Men's Basketball Weekly Release #2

Nov. 13, 2006

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Horizon League Player of the Week

DaShaun Wood, Wright State
Senior * Guard * Detroit, Mich. (Crockett H.S.)
\Preseason First-Team All-League selection DaShaun Wood scored a game-high 21 points, including the game-winning jumper with 0.2 seconds remaining, to lift Wright State to a 57-56 victory over local rival Miami (Ohio) in the Raiders' season-opener. It was the Raiders' first victory at Millett Hall since Dec. 7, 1981, and gave WSU coach Brad Brownell the victory in his debut as the Raiders' sideline boss.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending November 12

Brandon Crone, Butler
Sr. * F * Frankfort, Ind.
Crone led Butler to a 77-37 victory at Tulane, collecting a game-high 18 points including four three-pointers, along with four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal. All 18 points came in the first half as the Bulldogs raced to a 43-19 halftime lead.

Joe Davis, Cleveland State
Fr. * G * Warrensville, Ohio
Davis made an auspicious collegiate debut, coming off the bench to score 19 points against 2006 Final Four entry George Mason. He connected on seven of nine shots from the floor and tied a CSU freshman record with five three-pointers in seven tries from beyond the arc.

Othyus Jeffers, UIC
Jr. * G-F * Chicago, Ill.
Jeffers carried the Flames to a 75-60, season-opening victory over St. Edward's, tallying a career-high 24 points while adding eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. He was 7-for-13 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line.

J.R. Blount, Loyola
So. * G * Milwaukee, Wis.
Blount scored in double figures in all three games at the BCA Classic in Columbus, Ohio, leading the Ramblers to a third-place finish in the eight-team event. He averaged 14 points, four rebounds and three assists per game, including 15 points versus seventh-ranked Ohio State.

Ryan Evanochko, UW-Green Bay
Sr. * G * Beaver Falls, Pa.
Evanochko scored a team-leading 21 points in a season-opening loss at Oakland. The senior guard, a member of the Preseason All-League team, was nine-of-20 from the floor and added team-high totals of six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 37 minutes of action.

Paige Paulsen, UW-Milwaukee
Jr. * F * Custer, S.D.
Paulsen posted a double-double in his Panther debut, scoring 27 points and pullings down 12 rebounds in a victory over Radford on Friday. He averaged 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in three games to earn All-Tournament honors at the John Thompson Foundation Classic.

Quin Humphrey, Youngstown State
Sr. * G * Ellenwood, Ga.
Humphrey scored 47 points in two games at the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. He had a game-high 25 points in YSU's victory over Central Michigan and added a game-high 22 versus Michigan State. He shot 57 percent (13-of-23) from the field in the two contests.

News From Around the League

Bulldogs take spotlight in season debut
Butler takes part in the NIT Season Tip-Off this week (Monday-Tuesday), but the Bulldogs will be hard-pressed to match their success from their season-opener versus Tulane. BU routed the Green Wave 77-37, hitting 12 of 27 three-point attempts while limiting Tulane to 33 percent (15-of-45) shooting from the field and forcing 20 turnovers.

Senior forward Brandon Crone led the way with 18 points (all in the first half), four rebounds and two assists. He had four tri-lighters to highlight BU's 54-percent shooting from the field. Junior guard A.J. Graves added 13 points, and senior guard Marcus Nellems and junior guard Mike Green each had ten. Nellems established a career-high with that point total, and also grabbed eight rebounds in a collegiate-high 29 minutes.

Senior guard Julian Betko, Nellems and sophomore forward Pete Campbell each had two three-pointers for BU, which hit a League-high 300 triples last season.

Butler ranked last in the League in rebounding margin last year but dominated the glass for a 38-24 advantage in New Orleans.

The 37 points allowed marked the second-lowest total in Todd Lickliter's six-year tenure in Indianapolis, and the ninth time a Lickliter-coached team has held an opponent under 40 points. The 40-point margin of victory was also Butler's biggest over a Division I opponent since January 1997 when the Bulldogs defeated Loyola, 89-48.

The Bulldogs' rate of 8.8 turnovers per game ranked third in the nation last season. BU had eight miscues in its 2006-07 opener, with three of those coming in the final two minutes of the lopsided victory.

Butler opens its NIT Season Tip-Off run Monday versus Notre Dame at Conseco Fieldhouse. BU will meet Indiana or Lafayette on Tuesday before making its Hinkle Fieldhouse debut against Illinois-Springfield on Saturday.

