Men's Basketall Weekly Release #11

Jan. 15, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

T.J. Gray, UIC
Junior * Guard * Chicago, Ill. (Julian / Western Illinois University)
Gray helped UIC retain its position on top of the Horizon League standings last week, leading the Flames to a pair of victories by averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per outing while shooting 56 percent from three-point range. Gray netted 13 points in UIC's upset of 12th-ranked Butler on Wednesday. Gray's steal and two free throws with 15 seconds left secured that vctory, and he then poured in a career-high 22 points, including six three-pointers, as the Flames bested Loyola on Saturday.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending January 14

Brandon Crone, Butler
Sr. * F * Frankfort, Ind.
Crone posted team-highs of 14 points and six rebounds in Butler's victory over South Dakota State on Saturday. He also had 14 points, a team-best nine rebounds and a pair of assists in the Bulldogs' overtime loss at UIC on Wednesday.

Bahaadar Russell, Cleveland State
So. * G * Phoenix, Ariz.
Russell drew his second career start Saturday and scored a career-high 21 points to lead CSU to a 63-61 victory over Detroit. He hit five three-pointers after entering the game 3-for-29 from behind the arc in his career.

Brandon Cotton, Detroit
Jr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Cotton poured in a season-high 27 points (three off his career best) in the Titans' 63-61 loss at Cleveland State on Saturday. He was 10-for-19 from the field including three three-pointers, playing 38 minutes.

J.R. Blount, Loyola
So. * G * Milwaukee, Wis.
Blount averaged 16 points in two games last week, stretching his double-figure scoring streak to nine outings. He posted a season-high 22 points at UIC on Saturday and passed the 500-point mark for his career.

Ryan Evanochko, UW-Green Bay
Sr. * G * Beaver Falls, Pa.
Evanochko scored 25 of his season-high 27 points in the second half at Wright State on Saturday, finishing 9-of-13 from the floor for the game. He then handed out seven assists to lead the Phoenix past Youngstown State on Thursday.

DaShaun Wood, Wright State
Sr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Wood averaged 23 points in victories over Loyola and UW-Green Bay, shooting 52 percent (17-of-32) from the floor. He added nine rebounds and eight assists in the two contests while scoring a season-high 32 points versus the Ramblers.

Byron Davis, Youngstown State
Jr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Davis scored 29 points with eight assists, six rebounds and five steals in two games last week. He was 12-of-18 from the floor overall and finished with 17 points in the Penguins' victory over UW-Milwaukee on Saturday.

News From Around the League

Raiders defends home court
Wright State enters the week tied atop the League standings at 4-1 after defeating Loyola (81-55) and UW-Green Bay (78-67). The Raiders have won eight of their last ten overall to move to 11-7 on the season, but face a large test in the next two week with five of their next six games on the road.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood led the way with a career-high 32 points versus Loyola, his League-high eighth outing of 20 or more. Wood leads the League at 18.9 points per game, but has stepped up his game in the last eight appeances for a 20.1 points-per-game pace on 51 percent shooting from the field, including 48 percent from three-point range. He also averages 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists during that span.

Wood ranks among the League's top ten in several major statistical categories, including assists (seventh at 3.39 per game), steals (second at 1.67 per contest) and free-throw percentage (second at .900). He is the only Raider averaging double figures in scoring.

Freshman guard Todd Brown earned team scoring honors with a season-high 21 points versus UW-Green Bay. Since joining the starting line-up five games ago, Brown has averaged 12.6 points per outing---compared to his 5.8 pace in the first 13 outings.

Senior forward Drew Burleson scored his 1,000th career point against the Ramblers, becoming the 26th player in school history to reach four figures.

Junior forward Jordan Pleiman is ninth on the loop rebounding charts at 5.8 caroms per outings, and owns a .529 field-goal percentage which puts him second on that chart.

Wright State's turnaround features several key statistical changes. WSU shot only 39.8 percent from the floor during its 3-5 start but is at 48.1 percent in winning eight of the last ten. The Raiders have increased their scoring pace to 63.6 points per game during the run, compared to 59.5 prior to Dec. 19.

Flames answer the challenge
UIC is the other team at 4-1 in League play, moving back to .500 (9-9) on the season with victories over previous loop leader Butler (73-67 in overtime) and preseason favorite Loyola (79-73) last week.

The triumph over Butler marked only the second time UIC has ever defeated a team ranked in the top 25. Saturday's victory ended a four-game skid against the team's cross-town rival.

Junior guard T.J. Gray averaged 17.5 points in the two victories, raising his season pace to 12.0 per outing. Gray tops the loop charts with a rate of 3.12 three-pointers per game, shooting 46.5 percent from 19-9 and beyond.

