PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 11
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Men's Basketball: Co-East Athlete of the Week |
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Wali Hepburn
Lock Haven (Jr./ G)
Philadelphia, Pa./ Neumann-Goretti
Lock Haven's Wali Hepburn scored a game-high 27 points that helped the Bald Eagles beat No. 3 and previously unbeaten East Stroudsburg 82-80. The junior guard snagged seven rebounds in the upset and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw stripe. With 11 minutes to play in the second half, Hepburn made a layup, which tied the game at 61-61. Those two points pushed Hepburn over 1,000 points for his career, to become the 16th Lock Haven men's basketball player in school history to reach the milestone. With 10 seconds left on the clock Hepburn sunk a jumper that gave The Haven an 82-80 advantage that it wouldn't surrender. The win is Lock Haven's first over a ranked team since the Bald Eagles beat No. 23 Bloomsburg in 2006 and is the highest ranked opponent LHU has ever beaten. With the win, Lock Haven secured its first winning season in 21 years (1992-93). |
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Men's Basketball: Co-East Athlete of the Week |
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Joe Bell
Mansfield (Jr./ F)
Pottstown, Pa./ Pottsgrove
Joe Bell helped keep Mansfield's PSAC playoff hopes alive by leading the Mountaineers to a pair of wins over Kutztown and Cheyney. The junior forward averaged 29.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 53.5% from the floor. Bell, the leading scorer in both games, led Mansfield back from an 18-point first half deficit at Kutztown hitting 10-12 attempts from the floor and scoring 24 of his game-high 33 points in the second half. It was Mansfield's first win at Kutztown since 2007. Bell scored a game-high 26 points in a 67-64 win over Cheyney including 10 points in the second half to rally Mansfield from a 34-29 halftime deficit. |
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Men's Basketball: East Freshman of the Week |
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Rasheed Moore
East Stroudsburg (Fr./ G)
Wilkes-Barre, Pa./ Meyers
East Stroudsburg's Rasheed Moore, averaged 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 68.4% from the floor in two games last week. Moore recorded 19 points, five rebounds, and two steals versus Lock Haven. Against Millersville he notched 17 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal in a 93-64 win. Moore was also 13-of-19 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line on the week. |
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Men's Basketball: West Athlete of the Week |
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Raphell Thomas-Edwards
Gannon (Jr./ F)
Leicester, England/ The Gateway School
Raphell Thomas-Edwards led Gannon to a 2-0 week with important PSAC West victories against Slippery Rock (59-56) and Mercyhurst (56-54). He averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in the two wins while shooting over 68% from the field. The junior scored a career-high 20 points against Slippery Rock, while netting 12 of those points and grabbing five rebounds during the second half when Gannon snapped a 27-27 halftime tie. His 20 points nearly equaled one third of Gannon's total points in the contest. He ended the week with 17 points and five rebounds at Mercyhurst, hitting 7-of-9 shots. The Leicester, England native helped Gannon rally from a 24-21 halftime deficit by scoring 15 of his 17 points during the final 20 minutes. He scored Gannon's first 10 points of the second half to give the Golden Knights a 31-30 lead with 14:08 to play. |
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Men's Basketball: West Freshman of the Week |
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Cornell Yarde II
IUP (Fr./ G)
Leesport, Pa./ Schuylkill Valley
IUP's Cornell Yarde II scored 10 points in just 17 minutes of action last week in a 77-51 win over Seton Hill. Yarde also had three rebounds with just one turnover, while shooting 80% from the floor in his team's 19th win of the season. |
TEAM NOTES
Bloomsburg
The Huskies (13-8, 9-3 PSAC East) recorded a pair of wins in less than 48 hours this week to remain in second place in the divisional standings. After a snowstorm pushed the first game of the week to Thursday night, Bloomsburg won at Cheyney, 62-56, led by senior
Lorenzo Christmas' 19 points. Bloomsburg then won at home on Saturday afternoon, defeating Shippensburg by a 78-53 score. Sophomore
Charles Haigler led all scorers Saturday with 15 points. The Huskies host non-conference Goldey-Beacom on Wednesday night and then travel to first place East Stroudsburg on Wednesday.
