Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Dec. 27, 2010)
Horizon League Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week
Matt Howard
Senior, Forward
Connersville, Ind.
Brandon Wood
RS-Junior, Guard
Kokomo, Ind.
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler senior forward Matt Howard (Connersville, Ind.) and Valparaiso junior guard Brandon Wood (Kokomo, Ind.) have been named Horizon League Men’s Basketball Co-Players of the Week, for the week beginning Dec. 20. The honor is the second straight for Howard and the fourth of his career, while Wood receives player of the week recognition for the first time in his career.
Howard pushed Butler to the Diamond Head Classic title, averaging 18.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg in wins over Utah, Florida State and Washington State. The senior posted a game-high 23 points in an opening-round victory over the Utes, led the Bulldogs with 19 points in a semifinal defeat of the Seminoles and recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the championship romp over the Cougars to record MVP accolades.
In all three contests, Howard led the Bulldogs in rebounding; with 56 points in the tournament, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award nominee closed to within 41 points of Jermaine Guice for seventh on the Butler career scoring ledger.
Wood led the Crusaders to championship of the Lou Henson Award Tournament, held in Rochester, Mich., with Valparaiso picking up wins over Eastern Michigan and Oakland.
After a 21-point performance against Eastern Michigan, Wood posted the highest single-game scoring output in the Horizon League this season with a 35-point outburst in a 103-102 victory at Oakland. The junior connected on 12-of-20 field goals, 4-of-6 three pointers and grabbed a team-high 7 boards in the win over the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25’s No. 9 ranked team.
Butler and Valparaiso will resume Horizon League play against each other on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. ET on HorizonLeague.com, with the Bulldogs looking to set a new Horizon League record. A victory would give the Bulldogs a League-record 22nd consecutive conference win, breaking the record shared by Green Bay (1994-97) and Butler (Jan. 19, 2008-Jan. 30, 2009).
Top Performers for the Week:
Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay (Sr., G) - The senior led the Phoenix to a 2-0 week, scoring 16 points and hitting four threes in second half to spur a 68-62 comeback win at Wyoming. On Monday, Fletcher had 12 second-half points to bring the Phoenix back to a 72-68 victory over North Dakota.
Geoff McCammon, Loyola (Sr., G) - McCammon led the Ramblers in scoring for the second consecutive outing when he tossed in 16 points and added five rebounds and a pair of steals in an 84-76 win at Texas-Pan American on Dec. 22.
Robo Kreps, UIC (Sr., G) - Kreps scored a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including five three-pointers, last Wednesday at Oregon State. He also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out two assists and swiped two steals in 37 minutes.
Vytas Sulskis, Youngstown State (Sr., F) - Sulskis scored a team-high 22 points in a 71-58 loss at Kent State, marking the fifth 20-point performance for Sulskis this season. The senior has scored in double figures in all 11 Penguin contests this season.
Tags: Butler - Men's Basketball · Valparaiso - Men's Basketball
