GNAC Men's Basketball Report: Week 9

( FOR THE WEEKS OF JAN. 9 - 15 )

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Tahquell Cadle, Elms (Grad, G - Bridgeport, Conn.) - Playing all 80 minutes of action in a 1-1 GNAC week for the Blazers, Cadle averaged 27.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals, while shooting an even 50% from the floor (14-34) and 19-of-21 from the FT line. In a buzzer-beating 84-83 setback versus Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday, the grad student poured in 33 points (9-17 FG, 14-15 FT) with 11 boards, four assists and five steals. He capped the week with 21 points and 16 caroms (five offensive) in a 76-58 victory over Rivier on Saturday.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Quinton Partee Jr., Lasell (Fr., F - Roswell, Ga.) - Partee Jr. averaged 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 steals for the Lasers last week, shooting 54.5% (12-22) from the field while going 11-of-11 from the FT line. After a 16-point, seven-rebound performance at JWU, the freshman forward had 19 points, five boards and three steals against GNAC rival Albertus Magnus.

GNAC HONOR ROLL

Terry Dawkins, Albertus Magnus (Gr., F - Bronx, N.Y.) - Dawkins led the Falcons this past week, averaging 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in a 1-1 week. The graduate forward shot an impressive 17-for-27 (63%) from the floor, 1-for-2 (50%) from behind the arc, and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe (70%). Dawkins began his week with 18 points and 12 rebounds against No. 1 St. Joseph (Conn.) on Wednesday at home. He then put on a show against Lasell on Saturday, pouring in 24 points on 10-for-11 (90.9%) shooting from the floor to go along with six boards in a 102-83 road win for the Falcons. Against the Lasers, Dawkins became the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. 

Omar Boone, Colby-Sawyer (Sr, F - Colorado City, Texas) - Boone averaged 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game over two GNAC games. Omar started the week with a 23-point performance against Elms in a come from behind victory to go along with three blocks.

EJ Day, Lasell (Senior, G - Norwalk, Conn.) - Day averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists over two games, while his 12 assists against Albertus Magnus on Saturday tied the fifth most assists in a single game in program history.

Donovan Lewis Jr., Norwich (Gr, F - Savannah, Ga.) - Lewis Jr. averaged just shy of a double-double in a 1-1 week for Norwich with 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds. The graduate student first posted 13 points on a 71.4% shooting clip, which included a momentum-shifting trey from the top of the key, in a crucial home win over Saint Joseph's. Lewis Jr. followed that up with a team-high 17 points and 13.0 rebounds in a near-come-from-behind effort against Johnson & Wales. For the week, Lewis Jr. shot 66.7% from the floor and 2-2 from long range.

Russell Rau, Regis (Mass.) (So., F - Fitchburg, Mass.) - Rau averaged 16.0 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Pride against two of the top teams in the GNAC. On Wednesday against Emmanuel, he shot 8-for-17 from the field as he finished with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Saturday against Dean, Rau notched his third double-double of the season with team-high totals of 14 points and 13 rebounds. He kept the Pride close through most of the game against the Bulldogs, especially in the first half in which there were nine ties and 13 lead changes as well as no more than a one-possession lead by either squad. 

Ryan O'Neill, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Gr., G - Litchfield, Conn.) - O'Neill helped power the nationally-ranked No. 1 Blue Jays to another unblemished week, averaging 24.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over a pair of GNAC contests. The graduate student guard was on fire, connecting on 15-of-29 (51.7%) of his shots from the field, including 6-of-13 (46.2%) from beyond the arc. He also drilled 12-of-15 (80.0%) attempts from the free-throw line. O'Neill opened the week with 14 points and a pair of rebounds in an 83-69 win on the road over intrastate and conference rival Albertus Magnus on Wednesday night. He exploded for a career-high 34 points (11-19 FG, 6-11 FG, 6-7 FT) to go along with eight boards in a 100-73 triumph at home over Saint Joseph's of Maine on Saturday. O'Neill currently leads the Blue Jays offensively, averaging 14.5 ppg over the first 15 games of the 2022-23 season and is shooting it at a 41.2% clip from three-point range.

GNAC WEEKLY ARCHIVE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

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