PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 7 (Jan. 4)
PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 4 (pdf)
Ryan Washington of Kutztown is the PSAC East Player of the Week for the second straight week after putting up monster numbers in three games last week, averaging a double-double with 30 points per game. Millersville's Guye Weber earned his first PSAC East Freshman of the Week award of the year. The PSAC West Player of the Week is Darryl Webb of IUP, who earns the award for the second time in the last three weeks. California's Ryan Niemiec is the PSAC West Freshman of the Week this week, as he is also a first-time honoree.
PSAC Players of the Week - Jan. 4
PSAC East Player of the Week
Ryan Washington, Kutztown
F, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa./Wissahickon
Washington earns the PSAC East Player of the Week award for the second straight week after averaging a double-double over three games with 30.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He also chipped in 3.6 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.6 steals per game and shot 75 percent from the floor (36-for-48) and 80 percent from the free throw line (16-for-20). He notched a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds and also added five blocks, five assists and four steals in a 88-76 win over Lincoln. Washington then exploded for 31 points and also collected 13 rebounds in a 75-59 win over Gannon. He then put up 31 more points on 13-of-14 shooting in a 98-72 win over Clarion. His performance helped the Golden Bears improve to 9-0 on the year and extend their home-court winning streak to 22 games.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Guye Weber, Millersville
G, Fr., Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico
Weber broke out during Millersville’s four-game schedule over the holidays, averaging 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, as he was a bright spot in four Marauder losses. He made 10-of-20 three-point shots in the four games and also shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line (7-for-8). Weber had at least eight point in all four games, topped out by 18 as well as eight rebounds against West Liberty. He had 12 points against IUP and led the team with 10 rebounds vs. California.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Darryl Webb, IUP
F, Jr., Elkridge, Md./Long Reach
Webb averaged 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in leading IUP to wins over Millersville and West Chester to remain undefeated at 10-0 and earned his second PSAC West Player of the Week honor of the season. For the week, Webb hit on 12-of-24 from the field and 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the free throw line. He also added 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. He had game highs of 17 points and eight rebounds as well as two blocks and three steals in a 68-54 win over Millersville. On Sunday, Webb scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as IUP rallied for a 81-72 over West Chester. He also had 10 rebounds against the Golden Rams for his fifth double-double of the year. Webb also became the 25th player in IUP history to reach the 1,000-point career mark.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Ryan Niemiec, California
G, Fr., Brownsville, Pa./Beth-Center
Niemiec earns his first PSAC West Freshman of the Week award of the season after averaging 8.0 points and shooting 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field, including 47.1 percent from three-point range (8-for-17) in a 2-2 week for the Vulcans. Niemiec scored 13 points and had three assists against West Liberty and also had 11 points vs. Wheeling Jesuit. The guard made a pair of three-pointers in Cal’s upset win over West Chester on Saturday.
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies went 2-1 in their past three games, improving their record to 6-4 this season…It is their best start since the 2006-07 team also started its season 6-4…BU fell to Goldey-Beacom on December 29, 75-62, as four players scored in double-figures, led by Fr. F Ed Hall with 14…The Huskies bounced back with a 70-38 win over Lock Haven on Saturday as So. G Trevon Johnson scored 17 points and So. F Larry Webster had 13 rebounds and five blocks…During the game, Webster moved into BU's top ten in career blocks and currently has 62, good for ninth place…BU gained its biggest win of the year, a 65-59 comeback victory over Edinboro on Sunday…Sr. G Ruben Britt scored a career-high 30 points, adding nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals…Hall added 12 points and nine rebounds and Webster added six blocks.
California Vulcans
The Vulcans are off to a 9-3 start this season for their best start since 2003-04 when they opened at 10-0…Cal U has won all five games this year at Hamer Hall and six overall dating back to the final game of last season...The Vulcans opened holiday break play with losses to West Liberty and host Wheeling Jesuit at the Main Street Bank Classic on Dec. 29-30 before rebounding with league crossover victories against No. 25 West Chester and Millersville…In the 95-89 loss to the Hilltoppers, Cal U shot a season-high 61.4 percent from the field and made nine three-pointers…Despite shooting season-lows from the field and free-throw line on Sunday, the Vulcans claimed a 59-40 win over the Marauders…The 40 points scored by Millersville are the fewest allowed by Cal U since the 2007-08 season-opener against Penn State-Greater Allegheny.