California
Cal U suffered a pair of losses last week to Mercyhurst and Edinboro, but are only one-game back of a tie for fifth place in the PSAC West standings. The Vulcans have dropped three-straight games in divisional play for the second time this year. Cal U tied its season low with only six turnovers in the loss to Edinboro on Saturday. Sophomore G
Jake Jacubec is shooting just 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from beyond the arc over the last five games after making over 57 percent in five games from Jan. 4-18. Junior F
Alonzo Murphy has recorded a season-high 12 rebounds three times in the last six games, but has totaled only nine rebounds in the other three games. Junior G
Tynell Fortune is just one free-throw made shy of reaching the century mark for the season and would become the first player since the 2007-08 season to accomplish the feat.
Cheyney
Cheyney dropped a pair of games this week falling to Bloomsburg and Mansfield. Against Bloomsburg
Calvin Brown recorded a double-double scoring 14 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Against the Mounties the Wolves received double doubles from
Deshawn Curtis and
Brown but it wasn't enough.
Brown has registered four double-doubles in his last six contests and has seven on the season. With only one game this week the Wolves look to get going in the right direction Wednesday night as they host Kutztown.
Clarion
Sr.
Mike Kromka recorded his second double-double of at least 20 points & 15 rebounds
Wednesday at Pitt-Johnstown when he had 20 points & 17 rebounds (he had the double-double by halftime with 11 points, 10 rebounds). It was
Kromka's team-leading sixth double-double of the season and the 15th of his career. It also marks the fourth time this year & sixth time in his career has had at least 15 rebounds in a game.
Marques Jones continued his solid play of late scoring 19 points against the Mountain Cats in Clarion's lone game.
Jones is averaging 18.3 ppg in his last four contests.
East Stroudsburg
ESU (21-1, 11-1), ranked #3 in last week's NABC DII poll, was the final undefeated team at 20-0 before falling at Lock Haven, 82-80, on Thursday night. Warriors came back with 93-64 win over Millersville on Saturday. ESU's 20-game win streak was the longest in school history and the PSAC's best since 1994-95 (IUP, 21-0). It was also ESU's best unbeaten start (previously 13-0, 2009-10). Warriors set school record for consecutive wins over PSAC schools (16) and tied a mark for consecutive road wins (10). ESU has an active 13-game winning streak at Koehler Fieldhouse. The last PSAC school to go undefeated in the regular season was Cheyney in 1965-66 (24-0). ESU's win over Millersville was the 1,000th in program history (1,000-976). Warriors are 204-128 under 12th-year head coach Jeff Wilson, and have 20+ wins in four of the last five years. Jr. G
Whis Grant (17.5 ppg) is averaging 21.0 points against PSAC East competition, with 20+ points in eight of 12 games. He had 23 at Lock Haven and 22 vs. Millersville while shooting 9-for-14 (62.3%) from the 3-point line. Grant is the reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year. Fr. F
Rasheed Moore averaged 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds last week - and is the #2 scorer (14.2 ppg) and #1 rebounder (6.9 rpg) for the Warriors. Jr. G
Matt Tobin continues to lead the PSAC in assists (5.8) and assist-turnover ratio (2.6). Warriors lead PSAC in scoring (87.5 ppg) and have topped 90 points in 10 games this season. ESU leads the PSAC and ranks 2nd in DII in turnover margin (+8.0), with the 2nd-best team at +1.8 (California). ESU travels to Shippensburg and hosts Bloomsburg this week.
Edinboro
Henri Wade-Chatman's game-winning from the right corner with 3.1 seconds left in the game gave Edinboro a 69-67 victory over visiting California (PA.) on Saturday, February 8 at McComb Fieldhouse.
Wade-Chatman finished with 17 points on six of nine shooting on the night.
