PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 10 (Jan. 25)
PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 25 (pdf)
Kutztown's Stephen Dennis recorded two more 30-point games last week and for his efforts is the PSAC East Player of the Week for the third straight week. East Stroudsburg's Duane Johnson helped the Warriors to two more wins last week and earns his third PSAC East Freshman of the Week award of the season. Clarion's Lloyd Harrison and IUP's Darryl Webb are Co-Players of the Week in the PSAC West this week, as Webb earns the honor for the third time in the last four weeks while Harrison earns it for the first time this year. Gannon's Tanner Furno is the PSAC West Freshman of the Week, making it two straight week's that Gannon has had the Freshman of the Week.
PSAC Players of the Week - Jan. 25
PSAC East Player of the Week
Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
G, Sr., West Chester, Pa./Henderson
After recording his third and fourth straight 30-point games in a 1-1 week for the Golden Bears, Dennis earns his third straight PSAC East Player of the Week award of the season, and his fourth overall. The senior averaged 34.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals and broke the Kutztown school record for career points, surpassing the 2,000-point mark in the process. Although the Golden Bears dropped their first game of the year, 94-87 at Mansfield on Wednesday, Dennis still dropped in 36 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the loss. He then went for 33 points in an 82-67 in a win over Shippensburg on Saturday. In that game, Dennis became the 11th player in PSAC history to score 2,000 points and he also surpassed former teammate Dave Ben for the career lead in points at Kutztown. Dennis shot 51.2 percent from the floor (20-for-39) last week and was also 25-of-32 (78.1 percent) from the free throw line.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Duane Johnson, East Stroudsburg
F, Fr., Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood
Johnson earns his third PSAC East Freshman of the Week award of the season after averaging 6.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists and shooting 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11) to help the Warriors to two more wins last week to improve to 16-1 overall. Johnson, who took just six shots from the field in the two games, scored 10 points and had six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a double overtime 101-96 win at Bloomsburg on Wednesday. He made both of his field goal attempts and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the win. He then had just three points but pulled down a career-high nine rebounds in 15 minutes of action in a 77-73 win at Cheyney on Saturday in which he also had a key blocked shot in the final two minutes of the game.
PSAC West Co-Player of the Week
Darryl Webb, IUP
F, Jr., Elkridge, Md./Long Reach
Webb earns his third PSAC West Player of the Week award in the last four weeks and his fourth honor of the year overall after averaging a double-double with 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds while also adding 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Webb, who posted double-doubles in both IUP wins last week, shot 63.0 percent from the floor (17-of-27) and was 7-of-9 from the free throw line (77.8 percent). In a 77-53 win over Lock Haven in what was a battle of the only remaining unbeatens in West play on Wednesday, Webb posted 23 points and 10 boards on 9-of-14 shooting. He then went for 20 points and 14 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting in a 73-66 win over IUP. It was his 10th double-double of the season and the 30th of his career.
PSAC West Co-Player of the Week
Lloyd Harrison, Clarion
G, Jr., Detroit, Mich./Southwestern
Harrison had a big week as he helped lead the Golden Eagles to a pair of three-point wins over both California and Slippery Rock. The guard averaged 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.5 steals and shot 52.2 percent from the floor (12-for-23) and 80 percent from the free throw line (16-for-20). In the win over the Vulcans, he went for 21 points, including 17 in the second half, in addition to five boards, six assists, three steals and made all eight of his free throw attempts. He also hit the game-winning three-pointer at the horn to give the Eagles the 79-76 win. He then dropped in 20 points and had nine rebounds and five assists in Clarion’s 76-73 win over The Rock.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Tanner Furno, Gannon
F, Fr., Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone
Furno becomes the second different Gannon freshman in as many weeks to claim the PSAC West Freshman of the Week after he averaged 13.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in a 1-1 week for the Golden Knights last week. Furno also shot 80 percent from the floor (12-for-15). In Gannon’s 81-63 win over Slippery Rock on Wednesday, he scored a career-high 27 points, including 16 in the second half after having just 22 points on the entire season entering the game. He also had a rebound, assist and a block but did not score in Gannon’s loss to IUP.
