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PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 6

Monday, January 6, 2014 2:30 PM

Men's Basketball: East Athlete of the Week

	Wali Hepburn Lock Haven (Jr. / G) Philadelphia / Neumann-Goretti Wali Hepburn led Lock Haven to its first three-game win streak since the 2006-07 season with a PSAC-crossover win over UPJ on Friday. Hepburn, who is averaging 20.2 points a game on the season, scored 29 in a win over Goldey-Beacom on New Year's Eve. He added 23 in both the 81-76 overtime win over UPJ and the narrow loss to No. 6 IUP. Over the three-game span, he averaged five rebounds per game and dished out eight assists while grabbing six steals. In all, Hepburn's 25 points per game while shooting over 57 percent from the floor led Lock Haven to a 2-1 run last week, helping the Haven get to 7-5 on the season. The seven wins for Lock Haven are more than LHU had all of last season.
Men's Basketball: East Freshman of the Week
	Tavon Parker Millersville (Fr. / G) York, Pa. / William Penn Millersville's Tavon Parker averaged 18.5 points per game in home victories against Edinboro (91-63) and Slippery Rock (87-78). Against the Fighting Scots, Parker totaled a career-high 23 points, while hitting 11-of-17 shots from the field and 9-of-14 from three-point range. His seven threes against Edinboro marked the most by a Marauder since 2010 and helped the team tie a school record with 17 made threes. Parker's weekend started when he hit 4-of-6 shots from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point land for 14 points, while adding four rebounds and two steals in a win over Slippery Rock.

Men's Basketball: West Athlete of the Week
	Malachi Leonard Seton Hill (Sr. / F) York, Pa. / William Penn Seton Hill's Malachi Leonard led the Griffins to a sweep of PSAC crossovers with road-wins over Mansfield (99-80) and Kutztown (71-58). He posted double-doubles in both games. He notched 20 points and 15 rebounds against Kutztown followed by a 28-point and 11-rebound performance at Mansfield. On the week he averaged 24 points per game along with 13 boards per outing. The center also tallied four assists, eight blocks, and three steals while shooting nearly 70-percent from the field.
Men's Basketball: West Freshman of the Week
	Adam Shaheen Pitt-Johnstown (Fr. / F) Galena, Ohio / Big Walnut Pitt-Johnstown's Adam Shaheen averaged nine points per game last week, including an 11-point effort against Lock Haven. He posted seven points and six rebounds in the Mountain Cats' 71-69 defeat of Bloomsburg. The freshman shot 60 percent from the field, while going 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

TEAM NOTES

Bloomsburg
The Bloomsburg men’s basketball team stands at 8-4 on the season after splitting a pair of crossover games to begin 2014 this past weekend. The Huskies scored a 61-53 victory over Clarion on Friday, pulling away in the final minutes thanks to leadership from junior guard Jon Riles who scored 10 of his game-high 16 points over the final four minutes. Alssene Saintilus scored double figure points for the eighth straight game, tallying 11 points. Bloomsburg suffered a 71-69 setback in a heartbreaker vs. Pitt-Johnstown the next day as the Mountain Cats won the game by sinking a pair of free throws with under four seconds to play. Senior guard Dontahe Jordan, who suited up this weekend for the first time in a month due to injury, leads the team with 15.3 ppg while Saintilus (12.4 ppg) and Lorenzo Christmas (12.3 ppg) also have added scoring threats. Bloomsburg completes crossover play with a trip to nationally-ranked IUP on Wednesday.

California
Cal U took a split over the weekend in PSAC Crossover play at Shippensburg and Kutztown. The Vulcans recorded their first victory on the road this season on Saturday against the Golden Bears. Cal U received a pair of career-best scoring performances from the backcourt of Tynell Fortune and Jake Jacubec. On Friday, Fortune scored a personal-best 25 points while coming off the bench before Jacubec tallied a career-high 21 points on Saturday. In the win at Kutztown, junior Alonza Murphy posted his first double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Vulcans shot a season-best 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the free-throw line against the Golden Bears.

Cheyney
Deshawn Curtis has paced the Wolves in 11 of the Wolves 13 contests including the last 10. Curtis leads the PSAC in scoring averaging 21.8 points per game. He also ranks third in rebounding (8.8 rpg). The Wolves dropped both contests this past week. The Wolves scored a season low 44 points against Mercyhurst. The three games were the Wolves longest home stand of the season. Cheyney will not return to Cope Hall until January 18 when they face Millersville.
 
Clarion
The next win for Clarion will be the 400th for 26th year head coach Ron Righter with the Golden Eagles. Senior forward Mike Kromka has recorded double-doubles in 3 straight games and now has 4 on the season and 13 in his career. Junior DeMarius Miller has now scored in double digits in seven straight games. Sophomore forward Aaron Johnson tied a season high with 12 points Saturday at East Stroudsburg. His 10 rebounds Friday at Bloomsburg gave him double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games for the first time this year.
 
