PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 4
Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
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Josh Johnson
Kutztown ( Jr. / F)
Norristown, Pa. / Norristown
Johnson led Kutztown in scoring and rebounding last week as KU went 3-0 to sit atop the Eastern Division. He averaged 16.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 63 percent from the field and 15-for-19 from the free throw line. A forward, Johnson made his first career three-pointer last week and surpassed 900 career points as a junior. In KU's overtime win over UPJ, Johnson posted season-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He has scored in double figures every game this year. |
Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Freshman of the Week
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Anthony Lee
Kutztown (Fr. / G)
Willow Grove, Pa. / Abington
Lee burst on the scene for Kutztown last week, when KU went 3-0 to sit atop the Eastern Division. Earning his first career start against UPJ, he posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting. He played 39 minutes in the overtime victory and added two steals, two blocks, two assists and three three-pointers. He responded by starting again against IUP and scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting to lead KU to victory. For the week, Lee averaged 13 points and 5.3 rebounds on 66.7 percent shooting. |
Men's Basketball: Western Division Athlete of the Week
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Jaymon Johnson
Edinboro ( R-So. / G)
Edinboro, Pa. / General McLane
Johnson accounted for a team high in points in all 3 victories this week. He scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in win at 4-1 Mercyhurst on Tuesday. Johnson made the game-winning shot at 6-1 East Stroudsburg Friday night with 2.9 seconds to go, had double-double with 27 points and a career-high 11 boards, along with 3 steals. He was 6-for-12 on 3-pointers. Johnson had 23 points in win at 7-0 West Chester on Saturday, shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range. He converted on 12 of his 14 combined free throw attempts in these stretch of games. Johnson is second in the PSAC with 22.0 points per game Edinboro |
Men's Basketball: Western Division Freshman of the Week
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Dom Keyes
Pitt-Johnstown ( Fr. / F)
Homestead, Pa. / Steel Valley
UPJ earned two conference wins this week, and Keyes was a major contributer for the Mountain Cats. Keyes scored 10 points in just 11 minutes in a win against Mansfield, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. In a win against Seton Hill, Keyes snagged six rebounds for UPJ. |
Team Notes
Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg went 1-2 during the week, losing to East Stroudsburg and Mercyhurst before bouncing back with a wire-to-wire victory over Gannon on Saturday. The Huskies have now lost seven straight meetings against East Stroudsburg and nine consecutive against Mercyhurst. Bloomsburg has now won two straight against Gannon after losing the first nine in the all-time series against the Golden Knights. Redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite scored 24 points in the loss to East Stroudsburg and 21 against Gannon, but only two points against Mercyhurst. The two-point outing against the Lakers snapped a string of five-straight 20-point efforts, 18 consecutive games of reaching double figures, and 20 straight contests of making at least one three-pointer. It was just the fourth time in Mortellite’s career that he did not make at least one triple. The 88-48 loss to Mercyhurst was the program’s worst loss, and fewest points scored, since dropping a 102-44 decision against East Stroudsburg on February 27, 2013. The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 136 straight games dating back to an 0-for-7 performance in a 54-51 loss at Lock Haven on December 4, 2010.
Donell Diggs had a career-high 16 points against East Stroudsburg and then had a career-best nine assists against Gannon. Against Gannon,
Alex Prislupsky started his first game since February 18, 2015 and scored 13 points in 24 minutes. The Huskies are off until Wednesday, December 16 when they travel to West Chester for a 7:30 p.m. start
California
The Vulcans have three of their last four games after winning back-to-back over the weekend in PSAC Crossover play. Cal U has won back-to-back games for the first time since winning four-straight nearly a calendar year ago. Sophomore G
Luka Andjusic scored a career-high 29 points (22 second half) on Saturday in a victory at Millersvile. Andjusic, who was five-of-nine from beyond the arc, posted the highest single-game point total by a Vulcan since the last game of the 2007-08 campaign. Over the last four games, Andjusic is shooting 15-of-30 from beyond the arc and averaging 20.5 points. Senior F
Richard Smith registered his third double-double of the season on Friday at Cheyney, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds. He ranks 10th in the PSAC with 8.1 rebounds/game behind four games of at least 10 rebounds
Cheney
Cheyney went 0-3 this week
Clarion
The Golden Eagles are now 6-4 overall, 4-2 in PSAC play.
Andre’ Anthony returned to the line-up last week and is averaging 16.7 points per game in seven games played this year, the most on the team. Anthony is also averaging a team-best 5.0 assists per game and recorded a season-high seven against Lock Haven on Saturday.
