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Nighthawk Men's Basketball Preview
The Nighthawks hope that the formula for a repeat of their 2008 ECAC Championship is 8+8 as they return eight letter-winners from last year's squad and welcome eight newcomers to the 2009-2010 roster.
Newbury finished with an overall record of just 7-19 last season, but posted conference sweeps of Southern Vermont College and Lesley University to secure them a postseason spot in the inaugural year of New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play. Despite their efforts, the Nighthawks suffered a first round loss to the Eagles of Daniel Webster College and now look to the year ahead to reclaim their title.
Guards:
Led by returners and captains Samuel Stanford (Somerville,
MA/Somerville) and Husain Abdul-Ghaffar
(Springfield, MA/New Leadership Charter), the Nighthawk
backcourt also welcomes the quickness and athleticism of freshmen
Timothy Young (Brockton, MA/Brockton),
Oasiris Yates (White Plains, NY/Valhalla),
Christopher Torres (Brockton, MA/Brockton), and
Tyrone Jackson (North White Plains,
NY/Valhalla). Stanford led Newbury in three-point
field goals, connecting on 54 from behind the arc while he and
Abdul-Ghaffar tallied 224 and 145 total points, respectively last
season. Corey Charubini (Hull, MA/Hull), Robert Foley
(Coventry, CT/Wethersfield), and Matthew Tise (Hanover,
MA/Boston College) will also log some key minutes for the
Nighthawks as all three now have a year of conference play under
their belts. Foley finished second in the NECC in 2008-2009
with a .434 three-point field goal percentage.
Forwards:
Junior John Rowley Jr. (Hartford, CT/Rockville)
returns to the frontcourt after a stellar 2008-2009 season where he
finished second for the Nighthawks with 348 total points and a
team-high .776 free throw percentage. His efforts ranked him
9th in the conference in points per game (13.9).
He will be joined by seniors Philip Batista (Marlborough,
MA/Marlborough) and Michael Foley (Oxford, ME/Oxford Hills
Comprehensive) as well as newcomers Jason Marshall
(Fairburn, GA/Bishop Loughlin Memorial) and
Rondell Best (Taunton, MA/Brockton) who should
make immediate impacts to Newbury's post play.
Centers:
In addition to the height and agility of the forwards, the
Nighthawks return captain Paul Beckford Jr. (Somerville,
MA/Somerville) to the center position after an outstanding
year on the boards in 2008-2009. Beckford hauled in 162 total
rebounds, ripping 60 of those on the offensive end ranking him
13th in rebound per game in conference play.
Freshman Matt Lane (Somerville,
MA/Bridgton Academy) will also vie for game time as his 6'
4" frame will bring added presence on the court.
In the conference preseason poll conducted among the NECC's head men's basketball coaches, Newbury was ranked in the #8 spot as Elms College emerged as the favorite collecting all first-place votes.
Teams received nine points for every first place vote received, eight points for second place votes, seven points for third place votes, down to two points for a last place vote. First place votes are shown in parentheses.
2009 NECC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL
POLL
TEAM, POINTS(1st Place votes)
1-Elms, 72(8)
2-Becker, 60
3-Daniel Webster, 56
4-Wheelock, 48
5-Mitchell, 38
6-Southern Vermont, 31
7-Lesley, 25
8-Newbury, 22
To see the full New England Collegiate Conference men's
basketball preseason poll, click on the link below:
http://www.neccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/releases/2009MBBPreSeasonPoll
