Vinales Earns Seventh Rookie Honor
Scored 32 points in loss at Robert Morris on Saturday night
Freshman guard Kyle Vinales earned his seventh Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honor on Monday. Vinales helped the Blue Devils to a 1-1 week, securing a spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament for the 14th straight season.
Vinales had another big weekend for the Blue Devils, averaging 21.5 points per game to earn a share of his seventh Choice Hotels/NEC Rookie of the Week honor. The Detroit native's seven weekly honors is one off the league record shared by Saint Francis (PA)'s Darshan Luckey, Rider's Charles Smith and Monmouth's Alex Blackwell.
Despite going 1-1 on the week, Vinales shined in CCSU's setback, a 68-60 loss at Robert Morris, where he led all scorers with 32 points, 29 of which came in the second half, including 16 in the final four minutes as the Blue Devils whittled an 18-point deficit down to five.
Additionally, the 6-0 guard racked up 24 of his total points via the 3-ball, connecting on a career high eight shots to mark the most long-range shots by a CCSU player since former Blue Devil Tristan Blackwood hit 10 against the Colonials back in 2007. The eight trifectas also matched the 2011-12 NEC single-game season-high in the category.
Earlier on Thursday, Vinales scored 11 points and dished out three assists in a 65-60 win over Saint Francis (PA), clinching CCSU a spot in the 2012 NEC Playoffs. The league's second-ranked scorer at 18.1 points per game, he places third in 3-point field goals made (2.54) and fifth in minutes played (34.69).