| Eastern Nazarene has won 10
games for the first time since 2001 and could finish with its first
winning season since 1995. Eastern Nazarene athletics photo |
Jim Aller doesn't like losing. In that regard, he's no different than anyone that's ever coached or played basketball. Losing isn't fun. And Aller, now in his fourth season as the Eastern Nazarene men's basketball coach, has lost a lot of games since taking over in August 2008.
But it wasn't the losing seasons that tore up Aller. It was the culture surrounding the team, the culture of poor academics and negligible school pride. Aller, while desiring wins on the court, wanted nothing more than to change the atmosphere surrounding the team off the court.
It's only been 13 games, but Aller has finally seen the change. Everywhere he looks, he sees a different Eastern Nazarene program. The Lions, 10-3 after a 61-55 road win against University of New England on Tuesday night, have reached the 10-win mark in a season for the first time since 2001-02. The team is well on its way to snapping a dubious streak of 16 seasons without a winning record. After going 19-55 in Aller's first three seasons, the Lions have already won more than half as many games this season alone.
And, perhaps most importantly for a Division III team, Aller said all of his 10 freshmen have at least a 3.1 GPA, and five of them have a 3.4 or greater. Indeed, times are changing for Eastern Nazarene.
"In some ways, it's a bigger picture thing," Aller said. "I feel like it's already been a success at some level. The climate inside the program, academically, socially on campus and competitively, has changed. Even if we were to lose games now, I don't see that changing."
Eastern Nazarene, a small school of roughly 900 students in Quincy, Mass., will never be mistaken for a basketball power. But the team's quick start has started to win over the student body. Aller, who played against Eastern Nazarene while at The King's College in the late 1980s, said the team drew more than 300 spectators to its last home game for the first time in his tenure.
"We're a real small college, and so when men's basketball is successful or women's soccer is successful, there's an ethos or a bond on campus and we're starting to get that I think," Aller said. "That's what I'm hoping for."
On the court, the Lions have put together a nice product this season. Fifth-year senior Chima Ezeigbo, a 6-8 forward, has made a full recovery from a gruesome broken ankle that forced him to take a medical redshirt two seasons ago. Though he's lost some of his natural leaping ability, Ezeigbo still leads the team in scoring (15.9 per game) and rebounding (8.2 per game).
Ezeigbo and the team's other four seniors stressed the importance of ending the Lions' losing seasons streak. To do that, Aller said, the quintet had to embrace the incoming freshmen class, which has accounted for 50 percent of the minutes in the rotation this season.
"They've kind of had to sacrifice some individual goals, individual achievements and playing time for the betterment of the team," Aller said. "Their attitudes have been good towards that, because that can get off track really quickly if things aren't going well."
As it turns out, things have been going very well this season. Aller attributes much of the success to the freshmen, including twins Justin and Jeremy Wagner.
After the Lions' last loss, an 81-67 home loss to Gordon on Jan. 5, Aller said he remembers the Wagner twins heading back into the gym, unlocking the ball rack and hoisting up shots -- all before Gordon's players had even left the gym.
"When you have kids like that, it kind of gets infectious in the program," Aller said. "Good gets infectious, and bad habits get infectious. We've had a lot of bad habits for three years that now we're kind of turning the corner."
Eastern Nazarene has been particularly strong on defense this season, even though the statistics indicate it boasts a high-powered offense. Aller said the team's ability to generate turnovers simply with strong man-to-man defense and solid anticipatory skills has led to increased fast breaks.
"I'm more of a defensive guy and I'd much rather win 60-50 than 90-80, but I know the kids don't feel that way," Aller said with a laugh. "Defense is what I'm trying to be intentional about. The offense, I think, happens a little bit as a result of the defense being better."
Justin Wagner, Jaylen Owens and Eric Lynch, all freshmen, are each averaging at least 7.8 points per game. But again, as a team, Eastern Nazarene is holding opponents to just 41.6 percent shooting from the field. Time will tell if this year's team can hang with teams like Curry and Gordon in the CCC.
But considering the program's history over the last 16 seasons, a simple winning season would be a tremendous first step.
Men's Northeast: Albertus Magnus still rolling
The wins keep piling up for Albertus Magnus and coach Mitch Oliver.
Oliver, just more than halfway through his sixth season with the Falcons, earned his 100th win with the school in Tuesday's 95-76 win against Suffolk. Overall, Albertus Magnus sits at 13-1 overall, with its only loss coming against Division I Yale.
Junior guard Darius Watson has risen from the role of sidekick to the graduated Ray Askew to the true go-to player. Watson leads the team and ranks in the top 20 nationally with a 22.2 points per game average. The junior is shooting 53.3 percent from the field, including an impressive 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Senior guard Ashard Jackson and senior center Jefferson Lora have both been around for Albertus Magnus' last two NCAA tournament appearances.
Freshman guard James Jennings has immediately stepped into a starting role and provided the Falcons with another dynamic scorer. As a team, the high-powered Falcons average 84.1 points per game, another statistic that ranks in the top 20 nationally. They've scored 90 or more points in four of their last five games, all wins in the conference.
