PSAC Men’s Basketball Athletes of the Week – 14
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced this week’s men’s basketball athletes of the week. From the East, Jake Biss of Shippensburg and Troy Jones of East Stroudsburg were selected, while in the West, Philip Alston of Cal U and John Paul Kromka of Pitt-Johnstown were picked.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Jake Biss
Guard
Graduate Student
Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe
In a 3-0 week for the Raiders, Biss scored 85 points, averaging 28.3 ppg. He shot 53.3% from three-point range (16-30) and 56% from the field (28-50). He also had 13 assists to four turnovers and played 113 of 120 minutes. In a Monday win over Mansfield, Biss finished with career highs of 36 points and seven three-pointers. He was 13-of-25 from the field and 7-of-14 from three-point range. It's the most three-pointers in a single game by a Raider since Justin McCarthur set the single-game PSAC three-point accuracy record when he went 9-of-9 against East Stroudsburg on Feb. 1, 2018. Biss also contributed five assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block without committing a turnover while playing all 40 minutes. In a Wednesday win at Shepherd, Biss led the Raider offense for the second straight game with a game-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range. At halftime, Biss had already scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range). He also added four assists. It was the second time in three days that Biss scored 20 or more points in the first half. In a Saturday win over Kutztown, Biss shot 4-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from three-point range, and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Biss put up 21 points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal. In the contest, Biss passed Matt Markle and Abe Massaley to move into 10th all-time in career points at Shippensburg. Biss also passed Markle for fourth all-time in career three-pointers.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
East Stroudsburg
Troy Jones
Guard
Senior
Trenton, N.J. / Notre Dame
Jones led ESU (top-10 in DII in steals) with seven steals all while averaging 21 points, 4.3 rebounds and distributed 19 assists. He recorded a career-high 29 points in the season finale against West Chester.
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Cal U
Philip Alston
Forward
Sophomore
Columbus, Ohio / Westerville North
Alston registered three double-doubles in the final week of the regular season while averaging 29.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. He shot 60.3 percent (35-of-58) from the floor and played all 40 minutes in each contest. On Monday, Alston scored 24 points (22 second half) on 9-of-17 from the floor and collected 14 rebounds (five offensive) in an 87-81 loss against Slippery Rock. The Ohio native set a career high with 38 points on Wednesday, as he finished 14-of-25 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line in a 79-76 victory over No. 17 Mercyhurst. Alston also tallied 10 rebounds (five offensive), three assists, one block and one steal, as the Vulcans swept the season series with the Lakers for the first time since Mercyhurst joined the PSAC. He closed the regular season by posting 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds (four offensive) in an 87-83 loss at Gannon on Saturday.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Pitt-Johnstown
John Paul Kromka
Forward
Junior
Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway
Kromka averaged 15 pts, (14-20 FG) 8.5 rebs (6.0 def rebs.), 3.0 assts, 4.5 blks, and 1 steal in two games. Defensively, he had a season-high nine blocks in a victory over Seton Hill, while also adding 18 points on 8-10 FG, 12 rebs (8 def rebs.,), 6 assts, game-high and 1 steal. He had 12 points on 6-10 FG, 5 def rebs, 1 steal in 72-64 loss at #3 IUP on Saturday – He is a 5-time PSAC West Defensive Athlete of Week in 2021-22.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.