Detroit's McCallum Secures First Career Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor

Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Ray McCallum
Freshman, Guard
Beverly Hills, Mich.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit freshman guard Ray McCallum (Beverly Hills, Mich.) has been named Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, for the week beginning Dec. 6.  The honor is the first of McCallum's career.

McCallum led Detroit to a 1-1 mark last week, falling a possession shy of a win at Western Michigan and leading the Titans to an overtime win at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 11.  Over the two games, McCallum averaged 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game.

In Kalamazoo, Mich., the freshman went 4-for-5 from three-point range, setting a new career high for triples made, finishing the contest with 19 points in a 71-69 loss.

The 6-foot-1 guard was not done setting personal bests, finishing Detroit’s 68-65 overtime win over Eastern Michigan with 31 points, eight rebounds and four steals, all new career marks for the former McDonald’s All-American.

With the decision in Ypsilanti, Mich., Detroit recorded its first road victory of the season.

The Titans will play before a national audience in their lone game of the week, meeting Central Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 18, on ESPNU.  Tip-off from Mount Pleasant, Mich., will be at 7 p.m. ET.

Top Performers for the Week:
Matt Howard, Butler (Sr., F) - Howard closed to within two points of 10th place in the Butler career scoring ranks, posting a game-high 17 points in the Bulldogs’ two-point loss at Xavier on Thursday and following it up with a 26-point outburst in Butler’s 91-71 rout of Mississippi Valley State.

Norris Cole, Cleveland State (Sr., G) - Leading Cleveland State to its 11th and 12th straight wins to start the year, Cole averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals in wins over West Virginia Tech and at defending Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State.

Gabe Kindred, Loyola (Fr., G) - Making his first two career starts, Kindred shot a sizzling 73 percent (8-for-11) from the field as Loyola split a pair of home games.  The Oakland, Calif., native went for a career-best 17 points and added four boards and two assists in a 78-50 victory over SIU Edwardsville and followed up the effort with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in a narrow 68-60 loss to #5/5 Kansas State.

Tony Meier, Milwaukee (Jr., F) - As blizzard-like conditions fell outside Frost Arena, Meier led the Panthers to an 82-70 victory at South Dakota State, knocking down five three-pointers in finishing with 19 points.  Earlier in the week, Meier recorded 10 points in Milwaukee’s defeat at Wisconsin; in four of his last five contests, Meier has posted 10 or more points.

Paul Carter, UIC (Sr., F) - In UIC’s lone tilt of the week, Carter scored over a third of the Flames’ points, finishing with 16 in a 53-43 decision at Illinois State.  Carter added 11 rebounds in tallying his third double-double of the season.

Brandon Wood, Valparaiso (RS-Jr., G) - Wood scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the first half of Valparaiso’s home defeat to #19/18 Purdue, keeping the Crusaders within a bucket at halftime.  The Kokomo, Ind.-native led Valpo back from a late deficit in an eventual 75-72 overtime loss at Toledo, scoring five of his 17 points in a 16-second stretch to tie the game late.

Vaughn Duggins, Wright State (Sr., G) - Averaging 17.5 points in two games, Duggins led the Raiders to a 2-0 mark with victories over Air Force and Tusculum.  The senior scored a game-high 22 points to lead Wright State to a 76-61 victory over the visiting Falcons.