Cheyney Wolves
After winning four in a row the Wolves are now on a three game skid. Cheyney dropped three games this past week, falling to the University of the District of Columbia (78-68), Slippery Rock (96-86) and Mercyhurst (68-67)...The 98 points surrendered against the Rock was a season high and marked the third time this year that Cheyney gave up at least 90 points...Preseason All PSAC selection Tamir Smith saw his first action of the season. The senior guard is averaging 10.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games...Smith moved up the all-time scoring list and now stands at 17 with 1037 career points...The Wolves continue to be led by Sharif Bray. The transfer from California is averaging 23.3 points per contest...Cheyney will play their first home game of the season on Wednesday...The Battlers of Alderson Broaddus College will invade Cope Hall for a rare 2:00 p.m. tip.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Junior guard Jamar Harrison has scored in double figures in all 11 of Clarion's game…The 23 points scored by point guard Lloyd Harrison Sunday marked the second time the junior point guard has scored 20 or more points in a game this season. The last time a Golden Eagle point guard had multiple 20-point games in a season was in 2002-2003 when Rollie Smith did it 14 times…Clarion's win over Waynesburg Wednesday gave the Golden Eagles seven wins before New Year's for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU improved to 11-0 for the first time since 1942-43 with wins over Clarion (75-65) and Gannon (75-54)...The undefeated start has been led by senior guards Andy Heimbach (14.6 ppg - only player in double figures) and Robby Pines (9.1 ppg), who leads the PSAC in assists (6.5) and free throw percentage (91.7, 33-36)...Heimbach had 19 points vs. Clarion and 17 vs. Gannon; Pines had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists vs. Gannon and was 16-for-16 at the line over the weekend . . three freshmen - Duane Johnson, Terrance King and Marcus Brown - have combined for 25 points (53% shooting), 13 rebounds and 3 blocks per game...ESU has held eight opponents under 40 percent from the field (37.2% for the season) while forcing 22.4 turnovers...The Warriors are +25.5 in scoring (84.2 to 58.7) and +10.9 in rebounding.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
After sitting out the previous two games due to an injury, Byron Knight returned against Alderson-Broaddus and finished with a season-high 23 points while coming off the bench…Edinboro had won nine straight games over Bloomsburg before Sunday's 65-59 loss to the Huskies…The Fighting Scots were without Justin Moore, the team's third-leading scorer (11.3 ppg.) and leading rebounder (8.3 rpg.) for the PSAC crossover games due to an injury. Moore had posted his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Alderson-Broaddus…Cory Somerville had his second double-double with 17 points and 10 boards at Mansfield, and a day later he blocked a career-high six shots at Bloomsburg…Backup point guard Bobby Stauffer made the most of his 18 minutes at Mansfield. In addition to scoring eight points, he had three assists and a career-high eight steals.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon went 1-3 during four games since the last PSAC report...The Golden Knights dropped a pair of PSAC crossover games last weekend to undefeated teams in Kutztown and East Stroudsburg...George Johnson was named to the Porreco Cup All-Tournament team earlier in the week after scoring 16 points during a 59-57 victory over Taylor in the consolation game. Johnson, who scored 11 of the 16 points in the second half, has reached the 20-point plateau four times in the last six games...Jr. Danard Crouch scored a season-high 14 points off the bench at East Stroudsburg...Jr. Travis Brannen reached double digits in scoring during both games last weekend, pushing his total of double-digit games this season to six...Gannon has fought hard for its victories this season...All four victories have come by eight points or less, including a pair of two-point victories.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP ran its record to 10-0 with a sweep of Millersville and West Chester in the first crossover weekend of the season…The fourth-ranked Crimson Hawks are off to their best start since the 1995-96 team was 11-0…The school record for wins at the start of the season is 24 in 1993-94…Darryl Webb scored 39 points in the two games and became the 25th player in school history to reach the 1,000 mark, finishing the weekend in 23rd place with 1,019…He also ranks 10th with 623 rebounds and third with 85 blocked shots…Webb has his fifth double-double of the season and 25th of his career with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Marauders…Julian Sanders joined a group of 13 other IUP players with 100 career 3-pointers made by making three versus the Golden Rams…The Crimson Hawks are 6-0 in crossover games the past two seasons.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Kutztown head coach Bernie Driscoll won his 150th career game Saturday afternoon against Gannon…Kutztown defeated Gannon for the first time in school history…Five of Kutztown's next six games are on the road…Tamir Johnson grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the victory over Lincoln. Johnson scored a season-high 14 points against Clarion…Ivory Wells scored all eight of his career high points during a second half surge that helped KU beat Lincoln…The Golden Bears began the second half against Gannon with four old-fashioned 3-point plays…Kutztown made its first 10 baskets in its victory over Clarion…Stephen Dennis has 1,806 career points…Ryan Washington has tied or surpassed his career-high point total in Kutztown's last three games (Lincoln, Gannon and Clarion)…Julius Gray tied his career-high with 22 points against Clarion...It was Gray's first 20-point game since he scored 22 points against PSU-Berks on Nov. 30.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
Lock Haven went 0-2 last week as the Bald Eagles dropped back-to-back PSAC Crossover games on Saturday and Sunday at Bloomsburg and Mansfield, respectively...Lock Haven lost to Bloom 70-38 and fell to MU 77-66...The two losses drop LHU to 3-6 on the year...LHU hadn't played since picking up back-to-back overtime wins at the IUP Tournament on Dec. 12 & 13...So. F Eric Brennan leads the team in points with 18.2/game. He netted 17 in the loss to Mansfield and it marked the 11th straight game he's scored in double-figures dating back to last season...At Mansfield on Sunday, Warren Christian also recorded five blocks running his season total to 21 and career total to 66, which put him No. 7 all-time on the LHU men's career list...He's also second on the team with 13.7 points-per-game.
