#HLMBB Notes (Dec. 2)

News and notes from Horizon League men's basketball | Men's Basketball Weekly Release #5 (Dec. 2)

Upcoming Games
• With one month until conference play starts, Horizon League teams continue non-conference play. Notable games this week include:
   o Northern Iowa at Milwaukee (12/3, HLN)
   o Cleveland State at Drexel (12/4)
   o SMU at UIC (12/4, HLN, ESPN Full Court)
   o UIC at Loyola (12/7)
   o Saint Louis at Valparaiso (12/7, HLN)
   o Rhode Island at Detroit (12/8)
• Green Bay will welcome its all-time leading scorer, Tony Bennett, back home when Bennett brings #rv/rv Virginia to the Resch Center (12/7, 5 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
• The Horizon League and MAC continue its string of non-conference meetings four occasions this week.

The Week That Was
• Green Bay and UIC both took third place at its respective tournaments, as the Phoenix beat Pepperdine and Tulsa to finish third at the Great Alaska Shootout. The Flames defeated San Diego and Wagner en route to third at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
• In 2012-13, there were a total of four games in which a player had 30 or more points. To this point in the season, Horizon League players have already eclipsed the mark 10 times, including five times last week:
   o Milwaukee’s Jordan Aaron recorded 33 points as the Panthers knocked off UMKC, 84-79.
   o Youngstown State’s Kendrick Perry finished with 32 points in the Penguins’ 88-86 loss to Austin Peay. It was the second time this year Perry has reached 30 or more points.
   o In Valparaiso’s 117-108 triple-overtime loss to Mercer, LaVonte Dority had a career-high 31 points.
   o UIC guard Kelsey Barlow tied for the third-highest total in program history in UIC’s 94-76 victory against Wagner on Wednesday. Barlow’s total stands as UIC’s top single-game output since Cedrick Banks scored 39 versus Wright State on Feb. 23, 2005. The total was the most in the Horizon League since Norris Cole had 41 points for Cleveland State on Feb. 12, 2011.
   o Scoring 25 points in the second half, Youngstown State forward Kamren Belin finished with a career-best 32 points in the Penguins’ 83-79 loss at Kent State. Belin was 7-of-14 from the field, including four 3-pointers and was 14-of-15 from the free-throw line.
   o Other 30-point efforts in the Horizon League this season include:
       Detroit’s Evan Bruinsma (32 points vs. Stony Brook, 11/24) -- set League record with 20 free throws.
       Valparaiso freshman Alec Peters (30 at Evansville, 11/20)
       Oakland guard Travis Bader (30 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, 11/24)
       Youngstown State’s Kendrick Perry (30 vs. EKU, 11/10)
       Green Bay’s Keifer Sykes (32 vs. Wisconsin, 11/16)

League Notes
• Oakland senior guard Travis Bader and Youngstown State senior guard Kendrick Perry are among the 30 men’s basketball nominees for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
• Both Bader and Perry were also tabbed as CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson Award nominees in the offseason.
• Perry and Green Bay guard Keifer Sykes were also named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, which is given to the top point guard in the country.
• The Horizon League is building off a 2012-13 season that saw a record six teams earn postseason bids.  Valparaiso represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament, while Detroit each went to the NIT. UIC, Youngstown State and Green Bay all played in the CIT, with the Flames and Penguins collecting the programs’ first postseason wins. Wright State reached the semifinals of the CBI.

Cleveland State Vikings (4-3) -- at Drexel (12/4), Akron (12/7, HLN)
• The Vikings shot 62.8 percent (27-43) from the floor against Ball State, totaling 78 points on 43 shots. The effort was CSU’s best since the Vikings hit 25-of-37 (67.6 percent) in a win at Loyola on Feb. 3, 2012.
• Sophomore Bryn Forbes scored a game-high 22 points at Kentucky and has reached 20 points in four of CSU’s seven games this year.
• Starting point guard Charlie Lee missed both games last week after injuring his knee against Robert Morris (Nov. 23). It marked the first time Lee missed games during his career. He he played in 70 straight games, including 37 straight starts prior to missing the game at Kentucky.
• Effective field-goal percentage defense has been a telling stat during Waters’ tenure. When the Vikings have held opponents to a 47.7-percent mark or worse, they have finished with four 20-plus win seasons, going a combined 96-44. When the mark has been above 51.3 percent, the Vikings have gone 40-56. This year, the mark sits at 46.3 percent through seven games.