Jeffers paces Flames to opening victory
UIC won its season debut Saturday, slipping past St. Edward's (Texas) 75-60 at the Pavilion. Junior guard-forward Othyus Jeffers led the way for the Flames with a career-best 24 points along with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in 32 minutes of action. The League's 2005-06 Newcomer of the Year was seven-of-13 from the floor and hit all ten of his free throw attempts after shooting only 53 percent at the charity stripe last season.

Senior forward Jovan Stefanov added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Flames, pacing a rebounding effort which produced a 39-27 advantage off the glass. The Flames turned 20 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points.

UIC also took advantage of its free-throw opportunities, converting 28 of 35 attempts for an 80 percent rate. The Flames ranked seventh in the League at .688 from the 15-foot line last season.

As is the case in many early-season games, turnovers were prevalent in Saturday's debut. UIC committed 21 turnovers but forced 23 St. Edward's miscues which led to 28 points. Jeffers had three of UIC's 11 steals with junior guard T.J. Gray posting two.

Twelve of the 15 Flames in uniform scored points against St. Edward's. Sophomore guard Josh Mayo had eight points, with junior forward Kevin Bond and senior forward Danijel Zoric each adding six.

After a successful home debut, the Flames now play their next five games---in a ten-day period---away from the Pavilion. UIC opens that run Wednesday at Davidson, a 2006 NCAA Tournament participant. UIC then begins the Chicago Invitational Challenge with stops at Bradley (Sunday) and Miami [Ohio] (Nov. 22) before concluding the event with two games at the new Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The tournament field also includes Florida A&M, Jackson State and Savannah State.

Wood makes Brownell's debut a success
The season is less than a week old, but Wright State has already re-written a bit of history. The Raiders' 57-56 victory at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday marked WSU's first triumph in Millett Hall since Dec. 7, 1981, and first as a Division I program.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood was the difference for Wright State, capping a 21-point performance with the game-winning jumper with 0.2 seconds remaining. He hit six of 11 shots from the floor and added four assists, three rebounds and three steals to give sideline boss Brad Brownell a victory in his Wright State debut. Brownell coached the last four seasons at UNC Wilmington, leading the Seahawks to an 83-40 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2003, 2006) during that time.

Wood now has 1,222 points in his Raider career and leads all active League players with 334 career assists. He is also one rebound short of 400 in a WSU uniform.

Freshman guard Vaughn Duggins hit a key three-pointer late in the second half and finished with 13 points in his regular-season debut, while junior forward Scottie Wilson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Wilson hit all four of his shots from the field (including two three-pointers) and both free throw attempts in 25 minutes of action.

Wright State trailed 25-20 at intermission but rallied to victory by shooting 57 percent (12-of-21) from the floor in the final 20 minutes, compared to just 33 percent (seven-of-21) before the break. WSU also hit 13 of 14 free throw attempts in the one-point victory. WSU ranked eighth in the League last season, converting 68.2 percent of its attempts at the charity stripe.

The Raiders continue a challenging run this week with road contests at Coastal Carolina and at Chicago State. WSU plays only one of its first seven games at the Nutter Center, a (Dec. 2) match-up versus Detroit to open the League schedule.

Ramblers finish third at BCA Classic
Loyola starts the week at 2-1 following a third-place showing at the Black Coaches Association Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The Ramblers defeated Princeton 68-57 before falling to host and seventh-ranked Ohio State 87-75. LU then rebounded to slip past IUPUI 77-73 to finish the three-game run.

In the victory over Princeton, Loyola shot a lofty 59 percent (24-of-41) from the field. Sophomores Leon Young and J.R. Blount paced the Ramblers with 12 points apiece, with freshman forward Andy Polka adding ten in his first official collegiate contest. Senior guard Blake Schilb was limited to six points but handed out five assists.

Schilb came back with 19 points against the Buckeyes, while Blount and Young added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Young also grabbed eight rebounds against the Big Ten Conference preseason favorite.

Schilb's three-pointer with 59 seconds left put the Ramblers ahead to stay versus IUPUI. The League's Preseason Player of the Year finished with 14 points, five rebounds and eight assists, while senior guard Majak Kou had a game-high 23 points. Kou now needs 134 points to become the 36th member of Loyola's 1,000-point club, a group which already includes Schilb (1,390 to lead all active League players). Schilb now ranks 50th in League history with those 1,390 points.

Loyola started the season ranked 13th in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, and has now won seven of its last nine contests dating back to last season.

Polka's ten points make him the fifth Rambler true freshman in as many seasons to score in dobule figures in a Loyola debut.

Loyola makes its home debut Friday versus John Carroll. The Ramblers play four of their next five contests at the Gentile Center, including the League debut (Dec. 2) versus UW-Green Bay.

Penguins split at Michigan State
Youngstown State opened the season with an impressive 74-50 victory over Central Michigan, providing the Penguins' largest season-debut margin of victory in 12 years. It was also the first season-opening win over a Division I team since YSU defeated St. Francis (Pa.) in 2000-01.

Senior guard Quin Humphrey led the way with 25 points against the Chippewas, hitting seven of 13 shots from the floor including four three-pointers. Junior forward John Barber added 13 points and five rebounds, while the Penguins limited CMU to 30 percent shooting from the field. Youngstown State raced to a 45-20 lead at intermission, holding the Chippewas to five field goals in 20 attempts over the first 20 minutes.

The Penguins could not sustain that momentum the following night, however, as Michigan State posted an 86-61 victory. Humphrey scored a game-high 22 points on six-of-ten shooting from the field and eight-of-ten from the line, and also grabbed seven rebounds in a losing effort. Junior guard Byron Davis added 18 points with four tri-lighters, but the Penguins could not overcome a 39-18 rebounding disparity against the Big Ten Conference representative. Youngstown State meets two more Big Ten foes in the next two weeks, playing at Michigan on Nov. 22 and at Ohio State on Nov. 24.

One early difference from last year was YSU's success in getting to the free-throw line. The Penguins hit 26 of 38 attempts versus Central Michigan, YSU's most charity-toss tries since a 43-attempt showing versus Buffalo on Dec. 7, 2002. Youngstown State did not attempt more than 28 free throws in any game last season. YSU was third in the League with a .706 percentage in 2005-06, but the Penguins' 486 attempts were 59 fewer than any other school in the circuit.

Humphrey averaged 23.5 points and six rebounds in his two appearances, shooting 57 percent (13-of-23) from the field. He was also 15-of-18 from the free throw line.

Panthers get off to fast start
UW-Milwaukee won its season-opener Friday, defeating Radford 72-60, but dropped its next two games in the John Thompson Foundation Classic as the Panthers fell to Washington State (74-54) and Alabama-Birmingham (75-60) to close the weekend at 1-2.

Junior forward Paige Paulsen made a stellar debut for UWM, as the transfer from Northern Illinois University collected 27 points and 12 rebounds versus Radford. Paulsen was 10-of-17 from the field and five-of-six at the line, and added two assists and two steals. UWM forced 24 turnovers in the victory.

Six of the nine players who took the court in Friday's game were playing in their first regular-season contest for the Panthers. Four others made their UWM debuts over the weekend as UW-Milwaukee attempts to replace all five starters from last year's Horizon League championship squad.

The turnover on the roster didn't lead to turnovers on the court, though, as UWM tied a school single-game record with only four miscues in Saturday's loss to Washington State. The Panthers could not overcome 29 percent shooting or the Cougars' 60 percent accuracy, however, in the 20-point loss.

UW-Milwaukee shot a modest 33 percent from the floor in the three games but collected 48 offensive rebounds. Paulsen (eight) and junior forward Marcus Skinner (seven) led the way in that department. Paulsen leads the team in both scoring (12.7 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 caroms per contest) through the first week of the year.

Saturday marked UWM's first-ever meeting with a Pacific-10 Conference school, and Sunday's setback to UAB provided the Panthers with a taste of Conference USA play. The road doesn't get any easier for Rob Jeter's team, which visits Michigan on Wednesday and travels to Northern Iowa on Sunday to open the new McLeod Center.

Vikings come close but fall short
Cleveland State dropped its season-opener against 2006 Final Four entry George Mason, letting a first-half lead slip away in a 79-74 setback to open Gary Waters' tenure as CSU sideline boss.

Sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock led the Vikings with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field, while freshman guard Joe Davis scored 19 points in his CSU debut. Davis hit five of seven shots from three-point range to spark the team's perimeter attack. Senior guard Victor Morris added 14 points and senior guard Carlos English handed out six assists.

