INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit junior guard Ray McCallum (Beverly Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Loyola junior guard Cully Payne [Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg (Iowa)] has been named the Newcomer of the Week, for the week of Dec. 24-31.
After having its Friday game at Temple postponed due to weather and travel difficulties into Philadelphia, Detroit (8-5) knocked visiting Canisius, 83-78, on Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall on Sunday afternoon. Loyola (9-3) went to Allstate Arena on snapped DePaul’s seven-game winning streak, 69-61, in its lone game of the week.
McCallum, the leading scorer in the Horizon League at 18.8 points per game, posted a game-high 22 against Canisius, handing out seven assists against one turnover and adding five rebounds. The junior’s 0.337 efficiency-per-possession rating led all players in the game.
The 2012-13 Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, McCallum has recorded eight 20 or more point games this season. McCallum leads the HL in scoring (18.8 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) and is tied for the League lead in steals (1.7 spg). With an offensive rating of 120.4 per Ken Pomeroy, McCallum is 20th nationally among players used on at least 24 percent of their teams’ possessions.
Spearheading Loyola’s offense against DePaul’s full-court press, Payne scored a season-high 24 points, dishing out four assists and contributing four rebounds and two steals as the Ramblers beat the Blue Demons for the first time since 1989. The 24-point effort was one shy of Payne’s career high, set when he was at Iowa.
Payne’s first of three three-pointers on the day gave the Ramblers a 38-37 lead, and the point guard helped spearhead the game-changing 12-1 run, knocking down a three early in the burst and assisting on Jordan Hicks’ triple that capped the burst. Payne sealed the game in the last two minutes, scoring seven of Loyola’s last nine points.
At 4.5 assists per game, Payne is fifth in the Horizon League, while his 33.1-percent assist rate leads the conference. Over the last seven games, Payne is contributing 11.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.7 apg and 1.4 spg, while shooting 50 percent (17-for-34) from three-point range.
Detroit will open Horizon League play on Thursday, Jan. 3, hosting Milwaukee at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN3 will have live coverage of the game. The Titans will close the week against Green Bay in the Horizon League Network Game of the Week on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be syndicated throughout the Midwest and carried on ESPN3 as well. Loyola will head to Valparaiso on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 8:05 p.m. ET, live on the Horizon League Network before HLN will carry Youngstown State’s trip to Gentile Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
Top Performers for the Week:
Charlie Lee, Cleveland State (So., G) - Led the Vikings with 14 points and nine assists in Cleveland State’s 79-59 win over Rio Grande.
Alec Brown, Green Bay (Jr., C) - Posted an efficient 16 points and eight rebounds in an 84-43 victory versus Illinois-Springfield, going 7-of-10 from the floor.
Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee (Jr., G) - Slowed by travel delays, Aaron still managed to score a career-high 34 points against Ohio Dominican, leading Milwaukee to a 95-80 win.
Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso (Sr., F) - With 18 points and eight rebounds, keyed Valparaiso’s come-from-behind 66-64 win at Murray State.
Jerran Young, Wright State (Jr., F) - Recorded his second career high in three games, scoring 24 points as Wright State knocked off Mount St. Joseph, 58-49.
Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (Jr., G) - With 17 points against Marygrove, Perry became the 33rd player in YSU history to reach 1,000 career points.
Top Newcomers for the Week:
Aaron Scales, Cleveland State (Fr., C) - Going 3-of-4 from the floor, added nine points for the Vikings in their 20-point over Rio Grande.
Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit (So., G/F) - Howard extended his double figure scoring stretch to seven-straight games with 13 points against Canisius.
Sultan Muhammad, Green Bay (Jr., G) - Muhammad shot the Phoenix past UIS, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the first half of the Phoenix’s 84-53 win.
Jordan Coleman, Valparaiso (Jr., G) - Coleman came off the bench with 10 points to help Valparaiso to a 66-64 win over Murray State.
Bobby Hain, Youngstown State (Fr., F) - Came off the bench to add 13 points as Youngstown State cruised past Marygrove, 93-52.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 12: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Nov. 19: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Nov. 26: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Gary Talton, UIC
Dec. 3: Cole Darling, Wright State
Dec. 10: Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit
Dec. 17: Daniel Barnes, UIC
Dec. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 31: Ray McCallum, Detroit
Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Week:
Nov. 12: Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee
Bobby Hain, Youngstown State
Nov. 19: JT Yoho, Wright State
Nov. 26: Josh Crittle, UIC
Dec. 3: Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State
Dec. 10: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Dec. 17: Devon Turk, Loyola
LaVonte Dority, Valparaiso
Dec. 24: Jerran Young, Wright State
Dec. 31: Cully Payne, Loyola
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Comprised of nine public and private institutions of higher learning, the Horizon League is an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 intercollegiate championship sports and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The League and its member institutions aspire to teach young people, through athletic competition, the value of learning, service to others and personal responsibility.
Tags: Detroit Mercy - Men's Basketball · Horizon League - Men's Basketball · Loyola - Men's Basketball