Detroit Titans (4-4) -- at Toledo (12/4), Rhode Island (12/8, HLN)
• Detroit’s 65-60 win over USF was the first versus a BCS opponent since beating UCLA, 56-53, in 1999 NCAA Tournament.
• After leading the Titans with 12 points at USF, Juwan Howard, Jr. has scored in double figures in all eight games this season.    
• Senior Evan Bruinsma set a new Horizon League record by going 20-for-22 from the free-throw line in Detroit’s 104-102 loss to Stony Brook on Nov. 24. The 20 makes broke the previous record of 19, held by Wright State’s Julius Mays and Detroit’s Brandon Cotton.
• Detroit led with 1:00 to play in regulation in all three of the games it hosted during the 2k Sports Classic subregional. The Titans knocked off Florida Atlantic, but lost to Toledo and Stony Brook.
• Sophomore Carlton Brundidge posted a career-high 22 points in Detroit’s win at James Madison. Brundidge went 6-of-9 from the floor, including a 4-of-6 mark from 3-point range.
• In each of head coach Ray McCallum’s five seasons, Detroit’s adjusted offensive efficiency has increased, moving from 88.8 (324th nationally) in 2008-09 to 112.5 (23rd) last season.
• Ray McCallum is the fourth player from the Horizon League to be selected into the NBA Draft since 2010, joining Gordon Hayward (Utah), Norris Cole (Miami via Chicago) and Shelvin Mack (Washington).

Green Bay Phoenix (4-2) -- #rv/rv Virginia (12/7, ESPNU)
• Junior Keifer Sykes scored 74 points over 3 games at the Great Alaska Shootout to become the program’s 26th member of the 1,000-point club (3rd fastest in DI history). Now with 1,011 career points, Sykes is the 149th player in Horizon League history to reach the plateau.
• Green Bay blocked nine or more shots in its first five games of the season; the Phoenix is averaging 9.5 blocks per game through six games.
• Sophomore Jordan Fouse extended his streak of consecutive games with a blocked shot to 29. Fouse has also grabbed 5 or more rebounds in 25 consecutive games.
• Senior Alec Brown played in his 100th career game against Pepperdine and made his 100th. Through 102 games, Brown has 1,288 points, 667 rebounds and 237 blocks.
• Brown became the first player in conference history to record a point-rebound-block triple-double on Nov. 23. on Saturday night, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Minnesota-Duluth. Brown, who owns the Horizon League single-game blocks record with 11, became the first conference player to post a triple-double since Milwaukee’s Kaylon Williams pulled the feat on Jan. 3, 2011.
• Green Bay is the lone team returning multiple all-league honorees from the 2012-13 season. Sykes (first team) and Brown (second team) form the Phoenix’s potent inside-outside combination. The duo began this season with a combined 2,092 career points.

