By Dylan Butler
She was the only player to not have a great shooting night, but that matters little to Clare Droesch. The former Christ the King standout and her Boston College teammates were ecstatic after upsetting No. 3 Connecticut, 73-70, Monday night in the Big East tournament semifinals.
The 23rd-ranked Eagles, who lost 27 of the last 28 meetings with the Huskies, advanced to face Rutgers in the tournament final Tuesday night.
On a team that shot 63 percent from the field, including 69.2 percent in the first half, Droesch shot 2-for-9 but scored eight points and had four assists in 35 minutes against Connecticut.
The 5-foot-11 junior forward from Belle Harbor had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a 65-53 win over Miami Sunday and opened the tournament with seven points and seven rebounds in a 64-36 rout of Syracuse Saturday.
Droesch averages 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for Boston College, which improved to 24-6.
Wolff named America East Coach of the Year
Boston University men’s basketball coach Dennis Wolff, a former Holy Cross High School standout, was named America East Coach of the Year, the league announced last week.
The Bayside native is one of three coaches to have won the award three times and to garner the honor in back-to-back seasons. Wolff has compiled a record of 172-122 in 10 years at Boston University and is the school’s all-time winningest coach, surpassing former St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis on the list.
This year Wolff led the Terriers to a 23-5 record, including a 17-1 mark in the America East.
Meade and Hamilton garner Patriot League honors
Former Christ the King standout Jave Meade and Molloy grad Kevin Hamilton, starters for the Holy Cross men’s basketball team, both earned All-Patriot League honors.
Meade, a senior point guard from Queensbridge, was named to the first team while Queens Village native Hamilton, a sophomore forward, earned second team All-Patriot honors.
Meade is the first player in the Patriot League to score more than 1,000 points and dish more than 500 assists in a career. Meade ranks first all-time in the Patriot League in assists (593) and first all-time in the Patriot League and at Holy Cross in steals (240). He scored his 1,000th point in a 72-61 win over Bucknell last month.
Hamilton has become one of the top three-point shooters in the Patriot League, averaging 11.9 points per game in conference play.
He is shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three-point range in league action while leading the conference in steals with 70. Hamilton matched his career-high with 17 points in the win over Lehigh Feb. 29.
UConn’s Villanueva and Brown earn Big East honors
Charlie Villanueva, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Woodhaven, was named to the All-Big East Rookie Team while UConn teammate Taliek Brown, a former St. John’s Prep star, was named to the All-Big East Honorable Mention team.
Villanueva, who played at Newtown before transferring to Blair Academy in New Jersey, averaged 10 points per game and is second on the Huskies in rebounding, averaging 5.3 caroms per game.
Brown, a senior point guard, led the Big East in assists, averaging 6.6 per game.
Adeleke earns All-CAA first team
Rochdale Village native Kenny Adeleke, a junior forward on the Hofstra men’s basketball team, was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association first team, the league announced last week.
The former Robeson star averaged 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and was also named to the All-Defensive team.
Adeleke, who is 14th on Hofstra’s all-time scoring list with 1,285 points and fifth in all-time rebounds (829), was named CAA Rookie of the Year as a freshman and last season was named to the All-CAA second team.
Teammate Mike Radziejewski, a Christ the King grad from Jackson Heights, was named to the conference All-Academic team.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
