PSAC Men’s Basketball Athletes of the Week – 11
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced this week’s men’s basketball athletes of the week. From the East, Justice Smith of Mansfield and Caden Najdawi of Millersville were selected, while in the West, Gerald Jarmon of Clarion and John Paul Kromka of Pitt-Johnstown were picked.
Eastern Division
Athlete of the Week
Mansfield
Justice Smith
Guard
Freshman
Lyons, N.Y. / Lyons
Smith set a Mansfield University men's basketball single-game record with a career-high 56 points to lead the Mounties to a 114-107 over Bloomsburg University on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Smith broke Jason Benson's previous record of 53 points set against West Virginia State in 2005.Smith, who finished one assist shy of a triple-double, shot 19-of-26 from the floor, 15-of-20 from the charity stripe and 3-of-4 from three. Smith pulled in 12 rebounds and dished out a game-high nine assists. Smith's 56-point performance is fourth all-time in conference history and is the highest single-game total in the PSAC this season.
Defensive Athlete of the Week
Millersville
Caden Najdawi
Forward
Graduate Student
Chesterfield, Va. / Cosby
With his defensive play in the interior, Caden Najdawi led Millersville to another 3-0 week, extending its winning streak to 10. Najdawi blocked eight shots in the three wins, including a career-high five in the win over East Stroudsburg that gave the Marauders' their first season sweep of ESU since 2007. He blocked two shots in the win at Shippensburg, which moved Millersville into first place in the East. He started his week with a double-double of 17 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal at Kutztown.
Western Division
Athlete of the Week
Clarion
Gerald Jarmon
Guard
Sophomore
Camp Hill, Pa. / Cedar Cliff
Gerald Jarmon averaged a team-best 25.0 points per game over the course of three games last week, including a career-high 35 points in Clarion's victory over Slippery Rock on Wednesday evening. Jarmon started the week by contributing to a winning effort over Seton Hill, scoring 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting as the Golden Eagles beat the Griffins in overtime. His best performance of the week came in a win over the Rock on Wednesday, when he scored 35 points on 10-of-19 shooting while also pulling down eight rebounds. Jarmon chipped in 17 points against nationally-ranked Mercyhurst on Saturday.
Defensive Athlete of the Week
Pitt-Johnstown
John Paul Kromka
Forward
Junior
Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway
Kromka averaged 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks per game and 2.0 steals per game this past week in a pair of PSAC West wins over Cal U and Edinboro. He registered a trio of steals and a block in the win over Cal U, and finished the week with a five-block and one-steal performance in UPJ’s win over Edinboro.
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.