Tag Archives: Basketball

Sports

Knights basketball off to a 4-2 start

 

Last season, the NECC Knights basketball team ended the season with a record of 12-16, leaving much to be desired.

This season, the Knights are off to a fast 4-2 start. They opened the season at NHTI with a 91-68 win. Matthew Jameson was the top scorer with 18 points, with Andres Hernandez and Dominic Dar right behind scoring 17 and 13 points respectively. Jameson also scored five three-pointers.

In the second game of the season, the Knights faced Great Bay Community College at Great Bay. There was more all-around scoring in this game, with everyone getting a piece of the pie. Dar scored a team-high 14 points. The Knights got the “W,” beating Great Bay 105-55.

The first two games saw the Knights greatly improve on last season’s rebound problem, which coach Darren Stratton stressed the importance of in the preseason. There were 51 total rebounds between the two games, with Jonathan Paulino having 29 of them.

The first loss of the season happened at the Knights home opener against Dean College. They lost 103-83. Jameson kept rolling though, scoring five three-pointers and 20 points in the game.

The Knights got back on track after their first loss, beating Daniel Webster 89-62 at home. NECC got off to a good start getting up 20-9 halfway through the first. Daniel Webster had some passionate fans at the game who were cheering in the first half but by the second half the Eagles were down 54-24 and stayed down by 30 points for most of the remainder of the game. The Knights showed their growing defensive ability all game long. Paulino had 13 rebounds and Julio Vicente had 5 steals.

NECC then went on to beat MassBay Community College on Veterans day, 99-91, in their closest game of the season. Jameson scored 19 points and Bryan Morales scored 18. In addition, Morales hit four three-pointers.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Knights fell to Holyoke Community College, 87-82. Hernandez scored 20 points in the losing effort.

The Knights upcoming games are: Nov. 17 vs. Massasoit, Nov. 19 at Bristol Community College, Nov. 21 vs. UConn at Avery Point and Nov. 24 at Quinsigamond Community College.

Sports

Knights drop three of four coming out of winter break

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The Knights have struggled coming out of the winter break this year, going 1-3 over the first four games of the new year. The Knights opened with double-digit losses at Southern Maine
Community College and at home against Lincoln College of New England before netting a tight
57-53 win over Vermont
Technical College last Sunday. Hoping to get a winning streak started, the Knights suffered a tough overtime loss on the road at
Bristol Community College Tuesday night.
The loss at Southern Maine was mainly caused by poor ball handling. The Knights committed 14 turnovers in the game
compared to only ten assists. Any game where the turnovers
outnumber the assists is more than likely going to end up in a loss, and a team like NECC just isn’t talented enough to make up for mistakes like that.
Matthew Jameson and Elijah Mukiibi struggled offensively, combining to shoot 4-25 from the field (16 percent) and only
netting 11 points. The backcourt duo of Edwin Gonzalez and Bryan Morales did most of the scoring for the Knights. Morales finished with ten points and only one turnover while Gonzalez scored 24. Gonzalez added five rebounds and five steals to round out his numbers.
It was much of the same when the Knights returned home to face off with
Lincoln College of New
England. NECC was outrebounded by 28 (65-37) and committed 15 turnovers. Despite another poor team shooting performance (33 percent from the field, 29
percent from three), the scoring was a little more evenly distributed.
Jameson and Mukiibi got back on track, scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively. Mukiibi also had eight rebounds. Forward Jonathan Paulino had a big day in the paint with a double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds) and Gonzalez came through with 13 points and a few assists. Kevin Brito contributed 12 points and two rebounds off the bench, while Chris Corey scored seven.
The win over Vermont Technical College exemplifies just what has to happen for the Knights to be successful. While they still committed 12 turnovers, the Knights shot the ball extremely well from three-point range (53.3 percent) and from the field in general (39.2 percent). With an undersized roster that has some trouble with rebounding, the number one remedy is to put the ball in the hoop.
Morales had another good game with 13 points including four three-pointers. Jameson was right behind with ten points, and Gonzalez added seven. Mukiibi and Paulino did their job down low, coming down with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Each added a handful of points as well.
The Knights came out in the next game against Bristol with a bit of momentum from the previous win. They played well during much of the game, even out-rebounding Bristol 49-35. But they struggled to shoot the ball again, only hitting 31.7 percent of their shots and 19.2 percent from the field. Although they forced 14 turnovers, NECC committed 12 on their end, continuing the trend of bad ball handling. The defense faltered in the overtime period and Bristol was able to take a commanding lead.
The big men in the middle were the stars of this one. Mukiibi and Paulino both recorded double-doubles, with Mukiibi scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds and Paulino netting 14 points and 18 rebounds. The two of them combined for more rebounds than the entire starting five for Bristol. Gonzalez and Jameson also came to play, with Gonzalez scoring 14 points and Jameson scoring 11.
The Knights now stand at 6-11 on the season. With only ten games left to go, it’s going to be a fairly tough road to register even a .500 record. NECC still faces tough tests against teams like Roxbury Community College, Holyoke Community College and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.
The one thing going for the Knights is that most of the remaining games are at home, but that is of little comfort to a team that is still struggling to put the ball in the net.

