Cleveland State's Cole Collects Third Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award of Season

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Jan. 24, 2011)

INDIANAPOLIS – Cleveland State senior guard Norris Cole (Dayton, Ohio) has been named Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week beginning Jan. 17.  The honor is the third of the year for Cole and gives him five in his career.

Cleveland State moved back into a tie for first place in the Horizon League, knocking off Detroit, 81-69, and Wright State, 65-46, to improve to 18-3 overall and 7-2 in League play.  Cole posted double-doubles in each game, averaging 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 8.5 apg and 2.5 spg on the week.

On Thursday, Cole became the first player in the Horizon League to tally a point-assist double-double this season, finishing with 18 points and 11 assists, matching his career high with the 11 helpers.  The senior added four rebounds and four steals, helping the Vikings pull away from Detroit late in the game.

For most of Saturday’s contest against Wright State, Cole was on pace to finish with his first career triple-double, eventually falling four assists shy in a 65-46 victory that elevated Cleveland State back into a first-place tie at the League’s halfway point.  Cole finished the contest with his third double-double of the season, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds.

With his fifth career player of the week award, Cole is tied for 11th place in Horizon League history and is now one of 25 players to earn three or more such honors in the same season.  With 10 games left in the regular season, Cole leads the League with 20.1 ppg, 5.1 apg and 2.4 spg, keying a defense that has held all 21 opponents under 50-shooting this season.

Cleveland State will hit the road for its next two contests, heading to Chicago for meetings with UIC and Loyola.  The Vikings and Flames will get together on Thursday, Jan. 27, with tip-off from the UIC Pavilion coming at 8 p.m. ET, with HorizonLeague.com bringing fans the game.  HorizonLeague.com will also carry Saturday’s tilt between the Ramblers and Vikings, which will tip at 4 p.m. ET from the Gentile Center.

Top Performers for the Week:
Matt Howard, Butler (Sr., F) - Howard recorded one of the most complete performances of his four-year career on Friday night, recording a season-best 29 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in an 81-75 victory over visiting Green Bay.  The senior collected his seventh double-double of the year on Sunday afternoon, finishing Butler’s 86-80 overtime defeat with 18 points and 10 boards.  Howard moved into third place on the Butler career rebounding ledger and is 26 points from taking over sixth place on the career scoring list.

Eli Holman, Detroit (Jr., C) - With two double-doubles over the weekend, Holman boosted his League-leading total to 10 as the Titans went 1-1.  Against Cleveland State, Holman led the way with 16 points and 14 rebounds; Saturday, Holman grabbed a League-high 16 boards, adding 11 points in a 73-69 win at Youngstown State.

Alec Brown, Green Bay (Fr., C) - Brown helped Green Bay split its Indiana road trip, scoring 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half to fuel a 63-61 victory over League-leading Valparaiso on Sunday.  The freshman tallied four blocks on the week to reach 44 on the year and now sits five away from breaking the single-season Phoenix record.

Geoff McCammon, Loyola (Sr., G) - McCammon ensure that Loyola picked up a victory against city rivals UIC, netting 19 points in the 68-59 triumph.  The senior connected on 5-of-8 attempts from three-point range, moving into seventh place on the Loyola all-time list with 110 career triples, one shy of sixth place.

Kaylon Williams, Milwaukee (Jr., G) - Williams finished four assists short of his second triple-double of the season, leading Milwaukee to an 86-80 overtime win at Butler with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.  The victory gave Milwaukee a sweep of the Bulldogs; in the two wins, Williams averaged 13.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg and 8.0 apg.

Robo Kreps, UIC (Sr., G) - With a game-high 19 points at Loyola, Kreps eclipsed the 1,400-point mark for his career.  The senior became just the 10th player in UIC history to score 1,400 points and enters Thursday’s game against Cleveland State needing one three-pointer to become the fifth player in school history with 200 triples.

Matt Kenney, Valparaiso (So., G) - Moving into the starting lineup for the injured Brandon Wood, Kenney averaged 12.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.5 apg and 3.0 spg as the Crusaders went 1-1, maintaining a tie for first place in the Horizon League.  Kenney posted 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in Friday’s win over Milwaukee and tied his career high with five steals in Sunday’s setback to Green Bay.

Vytas Sulskis, Youngstown State (Sr., F) - With 11 points against Wright State and 16 versus Detroit, Sulskis climbed to 20th on the Youngstown State career scoring list with 1,176 points.  Collecting nine rebounds against the Raiders, the Lithuanian was just short of his third double-double of the season.