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies went 0-2 this week, with a 101-96 double-overtime loss to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday and a 61-57 overtime loss to Millersville on Saturday…BU led the Warriors by as many as 15 points in the second half before the eventual comeback…Four Huskies reached double-figures, led by Sr. G Ruben Britt who had 29 points…So. G Trevon Johnson had 17 points, So. F Larry Webster scored 16 and Fr. G Jamar Smack added 11 points…Against the Marauders, So. G Jesse Betar hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left, sending the game to overtime where the Huskies ultimately lost…Sr. F Adon El had a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds while Johnson added 11 points…Britt scored nine points, snapping a string of 10 straight games scoring in double-figures…With these losses, the Huskies have now dropped six straight games, the last three each coming in overtime.
California Vulcans
After opening the season with a 12-3 non-conference record, the Vulcans have lost their first four PSAC West games - a first in recent program history…The four PSAC West losses have been by a combined 27 points…Last week against Clarion, the Vulcans lost a buzzer-beater 79-76 after leading virtually the entire first half…On Saturday, Cal U cut a 13-point halftime deficit to four points before dropping a 79-72 contest at Edinboro…Sr. G Jerial Nixon tied his career high with 24 points against the Fighting Scots…In the two losses, the Vulcans shot better than their opponents from both the floor and three-point territory and also held the advantage in rebounds…However, Cal U shot just 56.3 percent from the free-throw line after entering the week shooting at a 71.3 clip (248-of-348).
Cheyney Wolves
Cheyney hit 12 of 16 free throws in the final two minutes to earn the victory over cross town rival West Chester 60-52...Sharif Bray was 8-8 from the line in the final two minutes and finished the game with 21 points including 10-11 from the charity stripe. Bray led Cheyney against ESU with 17 points but the Wolves came up short 77-73. Bray has recorded double figures in every game this year. In the Cheyney ESU game the teams combines for only 12 turnovers...Tyrone Blassingame's seven points against ESU were a career high. Only once this season has Cheyney made more free throws than their opponents...In three of the past four games Cheyney opponents have made more foul shots than the Wolves have taken.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Clarion already has more PSAC-West wins (3) this year than all of last year (2) while tying last year's overall win total (11)…Lloyd Harrison has scored in double digits in 10 straight games and has gone back-to-back games with at least 20 points including Wednesday when he had 21 at California including hitting the game-winning 3-pointer at the horn, the first game-winning shot at the horn this season for Clarion…On Saturday vs. Slippery Rock Paul McQueen (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Shameel Carty (15 points, 12 rebounds) became the first Golden Eagle teammates to record double-doubles in the same PSAC-West game since Feb. 4, 2006 when Leon Kennedy and Chris Buchanan did it…Clarion is 10-0 when leading at halftime this year…Clarion is in the midst of playing 8 of 11 at home, where they are 7-1 this season.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU is 16-1 for the 3rd time in school history (1940-41, 1926-27)...Warriors were No. 25 in last week's NABC poll (this year's national ranking is 2nd in ESU history, 1991-92)...ESU won both games on the road, 101-96 (2OT) at Bloomsburg and 77-73 at Cheyney...Overcame 15-point deficit in final 7:30 at Bloomsburg, finishing regulation on 25-10 run...Sr. G Robby Pines scored career-high 18 points (10-12 ft)...Sr. G Andy Heimbach scored 1,000th career point at Cheyney...Heimbach had team-high 11 points, one of six Warriors with eight points...ESU was 25-31 at foul line in 2nd half (PSAC-best 73.7% this season)...All 10 players who saw action in both games averaged at least 5.5 ppg, eight Warriors are averaging 7.0 ppg for the year...Heimbach (13.9) is only player in double-figures and has 1,010 points in 100 career games.