Bryan Theriot recorded his sixth double-double of the season with game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds against the Vulcans, while
Alex Moore added 12 markers for the Scots. Edinboro rallied after falling behind by as many as 18 points in the first half to California. The Fighting Scots fell to Seton Hill on Wednesday, February 5 by a score of 71-63 on the road.
Theriot and
Wade-Chatman each dropped in 15 points to pace Edinboro.
Theriot set the Edinboro record for career free throws made with 367 against the Griffins. He passed Dan Petchel, who made 364 shots from the charity stripe in his career. The Fighting Scots return to action this week against two local rivals, traveling to Gannon on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip, before hosting Mercyhurst
on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Gannon
Gannon extended its win streak to three games last week with important PSAC Western Division victories against Slippery Rock (59-56) and Mercyhurst (56-54), The two games featured 23 ties and 18 lead changes. The Golden Knights have won eight of their last nine games. Gannon is 4-1 against the top four teams in the PSAC West. Junior
Raphell Thomas-Edwards recorded 37 points and 11 rebounds during two games last week, including 27 points and nine rebounds during the second halves of those contests.
Thomas-Edwards netted a career-high 20 points against the Rock and scored Gannon's first 10 second-half points at Mercyhurst. Gannon clinched its fourth PSAC Tournament spot during six years in the conference Saturday night. Junior
Adam Blazek moved past Rich Bush (1998-01) and into third place all-time at Gannon with his 154th career steal during the SRU game. Gannon has played in nine games decided by five points or less this season. The Golden Knights had lost six of the first seven, but have now won two straight. Gannon shot a season-best 56.4 percent (22-39) from the field at Mercyhurst, including a red-hot 63.6-percent (14-22) clip during the second half. The win represented the Golden Knights' first at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center since February 16, 2011.
IUP
The ninth-ranked Crimson Hawks extended their win-streak to five, claiming a dominant 77-51 victory over Seton Hill. Shooting a season-high 57.1 percent from the floor, the PSAC West's top team dominated the Griffins in nearly every category. Four players were in double figures, led by So. G
Brandon Norfleet who recorded 15 points, four rebounds, six assists and two blocks in his third straight game in double figures. Jr. G
Devante Chance added 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists while R-So. F
Devon Cottrell also recorded 12 points, adding three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. R-Fr. G
Cornell Yarde II registered double figures in his second straight outing, finishing the night with 10 points and three rebounds. The Crimson Hawks will have the opportunity to avenge their only two losses of the season, traveling to California (Pa.) Wednesday night and then playing host to Gannon Saturday night.
Kutztown
The Golden Bears (7-14, 5-6 PSAC East) sit in a tie for fifth place in the East with Millersville. They split their two games last week, including a 73-70 win at second-ranked West Chester on Saturday. KU overcame a 16-point deficit and made 26 of its final 27 free throws in its first win at WCU since 2010.
Fred Dukes IV scored a season-high 18 points in his first start of the season, and
Ryan Connolly finished with a game-high 19 points, his most since the season-opener. Sophomore
Tracy Peal leads the team in scoring at 15.7 per game, followed by
Josh Johnson (12.0),
Ryan Connolly (10.2), and
Austin Beidelman (10.0).
Johnson has blossomed into one of the best freshman in the league, as he shoots 58.1 percent from the field (third in the PSAC, first among freshman), and averages 6.8 rebounds. In each of Kutztown's last three wins, it has held its opponent to 70 or fewer points. Kutztown travels to Cheyney Wednesday night, and hosts Millersvilleon Saturday.
Lock Haven
Lock Haven only played one game last week, but it proved to be a milestone night for the Bald Eagles, who improved to 14-7 (7-4 PSAC East) by stunning No. 3 and previously unbeaten East Stroudsburg, 82-80.
