Men's Basketball Release #3
Nov. 19, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Horizon League Player of the Week
Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State
Junior * Guard * Columbus, N.J. (Northern Burlington H.S. / St. John's Univ.)
Cedric Jackson averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in four games last week, helping lead the Vikings to a second-place finish at the Glenn Wilkes Classic. The transfer from St. John's University scored a career-high 27 points to pace CSU past Florida State in overtime on Saturday, hitting the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game. He shot 54 percent (26-of-48) from the field last week, including eight three-pointers.
Other Top Performances for the Week Ending November 18
A.J. Graves, Butler
Sr. * G * Switz City, Ind.
Graves led the Bulldogs to back-to-back victories over Missouri Valley Conference foes Indiana State and Evansville, shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range in averaging 24 points per contest. He had a game-high 26 against ISU and poured in 22 at Evansville.
Josh Samarco, Detroit
So. * G * Ypsilanti, Mich.
Samarco kept the Titans in contention at Saint Louis on Wednesday in the team's only game of the week. The sophomore led all scorers with 16 points on six-of-11 shooting from the field with four three-pointers. He had 13 points after intermission.
Mike Schachtner, Green Bay
Jr. * F * Somerset, Wis.
Schachtner averaged 18.3 points and five rebounds in three games last week, shooting 67 percent (24-for-36) from the field. He scored 20 points in Saturday's loss at Massachusetts after an 18-point outing against Delaware State when he hit eight of nine shots from the floor.
J.R. Blount, Loyola
Jr. * G * Milwaukee, Wis.
Blount averaged 18 points in two contests for the Ramblers. He finished with a game-high 21 points in Friday's two-point loss to Western Michigan, adding four assists and five steals against the Broncos. Blount led LU with 15 points in Tuesday's victory over Eastern Illinois.
Torre Johnson, Milwaukee
Sr. * F * Milwaukee, Wis.
Johnson notched his second double-double of the year with 19 points and 13 rebounds as UWM defeated Ball State on Wednesday, and just missed another when he posted 29 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's loss to Northern Iowa. He also blocked six shots in the two games.
Jake Diebler, Valparaiso
Jr. * G * Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Diebler hit double figures for the fourth time in his career, tying for team scoring honors with ten points in Thursday's victory over local rival IPFW. He also set a career-best with six assists against the Mastodons. Diebler posted five points and two assists against Grace on Monday.
Byron Davis, Youngstown State
Sr. * F * Detroit, Mich.
Davis scored 49 points in three games last week, posting 19 in a three-point victory over Weber State on Tuesday and adding 19 in 15 minutes against Lock Haven on Saturday. He shot 56 percent (18-of-32) from the field with 11 assists for the week.
News From Around the League
Bulldogs complete sweep of state foes
Butler stands at 3-0 following a pair of victories over Missouri Valley Conference foes. The Bulldogs defeated Indiana State 76-48 on Wednesday and posted a 60-47 victory at Evansville on Saturday after opening the season with a triumph at Ball State.
Wednesday's victory ended a three-game losing streak to ISU, as none of the current Bulldogs had ever defeated the Sycamores.
Senior guard A.J. Graves scored 48 points, giving him 1,403 in his career. Graves needs 36 more to pass Bobby Plump (1954-58) for tenth place on the all-time BU scoring charts. He also has 222 three-pointers, trailing only Bruce Horan (314 from 2002-06) in school history.
Senior guard Mike Green posted 15 points and team-high totals of eight rebounds and four assists versus ISU.
Butler has held each of its first three opponents under 50 points, allowing an average of 46.7 per contest. Last year, BU ranked fifth in the nation with a yield of 57.1 points per outing and held 12 foes under the 50-point mark.
The Bulldogs, ranked 25th in the latest AP poll and 23rd according to ESPN/USA Today, heads to Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout. BU opens against Michigan on Wednesday, attempting to duplicate its result from the team's last trip to the Last Frontier. Butler captured the title of the Top of the World Classic in 2001.
Crusaders strong in League debut
Valparaiso is 2-0 for the third year in a row after opening the season with a pair of victories last week. The Crusaders routed Grace College 90-59 on Monday and posted a 74-64 victory at IPFW on Friday.
The team's balance was evident Monday with seven different players scoring at least eight points and four finishing in double figures. That trend continued Friday with eight different players posting between seven and ten points at Fort Wayne. No player made more than three field goals or grabbed more than four rebounds against IPFW.
Senior guard Jarryd Loyd was the only Valpo player to hit double figures in both contests (14 and 10 points, respectively). Senior guard Shawn Huff handed out a career-high seven assists and matched his collegiate bests with eight rebounds and two steals versus Grace.
