Men's Basketball Release #12

Jan. 21, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Horizon League Player of the Week

Jon Goode, Detroit
Senior * Guard * Flint, Mich. (Central)
Jon Goode led the Titans with 65 points in two games last week, including a career-high 35 against UIC on Saturday. He hit 13-of-21 shots from the field, including eight three-pointers against the Flames. Goode eclipsed the career-best he established just two nights earlier, when he was 10-of-13 from the floor with five treys for 30 points against Loyola. Goode shot 68 percent for the week and became the first Titan with back-to-back 30-point efforts since (current Philadelphi 76er) Willie Green in 2003.

Previous Players of the Week:
Josh Mayo, UIC (Nov. 12); Cedric Jackson, CSU (Nov. 19); Mike Green, BU (Nov. 26); Matt Howard, BU (Dec. 3); Josh Mayo, UIC (Dec. 10); Samuel Haanpää (Dec. 17); Ryan Tillema, GB (Dec. 24), Todd Brown, WSU (Dec. 31); John Barber, YSU (Jan. 7); Matt Howard, BU (Jan. 14).

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending January 20

Matt Howard, Butler
Fr. * F * Connersville, Ind.
Howard led Butler in scoring in both games last week, including a 20-point, eight-rebound effort in Saturday's victory at Youngstown State. He also had 16 points Thursday at Cleveland State and shot 61 percent from the floor for the week.

J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State
Jr. * F * Flint, Mich.
Bullock averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds to lead CSU past Butler and Valparaiso, keeping the Vikings perfect (7-0) in League play. His 11 points versus Valpo included the 1,000th of his career.

Mike Schachtner, Green Bay
Jr. * F * Somerset, Wis.
Schachtner scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in Saturday's loss to Milwaukee. Schachtner made a pair of three-pointers and canned all six free-throw attempts to remain atop the League charts at the charity stripe (.899).

J.R. Blount, Loyola
Jr. * G * Milwaukee, Wis.
Blount averaged 17 points and 4.5 rebounds as the Ramblers split a pair of games last week. He matched a season high with 23 points in Thursday's victory over Loyola and needs just 34 markers to reach the 1,000 mark for his career.

Marcus Skinner, Milwaukee
Sr. * F * Flint, Mich.
Skinner logged a double-double with a career-high 14 points and ten rebounds in Saturday's victory at Green Bay. He also blocked five shots, and grabbed a key offensive rebound in the closing seconds to secure the victory.

Scott VanderMeer, UIC
Jr. * C * Dyer, Ind.
VanderMeer averaged 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and three blocks in two contests. He posted his third double-double in the last five games with 13 points and ten boards in Saturday's victory over Detroit.

Brandon McPherson, Valparaiso
Jr. * G * Indianapolis, Ind.
McPherson scored a season-high 20 points to pace the Crusaders past Youngstown State on Thursday. Fifteen of those points came in the second half as the Crusaders rallied from a halftime deficit with 47 points after the break.

Vaughn Duggins, Wright State
So. * G * Pendleton, Ind.
Duggins hit the game-winning free throws with 22 seconds left in Saturday's 53-52 victory at Loyola, capping a 14-point performance. He also had 19 points and five assists in Thursday's one-point victory at UIC.

Byron Davis, Youngstown State
Sr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Davis scored a total of 39 points in games against Valparaiso and Butler, hitting 16 of 28 shots from the field including six treys. He posted a career-high 23 points in Thursday's loss to Valpo, finishing 10-of-16 from the floor.

News From Around the League

Vikings stays atop the League standings
Cleveland State improved to 7-0 in the League and 14-5 overall after two strong home-court victories last week. CSU defeated 12th-ranked Butler 56-52 on Thursday and edged Valparaiso 69-63 on Saturday, running its Wolstein Center winning streak to seven games.

The Vikings enter the week 50th in the RPI rankings, a 33-spot jump from two weeks ago. CSU ended the 2006-07 season ranked 266th.

Thursday's victory was the second in school history over a top-25 team. The Vikings defeated (14th-rated) Indiana 83-79 in the opening round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Thursday's crowd of 5,253 was CSU's largest in the arena since Nov. 29, 2003, when 11,534 saw Cleveland State lose to North Carolina.

