Men's Basketball Weekly Release #3

Nov. 21, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Justin Bowen, UIC
Senior Forward * Chicago, Ill.
Bowen earned a spot on the all-tournament team, averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game to lead UIC to a 2-1 record at the BP Top of the World Classic. He posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the championship game versus Denver, and also collected 19 points in the Flames' opening-round victory over Big Sky Conference favorite Montana State.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending November 20

Brandon Polk, Butler
Senior Forward * Wichita, Kan.
Polk was named to the all-tournament team at the BCA Invitational, hosted by the University of Wyoming. The 6-6 forward had a team-high 16 points versus tourney champion UNC Wilmington, followed by 26 in a victory over Alabama State. For the week, Polk averaged 17.7 points per game, shooting 58 percent (23-of-40) from the field.

Chuck Bailey, Detroit
Senior Forward * Detroit, Mich.
Bailey scored in double figures in both of the Titans' games last week, hitting 11 points plus five rebounds versus Rochester College, then posting his second career double-double with a game-high 16 points plus a career-best 11 rebounds in a loss at Drake.

Chris Logan, Loyola
Senior Guard * Natchez, Miss.
Logan recorded a career-best 19 points and added a pair of rebounds and a steal to lift Loyola past IPFW 69-61 in the Ramblers' season-opener. The six-foot guard hit six of 11 shots from the field, including three of five from three-point range plus all four free-throw attempts.

DaShaun Wood
Junior Guard * Detroit, Mich.
Wood tied a career high with 29 points in the Raiders' season-opening loss at Belmont. The Preseason All-Horizon League selection canned 10 of 16 shots from the field and nine of 11 at the free throw line, while also adding five rebounds and five assists.

Around the Horizon League

Good things happen in threes for Bulldogs in season debut at BCA Invitational
Butler posted two victories in three games at the Black Coaches Association Invitational (Nov. 13-15), defeating both Alabama State (70-61) and Lehigh (66-41) after an opening-day (75-59) loss to UNC Wilmington.

Senior guard Bruce Horan hit ten three-point field goals in the three games in Wyoming, giving him 211 for his career. Horan needs six more to match the school's all-time standard of 217, set by Darnell Archey (1999-2003). Horan shot 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from long range despite playing with the longer three-point arc used under NCAA experimental rules. Horan averaged 12.0 points per game as one of four Bulldogs averaging double figures in Wyoming, along with senior guard Brandon Polk (17.7), sophomore guard A.J. Graves (12.0) and senior guard Avery Sheets (10.3).

Junior swingman Julian Betko took the floor in all three games on the western swing, marking his first collegiate action in two years. Betko transferred to Butler from Clemson University in January, 2004, and missed all of last year following knee surgery.

Butler sees a familiar face in Tuesday's game at Ohio State. Buckeye coach Thad Matta played at Butler (1987-90) and was the Bulldogs' head coach in 2000-01. Tuesday marks the first time Butler has played against a former BU head coach.

Vikings take national spotlight versus defending national champion
Cleveland State visits historic Chapel Hill, N.C., on Tuesday, taking on defending national champion North Carolina. The contest airs nationally on ESPNU as the first of at least seven CSU games on television this season. The Vikings also hit the ESPNU airwaves Dec. 16 at Michigan State.

CSU showed the ability to score from the perimeter in its season-opening (68-66) victory over Florida A&M, as six different Vikings combined to hit ten three-point field goals. Junior guards Raheem Moss and Victor Morris each had three tri-lighters to lead the long-range assault. The ten triples represent the eighth-best total in school history and the most since a school-record-tying 12 versus Norfolk State last season.

Morris switched from the No. 3 uniform he wore the last two seasons to the No. 5 he sported in high school. That move, along with off-season knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus that plagued him for most of the 2004-05 campaign, appears to have paid off as Morris paced Cleveland State with 16 points in the opener. It was the third-highest total in his Viking career and the first time in 15 games in which he reached double figures.

Titans getting contributions from new sources
Detroit has now won six of its last eight season-openers after an 80-61 rout of Rochester College, but UDM has now lost 12 of its last 15 road contests after Sunday's 69-61 setback at Drake.

Brandon Cotton extended his double-figure scoring streak to 24 consecutive games with 17 points versus RC and 14 more at Drake, but the junior guard is getting support from unlikely sources in the early going.Guard Jon Goode never started a game as a freshman in 2004-05, but was in the opening lineup in both games last week. He scored ten points in the 2005-06 debut, marking the fourth twin-digit effort of his career. Senior forward Chuck Bailey drew the start Friday and scored 11 points. Against Drake, he came off the bench with game-high totals of 16 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double, and also blocked three shots.

Detroit has outrebounded its first two opponents 67-50, an average of plus-8.5 per game. The Titans led the Horizon League with a plus-6.0 margin last winter.