Tim Gill averaged 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the course of three games last weekend. Gill came just one rebound shy of his first double-double of the season against Mansfield, totaling 16 points and nine boards against the Mountaineers. Clarion is averaging 9.3 steals per game and is forcing an average of 18.7 opponent turnovers per game in PSAC play this year.
East Stroudsburg
ESU went 1-2 this week, earning a conference win over Bloomsburg
Edinboro
The Edinboro men’s basketball team hit the highway for the first time after four straight games at McComb Fieldhouse and came away with three impressive wins to improve to 5-2. The Fighting Scots upset the preseason favorites in the Western and Eastern Divisions in back-to-back games. Mercyhurst, East Stroudsburg, and West Chester had a combined 17-2 record coming into the three games. In the first road game of the year, Edinboro handed Mercyhurst, the PSAC West preseason favorite, a 77-67 defeat, leading by as many as 21 points in the second half. The Fighting Scots shot a season-high 56.9 percent from the floor (29-of-51) and made 13-of-15 free throws.
Sheldon Brogdon bounced off the bench to key the victory as he buried five 3-pointers in seven attempts. The sophomore guard ended the night with 19 points, the same total scored by
Jaymon Mason. On Friday night, the Fighting Scots played at PSAC East favorite East Stroudsburg. Mason’s jumper with 2.9 seconds left gave the Scots a 68-66 win, handing the Warriors their second loss of the season. Mason scored 27 points, 19 in the first half. The sophomore guard made 6-of-12 3-pointers and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. The Fighting Scots won despite shooting just 34.3 percent for the game (24-of-70). They would make 9-of-25 3-pointers and were a perfect 11-for-11 at the line.
Tommy Scales recorded his second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, making 7-of-12 shots and pulling down six offensive boards. Edinboro recorded the sweep of its eastern swing with a 69-66 win at West Chester on Saturday, handing the Golden Rams their first loss of the season. The Scots rallied from a six-point halftime deficit. Mason, the second-leading scorer in the PSAC, again led the way with 23 points.
Henri Wade-Chatman added 15 points and eight rebounds to boost his career total to 991 points in just 60 games as a Fighting Scot. He is nine points shy of becoming the 27th Fighting Scot to score 1,000 career points.
Gannon
Gannon dropped all three games last week against Indiana (Pa.), Lock Haven and Bloomsburg. The Golden Knights have dropped four consecutive regular-season games for the first time since January 22-February 3, 2007. Senior
Jean Yves Toupane has reached double digits in points during the seven consecutive games. Gannon led the country in scoring defense last season, but three consecutive opponents and four in eight games have shot 53 percent or better. Three straight opponents haven't shot 53 percent or better against Gannon since at least 2001-02. Bloomsburg’s 42 field goal attempts were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since Seton Hill took 35 during a 58-45 loss at the 'Mill on February 25, 2015. Gannon’s plus-18 rebounding advantage at Lock Haven was its biggest since out-rebounding Clarion 47-18 during a 78-71 road victory on February 11, 2015. Lock Haven's 20 total rebounds were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since Clarion's 18 in the aforementioned contest. Gannon was 2-4 after six games for the second consecutive season. Last year's squad rebounded to win 23 games and the PSAC Championship.
IUP
The Crimson Hawks went 2-1 in three conference games last week, defeating Gannon (72-61) and Shippensburg (70-51) on the road before narrowly falling at Kutztown (78-76). Senior guard
Brandon Norfleet put together a big week, averaging 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, including a near double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds at Shippensburg. Sophomore guard
Anthony Glover averaged 14.7 points and shot 57.7 percent from the floor for the week, including a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting at Kutztown. The Crimson Hawks are now 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC and are back in action on Saturday as they travel to eighth-ranked Fairmont State (6-1) on Saturday.
Kutztown
KU (6-1, 5-1 PSAC East) heads into this week tied for first in the PSAC East with West Chester with a 5-1 record. Kutztown went 3-0 last week. It defeated Millersville (69-60), Pitt-Johnstown (90-84, OT) and IUP (78-76). Jr. F
Josh Johnson recorded team-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds against UPJ, while R-Fr.
Anthony Lee posted 21 points and 10 rebounds in his first career start. Johnson leads the team in scoring (16.1 ppg, 13th in PSAC) and rebounding (9.1 rpg, 7th in PSAC).
Ryan Connolly is averaging 14.4 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game. So. G
Ethan Ridgeway is KU's leading scorer off the bench with 10.4 points a game to go along with a team-high 4.0 assists per game. KU faces off against Penn State Berks on Saturday at home. KU's 6-1 record is the best start for the team since a 14-0 start in 2009-10.