Junior forward J'Nathan Bullock scored a team-high 14 points against Butler and hit the 1,000 point for his career during an 11-point night against Valpo. Bullock ranks 11th in the League in scoring (14.2 points per game) and tenth in rebounding (6.2 caroms per contest).

Junior guard Cedric Jackson continues to lead the League with rates of 4.89 assists and 2.63 steals per game, while standing ninth in scoring at 14.7 points per contest.

CSU can complete the first half of the League schedule unbeaten with two victories this week. The Vikings play at Green Bay on Thursday and visit Milwaukee on Saturday.

Bulldogs split road trip
Butler stands at 17-2 overall after splitting two games last week. The Bulldogs dropped a first-place showdown at Cleveland State on Thursday---falling 56-52 to snap an eight-game winning streak---but responded with a 78-69 triumph at Youngstown State on Saturday to move to 5-2 in League play. With that victory, Butler has not lost back-to-back games since Jan. 19-21, 2006---a span of 71 games.

Butler starts the weeek ranked 15th in this week's Associated Press national poll and 14th according to ESPN/USA Today. The Bulldogs have won 11 games away from home this year, the most in the nation.

Senior guard Mike Green narrowly missed a triple-double at YSU with 16 points, ten assists and eight rebounds. The only League player to lead his team in all three of those categories for the season, he ranks fifth in the League in scorign (15.3 points per game), 12th in rebounding (six per contest) and second in assists (4.8 per outing).

Freshman forward Matt Howard scored 20 points at Youngstown State for his tenth consecutive double-figure scoring effort. Howard is averaging 13.6 points per game for the season, but 16.4 in League play. He also ranks second overall with a .588 field-goal percentage.

The Bulldogs host Loyola on Thursday before a Saturday matinee at home against UIC.

Crusaders open three-game homestand
Valparaiso carries a 13-6 overall ledger, moving to 4-3 in the League after splitting a pair of road games. The Crusaders defeated Youngstown State 67-61 on Thursday but came up short in a 69-63 loss at Cleveland State on Saturday.

The Crusaders shot 58 percent (15-of-26) from the field in the second half at YSU, scoring 47 points after the intermission to overcome a halftime deficit. Valpo hit only 23 percent from the floor in the first half.

Junior guard Brandon McPherson was perfect in five attempts in the final 20 minutes. He scored 15 points in the second half to finish with a season-high 20 for the game. Senior guard Shawn Huff had 15 points at YSU, and leads the Crusaders at 13.9 points per game.

Senior guard Jarryd Loyd moved into eighth place on Valpo's all-time assist chart, logging 12 assists for the week to give him 337 for his career. Loyd's rate of 3.95 set-ups per game this season is third-best on the League charts.

Huff and sophomore Samuel Haanpää are approaching the school's top-ten charts in three-point field goals. Huff owns 123 career triples---one more than Haanpää, and five off the list.

Valpo hosts Loyola on UIC on Thursday and Loyola on Saturday. Despite the proximity of the three schools, Thursday marks Valpo's first meeting with UIC since the 1997-98 campaign.

Panthers continue climb in the standings
Milwaukee improved to 10-8 overall and 5-3 in League play, winning 65-61 at Green Bay on Saturday. The Panthers are alone in fourth place in the League standings following their seventh victory in the last eight outings.

UWM has already surpassed its victory total for all of last season (9-22) and logged its fifth road triumph of the year. The Panthers were just 2-15 away from home in 2006-07.

Senior forward Paige Paulsen registered 19 points and nine rebounds. He hit double digits for the eighth consecutive game, with six outings of 16 or more points during that span. For the season, Paulsen ranks seventh in the League in scoring (14.9 points per game) and fifth in rebounding (6.6 boards per contest).

Senior forward Marcus Skinner notched his third double-double of the season with a career-high 14 points and ten rebounds, while adding five blocked shots.

In their last eight games, the Panthers have held the opposition to 61.9 points per game, compared to 76.6 during the team's 3-7 start. UWM also has posted a positive (+0.1) rebound margin since Dec. 19, after being outrebounded by 3.5 boards per game in the first ten contests.