East Stroudsburg
ESU (13-0), ranked 10th in DII, had wins over Gannon (75-60) and Clarion (101-69) to match the best start in school history. The Warriors extended their home non-conference winning streak to 38 games (since November 2007), and improved to 40-9 vs. the PSAC West since 2006-07. So. G Jamal Nwaniemeka scored career-high 25 points vs. Gannon, including 16 in the 1st half. ESU used a 19-0 run to seize control. In Saturday's win over Clarion, Warriors closed 1st half on 15-4 run in last 2:57 - then scored 61 points in the 2nd half. 15 3-pointers are ESU's most under 12th-year head coach Jeff Wilson (323 games). ESU leads PSAC in 6 categories - scoring (87.8), field goal % (47.9), turnover margin (+8.7), assist-turnover ratio (1.46), steals (11.2) and assists (18.2). Warriors had +14 turnover margin in both games this week after ranking 4th in DII at +7.7. ESU is 25-2 the last 2 years when posting a +5 margin. Jr. G Matt Tobin continues to lead PSAC in assists (4.7 per game). Warriors are at Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday with an opportunity to improve to 14-0. They resume PSAC East play with a 4-0 record on Saturday vs. Shippensburg.
 
Edinboro
Edinboro split its PSAC crossover games last week. Edinboro defeated Cheyney 69-65 and fell to Millersville 91-63.

IUP
The nation's sixth-ranked team claimed its 11th and 12th straight victories over the weekend, defeating Mansfield 61-56 and Lock Haven 70-64. Sr. F Marcel Souberbielle led the way for the Crimson Hawks in both games with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal against the Mountaineers and 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Bald Eagles. The senior is just 57 points away from the 1,000-point mark for his career. IUP boasts the nation's No. 1 scoring defense, holding opponents to just 57.5 points per game in its 12 competitions and allowing opponents to score 70 or more points just once. They moved up one spot to No. 6 in the NABC Top 25 and are the highest ranked PSAC school. They'll host Bloomsburg Wednesday in their final non-divisional action of the season.
 
Gannon
Gannon returned from its mandatory 12-day lay-off for the NCAA Division II Balance in Life dead period with an 0-2 PSAC crossover road swing at 10th-ranked East Stroudsburg (75-60) and West Chester (73-72). Six of Gannon’s 13 games have been decided by five points or less. The Golden Knights are 1-5 in those contests. Junior Raphell Thomas-Edwards scored a team-high 17 points at East Stroudsburg, giving him 36 points and 17 rebounds in two games after having 57 points and 41 rebounds during the previous 10. Junior Adam Blazek has played every minute during the last three games, including 45 minutes during an overtime contest at Bloomsburg. Gannon has out-rebounded all 13 opponents this season, including 10 by double digits. After losing its first four meetings against Gannon, West Chester has now won three straight in the all-time series. All three victories have come at the Hollinger Field House during the last three seasons with every contest being decided by four points or less. Gannon’s 55.6-percent shooting at West Chester was the team's highest field goal percentage in a loss since shooting 61.9 percent during a 71-66 defeat against Wayne State (Mich.) on February 10, 2007.
 
Kutztown
Kutztown (3-9, 1-2 PSAC East) dropped three games last week. It has five players averaging double-digit scoring figures. Tracy Peal is coming off a career-high 29 points against California (PA) and averages a team-leading 15.3 points per game for 15th in the PSAC. Josh Johnson averages 12 points and 7.3 rebounds and has been named the PSAC East Freshman of the Week twice this season. He is ninth in the PSAC in rebounding and third in field goal percentage (.590). Ryan Connolly averages 10 points per game and is 12th in the PSAC in three-pointers per game (1.9). Kutztown hits the road next week to take on Slippery Rock on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. It is the final crossover game of the season before Kutztown hosts Cheyney in divisional play on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Lock Haven
The Lock Haven University men’s basketball team went 2-1 last week, picking up wins over Goldey-Beacom and Pitt-Johnstown, before being edged by No. 6 IUP, 70-64. Friday’s win over UPJ gave Lock Haven’s its first three-game win streak since the 2006-07 season. LHU is now 7-5 overall and has more wins this season than all of last season. Wali Hepburn, a 2013-14 All-PSAC East Preseason pick leads LHU with 20.2 points per game, the third-most points in the league. Over the last three games, he’s netted 25 per game. Hepburn scored 29 in the win over Goldey and added 23 points in each of the weekend PSAC crossover games. Kasheef Festus is chipping in with 13.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds a game. Festus is ranked 13th in the PSAC in rebounds per game.

Mansfield
The Mountaineers continued to struggle in the first two games of 2014. Mansfield played well in a close loss to nationall0ranked IUP but lack of accurate outside shooting doomed them in both games. The Mountaineers hit just 6-33 (18.2%) from outside the arch while opponents connected on 15-30 (50.0) of their attempts. Joe Bell continues to be a bright spot averaging 20.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during the week. The junior forward moved into 16th place on the MU all-time scoring list with 1,173 points.
 
