PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 9 (Jan. 18)
PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 18 (pdf)
After a tremendous performance that included one 30-point game and a 40-point game, Kutztown's Stephen Dennis has been named the PSAC East Player of the Week for the second straight week. Slippery Rock's Maron Brown is this week's PSAC West Player of the Week, earning his first award of the year and becoming the second different Rock player to earn the award this year. Terrance King of East Stroudsburg earns his second straight PSAC East Freshman of the Week honor and his third overall this year, while Gannon's Anthony Simmons, who had just one point on the season up until last Wednesday, earns the PSAC West Freshman of the Week after a breakout performance in Gannon's PSAC West opener last week.
PSAC Players of the Week - Jan. 18
PSAC East Player of the Week
Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
G, Sr., West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Dennis earns his second straight PSAC East Player of the Week award and his third overall this year after a tremendous week in which he averaged 38.5 points while making two-thirds of his shots from the field (26-for-39) and over 80 percent of his free throws (15-for-21) to help the Golden Bears remain the only undefeated team in the PSAC. Dennis also averaged 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. In a matchup of Top 25 teams against previously unbeaten East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, Dennis went for a career-high 42 points (21 in each half) on 13-of-20 shooting in the 87-84 win. He also tied the school record by making 16 free throws in the game. He poured in 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting in an 83-63 win over Millersville on Saturday and also added five rebounds. With 1,960 career points, Dennis is now just 57 points away from breaking the Kutztown record and has scored 30 or more points five times this year. This marks the fourth straight week that a Kutztown player has claimed the PSAC East Player of the Week award and the fifth time in the last six weeks.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Terrance King, East Stroudsburg
F, Fr., Bushkill, Pa./East Stroudsburg North
King earns his second straight PSAC East Freshman of the Week award and his third overall this year after scoring in double figures in both games of East Stroudsburg’s 1-1 week. He recorded 12 points, four rebounds and a career-high five blocks in just 14 minutes in a three-point loss to Kutztown. He then went for 10 points and seven boards to help the Warriors rebound from their first loss of the year with a 74-47 win over Shippensburg on Saturday.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Maron Brown, Slippery Rock
F, Jr., Salisbury, Md./Wicomico
Brown earns his first PSAC West Player of the Week award of the season after averaging a double-double with 24.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in The Rock’s 1-1 week, recording two double-doubles over the week. He scored 23 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with just 10 seconds left in the game in Rock’s 82-80 win over Mercyhurst. He also added 10 rebounds in the contest. He then came back and recorded a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 more rebounds in an 82-80 loss to Edinboro. For the week, Brown shot 58.1 percent from the field (18-for-31), 5-of-10 from three-point range, and 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Anthony Simmons, Gannon
F, Fr., Rochester, N.Y./Allendale Columbia
After having scored just one point on the season heading into last Wednesday’s game, Simmons scored 14 points and added six rebounds off the bench to help lead the Golden Knights to a 59-47 win over California in the PSAC West opener. With the game tied at 34, Simmons scored eight straight points to give Gannon a 42-34 lead with 11:31 to play. For the week, which also included a loss to Clarion, Simmons averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, hit on 66.7 percent of his shots from the field (6-for-9) and was perfect from the free throw line (4-for-4).
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies went 0-2 this week, with a 73-52 loss at Cheyney on Wednesday to open up their PSAC East schedule, and a 78-77 overtime loss to West Chester at home on Saturday…Three Huskies scored in double-figures against Cheyney as Sr. G Ruben Britt, So. G Trevon Johnson and So. F Larry Webster each collected 10 points apiece…The Huskies led West Chester nearly the entire game until the Golden Rams took a 68-66 lead with 4:01 to play…A layup by Sr. F Adon El with 22 seconds left pushed the game into overtime, where a shot by Britt with three seconds remaining for the win fell short…Britt led all scorers with 23 points while Johnson scored 20 and El added 14 points and seven rebounds in his season debut.
California Vulcans
Cal U entered PSAC West action on a five-game winning streak before losing divisional games to Gannon and Lock Haven…The Vulcans are off to an 0-2 start in PSAC West play for the first time in recent program history (since 2002-03)…Cal U opened divisional play as one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the league, but shot just 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the charity stripe against the Golden Knights and Bald Eagles…The Vulcans also struggled from beyond the arc, making only 13.6 percent (3-of-22), and were out-rebounded by an average of 33-24 in the two losses last week…Forwards Kelsey Williams and Andrew Young are both averaging over 15 points per game in conference play…Young set a season-high with 28 points and eight rebounds against Lock Haven.