Milwaukee Panthers (7-2) -- Northern Iowa (12/3, HLN), Bradley (12/7, HLN)
• With seven wins in November, the Panthers picked up the most in the month in school history.
• Six of Milwaukee’s seven wins have come outside of the city. The Panthers have also won four true road games, their most in non-league play since 2004-05.
• Senior Kyle Kelm made 12 of his 13 shots from the field this week and has been in double figures in 8-of-9 games.
• With seven 3-pointers in Milwaukee’s 84-79 win at UMKC, Jordan Aaron matched the high in the Horizon League this season. Aaron’s 33 points were one shy of his career high.
• Milwaukee shot 65 percent at UMKC Saturday – the second-best effort in school history.
• Milwaukee won an in-season tournament title for the first time since December of 2002, capturing the Northern Illinois Invitational. Matt Tiby and Jordan Aaron each made the all-tournament team.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies (1-7) -- Ohio (12/7, HLN)
• Oakland has made a 3-pointer in 777 consecutive games, the seventh-best streak in the country.
• OU won its home opener on Saturday and the Golden Grizzlies are 60-9 in their last 69 games inside the O’rena. Nine of the next 11 games for the Grizzlies are at home, with one game being played at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
• The only time Oakland has started a season 0-7 was 2004-05. That season the Golden Grizzlies made the NCAA Tournament.
• Travis Bader extended his streak to 61 consecutive games with at least one triple. Bader is the 10th player in OU history to go past 1,700 career points.
• The Golden Grizzlies faced ranked teams in three of their first four games. Oakland has faced a ranked opponent in every season except one (2005-06), posting an overall record of 2-33.
• Oakland joins the Horizon League after 14 seasons in the Summit League. The Golden Grizzlies took three Summit League Tournament titles and have played in a postseason tournament in five consecutive seasons. Oakland is 22-47 all-time versus Horizon League opponents, going 1-1 against the conference last season.
• Oakland will play fast. In the past four years, the Golden Grizzlies have played at an adjusted tempo no slower than 69.7 possessions per game.

UIC Flames (3-4) -- SMU (12/4, HLN, ESPN Full Court), at Loyola (12/7, ESPN3)
• Two days after setting a career high with 17 points, Kelsey Barlow bested that with a 38-point explosion in UIC’s win over Wagner. The victory gave the Flames a third-place showing at the Gulf Coast Showcase. Barlow earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Showcase.
• In UIC’s 74-70 win over San Diego, Jake Wiegand notched his first double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
• Freshman Pat Birt backed up an 11-point effort against Louisiana Tech with 11 points in UIC’s win over Wagner.
• With the win, UIC is now 4-2 in its last four regular-season multi-team events. The Flames took fourth at the Paradise Jam last season, with the lone loss coming to New Mexico.
• UIC is coming off an 18-win season, the most victories for the program since the 2007-08 campaign. WIth its 10-win improvement from the previous year, the Flames had the 12th-largest turnaround in the country in 2012-13.
• One of the main reasons for UIC’s jump in wins? Improved defense. The Flames posted top-100 effective field-goal percentage (46.7 - 93rd) and two-point field-goal percentage (44.8 - 74th). The previous season saw UIC rank 279th (51.8 eFG%) and 241st (49.8 2P%) in 2011-12.
• The Flames return eight letterwinners from the 2012-13 season, including starters Hayden Humes and Brown. Eight newcomers (five scholarship players) join the ranks, including transfers Barlow and Jordan Harks (Central Arkansas). Barlow averaged 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 24.3 minutes per game during his junior year at Purdue, while Harks averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 58.6 percent from the field for Central Arkansas.
• Humes and assistant coach Donnie Kirksey took part in the Global Sports Academy’s tour of Belgium, England and Holland in August. The traveling team played five games on an exhibition tour. In Belgium, the squad competed in Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges and Ghent, while also playing one contest in Amsterdam. In addition, the group took a tour of London along the way. Detroit’s Juwan Howard, Jr., was also on the team.

