PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 10
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MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Dustin Sleva
Shippensburg (Sr. / F)
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Montour
Sleva averaged 23 points and 14.5 rebounds per game this week, posting two double-doubles, as the Raiders defeated two PSAC East Top 5 teams this week in Bloomsburg and Kutztown...Sleva shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30), including 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from three-point range...he also averaged 3.5 assists per game...on Wednesday at Bloomsburg, Sleva posted 21 points and 14 rebounds...on Saturday against KU, Sleva was tremendous, scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting...he was 4-of-4 from three-point range and 3-of-3 at the free-throw line...he matched his season high with 15 rebounds, and led SU with five assists...he also had two emphatic blocks in the second half...Sleva is now second in the PSAC and sixth in Division II with 12 double-doubles this season (48 career double-doubles). |
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MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Moe Williams
Kutztown (Fr. / G)
Townsend, Del. / Life Center Academy
Williams averaged 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds last week as the Golden Bears went 1-1. He made all five of his free throw attempts and added 2.0 assists per game. Against Lock Haven Wednesday night, Williams scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a KU win. Saturday at Shippensburg, he scored 11 points with nine rebounds. |
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MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Micah Till
Slippery Rock (So. / F)
Upper Marlboro, Md. / Wise
Till had another dominant week in leading The Rock to key divisional wins over Gannon and California ... he scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had three steals in a win over Gannon that moved SRU ahead of the Golden Knights and into second in the PSAC West ... Till then followed that up with 27 points, nine rebounds and two steals in a runaway win at Cal U ... Till scored 21 points and grabbed seven boards in the first half at Cal before playing limited minutes in the second half with SRU up comfortably ... He averaged 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two wins and is now up to 14 double-doubles on the year. |
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MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Dante Lombardi
IUP (Jr. / G)
Indiana, Pa. / Kiski Prep
Lombardi averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 assists to lead the Crimson Hawks to wins over Seton Hill (92-70) and Mercyhurst (67-65). He had his best two-game shooting stretch of the season, converting 60.0 percent (15-25) of his shots, including 7-12 from 3-point range, and a perfect 6-6 from the foul line. The junior tied a career-high with 23 points (8-13 FGs) with eight assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes against Seton Hill. He also made five 3-pointers that game, a season-high. Lombardi scored a game-high 20 points (7-12 FGs) with five assists and two turnovers in 32 minutes in IUP's win at Mercyhurst Saturday. The IUP victory meant the first loss at home this year for Mercyhurst, which had come in with an 8-0 record at the MAC, outscoring opponents by more than 16 points per game |
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MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Drew Magestro
Pitt-Johnstown (Fr. / G)
Sharon, Pa. / Kennedy Catholic
Magestro dropped 18 points in UPJ's upset win agaisnt West Chester while dishing out eight assists. It marked the third time in the freshman's career that he scored at least 18 points in a contest. He snagged a career-high six rebounds in the win. The freshman added a dozen points and a rebound in UPJ's loss to Gannon on Saturday. |
Game Notes
Bloomsburg: The Bloomsburg men’s basketball team moved to 11-8 overall and 7-8 in the PSAC Eastern Division with a split this week. The Huskies dropped a home decision to Shippensburg on Wednesday before bouncing back for an 86-78 win at #20 West Chester on Saturday to complete the season sweep over the Golden Rams. Redshirt senior Christian Mortellite had a game to remember on Saturday as he went 12-of-12 from the field, 6-of-6 from three-point range, and 7-of-9 from the line en route to 37 points. It was his third 30-point effort of the season and the eighth of his career. It also marked the third time in his career that he scored at least 37 points in a game – twice against West Chester. With his effort on Saturday, Mortellite needs 13 points to become Bloomsburg’s all-time scoring leader as he will enter the week with 1,899 career points. Mike Ellzy (1993-97) currently holds the record with 1,911. Mortellite also needs 101 points to become the 12
th player in PSAC history to record 2,000 career points. Senior Kyle-Michael Rose added five blocks during the week and is now just ten blocks away from moving into second place on the school’s all-time list. Rose has 121 career blocks – Lee Gump (1992-96) is second at BU with 130.
California: Cal U posted a 1-1 record last week while playing a pair of PSAC West opponents and remain in seventh place in the divisional standings. The Vulcans rank second in the conference with 1,718 total points and sit fifth in scoring offense with 81.8 points per game this season. Junior Jahmere Howze averaged 20.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game over a pair of contests last week. Cal U snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday night in an 85-68 victory at Clarion. The Vulcans finished the game with a .476 shooting percentage (30-of-63) and converted 11-of-29 (37.6 percent) from beyond the arc. On Saturday, Cal U suffered an 86-65 loss to Slippery Rock after shooting a season-low from three-point range. Howze led the team 21 points and converted 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds (four offensive) and two steals in 29 minutes.
