obviously every game counts but there is a little more weight on this game and we’re excited about it.”

Woodward on the big game…

“I think anytime you get down to this point in the year, they are all important. We are focused on it and want to come out, look forward to playing our best basketball. It is certainly a big game in terms of the conference standings, and they all become very, very big.

Gallagher on keeping Maine’s big offense in check…

“They are a team built on great senior leadership. Gerald [McLemore] is my opinion is one of the best players in the league. They have great depth, can use multiple guys and when they get out in transition and they’re running, they’re one of the best teams in this league. Many teams have tried to keep them out of transition and Coach Woodward has done a great job.”

Woodward on the return of Alasdair Fraser…

“We have had guys who handled their own out there but certainly getting him back is huge. He is one of those guys who can post up with his back to the basket and do a lot of big things for us. We were fortunate to get him back on Saturday and he did a great job. He’s such a key element on our team and we are thrilled to have him back.”

Gallagher on the energy and enthusiasm of his team…

“I think you have to be excited about everything you do. I want guys to be excited about being here, being a part of this program. We were 0-13 and I never want to forget this year. I don’t want to forget the foundation on which this program’s being built and it’s happening right in front of our eyes; not even blinking about results just worried about the effort, the energy and the execution. And I’m more exciting about how we handled this year than anything else.”

Woodward on what to expect from Hartford tonight…

“Well Hartford does a great job on the offensive end of spreading you out. [Andres] Torres certainly has the ability to make a lot of threes. I think Torres is one of the premier point guards in our league. He does a great job of keeping people involved and getting the ball in the lane. And they’re playing very confident. They’re coming off some wins so we have to do a great job defending them and matching their intensity the whole game and we’re going to try to play the hardest for 40 minutes.”

America East Daily Word - February 14

Binghamton University has a nationally ranked wrestling team, an all-American track athlete, tremendous facilities and heavy community support.

And new director of athletics, Patrick Elliott, plans to use them.

Elliott’s latest efforts to bring business and athletics together prompted a piece in the Press and Sun Bulletin after he spoke to a small gathering of community members.

Elliott answered questions about how Binghamton athletics can brand itself in different markets, about the current state of the athletic department and the men’s basketball team.

“Outside this region, people are still getting to know Binghamton University. Branding is going to be big in terms what we're going to do,” Elliott said in the article. “Understand that we're in it together and we want to try to drive as much business to all the entities as possible.” 

Check out the full article by Kevin Stevens.

Big baseball news from Baseball America yesterday as the preseason All-American team was announced. Stony Brook outfielder and 2011 Cape Cod League MVP, Travis Jankowski, found himself on the first team which features the some of the best players in the country. Earlier this winter, Baseball America tabbed Jankowski the top MLB prospect in the America East as well.

Albany’s Dr. Robert Miller, a professor of social welfare, was featured in today’s Black History Month feature as we continue to tour our nine campuses. Check out the feature below.

We have no games on the schedule tonight but Wednesday’s slate is packed with quality matchups including a national broadcast of the Maine-Hartford men’s basketball contest on ESPN3. Make sure you stay tuned to AmericaEast.com and AExtra for all the news.

America East Daily Word - February 13

Hartford men’s basketball coach John Gallagher and Albany women’s basketball head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson bring two different coaching styles, personalities and playbooks to work every day.

Abrahamson-Henderson’s Great Danes have a stranglehold on second place in the conference standings at 11-2 and the players have noticed tremendous change in the program. Gallagher and the Hawks struggled to start the season but currently sit in fifth place in the league standings thanks to a quick start in conference action. Gallagher says “it’s about the process.”

And the process is working for both programs resulting in two well-written feature stories about the changing landscape of Hartford men’s and Albany women’s basketball.

The Hartford Courant was granted unlimited access to the Hawk program in late January for an in-depth feature on the team and its coach, a supremely energetic individual who likes to sing before games. Check out the full article on the transformation of the Hawks.

The success of the Albany women, meanwhile, has brought some bigger crowds to SEFCU Arena this season. In fact, Abrahamson-Henderson even hopped on the microphone at the end of Saturday’s Maine game to thank the fans for coming. Andrew Santillo featured the Albany women’s team over the weekend in the Troy Record.

As we draw closer to the conference tournament (just two and a half weeks away) the remaining league games become supremely important. None more so than yesterday’s Stony Brook-Vermont game on CBS Sports Network. Vermont outscored the Seawolves 45-27 in the second half to pull away for a 68-49 win. Freshman guard Four McGlynn scored 24 points for the Cats and is the College Sports Madness America East Player of the Week. Check out some highlights from WCAX in Burlington.

Hartford clashed with Binghamton yesterday afternoon, as well. The Hawks picked up the win, 62-60. The Hartford Courant and Press and Sun Bulletin have some postgame reaction. Elsewhere, Brian Benson continued his strong week at UMBC propelling New Hampshire to a win in Baltimore, 66-60. Check out some recaps in the Baltimore Sun and the Portsmouth Press Herald.