Junior forward Othyus Jeffers grabbed 12 rebounds versus Butler, the eighth time this season he has reached double figures off the boards. Jeffers ranks second in the League at 8.9 rebounds per game for the year, while his 15.4 points-per-game average is sixth-best in the League.

Sophomore center Scott VanderMeer continued his assault on the school record book with six blocked shots in each game. His 57 blocks are ten shy of the single-season Flame record shared by Sherell Ford (1992-93) and Dave Williams (1981-82). VanderMeer has logged four or more rejections eight times this year and is averaging 4.5 in his last four outings. The 6-11 transfer also grabs five rebounds per game.

Freshman guard Spencer Stewart ranks sixth among League set-up artists, handing out 3.41 assists per game.

UIC's 4-1 League record marks the school's best start in circuit action since 2002-03 when the Flames won six of their first seven. The recent success comes from an offense which paces the League in scoring (73.0 points per game), three-point percentage (.389) and assists (13.94 per game).

Sophomore guard Josh Mayo is the third Flame in double figures, scoring 11.6 points per game despite missing four games due to injury.

Bulldogs fall, but just half-game behind
Butler comes into the week at 15-2 overall, ranked 18th in the AP polls and 15th by ESPN/USA Today, but third in the League standings at 3-1, one-half game behind Wright State and UIC. The Bulldogs dropped a 73-67 overtime decision to the Flames in Chicago but defeated South Dakota State, 62-47, in non-League action.

The victory over SDSU came without junior guard A.J. Graves, who sat out after having all four wisdom teeth removed Thursday.

Graves scored a career-high 31 points in the loss at UIC, pouring in 29 after intermission after only making one field goal in the first 20 minutes. He was the first Bulldog to reach the 30-point mark since Jan. 2, 2002, when Rylan Hainje scored 31 against Wright State. Graves' 18.8 points-per-game scoring average is behind only DaShaun Wood on the loop scoring charts.

Graves also ran his streak of consecutive free throws made to 54 in a row in the game at UIC. It's the longest active streak in Division I, as well as the fifth-longest single season streak and the sixth-longest career streak in NCAA history. His .988 (82-of-83) mark at the line leads the nation, while Graves ranks fourth in the League at 1.63 steals per outing.

Junior guard Mike Green adds 13.6 points per game and took over the team rebounding lead at 5.2 caroms per contest after collecting 13 in the two games last week. Senior forward Brandon Crone is the third Bulldog in double figures with a rate of 10.5 points per game.

Junior forward Pete Campbell has come off the bench and scored in double-figures in three straight games for the Bulldogs. He matched his Butler career-highs (set one game earlier) with 12 points and five rebounds at UIC, and then posted 11 points against South Dakota State.

Butler set a school single-game record with 42 three-point field goal attempts against UIC, making 13 triples.

BU leads the League defensively, holding opponents to 56.4 points per game.

Ramblers bumped on the road
Loyola dropped to 11-7 on the season and 3-3 in League play with a pair of losses last week. The Ramblers fell 81-55 at Wright State on Wednesday and 79-73 to cross-town rival UIC on Saturday, the school's first back-to-back losses since a four-game skid Jan. 2-11, 2006.

Senior guard Blake Schilb needs three points to pass Tony Parker for sixth place on Loyola's all-time scoring list, starting the week with 1,603 career tallies. He is ninth in the League at 14.8 points per game this season while also ranking fourth at 3.53 assists per contest.

Fellow senior Majak Kou also is a member of Loyola's 1,000-point club, standing 29th in LU annals with 1,060 markers including a rate of 13.4 per outing this year. Kou has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, averaging 16.8 per game during that span.

Sophomore guard J.R. Blount averaged 16 points in two games last week. The only Rambler to start all 18 games this year, he has at least one three-pointer in a career-high 11 consecutive outings. Blount's season average of 14.3 points per game puts him tenth on the League scoring list. The sophomore has scored 20 or more points in two of his last three games, including a 20-point showing against UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 13.

Freshman forward Andy Polka netted 14 points and seven rebounds against UIC. He leads all League freshmen and ranks fourth overall in rebounding, grabbing an average of 6.8 caroms per contest. He is one spot ahead of sophomore forward Leon Young, who adds 6.7 rebounds per game and tops the League charts with a .574 field-goal percentage.

Loyola's team average of 73.0 points per game matches UIC for the highest output among the League's nine teams. The Ramblers use that mark as a barometer of success, considering that LU is 7-1 this season when holding opponents under 70 points but only 4-6 when foes reach the 70-point barrier.

