INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay senior guard Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill./Marshall) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Detroit freshman forward Paris Bass (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Jan. 5-11.
Sykes led Green Bay to double-digit wins over Wright State, Milwaukee and Youngstown State last week to win his second Player of the Week honors this year. The defending Horizon League Player of the Year scored 86 points on the week, averaging 28.7 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the field (30-56) and 50 percent from long range (9-18). He has added five rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest.
Sykes started the week by scoring 23 of his then-season-high 28 points in the second half of Green Bay’s 79-55 win over Wright State. At one point in the second half, he scored 16 of Green Bay’s 21 points as the Phoenix turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 24-point win.
After scoring 23 points in the second half versus Wright State, Sykes opened the game at Milwaukee on Friday by scoring 22 as the Phoenix leapt out to a 20-point halftime advantage. The senior guard finished the game with a career-high tying 34 points, making 13-of-20 shots on the night, including 5-of-7 from long range.
He closed the week with 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in Green Bay’s 82-67 win over Youngstown State.
The Player of the Week honor is the 12th of Sykes’ career, the most in Horizon League history.
Green Bay (14-3, 3-0) hits the road this week, traveling to Michigan to face Oakland on Thursday night before closing the weekend at Detroit on Saturday afternoon.
Bass won his third Freshman of the Week award this season after leading the Titans to a Metro Series win over Oakland on Saturday. The freshman guard/forward finished with a career-high 18 points in Detroit’s 74-54 win over the Golden Grizzlies. He was 8-of-14 from the field and also grabbed four rebounds and had one assist in 21 minutes of action.
Bass scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as the Titans pulled away from Oakland.
Bass leads all freshman in the conference in scoring (11.1 ppg.), rebounding (5.7 rpg.), steals (24) and blocked shots (15).
Detroit (8-9, 2-1) has two games on the schedule this week, the Titans play at UIC on Wednesday night and host Green Bay on Saturday.
Top Performers for the Week:
Kahlil Felder, Oakland (So., G) - Felder handed out nine assists at Cleveland State on Thursday, his second-highest game this season. For the week, he averaged 15.0 ppg., and 7.5 apg.
Marcus Keene, Youngstown State (So., G) - Keene averaged 15.5 ppg., and 2.0 spg., last week for the Penguins. He led YSU with 17 points on Thursday versus Wright State.
Charlie Lee, Cleveland State (Sr., G) - Lee averaged 13.3 ppg., 5.0 rpg., and 6.5 apg., last week as CSU split two contests. He went for 13 points and seven assists in the win over Oakland and tallied 14 points, a career-high eight rebounds and six assists in the setback at Valparaiso.
Steve McWhorter, Milwaukee (Sr., G) - McWhorter matched a career high with 21 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, and added four rebounds and five assists, while committing just one turnover in Milwaukee’s game versus Green Bay on Friday.
Alec Peters, Valparaiso (So., F) - Peters scored a game-high 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, in Valpo’s 58-56 over Cleveland State.
TJ Yoho, Wright State (Jr., F) - Yoho scored 19 points along with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals at Youngstown State on Thursday as the Raiders battled back from a halftime deficit to win.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Terrell Hales, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Hales scored a career-high nine points, adding four rebounds, one assist and two steals in the win over Oakland on Thursday.
Cameron Morse, Youngstown State (Fr., G) - Morse had a career-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range in Youngstown State’s game at Green Bay.
Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso (Fr., G) - Walker scored 11 points in Valpo’s win over UIC on Thursday and had nine points and three assists in the win over Cleveland State on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 10: Chrishawn Hopkins, Wright State
Nov. 17: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Nov. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 1: Bobby Hain, Youngstown State
Dec. 8: Jay Harris, UIC
Dec. 15: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Dec. 22: Carrington Love, Green Bay
Dec. 29: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Jan. 5: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 10: Justin Jordan, Milwaukee
Nov. 17: Paris Bass, Detroit
Nov. 24: Paris Bass, Detroit
Dec. 1: Nick Daniels, Oakland
Dec. 8: Grant Benzinger, Wright State
Dec. 15: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 22: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 29: Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso
Jan. 5: Paris Bass, Detroit
