INDIANAPOLIS -- Leading Loyola to a split on the road, junior forward Ben Averkamp (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Feb. 13-19. The honor is the first of Averkamp’s career and makes him the first Rambler to collect the accolade in nearly three years.
Averkamp carried Loyola (7-19, 1-14 Horizon) in two games last week, averaging 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The preseason second team all-league honoree is the first Rambler to earn player of the week accolades since Justin Cerasoli won the award on Feb. 23, 2009.
In a 63-57 setback at Butler, Averkamp helped the Ramblers go toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs, notching 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Averkamp fueled a second-half burst with nine points in a 15-8 run that enabled Loyola to tie Butler at 44 before the Bulldogs prevailed down the stretch.
Stepping out of Horizon League play to take part in Sears BracketBusters X, Averkamp could not be stopped in a 56-44 win at Bradley. The pre-med major notched his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, chipping in five assists and two blocks.
With at least four games remaining in the season, Averkamp needs only 94 points to become the 39th player in Loyola history with 1,000 career points. In Loyola’s last 11 road games, Averkamp is posting 17.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 2.7 apg.
Loyola will wrap up the regular season with three games this week, beginning with Tuesday night’s contest at Valparaiso (19-10, 12-4 Horizon). The game tips at 8:05 p.m. ET on the Horizon League Network, with the Crusaders needing a win to wrap up the Horizon League regular season title. The Ramblers host two games at Gentile Arena in the final weekend of League play, welcoming Green Bay (12-14, 7-8 Horizon) on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET, before closing with Milwaukee (17-12, 9-7 Horizon) on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. ET. The Horizon League Network will carry both contests.
Top Performers for the Week:
-- Chrishawn Hopkins, Butler (So., G) - Hopkins led the Bulldogs against Loyola with team-highs of 13 points and six rebounds. The 6-1 sophomore had 11 points in 23 minutes against Indiana State in Sears BracketBuster X.
-- Trey Harmon, Cleveland State (Sr., G) - The senior eclipsed 20 points in back-to-back games, scoring a career-best 27 on Tuesday before tallying 23 in Saturday’s setback to Drexel. Harmon was 9-for-20 from three-point range.
-- Jason Calliste, Detroit (Jr., G) - Leading Detroit in scoring in two victories, Calliste scored 14 in a 71-55 road win at Wright State before notching a season-best 19 in the Titans’ Sears BracketBusters X win over James Madison.
-- Keifer Sykes, Green Bay (Fr., G) - The freshman continued his strong play, tallying the first point-assist double-double in Horizon League play with 17 points and 10 assists in a 71-65 win over Youngstown State. Since turning 18 on Dec. 30, Sykes is averaging 14.5 ppg and 4.5 apg.
-- Tony Meier, Milwaukee (Sr., F) - Helping Milwaukee sweep its week, Meier averaged 16.5 ppg, knocking down 60 percent of his field goal attempts. Meier led a shorthanded Panther squad best Fairfield, 67-63, on Saturday, scoring 18 points.
-- Gary Talton, UIC (Jr., G) - Talton collected his 17th and 18th double-digit scoring outputs of the season with a team-high 15 points at Valparaiso last Tuesday, and a game-high 20 points in UIC’s 67-63 BracketBusters win at Eastern Illinois last Saturday.
-- Richie Edwards, Valparaiso (Jr., F) - Continuing his scoring binge, Edwards led Valparaiso in scoring in both games last week, finishing with 19 as the Crusaders overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to knock off UIC, 74-65. The junior had 17 in a BracketBusters loss at Loyola Marymount.
-- Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (So., G) - Perry led the Guins in scoring during their 0-2 week last week with 18.5 ppg. The sophomore scored 17 points with four rebounds against Green Bay, following it up with a 20-point effort in a 71-68 loss at Austin Peay.
Men’s Basketball Players of the Week:
November 14: D’Aundray Brown, Cleveland State
November 21: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
November 28: James Haarsma, Milwaukee
December 5: DuShawn Brooks, Youngstown State
December 12: Trey Harmon, Cleveland State
December 19: Andrew Smith, Butler
December 26: Brennan Cougill, Green Bay; Julius Mays, Wright State
January 2: Damian Eargle, Youngstown State
January 9: Julius Mays, Wright State; Ashen Ward, Youngstown State
January 16: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
January 23: Blake Allen, Youngstown State
January 30: Ray McCallum, Detroit
February 6: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
February 13: Roosevelt Jones, Butler
February 20: Ben Averkamp, Loyola
Tags: Loyola - Men's Basketball