Penguins leave 2005-06 behind
Youngstown State split a pair of games last week, losing 59-49 to UW-Green Bay on Thursday before rallying for an 81-63 victory over UW-Milwakee on Saturday. YSU stands at 8-10 overall (3-3 in League play), having already surpassed its victory total from last year's 7-21 final ledger.

Junior guard Byron Davis led the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting against the Panthers, one game after a 22-point effort versus UW-Green Bay. He also had five rebounds and five assists with only one turnover in that contest.

The Penguins swept the season series from UW-Milwaukee, marking only YSU's second season sweep against any foe since joining the League in 2001. The Penguins took both meetings from Cleveland State in 2003-04.

Senior guard Quin Humphrey is 11th in Penguins history with 1,440 career points, needing 40 more to reach the school's all-time top ten. He is third in the League with an average of 17.7 per contest this year, while also ranking seventh by grabbing 6.6 rebounds per outing.

Senior guard Keston Roberts is also among the League's top scorers, starting the week fifth with an average of 16.4 points per game. Sophomore forward Jack Liles ranks tenth at 5.7 rebounds per appearance, while Davis' 3.47 assists per game put him fifth on that loop chart.

YSU is 8-0 when limiting opponents to less than 40 percent shooting, and 8-1 when shooting a higher percentage than its opponents.

The Penguins own the League's second-best rebounding margin, at plus-1.7 per game. YSU has outrebounded eight of its last ten opponents. In addition, the Penguins have ouscored opponents in the second half of 11 of their last 12 games.

Head coach Jerry Slocum needs five more victories to reach the 600 mark for his career. His 595 career triumphs rank 13th among active coaches at all divisions, and sixth among Division I sideline bosses.

Titans drop another close one
Detroit fell to 5-11 overall and 2-3 in League competition with Saturday's 63-61 loss at Cleveland State. The Titans rallied from an 18-point, second-half deficit but could not get the victory. UDM's three League losses---all on the road---have come by a total of four points (50-49 at Wright State and 65-64 in overtime versus UW-Milwaukee). The Titans are 0-5 overall in games decided by five points or less.

Junior guard Brandon Cotton finished with a season-high 27 points---including 20 after the break---Saturday, his seventh game of 20 or more this season. Four of those performances have come in Detroit's last five games. Cotton is fourth on the League scoring chart at 17.6 points per game overall, with that rate climbing to 21.8 in the last five outings. With 1,204 career points, he is ten away from entering the school's all-time top ten.

Senior forward Ryvon Covile grabbed 11 rebounds Saturday, recording his League-leading 11th double-double of the season wtih 11 points. Covile ranks third in the nation with an average of 11.4 rebounds per game and has reached double digits off the glass in 13 of UDM's 16 games this season. He could become the first Titan to post a double-double average since Joe Kopicki finished at 18.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the 1981-82 campaign.

With a rate of 13.6 points per game, Covile is the only League player averaging a double-double for the season. His scoring pace features a 52.6 percent mark from the field, putting him third on that loop chart.

Detroit recorded season-highs with ten three-pointers and 25 attempts at CSU. Cotton and junior guad Jon Goode each had three triples for the Titans, with sophomore forward Chris Hayes adding two more.

Detroit has held each of its last six opponents to 65 points or less. Only one of those six foes---Kansas---shot better than 41 percent from the field against the Titan defense.

Ups and downs continue for Phoenix
UW-Green Bay starts the week at 10-8 overall, 2-3 in League play, after splitting two contests last week. The Phoenix shut down Youngstown State for a 59-49 victory on Thursday but fell short in a 78-67 defeat at Wright State on Saturday. Only one of UWGB's last 12 games has been decided by fewer than ten points.

Senior guard Ryan Evanochko finished with a season-high 27 points at WSU, including 25 after intermission. Evanochko ranks seventh in the League in scoring at 15.2 points per game, and also is the circuit's top distributor. His 5.28 assists-per-game norm includes seven helpers in the victory at YSU.

Thursday's triumph featured a strong defensive effort. Evanochko and sophomore forward Terry Evans led the way as UWGB held the Penguins' high-scoring tandem of Quin Humphrey and Keston Roberts to 11-of-37 shooting from the floor. Evans registered a career-high four blocked shots and two steals in that game. A member of the League's All-Defensive unit in 2005-06, he leads the circuit with an average of 2.28 thefts per game this year and also ranks seventh with 6.7 rebounds per outing.

Sophomore forward Mike Schachtner is the only player ranked among the League's top five in all three shooting percentage categories. His .491 clip from three-point range is the best in the League, while his .900 free-throw mark and .503 field-goal accuracy are second and fourth, respectively, on those loop charts.