Milwaukee plays seven of its final ten League games at home, starting Thursday against Youngstown State. The Panthers host League-leader Cleveland State on Saturday.

Phoenix falls at home
Green Bay enters the week at 9-8 overall and 3-4 in the League after a 65-61 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. The setback was the first in seven home games for Green Bay this season.

The Phoenix carries a three-game losing streak, the first for the program since November 2005.

Junior forward Mike Schachtner led the Phoenix with 18 points and six rebounds against the Panthers. He has hit 10 of 12 three-point attempts in his last three games and ranks second in the League in scoring at 18.2 points per game.

Schachtner is the only player to rank among the League's top ten performers in all three shooting-percentage categories, leading the circuit in free-throw percentage (.899) while standing second in three-point accuracy (.500) and sixth in overall field-goal shooting (.514).

Junior guard Ryan Tillema added 14 points against UWM, hitting double figures for the sixth time in his last seven games. Tillema had reached double digits only four times in the first ten games this year. Tillema is averaging 17.3 points per game since Dec. 22, and 11.9 for the season.

Green Bay continues a homestand this week, with League front-runner Cleveland State coming to town on Thursday and Youngstown State visiting the Resch Center on Saturday.

Flames rallies to salvage split
UIC moved to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in League play after splitting two home games. The Flames suffered a 76-75 loss to Wright State on Thursday before coming back from an 11-point deficit for a 75-65 victory over Detroit on Saturday. UIC is 8-1 at home this season.

Junior guard Josh Mayo leads the nation in three-point percentage, hitting eight of 12 shots behind the arc in the two games. Mayo's current .554 clip (56-of-101) would break the .519 mark set by Butler's Pete Campbell last year. Mayo is at 58.1 percent in League play, and ranks third in the League with an overall scoring average of 17.8 points per game. He needs 37 points to reach the 1,000 mark for his career.

UIC started last week ranked fourth in the nation in three-point accuracy, and improved that mark to .438 after going 22-for-42 behind the arc last weekend.

Freshman guard Robert Kreps scored 17 points and handed out a career-high seven assists against Detroit. Kreps has reached double figures in points eight times off the bench this season.

Freshman forward Tori Boyd reached double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this year, logging 11 points versus Wright State and a career-best 12 against the Titans.

The Flames travel to Valparaiso on Thursday prior to a Saturday matinee at Butler.

Raiders pull out close ones on the road
Wright State stands at 11-6 overall and leveled its League record at 4-4 with back-to-back one-point victories on its trip to Chicago. The Raiders edged UIC 76-75 on Thursday and posted a 53-52 triumph at Loyola on Saturday.

Ten of the Raiders' 17 games have been decided by five points or fewer, with WSU owning a 7-3 mark in those games.

Wright State tied a school record with 13 three-pointers at UIC, equaling a mark set at Chicago State in 1990. Sophomore guard Todd Brown's three-pointer in the final minute gave WSU a four-point lead at UIC.

Brown and sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins continue to lead the Raiders in scoring. Duggins finished with 19 points and five rebounds Thursday and stands sixth in the League at 15 points per game, with Brown eighth at 14.8.

Senior forward Scottie Wilson remains atop the League at 6.9 rebounds per game, with fellow senior Jordan Pleiman owning a loop-best .614 field-goal percentage.

Freshman guard Cooper Land registered a season-high nine points with two treys Saturday, with fellow freshman N'Gai Evans adding four points against Loyola. Evans had played only 18 minutes in four games all season before Saturday.

The Raiders are idle until Saturday, when Wright State travels to Detroit for a matinee.

Penguins come up short twice
Youngstown State dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-5 in League play, losing two games at home last week. Valparaiso escaped the Beeghly Center with a 67-61 victory on Thursday before Butler defeated YSU 78-69 on Saturday.

Youngstown State outshot both of its opponents from the field---including a 51 percent showing in Saturday's loss---but Valpo and Butler combined for 21 three-pointers. Valparaiso also made 13 of 17 free-throw attempts, compared to 5-of-13 by the Penguins.

Youngstown State has had three different players score 20 points in the last three games. Senior guard Byron Davis tallied a career-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor Thursday, with junior forward Jack Liles logging a collegiate-best 21 against Butler. Senior forward John Barber finished with 22 against Detroit on Jan. 12.