Mansfield Mountaineers
Mansfield went 2-1 over the break to improve to 7-4 on the season…Jr. F Yuseff Carr scored in double-figures in all three games while averaging 9.3 rebounds per game…So. F Tony Fannick has become an outside threat in addition to his inside play connecting on 9-17 (52%) of his 3-point attempts over the past three games.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst (9-2) extended its winning streak to six games after sweeping the first weekend of PSAC crossover play with a 76-64 win over Shippensburg followed by a 68-67 win over Cheyney…Jr. G Heiden Ratner has been the team's leading scorer (16.0 ppg) in each of the six games while Jr. G Jason Snow has led in assists every game…The last time a Laker led the team in scoring for more than six games was Joshua Helm in the first nine games of the 2003-04 season…The Lakers are a perfect 7-0 at home while only playing two true road games and two neutral site contests…Seven different players average at least 6.0 points as 11 different Lakers have started…Mercyhurst has increased its effectiveness from the free-throw line, hitting 42-of-57 attempts in crossover play...Head coach Gary Manchel is now six games away from becoming the Lakers all-time victories leader...Mercyhurst heads to West Chester and Millersville for its second PSAC crossover weekend on Jan. 9 and 10…A year ago at the MAC, the Lakers lost WCU 68-53 before taking a 70-66 overtime decision against Millersville.
Millersville Marauders
Millersville struggled on its four-game road swing, dropping all four games and extending its skid to five in a row...Despite the four road losses, the defense has been solid, holding opponents to fewer than 70 points in three of four games...Millersville has held teams to under 70 points eight times this year...Fr. Guye Weber emerged as one of the team's top scorers, averaging 11.8 points during the stretch, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 50 percent (10-of-20) from three...He scored at least eight points in all four games and totaled 18 points and seven rebounds against West Liberty...After scoring 11 against IUP, Mike Seibert scored 14 first half points against California, marking the first time in his career he has scored double figures in back-to-back games...In the four losses, Millersville trailed by fewer than six points at the half in three games and held a lead against California.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg (7-4) had its best game of the season on Sunday with an impressive 77-74 victory over previously unbeaten Slippery Rock…SU snapped a three-game losing streak in which all of the losses came inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (MAC)…SU limited the league's second-best scoring offense to its second-lowest scoring output of the season and a .389 field-goal percentage while committing just 10 turnovers…Sr. F Daziah Miller had a sensational weekend with 34 points and 13 rebounds, including a game-high 23 against The Rock…So. F Will Royal re-joined the team and had 23 points and 11 rebounds in two games off the bench…Jr. G Justin Minter re-joined the team and had a major impact with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in two games off the bench…So. Jordan Stasyszyn, a transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson, joined the roster.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
The Rock beat Ohio University Eastern and Cheyney in the first of three games last week to run their season-opening win streak to 10 games and set a school record for most wins to open a season before Shippensburg ended the roll with a 77-74 decision Sunday...The Rock had won 18 straight regular-season games prior to the loss, three wins shy of the longest string of success in school history...With 31 wins to his credit, Kevin Reynolds stands just two win shy of the school record for most wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons...The Rock closes out its conference-mandated "crossover" schedule with road games at Millersville and West Chester next weekend.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester dropped its two PSAC crossover contests at Cal and at No. 4 IUP…West Chester has been ranked in the NABC Division II coaches' poll in each of the previous two weeks…It marked the first time that the Golden Rams men have been ranked nationally since 2003…The 63-51 setback at Cal on Saturday ended a school-record nine-game win streak to open a campaign…Kenneth St. George scored 21 points in a loss at IUP…St. George returned from a preseason injury, seeing his first action of the year.