Panthers getting strong bench play
UW-Milwaukee gained a split on its swing through northeast Ohio, defeating Cleveland State, 60-48, on Thursday but losing at Youngstown State, 81-63 on Saturday. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses in their last six outings and stand 5-14 on the season, including 2-4 in League play.

With freshman guard Charlie Swiggett sidelined with a torn ACL, the Panthers changed their starting lineup again in Thursday's victory. Head coach Rob Jeter has already used six different opening quintets this year after employing only two all last season.

Even with two normal bench scorers now in the opening five in junior guard Avery Smith and sophomore guard Ricky Franklin, the Panthers continue to get significant contributions from their reserves. Junior forward Marcus Skinner scored ten points off the bench at CSU, the 17th time a Panther substitute has reached double figures this season. Smith has nine of those performances. UWM has outscored its opponent off the bench in 17 of 19 games this season.

Smith ranks eighth among Horizon League scorers, averaging 15.2 points per game, He ranks among the circuit's top ten in all three shooting percentage categories, as well.

Junior forward Paige Paulsen is the other Panther averaging in double figures (10.9 points per game), and also stands eighth on the loop rebounding charts with his norm of 6.0 caroms per contest.

Vikings get League win from unlikely source
Cleveland State posted its initial League victory of 2006-07 with Saturday's 63-61 victory over Detroit. The Vikings, who dropped a 60-48 decision to UW-Milwaukee on Thursday, come into the week at 7-12 overall and 1-5 in the League.

Sophomore guard Bahaaar Russell scored a career-high 21 points in Saturday's victory, hitting five three-pointers among his seven field goals. Russell, who had scored only ten points all season prior to Saturday, got the start after senior Carlos English and junior forward Kevin Francis were declared academically ineligible earlier in the week. English and Francis will have their status for the rest of the season evaluated later this week.

CSU will be without junior forward Luke Murphy for the rest of the year after surgery to repair a dislocated patella in his right knee.

The Vikings matched a season-high 11 three-point field goals against Detroit, extending their streak to 251 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal. That run began after an 0-for-8 night versus Detroit on Feb. 21, 1998. The Cleveland State women's team owns the NCAA Division I record at 404 consecutive games with a triple.

Sophomore forward J'Nathan posted his third double-double of the year against Detroit. He is third in the League in rebounding at 6.8 per game while leading CSU with 13.7 points per contest. Senior guard Raheem Moss adds 10.9 points per appearance.

Crusaders stay at .500 in Mid-Con play
Valparaiso---which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007-08---moved to 7-10 overall and 2-2 in Mid-Continent Conference action. The Crusaders rebounded from an 81-76 loss to Oakland by defeating in-state rival IUPUI, 69-55, behind 19 points from freshman guard Samuel Haanpaa. Valpo shot 67 percent from the floor in the second half against IUPUI, and also committed a season-low ten turnovers in the victory.

The freshman sharpshooter hit ten of 13 shots behind the arc last week (five treys in each game), averagng 17 points in the two contests. He led the Crusaders with 19 points and seven rebounds against IUPUI, lifting his season rate to 10.8 points per game.

Valpo boasts a trio of double-digit scorers with sophomore guard Brandon McPherson topping the Crusader charts at 11.8 points per game and sophomore forward Urule Igbavboa adding 10.4. McPherson leads the Mid-Con in three-point field-goal shooting, hitting 54.3 percent of his attempts behind the arc while Igbabvoa's 7.3 rebounds-per-game norm is second-best in the conference.

Haanpaa now has 38 three-pointers this season, with McPherson and junior guard Shawn Huff hitting 25 apiece. As a team, Valpo is shooting 38.5 percent from long distance, hitting 125 of 325 attempts.

Veteran head coach Homer Drew is nearing the 300-victory mark at Valpo, owning a 293-235 record in 18 years at the school. His career ledger stands at 562-357 in 30 seasons.

On the Horizon This Week:

Wednesday, January 17
Youngstown State at #18 Butler, 7 p.m. - *
Loyola at Detroit, 7:05 p.m. - *
UIC at UW-Milwaukee, 8 p.m. - *

Thursday, January 18
Wright State at Cleveland State, 7 p.m. - *
Valparaiso at Western Illinois, 8 p.m.

Saturday, January 20
Detroit at UIC, 2 p.m. - *
UW-Green Bay at #18 Butler, 2 p.m. - *
Cleveland State at Youngstown State, 7:05 p.m. - *
IPFW at Loyola, 4 p.m.

ALL TIMES EASTERN / rankings noted are from Jan. 15 AP poll

* - Horizon League games