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Byron Knight scored a career-high 31 points against California(Pa.) after scoring 21 three days earlier at Mercyhurst...The Jr. G, who had not played since 2003, is now leading the Fighting Scots in scoring at 15.1 ppg. after averaging 18.8 ppg. over the last six games…Edinboro has now used eight different starting lineups over the first 17 games with Cory Somerville the only Fighting Scot to start every game…Saturday's 79-72 win over Cal marked Edinboro's seventh win in the last eight games against the Vulcans at McComb Fieldhouse…The 72 points allowed snapped a string of six straight games that the Fighting Scots had given up 80 or more points. That had not happened since 1990-91…Sr. Vlad Kovalevsky made his first appearance of the season vs. Cal. The 6'7" forward had been out following knee surgery last spring. He had four points and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon split a pair of PSAC West games last week, winning at Slippery Rock (81-63) and losing to No. 9 Indiana (Pa.) (73-66) at home...The victory at Slippery Rock was Gannon's first at the Morrow Field House since the 1986-87 season...The Golden Knights have not won or lost more than two games in a row this season, alternating wins and losses their last seven games...Jr. G George Johnson scored 23 points against IUP, reaching the 20-point plateau for the seventh time this season and fifth time in the last eight games...Fr. Tanner Furno scored a career-high 27 points off the bench against the Rock after scoring 22 points in the first 14 games...Jr. Larry Swann entered the Slippery Rock game with 34 points in the seven previous games he played in, before scoring a season-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP improved to 4-0 in the PSAC West for the first time since 1994-95, riding a pair of double-doubles from Darryl Webb to sole possession of first place in the division… Webb had 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 77-53 win at Lock Haven and 20 points and 14 boards in a 73-66 victory at Gannon, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Golden Knights dating back to the 2001-02 season…Webb moved into 17th place in school history with 1,126 points and ranks fifth with 694 rebounds and second with 94 blocked shots…Thomas Young ran his streak of consecutive 20-point games to three when he hit that number versus Lock Haven and then had 14 at Gannon including a basket with 1:32 left that broke a 66-66 tie and sparked a game-ending 7-0 run by IUP…Julian Sanders moved into a tie for 10th in IUP history with 114 career 3-pointers…The Crimson Hawks play at home for the first time since January 13 when they host California on Wednesday.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Stephen Dennis became the all-time leader in Kutztown men's basketball history when he scored a layup with 16:56 remaining in the second half against Shippensburg…He broke Dave Ben's record of 2,017 points, a mark that lasted 16 games…Dennis, the 11th player in PSAC history to score 2,000 points, is now the eighth-leading scorer in PSAC history with 2,029 career points. He passed Clarion's Reggie Wells (2,011), Ben (2,017) and current West Chester coach Damian Blair (2,025)…With 512 made foul shots, Dennis needs to make seven to become the KU all-time leader in that category…Dennis has scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games…Dennis is also within reach of two more school records…He has 394 career assists and needs 32 to own that mark…Finally, with 210 career steals, Dennis is 50 shy of becoming the career leader in that category…Kutztown has won 24 consecutive home games at Keystone Arena…The loss to Mansfield ended KU's 15-game PSAC East winning streak…Dennis tied his school record, which he set earlier this year, with 16 made foul shots against Mansfield…Tamir Johnson had his best game as a Golden Bear, finishing with a career-high 20 points and career-high 18 rebounds.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
After starting PSAC West play 2-0, the Bald Eagles have dropped two straight...In a battle of PSAC unbeatens, Lock Haven fell to No. 9 IUP at home before losing Saturday at Mercyhurst...Lock Haven is 5-10 overall and 2-2 in league action...Lock Haven continues to be paced by So. F Eric Brennan, who is averaging 17.7 points/game, which is sixth-best in all of the PSAC...Brennan's scored in double-figures in all 15 games this season, which runs his steak of double-digit scoring to 17 games, dating back to last season...Sr. Warren Christian continues to climb in Lock Haven's record books. He had five blocks at Mercyhurst, which runs his season total to 36 and career record to 81...Despite being in just his second season with LHU, he's is currently No. 4 all-time on the Bald Eagles list for blocks.