Cheyney Wolves
The 21-point win against Bloomsburg was the Wolves largest margin of victory of the season...The nine three pointers made were also a season high...However the eight free throws made were a season low...The Wolves were also credited with 17 assists, a season high...Tamir Smith recorded his first double double of the season scoring 17 points while grabbing 10 rebounds in the victory over Bloomsburg...Cheyney will face cross town rival West Chester on Wednesday in Hollinger Fieldhouse. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Clarion broke a four-game PSAC-West losing streak with the win over Gannon Saturday. It also broke a 6-game losing streak to the Gannon Knights dating back to Gannon's pre-PSAC-West days (1992)…Clarion is now 6-1 at home this season and 226-88 at home under 22nd year head coach Ron Righter…The 51 points Clarion allowed to Gannon were the fewest allowed by the Golden Eagles to an NCAA D-II team since beating Millersville 53-51 in Dec. 2005…Paul McQueen has 45 points in his last three games and five double-digit contests in his last six…Clarion shot 50 percent against Gannon Saturday, the fifth time this year the Golden Eagles have shot 50 percent or better in a game…PG Lloyd Harrison is shooting 59.6 percent (31 of 52) from the field since Jan. 2 while averaging 14.8 ppg in the 6-game stretch.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
No. 24 ESU (14-1, 1-1) entered the NABC poll last Tuesday, the second national ranking in school history (No. 20 in late January, 1991-92)...Warriors lost for the first time this season on Wednesday at No. 3 Kutztown, 87-84...ESU's eight turnovers were the fewest in eight seasons under Jeff Wilson...Saturday's 74-47 win vs. Shippensburg was keyed by 20-3 run to start second half...Sr. G Andy Heimbach has 985 career points and 200 3's...Jr. F Mike Tobin had 16 points, 8 rebounds at Kutztown and 13 points, 10 rebounds (2nd double-double in three games) vs. Shippensburg...He is averaging 16.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in the last four games...Sr. G Robby Pines had 15 assists/3 turnovers last week and leads PSAC in assists (6.6) and ast-to ratio (3.5)...ESU is at Bloomsburg and Cheyney this week.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Edinboro snapped a five-game losing streak, matching the longest in Greg Walcavich's 21 years as head coach with an 82-80 win over Slippery Rock. The fifth straight loss came three days earlier at Lock Haven, marking the first time the Fighting Scots opened with a loss in PSAC West action in 12 years…Lock Haven came into the division opener ranked last in the PSAC in rebounding but outrebounded the Fighting Scots 37-32...Against Slippery Rock, ‘Boro dominated the glass against a team that was tied for second in rebounding, 54-41. That included 21 offensive rebounds, including eight by Byron Knight. The junior guard recorded his first career double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds…Cory Somerville played his first game against his former team and scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds vs. Slippery Rock…Sr. F Justin Moore missed three games recently with an injury and has seen limited action since, but he came up big against SRU with 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 16 minutes.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon split a pair of PSAC Western Division games last week, defeating California (Pa.) (59-47) at home and losing to Clarion (70-51) on the road...The Golden Knights have not won or lost more than two games in a row this season, alternating their last four games...Jr. G George Johnson scored 26 points at Clarion, reaching the 20-point plateau for the sixth time this season and fourth time in the last six games. He hit a career-high six three-pointers against the Golden Eagles while accounting for 51 percent of the team's points...Fr. Anthony Simmons snapped a 34-34 tie against Cal with eight straight points. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench after entering the game with only one point...Gannon improved to 9-1 all-time against California (Pa.) at home with last Wednesday's victory...The Golden Knights have won three games this season while scoring less than 60 points.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP, ranked No. 12 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, defeated Clarion 76-60 in its PSAC West opener and then began a three-game road swing with a 76-54 victory at Mercyhurst…Thomas Young scored a career-high 26 points in the win over Clarion, IUP's ninth in the past 13 games versus the Golden Eagles…Darryl Webb had his fourth straight double-double, eighth of the season and 28th of his career with 14 points and 11 rebounds…Akida McLain also reached double figures in both categories with 13 points and 11 boards…Young completed his outstanding offensive week with a game-high 21 points versus the Lakers…Julian Sanders broke out of a brief shooting slump with three 3-pointers and scored 15 points…Webb moved into 20th place in school history with 1,083 points, sixth with 670 rebounds and second with 92 blocked shots…Sanders climbed to 11th with 110 made 3-pointers.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Stephen Dennis has 1,960 career points…He is 58 points away from becoming the all-time scoring leading in Kutztown history…Dennis scored a career-high 42 points in a victory over ESU and followed that up with 35 points in a win at Millersville…Tamir Johnson finished with a career-high 17 rebounds in a victory over Millersville…Kutztown has made 50 percent or better of its shots in 10 games this season...Kutztown has won 15 straight PSAC East conference games…The Golden Bears have also won 23 straight games at Keystone Arena…With its win at Millersville on Saturday, Kutztown coach Bernie Driscoll secured his eighth consecutive regular season winning record…Ryan Washington pulled a season-high 16 rebounds in the win over East Stroudsburg…In two wins last week, Washington averaged 13.5 rebounds…The nation's highest scoring tandem, Dennis and Washington, are averaging 47.5 points…Jon DeShields made a pair of critical 3-pointers against Millersville.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
With wins over Edinboro and California, Lock Haven started PSAC West play 2-0 and the Bald Eagles find themselves in a tie for first-place in the league. The perfect league record sets up a showdown of the only two PSAC West unbeatens on Wednesday night when the Bald Eagles welcome No. 12 IUP to Thomas Fieldhouse...With the two wins LHU improves to 5-8 on the year...Lock Haven is being led by three players that are averaging double-digit scoring including sophomore Eric Brennan, who's scoring 17.9 pts/game. He's also pulling down 7.8 rebounds a game. His 16 against Cal marked the 15 straight time he's scored in double-figures...Warren Christian and Dalexis Pena are adding 15 and 12.4 points a game, respectively...Christian leads LHU with 9.6 boards a game and Pena has 61 total assists (5/game)...In Lock Haven's most recent two-game span, which included The Haven's first road win, Christian recorded five blocks, which give him 75 on his career. That moves him into a tie at No. 5 on Lock Haven's all-time list. He's currently tied with Billy Arre.