Sports

Basketball season is starting

 

The NECC men’s basketball team opens up their season on Nov. 1 and plays their first two games on the road at NHTI and Lincoln College of New England.

However, the season won’t really get going until Veterans Day, Nov. 11, when the Knights play their first home game of the 2014-2015 season against Gateway Community College (Conn). This game kicks off a tough stretch of seven games in 14 days, including conference games against MassBay, Holyoke and Massasoit Community College.

To celebrate Veterans Day this year, NECC is planning to have a ceremony honoring local current and former veterans before the Knights’ home opener. Athletic Director Sue MacAvoy says that NECC student Carli Hamilton will be singing the National Anthem before the game, and she is hoping to get a local high school ROTC program to be the color guard for the ceremony.

There will also be a small ceremony honoring current and former NECC students who are veterans, as well as possibly other local veterans. All NECC students and alumni who are veterans are encouraged to attend the festivities.

MacAvoy also stated that NECC has designed hats with Operation Hat Trick, an organization that helps veterans with both visible and invisible wounds from the battlefield through the sale of OHT branded merchandise. The hats will have the NECC Knights’ logo on the front, and the proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Operation Hat Trick was established in 2007 by Dot Sheehan of New Hampshire, and started as a local community program at the University of New Hampshire. Over the years, it has grown into a nationally recognized program, with over 220 schools from all 50 states adopting the program, most recently NECC.

Teams from Minor League Baseball and the American Hockey League have also joined. Even NHL teams such as the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins have adopted OHT.

In addition to the Operation Hat Trick fundraiser, the NECC softball team will also be holding a bake sale at the Veterans Day game to raise money for a local charity of their choice.

Planning for this event is still underway and some items on the agenda may change, but it will surely be an exciting day on the NECC Haverhill campus when the Knights play their home opener.

Sports

Fall 2014 Basketball Preview

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The NECC Knights men’s basketball team begins their season in a few weeks, and excitement is building around the program this year. Although the Knights lost several players last year, a solid core of returning sophomores plan to anchor a young team with plenty of athleticism.

Ryan Grant, Parker Rogers, and Chris Corey plan to bring some veteran leadership to the relatively young Knights squad.

Chris Corey, a Knights captain this season, is excited to get the year started.

“I just want to start playing. I’ve been waiting all summer,” Corey said.

When asked about his summer preparations, Corey made it clear he is looking to make a splash this year.

“I’ve been playing more than ever this summer, anywhere I can get on the court. I’ve been really dedicated, I’m finally taking it seriously.”

Head Coach Darren Stratton says, because of the youth, the team will strive more for chemistry than anything else this year.
“I like the recruiting class we’ve brought in, we’re just looking to take things one game at a time and improve every day,” Stratton said.

The new Knights lack size, with their tallest player at roughly 6’5″. Because of that, Stratton plans to take a more up-tempo approach to the offense this season. He plans on playing an open post scheme, which focuses more on perimeter play and will showcase the Knights’ athletic ability and the open up many three-point opportunities.

