By Rowan Shiell
Within a fortnight we should be playing conference tournaments, where some teams can write their own tickets to the NCAA tournament as winners of their respective conference tournament. Others will have to wait for Selection Sunday to see if they can obtain an at large bid or settle for a lesser tournament such as the NIT or CBI.
Then the true madness of March will begin. In the meantime we bring you the weekly update.
Keith Rendleman | North Carolina-Wilmington | Senior | Forward
This week UNCW played both the top team in the conference and the bottom team. In a surprising twist, they lost the game they were meant to win and won the game they were meant to lose.
On Saturday they took on Northeastern, the CAA conference leader, and won 73-67. Rendleman was sensational with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He also had four steals, 2 assists and a block. Northeastern were playing without their leading scorer but the game was very competitive until the last three minutes when Rendleman scored three points, the hard way, to give UNCW the lead for good.
Wednesday they took on Old Dominion who was 1-13 in the CAA conference. Rendleman had his seventeenth double double of the season but was severely limited by foul trouble. However he did enough (15 points and 11 rebounds) to become UNCW’s all time leading rebounder. This record was set by Brian Rowson 26 years ago.
This is the sixth straight game Rendleman has recorded a double double. He is now fourth, according to NCAA.com, in this statistical category in men’s division one basketball. He is currently eleventh in rebounding with an average of 10.04 and tied for second in conference. He is seventh, in the CAA conference, in scoring with an average of 16.2 points and sixth in blocked shots.
This is also the third week in a row he has been named the Hoopsfix player of the week, making a strong case for the Hoopsfix British College Player of the Year.
Alasdair Fraser | Maine | Junior | Forward | @bigali15
On Saturday, Fraser recorded his fifth double double of the season, as Maine took down Binghamton, 64-60. The 6’7” forward had 10 points and 11 rebounds despite picking up four fouls.
Fraser wasn’t so fortunate when they visited Vermont on Wednesday. Plagued by foul trouble again, he finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in a loss. Vermont is currently second in conference while Maine is sixth.
Fraser is currently seventh in the America East Conference in scoring and third in rebounding. He is also fifth in field goal percentage and third in blocked shots.
Andrew Lawrence | College of Charleston | Senior | Guard | @andrewcofc04
College of Charleston notched up two more wins to secure a higher seed in the eminent conference tournament, over the week. They are now third in conference with a 12-4 record.
Lawrence’s stats were not overwhelming but were effective none the less. In a nine point victory over Georgia Southern he collated a mere five points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Wednesday he scored a dozen points to go with three assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block in a two point victory over Western Carolina.
Lawrence is fifteenth highest scorer in the Southern Conference, fourth in assists per game and sixth in steals per game. He is also ninth in three pointers made, so far.
Fahro Alihodzic | UAB | Junior | Center
Alihodzic recorded 11 points, two rebounds, a block, an assists and two fouls in a win over Rice, on Saturday. A similar statistical line he had earlier in the week against East Carolina when he scored 11 points and had two rebounds to go with a block and two fouls.
(Brit freshman Ross Wilson who plays for Rice had eight points and five rebounds)
Ben Mockford | St Francis (NY)| Junior | Guard | @BenMockford
Mockford was 3-10 for nine points in a loss to Monmouth on Saturday. On Wednesday he rebounded with one of his most well rounded scoring performances of the season. Instead of just settling for the three point shot, this season 73% of his field goal attempts are from behind the three point line, Mockford mixed it up.
He was 5-8 on field goal attempts, 3-6 on three point attempts and 5-7 from the free throw line for 18 points in a one point victory over Wagner.
Ashley Hamilton | Loyola Marymount| Senior | Forward | @thekingash
Ashley Hamilton started against St Mary’s and had 13 points and 11 rebounds in another losing effort. He was 5-15 on Saturday. They were down 11 at the half and as much as 21 in the second half but rallied to win the second half. Probably didn’t help that Hamilton was disqualified due to foul trouble. At least this team has heart if not the talent of the St Mary’s and the Gonzaga’s of their conference.
In Conference play, Hamilton is currently twelfth in scoring, eighth in rebounding and thirteenth in free throw percentage despite the fact that his team has only won one game this year.
Allie Fullah | Charleston Southern | Junior | Forward
Fullah had a career high 13 points in the first 9 minutes of action, six rebounds and two blocks in a victory over Presbyterian on Tuesday. He also had no turnovers and no fouls in his 20 minutes of playing time.
The win keeps the Bucs within a half game of first-place High Point in Big South Conference play with three games remaining.
Thoughts? Anyone missing?
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