On the women’s side, Boston U. continued to dominate and moved to 12-0 in conference action with a home win over Stony Brook. The Daily Free Press has more. Elsewhere, New Hampshire completed the season sweep of Vermont, 58-49. Vermont’s Niki Taylor made a trip back to the seacoast – check out the story. Albany picked up a home win over Maine and Hartford’s Daphne Elliott caught fire to lead the Hawks past Binghamton. The Hartford Courant recaps the game.

The women’s lacrosse and softball seasons got underway this weekend. Stony Brook hosted Colgate in women’s lacrosse and Joe Spallina picked up his first career Division I victory as the Seawolves won 13-10. Meanwhile, Maine went 1-5 on its trip to South Florida, but the win is the first for first-year head coach Lynn Coutts.

We also have some impressive indoor track and field results to report. Stony Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen ran the Wanamaker Women’s Metric Mile at the Millrose Games and clocked a 4:11.78 for seventh place. Binghamton’s Erik van Ingen ran a 3:56.37 in the Wanamaker Mile to take fifth and Boston U.’s Rich Peters won the Valentine Invitational one mile run in 3:57.83.

Make sure to check out AmericaEast.com for weekly basketball award winners later today.

Cats Run Past Seawolves

It was a matchup between the league's two hottest teams. 

Stony Brook entered Sunday's contest with Vermont winners of 14 of 15 and the Catamounts had won seven in a row.

Vermont extended its winning streak to eight games with a 68-49 win over the Seawolves in front of a sell out crowd at Patrick Gym in Burlington.

Four McGlynn scored a career-high 24 points, 20 coming after halftime, to lead the Cats while Dallis Joyner had 13 points and 6 boards for Stony Brook.

Check out some of the highlights from Sunday's afternoon's game!

First-place Showdown in Burlington

AExtra continues to preview national broadcasts of America East basketball… 

Stony Brook at Vermont, 12 p.m. – CBS Sports Network  

February 24, 2010.  

Vermont paid a visit to Stony Brook with the No. 1 seed in the America East tournament and regular season title on the line.

The Seawolves finished the evening 82-78 victors and for the first time in program history, regular season champs. 

Nearly two years later, a similar equation plays out in today’s CBS Sports Network game between the Seawolves and Catamounts in Burlington. Stony Brook has a shot to clinch the No. 1 seed come tourney time and at least a share of the regular season title. 

Vermont enters Sunday’s battle having won seven in a row while Stony Brook hasn’t lost since Jan. 14 at Boston U. – a span of eight straight games.  The Seawolves have won the last two against Vermont, including a win in the America East semifinals last season. 

AExtra got the chance to speak with Stony Brook’s Bryan Dougher and Vermont’s Luke Apfeld about the huge matchup at Patrick Gym. 

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Dougher on the Seawolves’ run of eight straight wins… 

“I think everyone understands their role better. We’ve got a deep bench so we don’t lose anything when we rest guys from the starting unit so our balanced scoring is there, guys are rebounding, we’re hitting the offensive boards so everything is really starting to click now.” 

Apfeld on UVM’s seven-game winning streak… 

“I think it’s been a real team effort. Looking at the stat sheets at the end of the games and you see guys scoring 20 points to eight points, grabbing eight rebounds to four rebounds and its different guys every game. I think that’s what makes us so hard to guard, anyone can hurt you at any given time on the offensive end and defensively, we’ve been stressing five guys against the ball and we’re starting to put all the pieces together."

Dougher on the keys to beating Vermont… 

“They’re not the kind of team that’s going to be themselves, they’re not going to turn it over, they’re not going to give you free points, so you have to go up there and beat them. Vermont’s a tough place to play one of the toughest in the league, they play good offense, even better defense and they’re a real balanced team just like us.” 

Apfeld on what it will take to beat Stony Brook… 

“They’re a very physical and disciplined team on offense and defense. In the past they’ve done a good job of getting us out of our offense, speeding us up and getting in our heads. So we need to play the game we’ve started in the second half of conference and dictate the pace of the game and hopefully we’ll come out with a win.” 

Dougher on the high stakes showdown… 

“It’s similar to my sophomore year when Vermont came [to Stony Brook] for the same reasons and we’re getting real excited about it. We were able to squeeze in a win against UMBC. We didn’t play as well as we wanted but we’ll be prepared to go up there and try to win this game.” 

Apfeld on the high stakes showdown… 

“We love playing games that mean something especially at this point in the season. We’re all trying to get that No. 1 seed to put us in better position to get to the NCAAs and lock up that NIT berth. It’s going to be a great atmosphere up here in Burlington. All the guys are fired up and Stony Brook’s a good team so we’ll have to come with the ‘A’ game.” 

It doesn’t get much bigger than this – national television, regular season title and first-place. Catch all the action on CBS Sports Network starting at noon.