Valpo hit ten three-pointers in the opener and went nine-for-15 from behind the arc against IPFW. Eight different Crusaders have hit at least one triple already in 2007-08.
The Crusaders face a busy schedule this week, with three games as part of the South Padre Island Invitational. Valpo visits Vanderbilt on Tuesday before heading to south Texas for games against Maryland-Eastern Shore (Friday) and either Austin Peay or Florida Gulf Coast (Saturday).
Panthers rally for one win, fall short at home
Milwaukee split a pair of games last week, moving to 2-1 on the season after outlasting Ball State 81-74 in overtime on Wednesday and falling 73-66 at home to Northern Iowa on Sunday.
Senior forward Torre Johnson notched his second consecutive double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds at BSU and added a season-high 29 points with nine caroms on Sunday. He leads the League in both scoring (21.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.7) in the early going.
Senior forward Paige Paulsen scored all 19 of his points after intermission Wednesday, hitting four three-pointers while also collecting seven rebounds. Paulsen added 11 points against UNI and is averaging 12.3 per outing so far this season.
The Panthers rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit against Ball State in the school's best comeback in six years. Milwaukee overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat Virginia Tech in overtime on Dec. 8, 2001. Milwaukee was just 3-15 when trailing at halftime in 2006-07.
Milwaukee hosts South Dakota State on Tuesday, trying to get to 3-1 for only the third time in the last eight years. UWM is 19-18 in November and 34-25 in December over the last seven-plus years but has won three League Championships during that time. The Panthers close the week at home against Drake on Saturday.
Newcomers start quickly for Penguins
Youngstown State carries a 2-1 record into the week. The Penguins suffered an 83-52 loss at second-ranked UCLA in their season debut but came back to defeat Weber State 69-66 on Tuesday and post a comfortable 95-55 victory over Lock Haven on Friday.
The Penguins scored 60 points in the first half Friday, marking the school's best showing in the opening 20 minutes since Feb. 24, 1992, when YSU scored 60 points before intermission in a 107-68 triumph over Pittsburgh-Bradford.
Sophomore guard Vance Cooksey and freshman guard Vytas Sulskis have been key contributors for the Penguins. The newcomers combined for 55 points, 15 assits and 24 rebounds in the three games. Sulskis was the first true freshman since 2000-01 and the fourth in the last 18 years to start the season-opener for YSU. Cooksey sat out last year to concentrate on academics and did not practice with the team.
Thirteen of the 14 players on the Penguin roster have scored a point this season. The only one without a marker is junior guard Mikko Niemi, who ranks third on the team with nine assists. Senior guard Byron Davis leads the way, averaging 16.3 points and 3.7 assists per game.
YSU is idle until Saturday, when the Penguins visit Notre Dame.
Ramblers take a break after home loss
Loyola stands at 2-1 on the year following a 63-61 homecourt loss to Western Michigan on Friday. The Ramblers opened the week with a 72-65 victory at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.
Junior guard J.R. Blount averaged 18 points in the two conests, including a 21-point showing against WMU. Blount also had four assists and five steals in that contest and is the only Rambler to reach double figures in all three games so far this year. He ranks sixth in the League at 19 points per game. Blount has started 39 consecutive contests for Loyola, dating back to the 2005-06 campaign.
Junior forward Leon Young and sophomore forward Andy Polka average 11.3 apiece in support of Blount's 19.0 pace. Senior forward Tracy Robinson has converted all ten of his free-throw attempts and has canned 12 in a row dating back to last year. Robinson is averaging 10.3 points per game as the fourth Ramblers in double figures.
Through three games, Loyola has made more free throws (55) than its opponents have attempted (39). The Ramblers have made five fewer field goals than their opponents (74-69) but boast a plus-7.0 points-per-game scoring margin.
The Ramblers are off until a Saturday matinee at Purdue. The seven-day layoff between games is the longest of the year for Loyola.
Vikings warm up in Florida sun
Cleveland State moved to 3-2 on the year, including a 3-1 finish in the Glenn WIlkes Classic. The Vikings let a late lead slip away in a 72-70 loss to Georgia Southern on Friday but outlasted Florida State 69-66 in overtime Saturday and defeated Florida Atlantic 76-66 to close the tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla.
CSU's three victories include triumphs over teams from the Big East Conference (73-70 versus South Florida on Nov. 9) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (FSU).
Junior guard Cedric Jackson led the way for the Vikings, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and four steals against the Seminoles. Jackson has three 20-point efforts already this season, including a 21-point, nine-assist, five-rebound effort against Georgia Southern. He ranks second in the League at 20.6 points per game and leads the circuit at 4.80 assists per contest.
Jackson and junior forward J'Nathan Bullock earned all-tournament honors. Bullock averaged 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in four tourney games, including a 15-point, ten-rebound double-double against Goergia Southern and a 25-point showing versus Florida Atlantic.