Mansfield Mountaineers
Mansfield's 94-87 home win over the No. 2 Kutztown marked a victory over the highest rated opponent at home since Decker Gymnasium opened in 1970-71…The Mountaineers, who have won 8 of their last 9 games, had a season-best six-game winning snapped in a loss at West Chester Saturday…Ryan Callahan scored the game's final nine points in the win over Kutztown. Callahan, who averaged 26.5 points per game during the week, connected on 27-of-31 free throw attempts against Kutztown and West Chester…Yuseff Carr extended his run of consecutive games of scoring in double-figures to 19 games dating back to last season…Derrison Anthony is averaging 12.0 points and 8.7 points since starting for the sidelined Tony Fannick over the last six games.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst went to 2-0 on the week with wins over Edinboro (83-72) and Lock Haven (73-65) to even its Western Division record at 2-2 and improve to 12-5 overall…The Lakers had four players score in double-figures against the Fighting Scots and three against LHU, including a career-high 26 points from junior G Heiden Ratner…Mercyhurst hit 11 3-pointers against EUP to mark the second-highest output of the year…Also against EUP, the Lakers had a season-low seven turnovers, the first time this season that they were in single-digits in that category…Head coach Gary Manchel is now just three wins away from becoming the Lakers all-time wins leader…In his seventh year, Manchel owns a 104-79 all-time mark…Mercyhurst hits the road for two in a row at Clarion and at California as the Lakers look to continue their winning streak…The 'Hurst lost both games on the road a year ago.
Millersville Marauders
Millersville returned to even in PSAC East play with an overtime win over Bloomsburg...Millersville improved to 2-1 in overtime games this year with the win, and the victory was the 200th of Coach Fred Thompson's 12-year tenure. He is just the third coach and the second fastest in school history to the milestone...Sr. Jason Blake continued his strong play, averaged 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists during the week. He recorded his first career double-double at Shippensburg (17 points, 11 rebounds) and tallied 21 points, six rebounds and five assists against Bloomsburg on Saturday. He accounted for six of Millersville's eight overtime points. Blake has tallied double figures in six-straight games...Also against Shippensburg, Alen Ahmetovic recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He has pulled down at least seven rebounds in four-straight games and is averaging over three offensive rebounds per game during that stretch.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg earned its first conference victory of the year with a win over Millersville but fell short at No. 2 Kutztown with a game effort against the Golden Bears…The Red Raiders have a crucial two-game home stand this week against Bloomsburg and Cheyney before hitting the road for three straight from Feb. 3-10…So. G Craig Van Scyoc made just his second career start and first this season against Millersville…He finished the game tied for the team lead with 13 points playing in a career-high 36 minutes, including the entire second half…he followed that up on Saturday with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 34 minutes…Shippensburg is 6-0 when holding a team under 60 points and just 2-9 otherwise.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Jr. F Maron Brown extended his string of "double-double" efforts to six games last Saturday and now has a team-best nine D-Ds this winter...Brown has had 10 or more rebounds in eight straight games and 11 of 16 games played this winter...Jr. G Jabril Bailey has recorded eight D-Ds and scored 10 or more points in 10 straight games and 13 of 17 games this winter...Sr. G Michael Evans Jr. ranks fifth in school history in both career 3-pointers made (11) and attempted (339), seventh in single-season trey attempts (156) and is tied for eighth in 3-pointers made (53) this winter...Sr. G Maurice Douglas ranks seventh in both career 3-pointers made (94) and attempted (281)...Kevin Reynolds remains tied with Cliff Wettig (1973-75) for the most wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons...Reynolds is now 33-13 as The Rock's boss.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester split its two PSAC East contests last week, falling to Cheyney at home, 60-52, and rebounding to knock off Mansfield, 89-75, and hand the Mountaineers their first league defeat…Ralph Hegamin was injured and did not play against Cheyney, but he returned to lead West Chester to a win over Mansfield…He has 990 career points in just 2 ½ seasons as a Golden Ram…He will have a chance to become the 22nd player in WCU history, to reach 1,000 career points in West Chester's next game at Kutztown Wednesday…Sam Scott sank 12 of 15 free throws in a loss to Cheyney, accounting for all of his points in the game…His 12 made free throws were a career high for a single game.