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 Nov. 8.
Cole received the nod after averaging 23.3 points per game through three contests, leading Cleveland State to its first 3-0 start since 2004-05 and the World Vision Classic championship.
The senior eclipsed the 20-point mark in each of the Vikings’ three victories, scoring 24 points in a season-opening 71-57 win over Bryant, 25 in CSU’s 78-68 besting of Iona, and 21 to lead a comeback 69-66 win against Kent State.
In each game, Cole helped ice the result, going 14-for-14 from the free-throw line in the final 5:00 of the three contests. The Dayton Dunbar H.S.-product finished the weekend 24-for-29 from the charity stripe and averaged 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Cleveland State will wrap up the World Vision Classic on Monday when they host Urbana at 7 p.m. ET; the game will be carried live on HorizonLeague.com. The Vikings will hit the road on Friday when they meet Louisiana-Lafayette at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 24.
Player of the Week Nominees:
Shelvin Mack, Butler (Jr., G) - In 28 minutes of action, Mack led all players with 20 points in Butler’s 83-54 win over Marian (Ind.) University. The effort was the 13th 20-plus point performance of Mack’s collegiate career.
Eli Holman, Detroit (Jr., C) - In just his 32nd game with the Titans, Holman posted his 11th career double-double in Detroit’s 63-54 loss at New Mexico. Holman led the Titans with 15 points and 13 rebounds, knocking down seven of Detroit’s 17 field goals in the contest.
Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay (Sr., G) - In Green Bay’s lone game of the week, Fletcher had 16 points to lead all players in the Phoenix’s 75-36 win over Minnesota Duluth. Fletcher’s defense was key, as he held the Bulldogs’ leading scorer from 2009-10 to just six points in the game.
Walt Gibler, Loyola (Jr., F) - Gibler was named MVP of the Nick Kladis Classic after averaging 15.7 points in Loyola’s three wins. The 6-foot-7 forward narrowly missed a double-double against Eastern Kentucky, finishing with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Brandon Wood, Valparaiso (Jr., G) - Wood posted a game-high 20 points in Valparaiso’s 111-64 win over IU-Northwest. The Kokomo, Ind.-native matched his career high with six assists while posting his 13th career game with 20 or more points.
DuShawn Brooks, Youngstown State (Jr., F) - Brooks led the Penguins to their first season-opening win since 2006, scoring 20 points in Youngstown State’ 64-61 victory over Samford. The junior scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, knocking down all four of his three-pointers in the game’s final 20 minutes.
Tags: Cleveland State - Men's Basketball