Flames burn the competition in Alaska
UIC claimed second place at the BP Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska, over the weekend. The Flames knocked off a pair of league favorites in the process, edging preseason Big Sky Conference pick Montana State (69-64) plus Mountain West Conference choice San Diego State (66-63) before falling to Denver (52-48 in overtime) in the tournament championship game.

Senior forward Justin Bowen and sophomore forward Othyus Jeffers both earned spots on the all-tournament team, with Bowen posting a double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) in the title game and averaging 14.3 points per game for the week. Jeffers made an auspicious debut for the Flames, averaging 9.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per appearance during the trip.

UIC dominated the glass in Alaska, outrebound-ing its opponents by an average of more than ten boards per game. The Flames collected 119 rebounds (54 at the offensive end) compared to only 88 for the team's three foes.

Ramblers post season-opening victory
For the second year in a row, Loyola opened the year with a victory, but the 69-61 victory at IPFW represents the school's first in a season-opener on the road since 1990.

Senior guard Chris Logan collected a career-best 19 points to lead Loyola to the victory on Saturday. The Ramblers are now 8-2 in the last ten games Logan has started, dating back to last year.

Freshman forward Leon Young logged a double-double in his collegiate debut with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Blake Schilb has now reached double figures in scoring in 25 consecutive games. The First-Team All-League choice had 18 points at Fort Wayne, while sophomore forward Tom Levin grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

Rambler coach Jim Whitesell needs eight more victories to reach 300 for his career. Loyola is now 11-5 under Whitesell when holding opponents under 70 points.

Phoenix starts quickly at BCA Classic
UW-Green Bay went 1-2 in its first action of the season. The Phoenix defeated UNC Greensboro (71-48) to begin the BCA Invitational, but fell to host Washington (87-54) and Miami (Fla.) (80-54) to close the western swing.

UWGB's 23-point victory over UNCG marked the school's largest margin of victory in a season-opener since a 96-54 triumph over Northeastern Illinois on Nov. 22, 1997. The Phoenix hit a dozen three-pointers in that game, including six by freshman forward Ryan Tillema.

Tillema posted 18 points in his collegiate debut, while redshirt-freshman forward Terry Evans tallied 14 in his return to action. Evans missed all but six games a year ago, averaging 2.3 points per game before being relegated to the sidelines.

In 131 minutes of action (including two exhibition contests), Tillema has yet to commit a turnover.

Panthers fall in Preseason NIT
UW-Milwaukee hosts Upper Iowa on Monday night, looking to erase memories of its season debut last Tuesday, when the Panthers shot just 22.2 percent (12-of-54) in a 79-52 loss at Memphis in the Preseason NIT.

Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Joah Tucker paced UWM with 23 points and six rebounds, but his teammates went six-of-40 from the floor. Dating back to last year's postseason run, Tucker is averaging nearly 25 points per game in his last six outings---including 32 versus then-No. 1 Illinois in the NCAA Tournament.

The 22.2 percent mark is the second-lowest percentage in UW-Milwaukee's Division I tenure, ahead of only a 21.7 percent mark in a loss at Illinois in 2000. On the positive side, the Panthers hit 26 of 34 free throws.

Tucker and senior forward Adrian Tigert have started 64 consecutive games, the seventh-longest streak in the nation according to STATS Inc.

Raiders drop debut in Music City
Wright State also looks for its first victory of 2005-06, following an 86-80 setback at Belmont last Saturday. The Raiders led by 11 points in the first half and by seven at intermission but could not endure a 34-14 BU run in the second half. Belmont finished the game shooting 57 percent (29-of-51) from the field for the game, including 68 percent (17-of-25) in the second half.

Junior guard DaShaun Wood tied his career-high with 29 points, hitting ten of 16 shots from the field and nine of 11 free throws in 33 minutes of action. Wood also posted five rebounds and five assists for the Raiders, while junior forward Nate Burleson added 14 points and sophomore forward Jordan Pleiman tallied 12.

WSU faces three consecutive Mid-American Conference foes in the next two weeks, visiting Toledo on Wednesday, hosting Ball State on Saturday and traveling to Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 30.

Penguins drop Slocum's debut
Youngstown State begins the week at 0-1 as well, losing 71-58 at St. Francis (Pa.). Junior guard Keston Roberts led the way for YSU with 14 points, followed by senior guards Domonique Crawford (12 points) and Quin Humphrey (11).

Roberts scored 14 of the Penguins' 33 second-half points on six-of-ten shooting while Crawford tallied 12 of the team's 25 points before the break.

The loss to St. Francis snapped new coach Jerry Slocum's personal streak of 15 consecutive victories in season openers. Slocum coached at Geneva College (1987-96) at the start of the streak, moving on to Gannon (1996-05) before coming to Youngstown last summer. He owns a 580-326 record in his 31-year career.

The Penguins face a series of challenges in the non-conference portion of the 2005-06 schedule. YSU plays five of its first seven games on the road and eight of the first 12 away from the Beeghly Center.