CSU's Lee, Valpo's Yeo Earn #HLMBB Weekly Awards

INDIANAPOLIS -- Cleveland State junior guard Charlie Lee (Milwaukee, Wis./Huntington [W.Va.] Prep) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Valparaiso guard Clay Yeo (Bourbon, Ind./Triton) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Feb. 3-9. The award is the first of each players’ career.

Cleveland State (17-9, 8-3 Horizon) completed a perfect road stretch with a 92-85 win at Oakland and a last-minute 72-68 victory at Wright State. Currently riding a six-game winning streak, the Vikings sit one game behind Horizon League-leading Green Bay to start this week. Valparaiso (15-11, 7-4 Horizon) split results while maintaining third place in the conference, falling in the last seconds to Detroit, 59-57, before knocking off Oakland, 63-60, with seven seconds to play.

Lee carried the Vikings in both road wins, averaging 28.0 points per game and shooting 10-of-13 from 3-point range. At Oakland, Lee posted a career-high 31 points and handed out six assists. With the game tied at 80, Lee broke down the defense before kicking out to Jon Harris, who knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer, his final assist of the night. Lee’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:11 left gave the Vikings an 86-80 lead and the junior capped the night by knocking down 6-of-6 free throws to clinch the win.

On Saturday, Lee once again led the Vikings, scoring 25 points and adding three assists. On three different occasions over the final 3:08 of the game, Lee lifted Cleveland State into the lead, the final time coming with 16 seconds left. After being fouled on a 3-point attempt, Lee hit all three free throws, giving the Vikings a 68-67 lead, and the team would hold on down the stretch to win its fourth straight road game.

Lee’s 31 points at Oakland marked the first time a Viking reached the mark since Norris Cole had 35 at Old Dominion on Feb. 20, 2011. Entering the week, Lee’s 25-point effort would have been a new career high.

Battling injuries throughout the year, Yeo sat out Friday’s defeat to Detroit, but was pressed into action early against Oakland. Yeo, who had played in 37 minutes of conference action, Yeo played 25 on Sunday, knocking down 4-of-8 3-point attempts. Yeo’s fourth of the game proved to be the game-winner, as the freshman drilled a triple in the right corner with 7.2 seconds to play, lifting Valpo to the win.

Yeo was tasked with slowing the NCAA career 3-point record holder, Travis Bader, throughout the game, and Yeo held Bader to 1-of-8 shooting while on the court.

Cleveland State will return to the Wolstein Center, beginning a four-game homestand. The Vikings open the week against UIC (5-19, 0-10 Horizon) on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be covered live on the Horizon League Network. On Saturday, Feb. 15, Cleveland State will host Green Bay (19-5, 9-2 Horizon), with first place potentially on the line. Tip will be at 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be available on HLN, ESPN3 and syndicated regionally.

Valparaiso will have one game this week, coming on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Crusaders will travel to Milwaukee (16-9, 6-5 Horizon), with the Panthers trailing Valpo by a game. HLN will have live coverage, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Top Performers for the Week:

• Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee (Sr., G) - Aaron lifted Milwaukee to key road win at Green Bay, scoring 23 of his 30 points in the second half as the Panthers claimed a 73-63 victory.
• Travis Bader, Oakland (Sr., G) - With 10 3-pointers on Thursday, Bader matched his season high on the year. Bader’s 35 points in the game also matched the single-game high in the conference this season.
• Pat Birt, UIC (Fr., G) - In UIC’s lone game of the week, Birt set a new career high with 16 points in a road loss at Green Bay. Birt was perfect from 3-point range, going 3-of-3 on the night.
• Cole Darling, Wright State (Sr., F) - Darling posted just the third game by a Raider with 20 or more points on Wednesday, scoring 20 in a win over Youngstown State. The game was Darling’s first in over a week, as he had missed WSU’s last two due to injury.
• Jordan Harks, UIC (Sr., F) - Posting his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, Harks tied his career high with eight field goals. The 12 rebounds matched Harks’ season high.
• Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit (Jr., F) - Howard, Jr. hit two game-winning baskets on the week, the first coming with 5.7  seconds left at Valparaiso, as his 3-pointer lifted Detroit to a 59-57 victory. Less than 48 hours later, Howard’s runner with 18 ticks left in overtime proved to be the decisive basket in an 83-81 overtime win against Youngstown State.
• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (Sr., G) - With 22 points at Detroit, Kendrick Perry moved into a tie for the Youngstown State Division I scoring record with 1,821 career points. Perry is currently 19th in Horizon League history in scoring.
• Alec Peters, Valparaiso (Fr., F) - The freshman led Valparaiso in scoring in both games last week, notching 16 against Detroit before a 13-point effort versus Oakland.
• Keifer Sykes, Green Bay (Jr., G) - After an 18-point, 10-rebound effort on Thursday, Sykes had 26 points against Milwaukee, the 14th time this season he has reached the plateau.