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst split two road crossover games over the weekend, losing, 80-72, at West Chester and winning, 54-44, at Cheyney. At West Chester, Jonathan Ouegnin scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The next day, the Laker defense gave up a season-low 44 points to Cheyney. The Wolves shot 15-45 from the field, including 5-22 in the second half. Andy Hoying led with 11 points and nine boards. Mercyhurst is now 6-6 and will host three straight games for the only time all season. It takes on Millersville January 8 before resuming Western Division action against IUP January 11. That game will feature the only remaining unbeatens in the division.

Millersville
After starting the season with 12 new players on the roster, the Marauders seem to have found their groove at both ends of the floor. Millersville extended its winning streak to three and improved to 5-1 with convincing wins over Slippery Rock and Edinboro. The Marauders led Slippery Rock by as many as 19 points and Edinboro by as many as 42 in the second half. Millersville shot a staggering 48.1 percent from three in the two wins and tied a school record with 17 made threes against Edinboro. After the first nine games, Millersville ranked last in the league in 3-point defense but held SRU and Edinboro to 5-of-27 shooting while forcing 40 turnovers and generating 29 steals with its full court pressure. Freshman Tavon Parker hit 9-of-14 threes in the week and hit seven against Edinboro. Eight players averaged at least 7.5 points and 17.5 minutes of playing time per game.

Pitt-Johnstown
Pitt-Johnstown hit 24-26 free-throws, including two by Nate Snodgrass with three seconds left, to defeat Bloomsburg 71-69 on Jan. 4

Seton Hill
Seton Hill improved to 10-3 with a sweep of the PSAC crossovers this weekend. The Griffins defeated Kutztown 71-58 and Mansfield 99-80. Malachi Leonard posted double-doubles in both contests (20 & 15 and 28 & 11). Kameron Taylor also posted a double-double of 22 and 11 in the win at Mansfield. The Griffins will wrap up PSAC crossover action on Wednesday when they host Lock Haven.

Shippensburg
Shippensburg went 1-2 in this reporting period, highlighted by a dominant 72-61 home victory over California (Pa.) on Friday for its second win of the season and first over a PSAC opponent. The Raiders totaled 52 rebounds against the Vulcans and led by as many as 23 points in the second half. The triumph was the first home victory of first-year head coach Chris Fite’s career. The Raiders also dropped a 77-67 New Year’s Eve contest at Wilmington (Del.) and a 78-65 home loss to Slippery Rock on Saturday. Sophomore Joe Lococo averaged 20.1 points per game this week to raise his season average to 20.3 – good for second-best in the PSAC – while also ranking third in the PSAC with 34.8 minutes per game. Redshirt-freshman Marcus Williams scored a career-high nine points against the Rock and is sixth in the PSAC in rebounding with 7.8 boards per game. In the pair of weekend games, sophomore Tony Ellis averaged 13 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, including a season-high 18 points against SRU and a season-high 11 rebounds against Cal.
 
Slippery Rock.
 Sr. C Maurice Lewis-Briggs averaged 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two crossover games last weekend. Rock trimmed 18-point deficit with 6:00 left to play down to three points with 60 seconds left before losing Friday at Millersville. Went on 24-3 run to snap 10-10 tie and take control of things in Saturday win at Shippensburg. Saturday's win gave SRU a 3-2 record in crossover games this winter and a 24-15 (.615) record against PSAC-Eastern Division teams in six seasons under current head coach Kevin Reynolds. Rock close out this year's crossover schedule with Wednesday home game vs. Kutztown. Saturday's win, which ended a string of three consecutive road games for The Rock, was SRU's fifth in six road games this winter and improved the Green and White's road record under Reynolds to 39-32 (.542). Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive game and the 11th time in 15 games this winter Lewis-Briggs scored 10 or more points. Lewis-Briggs averaged 22.8 points per game in the last four outing. Saturday, Sr. G Josh Martin recorded a double-digit scoring total for the fifth consecutive game and eighth time this winter. Martin averaged 17.0 points in the last five games. RS-Jr. G Antonio Butler had his second consecutive double-digit scoring effort and fifth of the season at Shippensburg. Sr. All-PSAC-West F Tabari Perry recorded his third consecutive double-digit scoring total and 10th of the season at Shippensburg. Perry also recorded his fourth "double-double" of the season, which moved him into a tie with Lewis-Briggs for the team lead. Saturday's win was Reynolds' 108th in 162 games (.667) as The Rock's head coach.

West Chester
West Chester picked up a pair of wins over PSAC West opponents Mercyhurst (80-72) and Gannon (73-72) over the weekend. In the process, sixth-year head coach Damien Blair notched career win No. 100 on Saturday against Gannon. Blair is just the fourth WCU men's basketball mentor to reach 100 wins and is the fastest to reach the milestone in school history. West Chester is one of only two programs in the PSAC averaging over 80 points per game. West Chester's .723 team free throw percentage leads the PSAC Eastern Division. Sr., G Troy Hockaday ranks 11th in the conference in scoring (16.7 ppg). West Chester is currently 3-2 against the PSAC Western Division with one game left against Clarion on Wednesday.