Lock Haven
The Lock Haven University men’s basketball team had a big week last week, going a perfect 3-0 in PSAC play. The Bald Eagles defeated Mansfield, Gannon and Clarion on their home floor and The Haven has now won six straight games to improve its record to 8-2 (4-2 PSAC) on the year. LHU benefitted from a balanced attack last week, as four players averaged double-figures in scoring, led by
Al Blount and
Brahieme Jackson, who each average 12.0 points per game. LHU will have this week off for finals week, but will return with three games next week.
Mansfield
The Mountaineer men got their first PSAC win over the season upsetting previously unbeaten in PSAC play Clarion 68-65. Sophomore forward
Matt Tamanosky scored what proved to be the winning basket with 80 seconds left in the contest on his way to a game-high 18 point performance. Tamanosky has scored in double-figures in each of the first 10 games of the season. Sophomore
Gerasimos Koutoufas had a remarkable performance off the bench during the week hitting 9-12 from the floor (75.0%), including 5-7 (71.4%) on 3-pointers and a perfect 4-4 on free throws to average 13.5 points per game.
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst went 2-1 this past week, losing its lone game at home to Edinboro, 67-77. The Lakers defeated PSAC East opponents Bloomsburg, 88-48, and East Stroudsburg, 72-67, on the road over the weekend. Seniors Damon Jones (15.1 ppg) and Sean Beins (14.4 ppg) average double figures; the only two Lakers on the team to post double digits. Mercyhurst enters the week second in the PSAC West behind PSAC foe Edinboro.
Millersville
The Marauders are have hit a rough patch losing six-straight games and it’s the first time since the 2011-12 season the Millersville have lost that many consecutive games. However, redshirt junior
Ricky Mosley stepped up for the Marauders this past week producing two-straight 25 point performances against Seton Hill and California (Pa.). Mosley was outstanding from the field shooting 17-of-26 (65.3%) and was even more lethal from 3-point range shooting at a 65% clip (13-of-20).
Pitt-Johnstown
UPJ went 2-1 this week, earning conference wins over Seton Hill and Mansfield
Seton HIll
The Griffins went 1-2 on the week. The Griffins dropped the PSAC West opener to Pitt Johnstown before defeating Millersville in a PSAC crossover matchup. SHU then lost a 19 point lead in the last 8:48 at Shippensburg.
Kameron Taylor had another spectacular week and hit a milestone in the process. He scored his 1,000th career point in the win over Millersville. Kameron then posted a triple double at Shippensburg including 27 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Taylor led the Griffins with 20 vs UPJ and Tyler Bowling posted a double double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Trevor Blondin led the Griffins with 30 points in the win at Millersville. The Griffins gave up 66 second half points in the loss to Shippensburg. SHU was outscored 26-12 over the last 6:22. SHU will be off for finals and return to action on December 16th at Clarion.
Shippensburg
Ship salvaged its week by coming from 19 points down with 8:48 to play to beat Seton Hill, 94-93, to cap off a 1-2 week. Junior point guard
Abe Massaley hit the game-winning three with 2.4 seconds to play. Massaley (Imhotep) averaged 22.0 points per game through three contests, scoring a career-high 31 points in a loss to West Chester. Sophomore
Dustin Sleva (Montour) has pulled down six double-doubles through nine games. He averaged a double-double this week with 12.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, including a 14-14 effort in the win over Seton Hill. SU has lost four games this year, but the combined win-loss of those four opponents is 21-14 (.600).
Slippery Rock
A win tonight against PSU Greater Allegheny would be the 144th in just over seven seasons for head coach Kevin Reynolds at Slippery Rock, which would tie him for second place in career coaching wins with Hank Baierl, who coached at Slippery Rock for 12 seasons (1958-70). Three players average at least 10 points per game (ppg) for The Rock with senior guard
Malcolm Richardson leading the way at 17.6 ppg. Senior center
Cornelius Brown, who ranks third in the nation in double-doubles with six, averages 15.6 ppg and 10.2 rebounds per game (rpg). Senior guard
Jamal Gatali is scoring 11.1 ppg on the season thanks in part to being one of the best 3-point shooters in the league at 53.3 percent, the second highest shooting percentage in the PSAC. Junior forward
Chaquille Pratt is The Rock's second leading rebounder (7.3 rpg) and fourth leading scorer (9.0 ppg). Brown and Pratt combine to haul in 41.8 percent (158-of-378) of SRU's rebounds this season. With a combined average of 17.5 rebounds per game, the duo ranks as the top rebounding pair in the PSAC. SRU holds opponents to a PSAC-low field goal percentage of 38.4.
West Chester
WCU went 2-1 this week, earning conference wins over Shippensburg and Slippery Rock