Gannon: Gannon split a pair of games last week, falling at Slippery Rock (72-61) and defeating Pitt-Johnstown (72-62) … the Golden Knights’ nine-game win streak came to an end with the loss at Slippery Rock, representing their first setback since December 3, a span of 52 days … Gannon extended its home win streak to nine games with Saturday's victory against UPJ, representing the program's longest home win streak since having 12 straight victories December 14, 2013-November 19, 2014 … senior Zay Jackson jumped two spots on Gannon’s all-time three-point field goal chart and into seventh place all-time at Gannon with 132 career three-pointers despite playing only two seasons in a Golden Knight uniform … junior Evan Phoenix recorded his seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season last week, giving him 16 during his two-year Golden Knight career … the Golden Knights defeated the Mountain Cats for sixth consecutive time, extending their lead in the all-time series to 23-5 … Gannon improved to 13-2 when at least three players reach double-digits in scoring and 11-1 when scoring at least 70 points.
Kutztown: The Kutztown University men’s basketball team split its two games last week. The Golden Bears (14-4 overall, 10-4 PSAC) won 91-75 over Lock Haven University last Wednesday, Jan. 24 at Keystone Arena, and then fell at Shippensburg University 88-80 on Saturday, Jan. 27. Against the Bald Eagles, KU took a 50-32 lead at halftime, and never looked back. Redshirt-junior Anthony Lee led all scorers with 26 points including 5-for-7 from three-point range, and brought down nine rebounds
in 38 minutes. Sophomore Max Wagner tallied a career-high 16 points along with seven rebounds. Ethan Ridgeway had 13 points and seven assists, and Moe Williams recorded 10 points and eight rebounds. The Kutztown defense also held Amir Hinton, who led the PSAC in scoring coming into the game, to 19 points, more than four points below his average, on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.
Against the Raiders, Kutztown fell behind 43-29 at halftime, and did not have enough fire power to complete the comeback effort. The Golden Bears shot just 6-of-22 (27.3%) from three. Senior Rafiq Marshall scored a team-high 18 points to lead a total of five KU players who scored in double-figures, including Ridgeway (14 points), Lee (11), Williams (11) and Wagner (11).
Kutztown plays at Bloomsburg University
Wednesday, Jan. 31 and then returns home to take on West Chester University on
Saturday, Feb. 3.
Lock Haven: The Lock Haven men’s basketball team currently sits a half game out of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East playoff race and is 4-10 in PSAC play to go along with a 6-12 overall record. The Bald Eagles are led by redshirt-sophomore sensation Amir Hinton, as he currently is second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 23.2 points per game to go along with his team leading 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He also currently leads the PSAC in steals with 2.7 steals per game. Lock Haven has four players that average double figures in points. Ra’eese Hunt (13.2), Tarojae Brake (12.6) and Matt Ceruti (10.6) all average over 10 points per game along with Hinton. This helps LHU average 77.2 points per game on the season. The Bald Eagles next game is at home against Mansfield Wednesday, January 31
st. That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst suffered its first home loss of the season to IUP on Saturday, dropping to 8-1 in its friendly confines…Forward Patrick Smith had his fifth double-double of the season against IUP, totaling 17 points and 14 rebounds…the Lakers won their mid-week game over Edinboro, 80-76 – courtesy of a go-ahead three-pointer by guard Malcolm Walters with 13.2 seconds on the clock…MU will visit Clarion on Wednesday before making up a home matchup with Shippensburg on Saturday.
Millersville: Millersville completed a season sweep of Mansfield. The Maruaders were led by four players in double figures, two of which were freshmen. James Sullivan scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. He made 3 of 7 threes and all four foul shots. Jamal Washington, who also scored 10 points against East Stroudsburg, scored 12 points and grabbed four boards against Mansfield. Marcus Adkison extended his double-digit scoring streak to 19 games, which is the longest by a Marauder since Greg Testa in 2005-06. Millersville made nine threes against Mansfield, improving the team's record to 6-1 when it makes at least eight threes. Millersville has recorded eight steals 13 times.
Shippensburg: Senior Dustin Sleva (Pittsburgh, PA) is third in the PSAC in scoring (22.4 ppg) and tied for first in rebounding (11.1 rpg)…senior Justin McCarthur (Harrisburg, PA) is fourth in the PSAC in three-pointers per game (2.9) and three-point percentage (43.5)…Shippensburg has had a halftime lead in each of the last 13 games, with the average halftime lead being 16 points during that span…SU has made eight or more three-pointers in every game this season…SU continues to lead the PSAC while ranking fourth in Division II for free-throw percentage…SU has a first-half scoring margin this season of +201…SU is now 38-3 at home over the last three seasons (11-0 in 2017-18, 15-1 in 2016-17, 12-2 in 2015-16).