PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week/Weekly Report - 8
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Lock Haven, Pa. - A pair of 30-point performances and a 20-rebound performance are featured in this week's PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week. Devon McBride of Kutztown is the East Athlete of the Week after a 32-point output in a game while Edinboro's Bryan Theriot and Slippery Rock's Devin Taylor, who had a 22-rebound game, are the West Co-Athletes of the Week.
West Chester's Corey Blake recorded two double-doubles to earn the East Freshman of the Week accolade while Clarion's Winfield Willis turned in a 31-point game to earn his third West Freshman of the Week honor of the season.
PSAC East Athlete of the Week
Devon McBride, Kutztown
Senior, Guard
Richmond, Va./Hill School
McBride helped the Golden Bears to an offensive explosion over the weekend as Kutztown averaged nearly 90 points in wins over Edinboro and Lock Haven. He averaged 28.5 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 62.9 percent from the floor (22-for-35), including 9-of-15 (60 percent) from three-point range. He also made 4-of-7 free throws. In the Bears' 104-84 win over Edinboro on Friday, McBride dropped in 25 points, helping Kutztown to its highest single-game scoring total since the 2008-09 season. The following night, in a 75-54 win at Lock Haven, McBride scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting and also made it into his first career double-double with 11 rebounds. McBride is currently one of just two players in the PSAC averaging over 20 points per game.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Corey Blake, West Chester
Freshman, Forward
West Chester, Pa./Rustin
Blake averaged a double-double with 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and also made 7-of-8 free throws as he led the Golden Rams in both scoring and rebounding in both games this past weekend, which West Chester lost by a combined seven points to two of the top teams in the PSAC West. In Friday's 71-66 loss to IUP, he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards. He followed that up with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 61-59 loss to California.
PSAC West Co-Athlete of the Week
Bryan Theriot, Edinboro
Sophomore, Center
Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Midpark
Theriot averaged 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 65.4 percent from the floor (17-of-26) in Edinboro's 1-1 week. The sophomore center also made 12-of-14 free throws to earn his first career Athlete of the Week honor. In Friday's 104-84 loss to Kutztown, he scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and also recorded nine rebounds and two blocks. In Saturday's 90-84 win over East Stroudsburg, Theriot dropped in 26 points and hauled in 14 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double of the season as he made 9-of-15 field goals and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Theriot currently leads the PSAC in scoring, has already scored more points than in his entire freshman season, and along with McBride are the only two players averaging over 20 points per contest heading into divisional play.
PSAC West Co-Athlete of the Week
Devin Taylor, Slippery Rock
Senior, Forward
New Castle, Pa./New Castle
Taylor earns his second West Athlete of the Week honor of the season after averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 16.0 rebounds to help Slippery Rock to pair of wins over the weekend, which came by a combined total of just seven points. He made 55 percent of his shots from the field (11-for-20) and 7-of-12 free throws. In Friday's 64-58 win over Cheyney, Taylor posted 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds. The 22 boards marked the first 20-rebound performance in the PSAC this season, the first in the league since Clarion's Bud Teer had 23 vs. UDC last season, and the first 20-rebound performance in a conference game since East Stroudsburg's Chris Bach recorded 21 vs. West Chester in 2008-09. Taylor also notched a double-double in Saturday's 62-61 win over Shippensburg with 10 points and 10 rebounds and has six double-doubles this season.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Winfield Willis, Clarion
Freshman, Guard
Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's
Willis earns his league-high third West Freshman of the Week award of the season after averaging 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Clarion in a one-point win over Mansfield and a two-point loss to Bloomsburg. On Friday against the Mountaineers, Willis had seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Then, on Saturday against the Huskies, he dropped in a career-high 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting, which marked the most points by a Clarion freshman since 1991. He scored Clarion's final four points to tie the game with 17 seconds to play before Bloomsburg won on a buzzer beater. Willis made 9-of-11 free throws and 5-of-11 three-pointers on the week.
