By Dylan Butler
Gonzalez, a former standout at Holy Cross High, had 9 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds for Southern New Hampshire, which snapped Bentley's 21-game winning streak.With the game tied at 49, Gonzalez grabbed in the in-bound pass, dribbled up court and drained a 3-pointer from the right wing over Bentley's Tim Forbes, whose layup with eight seconds left tied the game.”I just wanted to try and calm down and make sure I took a good shot,” Gonzalez told the Union Leader newspaper. “And I wanted to take it with no time left so they couldn't score again.”Four days earlier, in a 78-72 loss at Merrimack, Gonzalez had a team-high 20 points and 6 rebounds for the Penmen. Through 24 games, Gonzalez leads Southern New Hampshire in scoring, averaging 13 points per game.As a senior at Holy Cross, Gonzalez led the CHSAA in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game. He was named TimesLedger CHSAA Player of the Year in 2002. While Division I schools University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Niagara, Chicago State, St. Peter's expressed interest in Gonzalez, the 5-foot-11 shooting guard went with Southern New Hampshire, the lone school to offer him a full scholarship.Former St. Francis Prep star Rashad Bell had perhaps his greatest performance at Boston University Saturday, scoring a career-high 29 points in a 61-55 win over the University of Vermont. The senior forward, who also had 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals and was honored before the game for becoming the 27th player in the program's history to score 1,000 career points, was named co-America East Player of the Week.He shared the honor with Vermont's Taylor Coppenrath, who had 37 points and 13 rebounds.Freshman Bryan Geffen, another former Prep star, had a key steal and layup to put the Terriers ahead for good.Kevin Hamilton, who hails from Queens Village and played his high school ball at Archbishop Molloy, was named Patriot League Player of the Week after averaging 18 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals in a pair of Holy Cross wins.The junior guard had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in an 81-50 win over Lafayette last Thursday and then had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in a 73-53 win over Lehigh Sunday.St. John's Prep grad Bryant Dunston, a freshman forward at Fordham, had a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Rams to a 63-56 win over visiting University of Massachusetts Saturday.The 6-foot-8 freshman from LeFrak City, who also had 21 points and 19 rebounds in an 84-62 win over St. Bonaventure, was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Queens native Terrence Watkins, a senior guard at St. Peter's College, had a game-high 20 points, including a driving bucket that put the Peacocks ahead for good with 3:03 left, to lift St. Peter's to a 73-70 win over Canisius in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference league game Friday night.Watkins, who played for St. Peter's coach Bob Leckie at Bishop Loughlin, had seven points during a 13-2 run that saw the Peacocks turn a 60-58 deficit with 3:57 left to a 71-72 lead.Former Forest Hills standout Ronald Yates, a transfer from UMB, added 11 points and 9 rebounds for St. Peter's.Archbishop Molloy grad Wendell Gibson and Christ the King alum Mike Radziejewski, both seniors on the Hofstra men's basketball team, had 12 points apiece to lead the Pride to a 74-68 win over UNCWilmington at Hofstra Arena. It was the 997th win in the history of the Hofstra basketball program.Sundiata Gaines, who last year led Molloy and the CHSAA in scoring, posted a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) for the University of Georgia in a 60-51 loss at No. 5 Kentucky Saturday. It was the sixth straight loss for a Bulldogs team that starts four freshmen and a sophomore.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