Valparaiso Crusaders (5-4) -- at Ball State (12/4), Saint Louis (12/7, HLN)
• Over the weekend, 6 different Crusaders set new career highs in scoring Friday and Saturday: LaVonte Dority (31), Bobby Capobianco (23) and Lexus Williams (15) versus Mercer. Moussa Gueye (10), Nick Davidson (7) and David Chadwick (14) against Cincinnati Christian.
• Valparaiso’s three-overtime game against Mercer was third in program history and first since the Mid-Continent Conference title game versus Western Illinois in March of 1995.
• The Crusaders’ 85-70 win over UCF was the program’s first over a power-conference team since winning in the first round of CBI at Washington in March of 2008.
• Valpo has ranked among the top-5 teams in nation in 2-point field goal perceantage in each of the last three years, besting 55 percent in all three seasons. Thus far, Valpo has connected on 54.9-percent of its attempts inside the arc.
• In the 81-49 win over James Madison, the Crusaders started three freshmen in the same game (Alec Peters, Lexus Williams, Jubril Adekoya) for the first time since Dec. 9, 2009 at Purdue.
• Two days after returning to his hometown of Washington, Ill., Alec Peters dedicated his effort on Nov. 20 to its residents, scoring a career-high 30 points at Evansville.
• A year after returning all five starters, Valparaiso does not bring back a single starter from last season’s Horizon League championship team. Among the seniors who have moved on are a pair who have signed professional contracts: Ryan Broekhoff (Besiktas JK, Turkey) and Kevin Van Wijk (Oviedo CB, Spain).
• Of the 6,825 minutes played last year, the Crusaders return 1,649, 24.1 percent of available minutes. Among Valpo’s four returning letterwinners, LaVonte Dority, Bobby Capobianco and Jordan Coleman occupied 88.1 percent of those minutes. In all, only 22.8% of the scoring, 27.3% of the rebounding from last year’s squad return in 2013-2014.
• Valparaiso will be breaking in seven newcomers onto its roster, including Saint Louis transfer Keith Carter, who will join the program at the semester.

Wright State Raiders (4-3) -- at Morehead State (12/2), at North Carolina A&T (12/5), at VMI (12/7)
• With five players in double figures in its win over Western Carolina, Wright State achieved the feat for the first time since Feb. 25, 2010.
• Wright State will not play a home game again until Dec. 19, embarking this week on a three-game road swing ahead of its annual southwest Ohio showdown against Miami.
• Center AJ Pacher continues to lead the country in field-goal percentage, connecting on 34-of-43 attempts this year (79.1 percent). The Horizon League record is 66.3, set by Green Bay’s Greg Babcock in 2001-02.
• Preseason First Team All-League pick Cole Darling moved back into the Wright State starting lineup against Alcorn State, posting a season-high 18 points.
• Allowing just 33 points in an 83-33 win over Manchester, Wright State set marks under Billy Donlon for the fewest points allowed and largest margin of victory.
• A year ago, Wright State returned just 36.9 percent of its scoring; this season, the team brings back 97.2 of its points from a year ago (2,171 out of 2,233). The Raiders also return 91.7 percent of its minutes from last season, turning what was one of the youngest teams in the nation a year ago into one of the most experienced squads in the country.
• Wright State is not going to play fast, typically, as its adjusted tempo have never been quicker than 63.2 possessions per game. But what the Raiders will do under Billy Donlon is force turnovers. In each of Donlon’s three years, Wright State has ranked in the top 15 nationally for defensive turnover percentage, per KenPom.com. Last year’s rate of 24.3 percent was 15th in the country.
• Wright State will welcome Chrishawn Hopkins to the rotation at the semester. Hopkins played at Butler University for two seasons, averaging 9.1 points in 37 games for the Bulldogs his sophomore year.

Youngstown State Penguins (6-3) -- at Kent State (L, 83-79), Austin Peay (11/30, HLN)
• Senior Kendrick Perry needs one more steal to become the only player in YSU history with 200 in his career.
• Perry ranks 12th all-time with 1,477 points and needs four more to move into 11th place. He also needs 23 more points to become the 11th YSU player to reach 1,500 in his career. Perry is the only player in school history with 1,400 points, 400 assists, 400 rebounds and 199 steals in a career.
• Freshman Marcus Keene made his first career start on Saturday, finishing with 12 points and nine assists.
• Senior Kamren Belin scored a career-high 32 points against Kent State. He made 14-of-15 free throws, matching the second-most made in a single-game.
• After scoring 14 points against Austin Peay, Belin has now scored 500 points in just 43 career games.
• In its 108-57 win over Westminster, Youngstown State set a new program record for rebounds with 66. The total was one shy of the Horizon League record, set by Xavier.