Team Notes
Bloomsburg
The Huskies start PSAC East play on top of the division with a 6-2 record ... Bloomsburg won a game in the final 10 seconds for the fourth time this season when it beat Clarion on a Trevon Johnson jumper with three seconds to play ... As a team against the Golden Eagles the Huskies shot a season-high 60 percent from the floor hitting 36 of 60 shots ... In two of BU's last three games five players have scored in double figures for the Huskies ... Senior Larry Webster needs just 69 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
California
After entering the week losing five of their last six games, the Vulcans posted a pair of thrilling two-point victories in PSAC Crossover play … Cal U posted its first overtime victory since March 2007 on Friday with a 62-60 win over Millersville … Trailing by three points with 12.5 seconds left in regulation on Friday night, junior G Travon Vann hit the game-tying three-pointer with only 2.7 seconds left … The Vulcans scored the only overtime field-goal and out-scored the Marauders 3-1 in the extra session … On Saturday against West Chester, Cal U took its only lead of the game when junior G Keith Lowe connected on a three-pointer with 17.2 seconds remaining … Senior F Steve Swiech led the team with 12.5 points/game last week, while Lowe averaged a team-best 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the two games.
Cheyney
After nearly a four week lay-off the Wolves were back in action … Cheyney dropped both cross over contests and are currently on a five game skid … In the loss to Slippery Rock the Wolves produced a season low six turnovers … Wednesday night will mark the first time in five weeks that the Wolves would have played in the friendly confines of Cope Hall.
Clarion
Clarion saw its nine-game win streak end in a two-point loss to Bloomsburg Saturday. The nine-game streak was tied for the fourth longest in the Ron Righter-era at Clarion, which began in 1989 ... Freshman guard Winfield Willis scored 38 points over the weekend giving him 246 on the year and moving him past Rollie Smith (244 in 2000) into 10th place in freshman scoring at Clarion since 1970. He needs two more points to tie Shamar Green (248 in 2003) for ninth and 11 to match David Shearer (257 in 1999 and Mark Engram (257 in 1984) for seventh ... Clarion added sophomore point guard Nathaniel Wilson to the roster this week, and Wilson made an immediate impact with seven assists, four steals and two blocks in 37 minutes of action over the weekend. He was the New York Public League assist leader as a senior in high school in 2008.
East Stroudsburg
ESU went 1-1 for the fourth straight PSAC crossover weekend and enters divisional play at 8-6 overall (4-4 PSAC) … Warriors won 94-51 at Lock Haven on Friday, opening with leads of 19-0 and 31-1 … Head coach Jeff Wilson (10th year) got his 149th career win with ESU's largest margin of victory vs. PSAC opponent since 1974-75 … Edinboro ended ESU's three-game winning streak with 90-84 win on Saturday … Backcourt of Sr. Russell Graham III (14.5 ppg, 8.0 apg) and Fr. Whis Grant (16.0 ppg) stood out over the weekend … Jr. G Gerald Bridges, Jr. had 10 points at LHU and career-high 14 at Edinboro … Fr. F Lamont Tillery had career-high 13 at LHU … Jr. F Duane Johnson went over 700 career points (721) and Jr. F Terrance King has 697 … ESU is 28-8 vs. PSAC West since 2006-07 … PSAC East play opens Wednesday vs. Mansfield and Saturday vs. preseason favorite Kutztown … Warriors were picked 2nd and join IUP as only schools to make PSAC Final Four the last two years.
Edinboro
Edinboro finished 5-3 against the PSAC East after splitting weekend contests against Kutztown (104-84 loss) and East Stroudsburg (90-84 win) … In the latter contest, sophomore Bryan Theriot posted his fourth double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds, and the Fighting Scots shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fifth time. Theriot had 20 points and nine boards vs. Kutztown … The 104 points marked the first time Edinboro gave up 100 points at home since the final game of the 1996-97 season, a PSAC playoff game against Mansfield … Cory Somerville had 12 points against Kutztown and 16 vs. East Stroudsburg, giving him 980 points for his career … Clint Nicholson has made 26 straight free throws, including an 8-for-8 showing vs. East Stroudsburg … Edinboro opens play against the PSAC West on Wednesday at Gannon. A year ago the Scots won both games against the Golden Knights to give them a three-game winning streak vs. Gannon.