Wali Hepburn had a career-night, netting a game-high 27 points. The 27 points pushed him over 1,000 for his career. The PSAC's leading scorer (21.5 points per game) is the 16th LHU men's basketball player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. The win is Lock Haven's first over a ranked team since the Bald Eagles beat No. 23 Bloomsburg on December 20, 2006 and is highest ranked (No. 3) opponent LHU has ever beat. The win was Lock Haven's 14th of the year, the most since The Haven went 14-12 in 1992-93. With the win, Lock Haven also secures its first winning season in 21 years (1992-93). Coming into the game, East Stroudsburg was the last remaining undefeated team in Division II and one of four remaining undefeated teams in all of college basketball. Division I Wichita State (25-0) and Syracuse (23-0), along with DIII Cabrini (18-0) are the others. The Warriors held the longest active win streak in DII at 20 games.
Mansfield
The Mountaineers got back into the playoff picture with a pair of key wins over Kutztown and Cheyney during the week. Mansfield rallied in both games from halftime deficits with junior forwards
Joe Bell and
Charles Pemberton averaging 29.5 and 21.5 points per game during the week. Mansfield shot a remarkable 51.8% from the floor during the week in recording its first back-to-back wins of the season.
Pemberton also averaged 9.5 boards per game and blocked seven shots.
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst split two Western Division games last week, winning, 63-56, at California (Pa.) and then falling, 56-54, to Gannon. The Lakers used a 14-7 run to close out a victory and a season sweep over the Vulcans.
Jean Onana hit four three-pointers on his way to 14 points, while the Mercyhurst defense held Cal to 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Mercyhurst had to settle for a season split with its rival Gannon after dropping a two-point decision Saturday.
Greg Williams and
Onana each scored 14 points. The Lakers are 8-3 in the PSAC, a game behind West-leading IUP. Mercyhurst hosts Slippery Rock
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Millersville
Millersville's road woes continued, dropping games at West Chester and ESU to fall to 1-10 away from Pucillo Gymnasium this season. The Marauders, however, are 8-1 at home and three of the final five games of the season are at home.
Kelvin Parker scored 24 at West Chester to become the first Marauder since 2007-08 to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games. He added 17 against ESU, giving him double figures in seven of his eight games with the Marauders. He averaged 21.0 points on 48.3 percent shooting from the field and 46.9 percent shooting from three over his last four games.
Tyree Smith has scored in double figures in five consecutive games and averaged 19.5 against West Chester and ESU. He has shot 57.8 percent from three over his last four games.
Pitt-Johnstown
Slippery Rock stopped Pitt-Johnstown's 2-game winning streak
on Saturday
Seton Hill
This past week Seton Hill came out with a victory on Wednesday the 5
th to Edinboro 73-61 then on Saturday the 8
th fell short to IUP 51-77. On Wednesday the 12
th Seton Hill will host Clarion then travel to Pitt-Johnstown on the 15
th of February.
Shippensburg
A short-handed Shippensburg dropped a road game Saturday at Bloomsburg. SU was off Wednesday and only played once last week. Sophomore
Joe Lococo (Easton) ranks fourth in the PSAC in scoring (19.4 ppg) and is second in minutes played (36.0 mpg).
Lococo leads the PSAC in made free throws (153) and attempts (200), ranking among the Top 5 in Division II for both categories. Redshirt-freshman center
Marcus Williams (Perkiomen Valley) ranks sixth in the PSAC in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and blocks (1.7 bpg).
Slippery Rock
The Rock clinched a fourth consecutive PSAC tournament appearance with their win last Saturday over Pitt-Johnstown. Rock made 22 of 23 free throws (95.7%) vs UPJ. That is believed to be a program-best free throw shooting percentage. Sr. C
Maurice Lewis-Briggs averaged 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in two games last week (loss at Gannon, win over UPJ). Rock are currently alone in 4th place in PSAC West standings but can potentially jump into a tie for first place with a win
Wednesday at Mercyhurst. SRU is idle next Saturday.
West Chester
WCU split a pair of contests to fall to third in the conference at 8-4. The Golden Rams are second in the league in scoring at 80.5 a contest. West Chester travels to Lock Haven on Wednesday and host Shippensburg on Saturday.