Mansfield Mountaineers
The Mountaineers extended their winning streak to a season high five games with wins over Shippensburg and Cheyney during the week...Mansfield has now won seven of its last eight games...Jr. Derrision Anthony recorded two double-doubles during the week and has three double-doubles in his four games as a starter...The win over Cheyney was the Mountaineers first over the Wolves in Decker Gymnasium since 2005...It marks the first time since the 2005-06 season Mansfield has started its PSAC East with a 2-0 mark...Yuseff Carr extended his streak of consective games scoring in double-figures to 17 extending back to last season...Mansfield has used scoring balance for its succcess this season with at least four scoring in double figures in 13 of 15 games including five games with five players scoring in double-figures.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst dropped its first two games of divisional play for the second year in a row after falling 82-80 at Slippery Rock in the opener and losing at home to No. 12 IUP 76-54...The loss is the first on the Lakers home court since IUP beat the Lakers a year ago on Feb. 14, 2009...The 54 points against the Crimson Hawks is a season-low for Mercyhurst...The Lakers are 1-3 in their past four games, trailing at halftime in each contest...Prior to this stretch Mercyhurst was 3-0 in games when trailing at the half...Sr. F Christian Cornelius has worked his way into the starting lineup in the last four games and scored in double-figures in three of those contests...The Lakers are in the middle of a three-game home stand, hosting rival Edinboro on Wednesday before hosting Lock Haven on Saturday...The Lakers split a two-game series with each team a year ago, winning at Edinboro and at home against the Bald Eagles.
Millersville Marauders
Millersville overcame a 19-point deficit against West Chester to snap a seven-game skid, avoid the longest losing streak in school history and open PSAC East play with a win for the third time in the last four years...Since returning from an injury that held him out of four games, Sr. Palmer McDurfee is averaging 10 points per game...The Marauders are 6-4 with McDurfee in the lineup and 0-4 without him...Sr. Jason Blake recorded 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in both games last week. After going four games scoring just 12 points, Blake has scored double figures in four-straight games and is averaging better than 15 points per game over the stretch...Coach Fred Thompson picked up his 199th victory in the win over West Chester and needs just one win to become the third coach in school history--and the second fastest--to 200 wins.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg dropped decisions to Mansfield and East Stroudsburg to open PSAC Eastern Division play...Nine different Red Raiders have scored in each of the past two games...So. F Will Royal led the team in scoring against Mansfield and made his first start as a Red Raider on Saturday against East Stroudsburg...So. G Jordan Stasyszyn appeared in 10 minutes off the bench against ESU and scored his points as a Red Raider, finishing with five points, three rebounds and one steal.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Junior forward Maron Brown has scored 20 or more points and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four straight games...Brown averaged 23.3 points and 12.2 rebounds during that four-game span...Brown scored a career-high 26 points last Saturday at Edinboro...Jr. G Jabril Bailey scored a career-high 31 points last Wednesday vs. Mercyhurst...Bailey and Brown have each recorded seven double-doubles this winter...Bailey has scored 10 or more points in eight straight games...Brown has grabbed 10 or more points in six straight games...With a 33-11 record, Kevin Reynolds is tied with Cliff Wettig (1973-75) for the most wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester split its PSAC East contests last week, falling at Millersville on Wednesday before coming from behind to beat Bloomsburg on the road Saturday afternoon in overtime...West Chester's OT win over Bloomsburg kept the Golden Rams perfect in overtime games this year...The Rams also defeated Wilmington in five OTs on Nov. 21...Fr. Harley Williamson hit 8 of 12 free throws in the second half against Bloomsburg, while Ralph Hegamin scored 14 of his 21 in the second half to spark the comeback...WCU has beaten Bloomsburg the last five times the two schools have met, dating back to 2006-07...The Golden Rams have now won three of their last four after dropping their first two contests of the year after the calendars turned to January... The next four games will tell a lot for the Golden Rams...West Chester hosts Cheyney on Wednesday and Mansfield on Saturday...The following week, WCU travels to Kutztown and East Stroudsburg...Those four teams are all playing the best basketball in the East right now.