With the abundance of wing players at Stratton’s disposal, the opportunities for slashing to the basket and getting points in the paint will be plentiful. If the Knights can also show the ability to team rebound, the Knights will be in it until the end.

In addition to running a wide-open offensive scheme, the Knights will be looking to do a lot of full and half court press defense. With a good press defense, the Knights would be able to put pressure on the opposing teams all the way up the floor, causing disruptions in the passing game and slowing down potential fast breaks.

The Knights will open their season Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, N.H. After that, the Knights will play nine of their next 14 games on the road, including trips to the University of Connecticut at Avery Point in Groton, Conn. and Vermont Tech in Randolph Center, Vt.
The Knights’ first home game will be 10 days later, on Nov. 11, against Gateway Community College of New Haven, Conn.

Other home games of note are a showdown with Roxbury Community College of Roxbury, Mass., whom the Knights swept in two meetings last season, on Thursday, Jan. 15, and a conference matchup with Massasoit Community College on Thursday, Feb. 5.

Practice hasn’t started yet, but the Knights had a meeting to begin the year on Monday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. in room D129 of the Sport and Fitness Center of the Haverhill campus. Twenty prospective players attended the meeting along with Stratton and Assistant Coach Joe Tardif.

The meeting was mainly an orientation to the program, with the coaches collecting physicals for players and handing out the rules for eligibility and the NJCAA Code of Conduct.

“We’re all looking for a productive, winning season and trying to build on last year,” said Chris Corey, the team captain.

Sports

Women’s sports teams struggle with membership

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Whether playing or watching, sports are a great way to come together over a common goal: to beat the opposing team.
Unfortunately, some of the sports at NECC have had trouble filling their rosters. Volleyball may not even be able to put a competitive team out there this year. Students’ schedules are full, their resources are limited, and for any number of reasons not every team can draw enough student athletes to the court.
At NECC, the women’s teams — which include softball, volleyball, basketball and track and field — have had trouble drawing interest.
“It’s kind of sad to see the potential talent walking all around the campus,” said Sue MacAvoy, the NECC athletic director. “If people are interested, they need to come by.”
Many students may think that joining a team is going to impact them academically. MacAvoy says this just isn’t true, pointing out that, often, teams come together to study as a group. They do this to build camaraderie and also for academic support.
The Athletic Department also works with the college to put on different workshops for student-athletes throughout the year, to help with time management and studying. MacAvoy also points out that she has all the lists of the various tutors on campus, and she is quick to point any student in the right direction the minute they feel they are having academic issues.
Transportation is another big issue among all college students, not just student athletes. Potential athletes may feel like they not be able to make it to every practice and/or game due to lack of transportation. MacAvoy says that the NECC shuttle service operates throughout both cities and travels to both campuses. It also runs into the evening, meaning athletes will still be able to get home from practice. The NECC shuttle is free for anyone with a valid NECC ID.
The main issue, according to MacAvoy, is that many athletes coming from Division 1 high school athletics in the area are burnt out. They don’t want to play sports anymore.
It’s common in highly competitive high school sports for student athletes to lose the drive to compete after graduating. MacAvoy goes on to detail how she’s spoken with many athletes who simply say they played too much between high school, AAU teams, and travel teams. The sports they played took up all their free time, and they just didn’t want to do it anymore.
There are many obstacles to building teams, but things are already beginning to turn around. The creation of the softball team shows that there are a growing number of women who want to compete, and after a one-year hiatus, the women’s basketball team appears on track to come out and compete right away. This doesn’t mean the battle is over by any means, but it’s a start. MacAvoy isn’t stopping anytime soon, constantly recruiting and spreading the word about college athletics.
When asked how she appeals to potential student-athletes, MacAvoy said, “Just like the classes are different from high school, and the school is different, so are the sports here at Northern Essex.”
The softball team plans to begin practice for their fall scrimmage season this week. The basketball team still has a tentative schedule for the time being. This doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t come try out, though. MacAvoy and all the coaches urge anyone interested in playing to contact the athletic office as soon as possible, or stop by practice any time. The Athletic Department is located in the Sport and Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus.