Men's Basketball Weekly Release #10

Jan. 8, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

J.R. Blount, Loyola
Sophomore * Guard * Milwaukee, Wis. (Dominican)
Blount scored 17 points and matched a career high with six rebounds in a 66-55 victory over Cleveland State on Thursday. He then tallied a game-high 20 points, hitting 7 of 11 shots from the field Saturday, and added three boards, in an 87-74 win versus UW-Milwaukee as Loyola snapped an 11-game losing skid to the Panthers. Blount has scored in double digits in seven straight outings and has hit a three-pointer in a career-best nine consecutive contests.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending January 7

A.J. Graves, Butler
Jr. * G * Switz City, Ind.
Graves sparked Butler at both ends of the floor in the Bulldogs' showdown against Wright State. He led all scorers in the game with 19 points, hitting five of 10 shots from the field, and added three assists, one rebound and one steal.

Brandon Cotton, Detroit
Jr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Cotton led the Titans in scoring in three games last week, averaging 20.7 points per game. He matched his season-high of 24 points against UW-Green Bay, added 20 at UW-Milwaukee, then 18 more in a victory over Youngstown State.

Othyus Jeffers, UIC
Jr. * F * Chicago, Ill.
Jeffers tallied a team-high 19 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals in UIC's lone contest of the week at Wright State. The junior was 5-for-9 from the field and 9-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Mike Schachtner, UW-Green Bay
So. * F * Somerset, Wis.
Schachtner posted his second 30-plus-point game of the year with 31 to lift the Phoenix past Cleveland State on Saturday. He was 11-of-17 from the field as UWGB rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit for its first League win.

Kevin Massiah, UW-Milwaukee
Sr. * F * Toronto, Ontario
Massiah scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds during an overtime victory over Detroit on Thursday, and then made all six of his shots for 13 more points while grabbing five rebounds at Loyola on Saturday.

DaShaun Wood, Wright State
Sr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Wood scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds versus IPFW on Tuesday, and extended his streak to 29 consecutive double-figure scoring games with 12 points each versus UIC on Thursday and Butler on Saturday.

John Barber, Youngstown State
Jr. * F * Detroit, Mich.
Barber collected 21 points on seven-of-15 shooting and 18 rebounds in two games. He finished with nine points and ten boards versus Akron on Tuesday, and scored 12 points with eight caroms against Detroit on Saturday.

News From Around the League

Bulldogs takes command in League race
Butler is the last remaining unbeaten team in League play, bringing a 3-0 League ledger into the week as part of a 14-1 overall record. The Bulldogs, ranked 12th in both national polls, won Saturday's showdown with Wright State, 73-42, for their fourth consecutive victory.

Junior guard A.J. Graves moved into a tie for 29th place on the school's all-time scoring list, as his 19-point effort Saturday gives him 1,023 in his career. Graves has scored in double fibures in all 15 games this season and in 30 of his last 33 overall.

Graves also ran his streak of consecutive free throws to 52 in a row, the longest by a Butler player since Darnell Archey's NCAA-record 85 in a row from 2001-03. Graves' .988 free-throw percentage (80-of-81) leads all of Division I, while his 18.0 points-per-game average is second in the League.

Junior guard Mike Green added seven points, five rebounds and five assists Saturday. The latter number raised his season average to 4.20 set-ups per game, putting him second on the League charts. He is also the circuit's tenth-leading scorer at 14.5 points per contest.

Junior forward Pete Campbell came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points Saturday, hitting four of six three-point field-goal attempts.

The Bulldogs ranked last in the League in rebounding last season but controlled the glass by a 32-23 margin Saturday. BU has now outrebounded its last three opponents by an average of eight per game.

Butler leads the League in nine different statistical categories, including scoring defense (55.9 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 40.5 percent shooting. Wright State was the sixth Bulldog opponent held under 50 points this season.

BU also leads the way in free-throw percentage (.788), and turnovers (10.3 per game) . For the complete lists, please refer to page 17 of this release).

Ramblers defends home court
Loyola improved to 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the League with victories over Cleveland State (66-55 on Thursday) and UW-Milwaukee (87-74 on Saturday). The Ramblers are now 8-1 at the Gentile Center this season.

Saturday's triumph snapped an 11-game losing streak to UW-Milwaukee, as senior guard Blake Schilb returned to action with 17 points and four assists off the bench. Schilb missed Thursday's game with a dislocated finger on his non-shooting hand. The League's Preseason Player of the Year is now eighth in school history with 1,590 career points, and needs 17 more to enter the League's top-30 list.

Schilb ranks eighth in the circuit at 15.3 points per game this year, while his 3.40 assists-per-outing norm is fourth-best on that list.

Sophomore guard J.R. Blount scored 37 points in the two games, and has now made a three-pointer in a career-best nine consecutive games. He also has double-figure point totals in each of his last seven outings. Blount now ranks 12th on the League scoring charts at 14.1 points per game. Senior guard Majak Kou is the third Rambler in double figures, averaging 13.4 points per contest.

LU shot 65.3 percent (32-of-49) from the floor Saturday, the best by a League team this year. The mark was also Loyola's best since Dec. 28, 1991, when the Ramblers buried .674 (29 for 43) of their shots in an 87-79 victory over Purdue. Loyola has out-shot its first four League opponents by a composite .505-.380 from the field.

Freshman forward Andy Polka registered his first career double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds. Polka is third in the League at 6.9 caroms per game, just ahead of sophomore teammate Leon Young (6.9), who also paces the circuit with a .605 field-goal percentage for the season.

Polka and Young lead a Rambler rebounding effort which leads the League (plus-3.3 per game). Loyola also tops the loop scoring charts at 74.1 points per contest.

Raiders finally get time off
Wright State will play only two games in the next ten days, after completing a stretch of six contests in 11 days with Saturday's 73-42 loss at Butler. WSU went 4-2 in that stretch, with the two losses coming to nationally ranked foes LSU and Butler. The Raiders won the middle four games of that run, including a 72-58 victory over IPFW on Tuesday and a 76-62 win over UIC on Thursday, and bring a 9-7 record (2-1 in League play) into the week.

Junior forward Jordan Pleiman led the way against the Flames, collecting a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Senior forward Drew Burleson added a season-high 18 points---more than double his previous season mark of eight---and needs nine points to become the 26th member of Wright State's 1,000-point club. He is averaging 6.1 points per game this season.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood has already gained entry into that group. Wood had 24 points against IPFW and remains the League's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game for the season. Scoring is one of seven statistical categories in which he rates among the circuit's top ten. Wood is third with 1.63 steals per game and sixth at 3.31 assists per contest (including seven helpers against UIC).

During the Raiders' four-game winning streak, WSU limited opponents to 40.9 percent field-goal accuracy (compared to their own 51.7 percent) and 56.0 points per game. Wright State also outrebounded those four opponents 123-95 but suffered a 32-23 disadvantage off the glass in Saturday's 31-point loss to Butler.

Freshman guard Todd Brown moved into the starting line-up and averaged 10.3 points in the three games, including 12 against UIC and ten versus IPFW. He is at 6.7 points per game for the season.

Burleson and Wood each took the court for the 100th time in their careers against IPFW.

Flames face tough road ... at home
UIC lost its only game of the week, a 76-62 setback at Wright State on Thursday. The Flames stand at 7-9 on the season (2-1 in the League) and host the top two teams in the standings this week as Butler comes to Chicago on Wednsday and cross-town rival Loyola visits the Pavilion on Saturday.

Junior forward Othyus Jeffers had 19 points and 13 rebounds against WSU for his sixth double-double of the season. Jeffers, who also added four assists, made nine of 13 shots from the field. Jeffers ranks among the League's top six in four categories, standing sixth in scoring (16.2 points per game), second in rebounding (8.9 per outing) and steals (1.88 per contest) plus third in field-goal percentage (.520).

A trio of newcomers represent UIC on several other individual statistical charts. Freshman guard Spencer Stewart ranks seventh in the circuit at 3.19 assists per game, while junior guard T.J. Gray is second as a 44.9 percent shooter from three-point range.

Sophomore center Scott VanderMeer leads the League with a rate of 2.81 blocked shots per game, more than a full rejection per outing more than his nearest competitor (Detroit's Ryvon Covile at 1.80 per contest). His 41 blocks are more than six other team totals in the League.

Flames head coach Jimmy Collins underwent a successful procedure for an abdominal aortic aneurysm on Thursday. He has returned home and will not return to the sidelines until he has made a complete recovery.

Associate head coach Mark Coomes, who takes the reins in Collins' absence, is not without head coaching experience with two stints at Wabash Valley College (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) and a year at the University of Southern Indiana as the program's sideline boss. He led Wabash Valley to a 64-4 record in two seasons, including a 34-3 mark in 1995-96, while his USI squad finished 18-11 and reached the NCAA Division II Championship in 1984-85.

Penguins stuck on seven
Youngstown State dropped both of its games last week, falling 70-61 to Akron on Tuesday and suffering a 66-51 loss at Detroit on Saturday. The Penguins, who had won their previous three games, still need one victory to surpass last year's total, bringing a 7-9 overall record and 2-2 loop ledger into this week's action.

Senior guard Quin Humphrey moved into 13th place on YSU's all-time scoring chart with his nine points at Detroit. Humphrey has scored 1,402 points in a Penguin uniform.

Humphrey had a streak of 27 consecutive double-figure scoring games snapped at Calihan Hall, but still ranks third in the League at 17.4 points per game this season. He also stands eighth in rebounding (6.1 per game) and fourth in steals (1.56 per outing).

Senior guard Keston Roberts was held to four points at Detroit but remains fourth on the League scoring charts at 17.0 points per game for the season He had scored 20 or more in six consecutive outings---the longest streak by a YSU player since Dave Zeigler's 12-game run in 1979-80---before a 15-point effort versus Akron.

Sophomore forward Jack Liles has averaged 8.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in his last four games. He had 11 rebounds and seven points against Akron, matching his season-high carom count established versus Kent State on Dec. 22. Liles had been averaging 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game prior to the run, but is now up to 6.3 and 5.1, respectively, for the season.

Youngstown State is attempting six more free throws per game than its opponents (21-15), taking more charity tosses than its opponents in seven of 16 games this season. Last year, the Penguins averaged only 17 free-throw attempts per game and tried more than only 11 of 28 opponents.

YSU's 44.0 percent touch from the floor is second on the League charts. Only Loyola (47.6 percent) has been more efficient than the Penguins this season.

Titans end road hex
Detroit won two of three games last week, including a 60-42 victory at UW-Green Bay on Tuesday and a 66-51 triumph over Youngstown State on Saturday. Only a three-pointer in the last second of regulatoin and a 65-64, overtime loss at UW-Milwaukee on Thursday prevented the Titans from a perfect week, as UDM improved to 5-10 overall.

The Titans also start the week at 2-2 in League play, with both losses coming by a single point. Detroit opened loop play with a 50-49 setback at Wright State on Dec. 2.

Junior guard Brandon Cotton continues to carry the hot hand for Detroit. He had hit the 20-point mark in three straight games before going out with a game-high 18 against Youngstown State. He has averaged 20.5 points over the last four contests to push his season norm to an even 17.0, good for fourth place on the League scoring charts.

Cotton has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and 14 times this season. His 1,177 career points rank 22nd Detroit history and leave him 37 points away from entering the Top 20.

Senior center Ryvon Covile provides the inside portion of Detroit's one-two punch. Covile leads the League in rebounding at 11.4 per game, putting him fourth in the nation. Covile also averages 13.7 points per game (13th in the League), ranking second in field-goal percentage (.527) and blocked shots (1.80 per game). His 107 career rejections are tied for fifth in school history.

Junior guard Brandon Bell---in his fourth year of college but first on active duty since his freshman season at Marquette---continues to provide solid numbers at point guard for the Titans. Last week, he averaged nine points and three assists while shooting a perfect 12-for-12 at the foul line.

As a team, Detroit ranks second in the League defensively, holding opponents to 63.9 points per game. The Titans limited UW-Green Bay to 16 points and 18 percent shooting in the second half of Tuesday's victory.

Phoenix experience roller-coaster ride
UW-Green Bay packed a season's worth of highs and lows into one week, splitting a pair of League games. The Phoenix had a three-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday's 60-42 loss to Detroit, but came back for a 65-53 victory over Cleveland State on Sunday to climb to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in League play.

UW-Green Bay trailed 44-31 at intermission but held the Vikings to nine points and 15 percent (three-of-20) shooting in the final 20 minutes. The nine points allowed tied a school record for fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent and were just two more than the NCAA Division I record during the shot-clock era.

Sophomore forward Mike Schachtner scored 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor against CSU, leading the Phoenix back from a 13-point halftime deficit. After scoring 36 versus Chicago State on Dec. 12, he is the first UW-Green Bay player with multiple 30-point games in a season since Jeff Nordgaard accomplished the feat in 1995-96. Schachtner's 13.6 points-per-game pace ranks 14th in the League. He leads the circuit as a 51 percent shooter from three-point range while his 50 percent overall mark from the floor is fifth-best.

Senior guard Ryan Evanochko dished out six assists Saturday, lifting his League-leading pace to 5.31 per game for the season. Evanochko also stands ninth on the loop scoring charts at 15.1 points per game, while sophomore forward Terry Evans is fifth at 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Panthers gain first League victory of 2006-07
UW-Milwaukee starts the week at 4-13 overall and 1-3 in League play. The Panthers outlasted Detroit for a 65-64, overtime victory on Thursday but could not stop Loyola in an 87-74 defeat on Saturday.

The young Panther squad continues to show signs of offensive progress. After shooting better than 40 percent only once in the first 12 games, the Panthers have now shot 40 percent or better in four of the last five games. Plus, four players have reached double figures in three of the last four outings.

UW-Milwaukee's bench also continues to make big offensive contributions, with Avery Smith leading the team in scoring (15.9 points per game, seventh in the League despite starting only six of 17 games) and Ricky Franklin reaching double figures in both games this week. Franklin had ten points and nine rebounds versus Detroit.

UW-Milwaukee continues to post big numbers on the offensive glass. UWM had 41 offensive rebounds in its two games last week, including 23 offensive boards in the win over Detroit. The Panthers have collected 10 or more offensive rebounds in 15 of 17 games this season going over 20 offensive rebounds twice.

Junior forward Paige Paulsen adds 11.5 points per game while ranking seventh in the League at 6.2 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Kevin Massiah adds 5.6 caroms per outing, and also scored 13 points in each game last week.

Vikings let another lead slip away
Cleveland State dropped to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in League play after a 66-55 loss at Loyola on Thursday and a 65-53 defeat at UW-Green Bay on Saturday.

The loss to UW-Green Bay marked the sixth time this season that CSU led at the half but went on to lose. Five of those losses have come after the Vikings held leads of ten or more points after intermission. Cleveland State took a 44-31 advantage to the locker room but was outscored 34-9 in the final 20 minutes. CSU shot only 15 percent (three-of-20) from the floor during that span---after shooting 65 percent (17-of-26) before the break.

Sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock paces the Vikings in scoring (14.1 points per game, 11th in the League) and rebounding (6.5 per game, sixth on the loop charts). He was limited to two points at Loyola but came back with 19 points against UW-Green Bay.

Hall of Fame basketball coach John McLendon will be one of four former Vikings coaches and players to be inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame this Saturday prior to the game agaisnt Detroit.

McLendon, who passed away in 1999, was men's basketball coach at CSU from 1966-69, going on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. He was the first black coach to serve as head coach at a major college basketball program at an integrated school when he took over at CSU in 1966.

Crusaders open final Mid-Con ride
Valparaiso---which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007-08---opened Mid-Continent Conference play by splitting two road contests last week. The Crusaders defeated Centenary, 67-62, on Thursday but Saturday's 75-60 loss at Oral Roberts snapped a three-game winning streak and leaves Valpo at 6-9 overall.

Sophomore forward Urule Igbavboa averaged 13 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two contests to pace the Crusaders. He logged his fifth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 boards at Centenary, and averages 7.3 caroms per contest for the season.

Sophomore guard Brandon McPherson tops the Valpo scoring charts at 11.5 points per game for the season. He is the only Crusader in double figures, but three teammates are not far off the mark, with junior guard Shawn Huff and freshman guard Samuel Haanpaa each at 9.9 and Igbavboa adding 9.6. McPherson also leads the Crusaders with 50 assists, an average of 3.3 per game.

Sophomore backlner Jake Diebler set career-highs with 16 points and four three-pointers at Centenary. He is averaging 5.8 points per outing and is one of five Crusaders with at least 14 triples this season.

Four players scored in double figures in the victory over Centenary, with McPherson and Haanpaa adding 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Valpo made 39 of 48 free throws (81.2 percent) in the two games last week after making just 69.4 percent in its first 13 outings.

On the Horizon This Week:

Wednesday, January 10
Loyola at Wright State, 7 p.m. - *
#12 Butler at UIC, 8 p.m. - *

Thursday, January 11
UW-Green Bay at Youngstown State, 7:05 p.m. - *
UW-Milwaukee at Cleveland State, 7:30 p.m. - *
Oakland at Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m.

Saturday, January 13
Loyola at UIC, 4:30 p.m. - *
Detroit at Cleveland State, 5:30 p.m. - *
UW-Green Bay at Wright State, 7 p.m. - *
UW-Milwaukee at Youngstown State, 7:35 p.m. - *
South Dakota State at #12 Butler, 2 p.m.
IUPUI at Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m.

ALL TIMES EASTERN / rankings noted are from Jan. 8 AP poll
* - Horizon League games