Davis ranks tenth in the League in scoring at 14.7 points per game. He is two spots ahead of Barber (14.0), who is also second in the circuit with a rate of 6.8 rebounds per contest.

YSU led a 22-20 halftime lead slip away Thursday. The Penguins had won 14 consecutive games when leading at the break, dating to February 2006.

Youngstown State hits the road for two games this week, traveling to Milwaukee on Thursday before a Saturday matinee at Green Bay.

Ramblers split a pair at home
Loyola moved to 6-12 overall and 2-6 in League play after splitting two home games over the weekend. The Ramblers outlasted Detroit 71-65 on Thursday but dropped a 53-52 decision to Wright State on Saturday.

Loyola is 5-5 at the Gentile Center this year after posting a 25-7 mark at home in the last two seasons.

Senior guard J.R. Blount matched a season best with 23 points in Thursday's victory. Blount, who made his 54th consecutive start Saturday, needs 34 points to reach 1,000 for his career. He is fourth on the League scoring charts at 15.7 points per contest. Blount has canned nine three-pointers in his last three games after hitting only nine in the Ramblers' first 15 contests.

Junior forward Leon Young came off the bench to score 19 points and grab eight rebounds against UDM. Loyola reserves had combined for a total of 21 points in the previous four games.

With Thursday's victory, Loyola is 6-0 when scoring 70 or more points this year. The Ramblers are 0-12 when failing to hit that mark.

Loyola swings through Indiana this week, with stops at Butler (Thursday) and Valparaiso (Saturday). LU was the only League team to defeat Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse last year, edging then-15th-ranked BU 75-71 for its first victory at the arena since 1989.

Titans' skid continues
Detroit dropped to 4-14 overall and 0-8 in the League following two setbacks in Chicago last week. The Titans fell 71-65 at Loyola on Thursday before a 75-65 defeat at UIC on Saturday.

Senior guard Jon Goode netted a career-high 35 points against the Flames, hitting eight three-pointers among his career-best 13 field goals. Goode, who also had 30 points against Loyola, accounted for half of UDM's 130 points during the week and has hit the 20-point mark 11 times this season.

Goode leads the League in scoring at 19.7 points per game overall, including a 23.5 per-game rate in League play. With 1,079 career points, he is one of four active players in the Horizon League with 1,000 or more.

The Titans canned 14 of 30 three-point attempts at UIC, but were only 11-of-32 inside the arc Saturday.

Detroit has built double-digit leads in four of its last five contests, only to let those advantages slip away. The Titans owned a 39-28 lead late in the first half at UIC before a 16-2 run by the Flames.

The Titans attempted only two free throws at UIC, compared to 26 by the Flames. For the week, Detroit was only 9-of-16 at the charity stripe, compared to 40-of-49 by the opposition.

Detroit is idle until Saturday, when the Titans host Wright State.

Horizon League Championship coming soon
All ten teams reach the midpoint of the Horizon League schedule this week, with only two games separating six teams from third through eighth place in the League standings. That crowd in the middle means there is little margin for error during the stretch run as teams battle for seeds in the Horizon League Championship, which begins March 4.

The third- through sixth-seeded teams host opening-round games that Tuesday, with the winners squaring off Friday, March 7, in the second round at the home of the top seed. The top two seeds draw byes into the (Saturday, March 8) semifinals, with the League's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship on the line in the title tilt on Tuesday, March 11.

This week's schedule features four games on Thursday, with Loyola at Butler, UIC at Valparaiso, Youngstown State at Milwaukee, and Green Bay hosting League-leader Cleveland State. Loyola was the only League team to defeat Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse last year, while Green Bay attempts to hand CSU its first League setback of 2007-08.

Saturday features a full five-game slate of action with three matinees, as UIC visits Butler, Youngstown State is at Green Bay and Wright State travels to Detroit. The two evening contests include Cleveland State at Milwaukee and Loyola at Valparaiso.

Seven teams own winning records as the season nears the midway point. The last time the Horizon League boasted six teams above .500 was in 2001-02 (Butler 26-6, Detroit 18-13, Wright State 17-11, Milwaukee 16-13, Loyola 17-13, UIC 20-14).