Conference Wrap: 2/7/13

While much of New England continues to go into lock down mode because of winter storm Nemo (I guess someone finally found it/him), America East basketball continues to march towards March. Seven more games last night and we've got a recap of everything right here.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

Chase Plummer

Albany 79, at UMBC 56: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Chase Plummer (UMBC): 15 points (6-11 FG; 3-6 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals
• Big Stat
• UMBC played a solid second half but wasn't able to overcome its ice cold start from the field. In the first half, the Retrievers shot 6-28 from the floor (21.4%) and scored just 19 points to the Great Danes 36. 
• Supporting Cast
• For Albany, Jacob Iati led the way with 14 points on the strength of five triples. He was joined in double-figures by DJ Evans and Peter Hooley. Brian Neller continued his stretch of excellent play by adding 12 points for UMBC.
• Local Media
• Albany Times Union
• Troy Record

Hartford 76, at Binghamton 62: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Mark Nwakamma (Hart): 22 points (7-11 FG; 8-10 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
• Big Stat
• This game was a story of two halves, as Binghamton trailed by just two points heading into the half. After shooting 51.9 percent in the first 20 minutes, the Hawks turned up the defense and held their opposition to 36.4 percent from the floor and just eight made field goals. Hartford then made 13-18 free throws in the second half to seal the deal.
• Supporting Cast
• John Peterson chipped in 16 for the Hawks and Wes Cole made four from deep to rack up 12 points. For the Bearcats, Jordan Reed once again led the way with 17 points. Taylor Johnston also heated up from deep, nailed four shots from beyond the arc.
• Local Media
• Press and Sun

at Vermont 63, New Hampshire 48: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Luke Apfeld (UVM): 16 points (4-6 FG; 2-4 3FG; 6-6 FT), 2 rebounds
• Big Stat
• The Vermont defense brought its A-game again. New Hampshire became the third straight team to be held below 50 points against the Catamounts, who are 3-0 in those games. They also turned defense into offense all night, outscoring New Hampshire 16-4 in points off of turnovers.
• Supporting Cast
• With Apfeld back from injury, he and Clancy Rugg now form a nice front court pairing for the Catamounts. Rugg had 13 points in the win and Brian Voelkel also added 14 rebounds. For the Wildcats, Patrick Konan led the way with 15 points.
• Local Media
• Burlington Free Press
• WCAX News

Women's Basketball

at Albany 85, UMBC 41: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Shereesha Richards (Alb): 22 points (6-8 FT; 10-13 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists
• Big Stat
• Albany's defense showed up big time in this one and didn't allow a single UMBC scorer to reach double-figures, something that is a tough task consider they have three starters who average 10 or more. Combined with that, the Great Danes shot 57.7 percent in the first half to help put things away.
• Supporting Cast
• Megan Craig also showed up big off the bench, tossing in 19 points and eight boards. For UMBC, Ashley Lambert led the way with nine points.
• Local Media
• Troy Record

at Boston U. 64, Stony Brook 45: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Rashidat Agboola (BU): 17 points (6-6 FG; 5-5 FT), 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Big Stat
• The Terriers "Big Three" all delivered in this one, as Chantell Alford (20 pts) and Mo Moran (12 pts) combined with Agboola to outscore Stony Brook 49-45. The combined field goal percentage of this group was 60 percent.
• Supporting Cast
• Sabre Proctor led Stony Brook with 14 points on 5-12 shooting from the field. Teammate Chikilra Goodman also chipped in 10 points for the Seawolves.

at Hartford 65, Binghamton 50: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Nikkia Smith (Hart): 14 points (7-13 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Big Stat
• Hartford overcame a poor shooting performance in the first half by doing a few things really well. The first was shooting 51.6 percent in the second half. The second was forcing 22 turnovers which led to 22 points.
• Supporting Cast
• Amber Bepko helped out in the scoring department by chipping in 12 points and four assists. For the Bearcats, Mallory Lawes led the way with 10 points and four rebounds.
• Local Media
• Press and Sun

at New Hampshire 67, Vermont 45: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Kelsey Hogan (UNH): 17 points (6-6 FG; 4-4 3FG; 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• Big Stat
• Vermont couldn't get it going from the field in the first half and that was the difference in this one. After shooting 4-27 in the first 20 minutes, the Catamounts trailed 29-11. New Hampshire helped seal the deal by shooting 66.7 percent in the second half and 57.5 percent for the game.
• Supporting Cast
• Elizabeth Belanger (12 pts) and Kaylee Kilpatrick (10 pts) reached double-figures for the Wildcats. For Vermont, Annie Wheeler had 14 to pace her squad. 
• Local Media
• Seacoast Online
• Burlington Free Press

Linked Up

Gnarlz, the New Hampshire mascot, is the latest America East mascot to get a #Chance2Dance

New Hampshire is also doing some research on barefoot running. Definitely worth checking out.

Stony Brook running back Miguel Mayonset earned an invite to the NFL Combine.

Also from Stony Brook, check out President Sam Stanley chatting about the Brook.

ESPN baseball writer and prospect guru Keith Law called former Binghamton pitcher Mike Augliera a sleeper in the Boston Red Sox system. If you are an ESPN Insider, you can read the full article here.