Gannon
Gannon completed PSAC crossover action with home victories against first-place Bloomsburg (81-67) and Mansfield (74-54) last weekend … Moved to 6-2 at home this season, including a 4-0 mark in conference play … the Golden Knights out-rebounded Bloomsburg 41-30 and Mansfield 48-32 … Seven players scored at least seven points and five players grabbed at least five rebounds against Bloomsburg … Darrell Blanton recorded his fifth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Mansfield … Brandon Belt scored a game-high 16 points while hitting four three-pointers against Mansfield … Gannon held a 38-12 advantage in points in the paint against the Mountaineers … Steve Piotrowicz has played five consecutive games without a turnover, recording 19 assists and no turnovers in 81 minutes during those games … Piotrowicz’s last turnover came with 5:08 left in regulation at West Chester on December 4.
IUP
The 20th-ranked Crimson Hawks returned to the court by sweeping its PSAC home crossover, defeating West Chester 71-66 on Friday and Millersville 81-56 on Saturday … Sr. G Julian Sanders had a huge night against the Golden Rams, falling one-point shy of tying his career-high with 32 points, knocking down 6-of-12 from beyond the arc … West Chester tried to mount a comeback in the second half, narrowing its deficit to three with :34 left, but Sanders hit four crucial free throws to ice the game … Sr. G Ashton Smith starred on Saturday, nearly notching a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the easy win in which IUP scored 54 first half points … IUP hosts rival Cal on Wednesday and travels to Clarion on Saturday.
Kutztown
KU (7-5, 4-4) swept its final PSAC Crossover weekend series by taking down Edinboro (104-84) and Lock Haven (75-54) … The scoring output against EU was the highest point total for KU since the 2008-09 season ... Sr. G Nate Edwards led the charge, tying his career-high of 29 points … He shot 10-for-16 from the field including a game-high five 3-pointers … Jr. G Micah Fraction had a career-high 28 points on a game-high 11 field goals … Sr. G Devon McBride chipped in 25 on the offensive end … McBride responded with a career-high 32 points in KU’s victory over Lock Haven on Saturday … It was his highest scoring total of the season as he shot 12-for-17 from the field including a game-high five 3-pointers … He notched his first career double-double with a career-best 11 rebounds … Three Golden Bears finished in double figures as Fraction scored 12 and Sr. F Eric Brennan finished with 10 points.
Lock Haven
A pair of PSAC crossover losses this weekend dropped the Lock Haven University men’s basketball team to 0-11 on the year and 0-8 in PSAC action, leaving first-year head coach Mike Nestor still in search of his first career win … The Bald Eagles have now lost 30 straight games dating back to a December win over Bloomsburg last season … Freshman Terrell Johnson continues to lead The Haven in scoring with 12.8 points per game … Sophomore Anthony Baker averages 10.7 points off the bench … A bright spot in Saturday’s loss to Kutztown was Armandi Marshall’s double-double. He scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for The Haven’s first double-double in over a year.
Mansfield
The Mountaineers continued to struggle on the road dropping games at Clarion and Gannon during the week … Mansfield is 0-5 in road games on the season and have dropped their last seven games away from Decker Gymnasium over the past two seasons … Shooting woes have especially plagued MU on the road where the Mounties are connecting on just 35.9% of their shots from the floor … Freshman Joe Bell just missed by a rebound in each contest in recording double-doubles at both Clarion and Gannon … Bell, who has scored in double-figures in eight of the last nine games, continues to be a bright spot averaging 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game during the week.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers split two crossover contests, falling to Shippensburg and beating Cheyney ... In the loss to the Raiders, Mercyhurst got 21 points from Andrew Rickard off the bench and Bill Weaver added 16 points and eight rebounds ... The next day, Hurst held Cheyney to 14 first-half points-the lowest point total allowed in a half by a Laker defense in at least 10 seasons ... Weaver scored a career-high 22 points, making 12-14 free throw attempts ... As a team, Mercyhurst made 21-29 free throws in the second half ... Hurst stands at 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference after the completion of the crossover schedule ... It is tied for second in the Western Division, a game behind IUP.