After playing five games on the road in ten days, CSU makes its Wolstein Center debut Saturday against John Carroll. The Vikings are at home for eight of their next ten contests.
Phoenix shot down on the road
Green Bay slipped to 2-2 on the season, falling at Ohio State 91-68 in the opening round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday before coming back for a 70-50 victory over Delaware State the following day. The Phoenix suffered a 93-78 setback at Massachusetts on Saturday, when the Minutemen canned 15 three-pointers.
Junior forward Mike Schachtner averaged 18.3 points and five rebounds in the three games last week, hitting 24 of 36 field-goal attempts. He hit the 20-point mark for the second time this season at UMass and added 18 points in the victory over Delaware State.
As a team, the Phoenix shot 57.1 percent (24-of-42) against DSU but managed only 42.6 percent (55-of-129) accuracy in the other two games.
Schachtner is tied for fourth in the League in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game and leading the team in that category in each outing this year. Junior forward Terry Evans has been the top Green Bay rebounder in every game, ranking third in the League at 7.8 caroms per contest. freshman guard Rahmon Fletcher adds a rate of 10.3 points per outing.
The Phoenix returns to action Saturday, hosting North Dakota State---one of three Summit League foes among the first seven dates on the Phoenix schedule.
Flames have bumpy ride in Virgin Islands
UIC carries a 2-2 ledger (prior to Monday afternoon's game versus Wichita State), dropping the first two games at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Flames fell 72-58 to Winthrop on Friday and fell victim to a late three-pointer in Saturday's 64-63 loss to Charlotte.
UIC opened the week by defeating Illinois-Springfield 81-55 on Tuesday as four Flames scored in double figures. Junior center Scott VanderMeer led the way with 19 points and five blocked shots, while sophomore forward Jeremy Buttell logged a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds.
Junior guard Josh Mayo has scored in double figures in all four games this season, posting 16 points against Winthrop and 15 versus Charlotte after a 34-point debut versus Bradley. Mayo is tied for fourth place on the loop scoring charts at 19.5 points per game while also averaging four assists per contest.
VanderMeer has 16 blocked shots this season after eclipsing the League single-season record with 111 rejections last year. He is on pace to break the school career standard---currently held by Sherell Ford (164 from 1992-95) later this winter. The seven-footer also averages 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2007-08.
The Flames take time off for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to the court Nov. 28 at Central Michigan.
Titans suffer losses on floor, roster
Detroit dropped its only game of the week, suffering a 66-58 setback at Saint Louis on Wednesday to slip to 1-1 on the season.
Sophomore guard Josh Samarco led Detroit with 16 points---13 in the second half---at Saint Louis. He hit six of 11 shots from the field, including four three-pointers.
Junior forward Chris Hayes leads the League in field-goal percentage, hitting nine of 11 shots (81.8 percent) in two games. The junior is averaging 12 points in 18.5 minutes per game, ranking second on the team in scoring. Senior guard Jon Goode leads the Titans at 16 points per contest.
Senior guard Brandon Cotton has left the team. He is the second member of the Preseason All-League First Team to leave his respective program (Milwaukee's Avery Smith was dismissed from the Panther program earlier this month) before playing a game in 2007-08. Cotton was a three-time Second-Team All-League selection and posted 1,464 points as a Titan.
Through two games, Detroit is shooting better from three-point range (.439) than inside the arc (.412).
The Titans face a busy schedule this week, beginning Monday at home against Western Michigan. UDM also hosts Chicago State on Wednesday before battling Rochester College at Calihan Hall on Saturday.
Raiders finally hit the hardwood
Defending League champion Wright State makes its long-awaited season debut Monday night, hosting Coastal Carolina. The Raiders are one of only two Division I teams that have not yet played an official game, with Arizona State drawing the honor as the final starter later Monday evening against Illinois.
Wright State won its first Horizon League Championship in 2006-07, finishing the season with a 23-10 record that included a 13-3 League ledger.
WSU must replace the League's Player of the Year in DaShaun Wood, who led the circuit in scoring (19.6 points per game) and steals (1.94 per outing). Sophomore guards Vaughn Duggins and Todd Brown will play larger roles this season. Both were members of the League's All-Newcomer Team last season, averaging 9.0 and 8.6 points per game, respectively.
Brown led the Raiders with 16 points in their 66-54 exhibition victory over Indianapolis on Nov. 5. Duggins added 13 and freshman guard Troy Tabler added 11 in his first collegiate action. The Raiders committed only seven turnovers in the contest.
Monday's match-up is WSU's only action until a Nov. 28 meeting with Marshall. The Raiders will have played only three games before opening the League schedule Dec. 6 against Valparaiso.