Senior guard Raheem Moss can tie a school record Monday night versus Notre Dame (Ohio). Moss has hit at least one three-pointer in each of his last 18 games and could match the mark set by Williams Stanley (Feb. 1989-Jan. 90) and tied by Jermaine Robinson (March 2003-Jan. 04). Moss currently stands ninth in school history with 120 triples made and 311 attempted, needing ten treys and 15 tries to catch Percell Coles (2000-04) for eighth place on each list.

One of the goals Waters stressed in the preseason was taking better care of the basketball after Cleveland State averaged a League-high 16.1 turnovers per game last season. The Vikings answered that call in the opener, committing only ten against George Mason while forcing 17. That total was the lowest for a Viking team since a nine-miscue effort at Youngstown State on Feb. 14, 2002---119 games before Saturday.

Phoenix can't overcome slow start
UW-Green Bay fell behind 18-2 in its season-opener Sunday, a 74-57 loss at Oakland on Sunday.

The Phoenix committed six turnovers in the first 6:23 of the contest and could not recover. Oakland raced to a 41-23 halftime lead and finished with a 31-29 rebounding advantage. The 18-point margin included 24 OU points off 12 UW-Green Bay turnovers in the first half. The Phoenix committed only four miscues after the break, but could not climb out of the hole.

Senior guard Ryan Evanochko paced the Phoenix with 21 points on nine-of-20 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals, but sophomore guard Ryan Tillema was the only other UWGB player in double figures with 14 points. Evanochko was UW-Green Bay's only scorer for the first ten minutes.

Evanochko was the lone upperclassman in UW-Green Bay's starting line-up, as sophomores Terry Evans, Tillema and Mike Schachtner joined Evanochko and freshman forward Randy Berry on the floor for the opening tip. Evans had eight points and three assists in the loss at Rochester, Mich.

UW-Green Bay makes its annual trek to Madison, Wis., to face Wisconsin on Wednesday before making its home debut on Friday against Northern Michigan. That contest with NMU is the lone home date before Dec. 9, as the Phoenix plays six of its first seven games on the road in 2006-07.

Titans finally raise the curtain on 2006-07
Detroit is the final Horizon League team to hit the court, beginning its 2006-07 schedule Monday night versus Maine in the CBE Classic. Marquette hosts the event, with Idaho State rounding out the four-team field in the event's Milwaukee pod.

Monday marks the official return of senior center Ryvon Covile, who sat out all of last season following knee surgery. Covile led the Titans in the preseason, averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in two exhibitions while shooting 59 percent from the field. He also blocked two shots and had two steals in 67 minutes of action.

Junior guard Bradon Cotton and sophomore forward Chris Hayes also started both exhibitions, with Cotton averaging 14 points per game and Hayes providing eight points per contest. Hayes has never started a regular-season game for Detroit, but Cotton ranked fifth in the League with a 17.5 points-per-game scoring pace last year en route to Second-Team All-League honors for the second year in a row. Cotton is a member of this year's Preseason All-League unit.

Also coming back to the court for UDM is junior guard Brandon Bell, who also returns to the Marquette campus where he began his career. Bell underwent Achilles tendon surgery which sidelined him for all of last year, but played 19 minutes in the preseason. In addition, redshirt freshman Justin Sample takes the court for the Titans in the opener. Sample played only one game a year ago before being sidelined by an ankle injury.

Crusaders post victory
Valparaiso, which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007-08, opened the season with am 84-65 victory over Calumet behind 15 points and 15 rebounds by sophomore Urule Igbavboa. The six-foot-eight forward, who averaged only 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game last winter, made six of nine shots from the floor and also blocked four shots to establish a host of career-highs.

Junior guard Shawn Huff was one of five Crusaders in double figures with 12 points and also handed out a personal-best six assists. Junior center Calum MacLeod led the Crusaders with 18 points (on eight-of-11 shooting from the floor) and four blocked shots in his Valpo debut, while junior guard Jarryd Loyd and sophomore backliner Brandon McPherson had 13 and ten points, respectively. McPherson's point total and four assists each represented his best output in a Valparaiso uniform.

Valpo shot 53 percent (31-of-58) from the field and hit nine three-pointers at the offensive end, while the team's defensive effort featured nine blocked shots. All nine Crusaders who played scored.

Valpo hits the road for a three-game trek, starting Monday at IPFW. The swing includes a Nov. 21 date at Atlantic Coast Conference representative North Carolina State before the Crusaders return home to meet Marquette on Nov. 27. Valpo then hosts Horizon League representative Butler two days later.