Colleges: Former Doherty star Marty Silvera takes advantage of 'new opportunity,' thrives at Southern Connecticut

Worcester’s Marty Silvera had the time of his young life last season being part of St. Peter’s University’s magical and historic run in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.

St. Peter’s opened the tourney by upsetting No. 2 seed Kentucky in overtime, and became the first No. 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight.

“It was definitely fun,” Silvera said. “As a kid playing basketball and watching college basketball, you always wanted to go to March Madness. It was a dream come true.”

In two seasons at St. Peter’s, Silvera, a former Doherty High star guard, averaged 9.3 minutes in 44 games with one start.

After the Peacocks’ 2021-22 success, coach Shaheen Holloway left to take over at Seton Hall. Silvera did not expect increased playing time with new St. Peter’s coach Bashir Mason and his incoming recruits.

“I wanted a new opportunity,” Silvera said. “I wanted to play.”

Silvera entered the transfer portal last April, and Southern Connecticut State coach Scott Burrell was among the first to contact Silvera, he said.

During his recruitment process at Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut, where Silvera did his senior and postgraduate years, he established a relationship with Burrell and SCSU assistant Mark Fogel. Burrell was previously an assistant on Central Mass. native Tom Moore’s staff at Quinnipiac.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Silvera has made an immediate impact at Southern Connecticut State, where he ranks second on the team in scoring (13 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.2 rpg). Silvera leads the Northeast-10 Conference in assists per game at 5.2, and has led the Owls to a 13-8 (8-6) record.

“The season has been going good,” Silvera said. “We started out kind of rough (1-3 in first four games), but it’s a new team and a new experience for a lot of players. It’s been good. We found out what we needed to do to become a better team. For me, it’s fun now because I have a bigger role, and everybody treats each other with respect here, so I like the experience.”

As a junior at Doherty in 2018, Silvera averaged 24.7 points and 8.5 rebounds and was the T&G Hometeam Player of the Year for boys’ basketball.

Hoping for an opportunity to play at the Division 1 level in college, Silvera transferred to Putnam Science Academy, where he played with and against some top competition.

Silvera received Division 1 offers from 14 schools. St. Peter’s was his top choice. The youngest of five children, Silvera is the first in his family to attend college.

Silvera has scored in double figures in all but three games this season. He had one of his best games of the year in early January at Northeast-10 foe Assumption. With 22 points — 15 in the second half of the 66-64 win — 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, he delighted his fan section of family and friends at Laska Gym.

“It felt great,” Silvera said. “I haven’t played in front of all of them since I was back at Doherty, so it was definitely a fun and great experience. I’m just happy I played good and gave my people a show back home.”

Silvera believes his two years at St. Peter’s and playing at the D1 level helped him become a better leader.

“It taught me how to motivate guys more,” Silvera said. “I want to build the program here. I think I made a good decision here, and I hope we get to the (NCAA) tournament, too.”

HC rests, looks to bounce back

Holy Cross honored five of its best women’s basketball players last Saturday in a tremendous celebration at the Hart Center. HC retired the jerseys of legends Sherry Levin, the late Janet Hourihan Brooks, Lauren Maney George, Kathleen Courtney and Amy O’Brien Davagian.

The only downside of the afternoon was the Crusaders’ eight-point loss to Patriot League foe Army.

“It’s disappointing,” Holy Cross coach Maureen Magarity said.

For the first time this season, HC will look to bounce back from back-to-back losses. The Crusaders fell at Lehigh in overtime last Wednesday.

Holy Cross has its bye week and doesn’t play again until Saturday at Navy, and the Crusaders welcome the extra rest. They have been without starting forward Janelle Allen (mononucleosis) the last four games.

“We have to reset and get these kids some rest,” Magarity said, “because their minutes have been really high.”

Magarity expects Allen, HC’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, to return soon.

The Crusaders missed Allen in their matchup against Army star forward Sabria Hunter, who scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds.

HC led the Black Knights, 34-29, at halftime, but Army shot 56% in the second half, and the Crusaders struggled to get in rhythm offensively.

Magarity planned to give her players a couple of days off this week, then get back in the gym for some extra shooting.

“We just have to reset and we’ll be fine,” she said. “It will be a good test for us to figure some things out, too, and hopefully we’ll feel good and be playing our best late in the season.”

HC (16-5, 8-2), the defending regular-season PL champion, has two games against first-place Boston University (15-6, 10-0) still to play, on Feb. 15 in Boston and March 1 in Worcester.

Greyhound signs CFL deal

Assumption star defensive back/return specialist Isaiah Huff signed a contract with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.

Huff, a Don Hansen NCAA Division 2 All-America second-team honoree, joins Assumption alums Deonte (Harris) Harty (New Orleans Saints), Zach Triner (Tampa Bay Bucs) and Carlins Platel (Pittsburgh Steelers) in the professional ranks.

“Isaiah always dreamed of playing at the professional level,” Assumption coach Andy McKenzie said. “He worked hard to pursue that dream, and when he had opportunities to demonstrate his skills, he made the most of them. We are proud of his accomplishments as a Hound. We are looking forward to watching Isaiah make his name in the CFL.”

Huff transferred to Assumption after two seasons at Hampton University. This year, he had 28 tackles and two interceptions, and averaged 23 yards on 19 kickoff returns to help lead the Greyhounds to the NCAA Division 2 playoffs.

Huff thanked former Assumption star wide receiver Ashton Grant, who is now on the Cleveland Browns coaching staff, for steering him toward Assumption. Huff and Grant grew up in neighboring towns in Connecticut.

“Ashton was one of the main reasons I came to Assumption,” Huff said. “He helped me get in touch with the Greyhounds’ coaching staff, and without Grant, I would not be able to have this opportunity.”

Head of the Class

∎ WPI junior John Adams of Douglas posted a pair of double-doubles and averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Engineers to a 2-0 week.

∎ Regis sophomore Russell Rau of Fitchburg averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds in the Pride’s 2-0 week.

∎ Assumption senior Ja’Lyn Armstrong scored a game-high 16 points in a dominant win over Northeast-10 Conference foe Franklin Pierce, and helped the first-place Greyhounds extend their winning streak to five games and move up to No. 7 in this week’s Division 2 Sports Information Directors Association poll, and to No. 13 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division 2 Top 25 poll.

∎ Holy Cross junior forward Jack Ricketts scored the winning goal in overtime to beat RIT and registered an assist in both games of the series with the league-leading Tigers.

∎ Norwich freshman Reilly Laitala of Sterling was the Cadets’ highest finisher in the 1-meter dive at the Middlebury Invite.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Doherty hoop star Marty Silvera thrives at Southern Connecticut