Millersville
Going 3-9 in the first 12 games, the Marauders are off to its slowest start since 1996-97 when the team opened 3-10 under interim coach Dave Springer … Larry Grant continued to be Millersville’s top offensive producer against Indiana and California, scoring 15 at Cal and 10 at IUP. He leads the team with 15.5 points and 3.6 assists per game. He’s scored in double figures in 10 of 12 games and owns four 20-point performances … Elijah Obade swatted six shots in the two games, blocking four against Cal and two against IUP. He has 30 already this season after totaling just 14 in 2010-11. His 2.5 blocks per game puts him on pace for 65 by the end of the regular season, and that total would be the school record of 63 held by Antwine Moore (1995-96). Obade has also led the team in rebounding in 11 of 12 games and has six double-digit rebound efforts.
Shippensburg
SU went 1-1 this weekend in PSAC road crossover action, edging Mercyhurst but falling to Slippery Rock ... Graduate guard Dane Lauber scored a career-high 19 points against The Rock ... SU fell to 1-5 in PSAC games in which it gets out-rebounded ... SU's victory over Mercyhurst was its first over the Lakers since 1991 ... The Raiders entered the weekend ranked 10th in D2 for field-goal percentage ... The team is at exactly 50-percent shooting as it enters divisional play.
Slippery Rock
Sr. F Devin Taylor had his team-best fifth and sixth "double-double" performances in the wins over Cheyney and Shippensburg ... Taylor grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds vs. Cheyney ... Sr. G Torrance Timothy has scored 40 points in the last three games after scoring 30 in the first nine games this winter ... The Rock has outrebounded all 12 opponents thus far this season ... SRU has held its last three opponents to 58 or less points ... The Rock recorded its first crossover-weekend sweep of the season with victories over Cheyney and Shippensburg ... Rock, who settled for splits each of the first three crossover weekends, finished crossover schedule with 5-3 record ... Saturday's game vs. Shippensburg was head coach Kevin Reynolds' 100th as SRU's head coach ... Reynolds' 65-35 record reflects significant improvement over SRU's 21-79 cumulative record in the 100 games prior to him being hired as head coach in May 2008 ... The Rock has compiled a .792 winning percentage in home games under Reynolds.
West Chester
West Chester dropped a pair of heartbreakers over the weekend, falling at IUP, 71-66, before losing at Cal, 61-59 ... WCU's last four losses have been by a combined 16 points ... Three of those four losses were road contests ... Fr. F Corey Blake registered a double-double in each game, including a career-high 13 boards against Cal ... His 16 points against IUP marked his second-highest total of the year ... Blake leads the team in scoring and rebounding over the last six games, averaging 14.8 ppg and 8.0 rpg over that same span ... He has also made 83 percent of this free throws.
Previous 2011-12 Athletes of the Week
1/4 - East Athlete: Dontahe Jordan, Bloomsburg
East Freshman: Joe Bell, Mansfield
West Athlete: Torrance Timothy, Slippery Rock
West Freshman: Adam Blazek, Gannon
12/20 - East Athlete: Terrance King, East Stroudsburg
East Freshman: Joe Bell, Mansfield
West Athlete: Matt Lee, Mercyhurst
West Freshman: Terrell Johnson, Lock Haven
12/12 - East Athlete: Nate Edwards, Kutztown
East Freshman: Joe Bell, Mansfield
West Athlete: Ashton Smith, IUP
West Freshman: Winfield Willis, Clarion
12/5 - East Athlete: Trevon Johnson, Bloomsburg
East Freshman: Jerrod Johnson, Cheyney
West Athlete: Darrell Blanton, Gannon
West Freshman: Winfield Willis, Clarion
11/28 - East Athlete: Lance McDowell, West Chester
East Freshman: Reggie Charles, Shippensburg
West Athlete: Devin Taylor, Slippery Rock
West Freshman: Adam Blazek, Gannon
11/21 - East Athlete: Ed Hall, Bloomsburg
East Freshman: Matt Tobin, East Stroudsburg
West Athlete: Julian Sanders, IUP
West Freshman: Jeremy Posey, California
11/14 - East Athlete: Micah Fraction, Kutztown
East Freshman: Whis Grant, East Stroudsburg
West Athlete: Winfield Willis, Clarion
West Freshman: Tynell Fortune, California