Albertus Magnus has come a long way since Oliver took over in 2007-08. That season, the Falcons finished 4-21. But since then, the team has reached the NCAA tournament twice and eclipsed the 20-win plateau twice (with a third likely on the way this season). The Falcons haven't lost a GNAC game since 2011. There is a reason this team is ranked 19th in the country.
Men's East: Nazareth in thick of Empire 8 race
Every year, one of the toughest conferences to predict is the Empire 8. The top projected team in the preseason can finish anywhere from first to fourth. That speaks more to the depth of the conference than anything else.
But one thing you can always count on is this -- Nazareth will be in the mix.
Don't believe me? Well, here's the latest example. It's Jan. 15 and a quick look at the Empire 8 standings shows Nazareth (11-4, 4-1) in second place, trailing only Stevens. Kevin Broderick, now in his fourth season as the Golden Flyers' coach, guided the team to the Empire 8 tournament title and the accompanying NCAA berth in his first season. Nazareth looks like a viable candidate to get back to postseason play this season.
As junior forward Brad Ford and senior guard Tyshun Stephens go, so too does Nazareth. The two form a potent inside-outside combination and, from a sheer production point of view, are invaluable to the Golden Flyers. Ford (19.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG) and Stephens (15.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.6 APG) account for nearly half of the Golden Flyers' average points per game. They are two of the top players in a deep Empire 8.
In Tuesday's 66-56 win against St. John Fisher -- Nazareth's second of the season against the Cardinals -- Stephens poured in a game-high 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Nazareth played Stevens tough in the teams' first meeting, falling 76-70. The Golden Flyers get a second chance against the Ducks on the road Friday.
Women's Northeast/East: Babson continues quiet dominance
The Northeast region boasts a handful of great teams. Amherst, Tufts and Southern Maine are all ranked in the top 15 and all have the look of legitimate contenders come NCAA tournament time.
Perhaps, then, it's easy to overlook Babson, which sits at 13-1 overall and 8-0 in the NEWMAC, once again in control of its conference.
The Beavers are working on a fourth straight perfect mark in conference play and, barring a sudden downturn, a fourth straight season with at least 26 wins. There is one streak Babson would probably like to break -- Amherst has ended the Beavers' season in the NCAA tournament in each of the last four seasons.
Senior center Sarah Collins is a dominant post presence. Collins averages 17.3 points per game, more than twice as many as any other player on the team. Her 14.1 rebounds per game rank her fourth in the country. She also ranks among the leaders nationally in blocks per game. She is a legitimate star.
Behind Collins, Babson features a rotation of eight players that average 11 minutes or more, including young standouts like freshman Linnett Graber and sophomore Erin Young. In fact, Collins is one of only three seniors on a team that includes 10 sophomores or freshmen.
So far though, this team hardly resembles a young, inexperienced squad.
Top 25: Four teams in men's top 25
Rochester (No. 2), Middlebury (No. 3), WPI (No. 6) and Williams (No. 10) each cracked the top 10 in this week's D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 poll.
Amherst (No. 16), Albertus Magnus (No. 19), Stevens (No. 24) and Rhode Island College (No. 25) were also ranked, giving the Northeast/East region nearly one third of the ranked teams this week. MIT and NYU also received votes.
Amherst (No. 4) again finished as the highest-ranked Northeast/East region team in the Women's Top 25 poll. Tufts climbed two spots to No. 6, while Southern Maine held steady at No. 13. Babson was ranked 20th.
Williams, Bridgewater State, Rochester, Ithaca and New Paltz State each received votes in the women's poll.
Quick hits
John DiBartolomeo tallied 29 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals in Rochester's 93-81 win against Washington U. on Sunday. Tyler Sankes added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench as Rochester improved to 14-0 overall (3-0 UAA). ... Peter Lynch finished with a game-high 23 points on a near-perfect 11-of-12 shooting performance as Middlebury topped Castleton State 54-38 on Tuesday. Middlebury, ranked No. 3 in this week's Top 25 poll, improved to 14-0 overall. ... Tahrike Carter led five Rhode Island College players in double digits with 13 points in the Anchormen's 70-64 win against Mass-Dartmouth on Tuesday. ... Ithaca guard Sean Rossi became the 23rd player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark with his 21 points in a 72-66 loss to Elmira Tuesday night. Chris Cassidy and Neil Randolph each scored 16 points for Elmira, which won its first conference game of the season. ... Kevin McMahon scored 18 points and Jesse Winter added 14 points, six rebounds and four steals in Cortland State's 84-61 win over Fredonia State on Saturday. Fredonia's Dalton Kashmer led all scorers with 25 points. ... Elisha Homich poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the Bridgewater State women's team to a 63-47 victory against Westfield State on Saturday. Jenna Williamson added 15 points for the Bears, which improved to 12-2 overall. ... Fiona O'Dwyer tallied 16 points and eight rebounds in Emmanuel's 81-37 rout of Mount Ida on Tuesday. The Saints have now won two straight after a three-game skid.
Contact me
Whether you have an interesting story idea, know of a player or coach approaching a career milestone, or just want to talk basketball, I want to hear it. Please reach out to me at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@andrew_lovell).
