INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit senior forward Nick Minnerath [Truro, Mass./Nauset (Jackson CC)] and Green Bay sophomore guard Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill./Marshall) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Co-Players of the Week, while Green Bay freshman forward Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) has been named the Newcomer of the Week, for the week of Feb. 11-17. The award is the third for Sykes and second for both Minnerath and Fouse.
Detroit (18-9, 10-4 Horizon) collected two wins to move within a half-game of first-place Valparaiso (20-7, 10-3 Horizon) atop the conference after rolling past Cleveland State, 92-62, and shocking the Crusaders, 84-74. Green Bay (15-12, 9-5 Horizon) took sole possession of third place in the Horizon, sweeping its road trip with a 66-59 win over Cleveland State and knocking off Youngstown State, 71-54.
Minnerath started the week by posting 34 points and 12 rebounds in Detroit’s home win; the 34 points matched the second-highest total in the Horizon League this season, falling short of Minnerath’s 36-point effort on Jan. 17. The double-double was the second of the season for Minnerath. On Saturday, scored a game-high 21 points in Detroit’s comeback win over Valparaiso, scoring 13 points in the second half to key the comeback.
Going 22-for-38 from the floor on the week, Minnerath moved into third place in the Horizon League with 17.2 points per game average in conference play.
Sykes averaged 23.5 points per game on the week, scoring 38 of his 47 points after halftime. With Green Bay trailing by nine at the half at Cleveland State, Sykes scored or assisted on 9-of-13 field goals for the Phoenix, scoring 19 points as Green Bay outscored the Vikings, 39-23. Against Youngstown State, Sykes went 5-of-6 from the floor in the second half and hit 8-of-9 field goals to record 19 of his game-high 24.
In his last eight games at full health, Sykes is averaging 12.6 ppg in the second half. On the year, the sophomore sits fourth in scoring with a 15.5 ppg average.
Fouse continues to fill the box score, and did so in Green Bay’s two wins last week. At Youngstown State, Fouse posted his third career double-double, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds. With 206 rebounds this season, Fouse sits four shy of breaking the 44-year old freshman program record. After notching five steals on the week, Fouse is six shy of the Green Bay freshman record. The freshman sits second in the Horizon League in rebounding with a 7.6 rpg average, while his 1.7 steals per game ranks third.
Detroit and Green Bay will both step out of conference play to take part in the Ramada BracketBusters on Saturday, Feb. 23. The Titans will head to Wichita State, for a nationally televised contest on ESPN2. Tip from Charles Koch Arena is set for 4 p.m. EST. Green Bay will also meet a Missouri Valley Conference opponent, traveling to Drake. The game will begin at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday.
Top Performers for the Week:
Charlie Lee, Cleveland State (So., G) - Averaged 19.0 ppg and 4.0 apg in two games last week, setting a Cleveland State sophomore record with 139 assists this season.
Ray McCallum, Detroit (Jr., G) - In finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals against Cleveland State, became the first player with a similar stat line in regulation since Ben Gordon (11/16/11/5) versus Iona in Dec. 2003.
Christian Thomas, Loyola (So., F) - Arguably the most improved player in the League, the sophomore forward totaled a career-best 23 points and collected 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the last 15 contests in Loyola’s 69-60 victory over UIC.
Matt Kenney, Valparaiso (Sr., G) - After scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Valpo to a win at WSU, Kenney had a team-high 18 against Detroit.
A.J. Pacher, Wright State (Jr., F) - Came off the bench to lead Wright State with a career-high 23 points versus Valparaiso, knocking down a career-best 9-of-14 attempts from the field.
Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (Jr., G) - Scored a game-high 28 points in the Penguins’ win over Milwaukee and with 41 on the week, moved into 19th on the YSU career scoring list.
Top Newcomers for the Week:
Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Tied his career high with 24 points in Cleveland State’s win over Milwaukee, his fourth 20-point effort this season.
Devon Turk, Loyola (Fr., G) - The Loyola record holder for three-point field goals made by a freshman (54), Turk recorded 10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 2.0 apg to help the Ramblers split a pair of League games last week.
Miles Dixon, Wright State (Jr., G) - Posted 13 points off the bench against Valparaiso, helping Wright State total 45 bench points in the loss.
Kamren Belin, Youngstown State (Jr., F) - With 15 points versus Milwaukee and 12 against Green Bay, Belin extended his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games.
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: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Dec. 17: Daniel Barnes, UIC
Dec. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 31: Ray McCallum, Detroit
Jan. 7: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Jan. 14: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Jan. 21: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
Jan. 28: Alec Brown, Green Bay
Feb. 4: Nick Minnerath, Detroit
Feb. 11: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Feb. 18: Nick Minnerath, Detroit
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
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: Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit
Dec. 17: Devon Turk, Loyola
LaVonte Dority, Valparaiso
Dec. 24: Jerran Young, Wright State
Dec. 31: Cully Payne, Loyola
Jan. 7: Josh Crittle, UIC
Jan. 14: Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State
Jan. 21: Jordan Fouse, Green Bay
Jan. 28: Kamren Belin, Youngstown State
Feb. 4: Kamren Belin, Youngstown State
Feb. 11: Bobby Capobianco, Valparaiso
Jerran Young, Wright State
Feb. 18: Jordan Fouse, Green Bay
