Men's Basketball Weekly Release #6

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Keston Roberts, Youngstown State
Senior * Guard * Brooklyn, N.Y. (Erasmus Hall/(Connors [Okla.] State J.C.)
Roberts averaged 21.5 points in two victories last week. He scored a game-high 21 points Sunday as the Penguins defeated defending League champion UW-Milwaukee, 68-65, for YSU's first win in Milwaukee since 1991. He hit nine of 17 shots from the field including a pair of three-pointers. Roberts opened the week with 22 points, eight rebounds and two assists in Youngstown State's victory over Lock Haven on Tuesday. For the week, he shot 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field and collected 11 rebounds in the two games.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending December 10

Mike Green, Butler
Jr. * G * Philadelphia, Pa.
Green led the Bulldogs in scoring in both games last week, recording a season-high 21 poinst versus Ball State on Wednesday and adding 18 in a loss at Indiana State on Saturday. Green shot 50 percent from the field (11-of-22) for the week.

J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State
So. * F * Flint, Mich.
Bullock scored 21 points against fifth-ranked Ohio State on Saturday. He hit three three-pointers during a 17-point first-half performance, keeping the Vikings close at intermission. Bullock finished eight-of-14 from the field with four rebounds.

Brandon Cotton, Detroit
Jr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Cotton led the Titans with 19 points against 24th-ranked Xavier on Tuesday. He shot 50 percent (seven-of-14) from the field with two three-pointers in 31 minutes against the Musketeers, lifting his season scoring average to 16.5 points per game.

Othyus Jeffers, UIC
Jr. * F * Chicago, Ill.
Jeffers averaged 15.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in two games last week. He tied a career-high with five thefts while adding 23 points in a victory at Northern Illinois and logged his third double-double of the season with 16 points and ten rebounds versus Illinois.

Majak Kou, Loyola
Sr. * G * Hamilton, Ontario
Kou averaged 13 points and seven rebounds as the Ramblers split two games last week. He tallied a team-high 19 points with a season-best eight rebounds at Purdue on Tuesday, and had seven points, six boards plus three assists in 19 minutes versus Loyola (N.O.) on Saturday.

Ryan Evanochko, UW-Green Bay
Sr. * G * Beaver Falls, Pa.
Evanochko led the Phoenix to an 18-point victory over Central Michigan with 25 points. His seven-of-11 shooting paced UW-Green Bay to a season-best 54.5 percent mark for the game. Evanochko also made ten free throws and handed out four assists.

DaShaun Wood, Wright State
Sr. * G * Detroit, Mich.
Wood averaged 13.5 points and six rebounds in two outings last week. Wood's two free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining lifted the Raiders past St. Bonaventure, 59-57, on Saturday, capping a 17-point, seven-rebound night. He also had a team-high ten points at Bradley on Tuesday.

News From Around the League

Bulldogs hit twin digits, then bump in road
Butler saw its season-opening winning streak come to an end in Saturday's 72-64 loss at Indiana State. The Bulldogs' run reached ten games with a 65-41 triumph over Ball State on Wednesday, and Butler carries a 10-1 mark into Saturday's contest versus Purdue as part of the Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The 10-0 start matched the third-best in school history. The 2002-03 squad also won its first ten games, trailing only the 13-0 run to open the 2001-02 campaign and the 11-0 start in 1930-31. The ten-game winning streak also tied for the fifth-longest in program annals.

Butler had held three consecutive opponents under 50 points (Valparaiso 47, Cleveland State 45, Ball State 41) before allowing 72 points to ISU. Only Kent State had scored more against the Bulldogs this year, and the Golden Flashes needed double overtime in an 83-80 loss at Hinkle Fieldhouse last month. For the season, Butler tops the League in defense, allowing only 56.1 points per game---9.6 fewer than any other team in the circuit.

Senior forward Brandon Crone recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds despite sitting out 12 minutes of the first half at Indiana State due to foul trouble. The ten rebounds were the second-highest total of his four-year career.

Junior guard A.J. Graves left the game in the first half with blurred vision after being hit in the eye. He still finished with 14 points in the game and ranks third in the League at 17.3 per contest for the season. Graves' total includes a .982 free-throw percentage which is second-best in the nation (Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron is perfect in 26 attempts) and features a current streak of 27 in a row.

Junior guard Mike Green has led the team in scoring in each of the last four games and now ranks 11th in the League at 14.6 points per game while standing second in the circuit at 4.00 assists per contest.

Ramblers win battle of Loyolas
Loyola improved to 7-3 on the season with a 76-42 victory over Loyola (New Orleans) on Saturday, bouncing back after a 78-62 loss at Purdue on Tuesday.

The 42 points allowed Saturday were the fewest by a Rambler team in more than 40 years, dating back to a 106-35 rout of Western Ontario on Dec. 4, 1964. The 34-point victory margin was also LU's largest since defeating Cleveland State, 100-58, on Feb. 17, 1996, as coach Jim Whitesell's crew avoided its first back-to-back losses in nearly 11 months.

The Ramblers wore replica 1950s-era jerseys for the event and proceeds from an auction of those uniforms will be presented to the Loyola University New Orleans Katrina Relief Fund.

Freshman forward Andy Polka scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds Saturday. He drew his first collegiate start at Purdue and collected ten rebounds against the Boilermakers. His season average of 6.6 caroms per contest is fifth in the League, one spot behind sophomore teammate Leon Young (7.1).

Senior guard Blake Schilb became the 36th player in League history to reach the 1,500-point plateau for his fareer last week, now ranking tenth in school history with 1,508 career markers. Fellow senior Majak Kou needs 62 points to reach 1,000 in a Rambler uniform.

Schilb has made 24 consecutive free throws, ranking second in the League at 92.3 percent for the year. He rates among the loop's elite in six statistical categories, including scoring (fifth at 16.5 points per game), rebounding (15th at 4.7), field-goal percentage (tenth, .456), assists (fourth, 3.60), and three-point accuracy (13th at .362).

Loyola has allowed only 57.3 points per game in its last three contests and ranks second on the League's defensive charts, allowing 65.7 per contest for the year. At the other end of the floor, Loyola owns the circuit's highest-scoring offense at 74.1 points per outing.

Flames return home after adventurous week
UIC split a pair of games last week, staying at break-even (5-5) overall after a 71-48 rout at Northern Illinois on Tuesday and a 71-66 loss to Illinois at the United Center on Saturday. the setback snapped a three-game winning streak for the Flames.

UIC has played only three of those ten games at the Pavilion, but will defend a perfect home record Saturday versus Akron. That contest starts a stretch of four games in eight days, including trips to Mississippi and Penn.

Junior forward Othyus Jeffers posted his third double-double of the season and the tenth of his career against the Fighting Illini. Jeffers logged game-highs of 16 points and ten rebounds at the UC, hitting six-of-nine shots from the field.

Jeffers climbed to sixth place on the League scoring charts at 15.2 points per game, and also ranks second only to Detroit's Ryvon Covile (11.1) with an average of 8.7 rebounds per contest. Jeffers' 3.60 offensive boards per game are the most in the League, while he leads the circuit at 2.00 steals per game and his .524 field-goal percentage is third on the loop charts.

Four Flames scored in double figures at NIU, led by sophomore guard Josh Mayo with 16 points. Mayo, who missed three games with a foot injury earlier in the season, came back with 13 points and four assists on Saturday. For the season, he is averaging 13.6 points an outing.

Freshman guard Spencer Stewart added 13 points and five assists against Northern Illinois, hitting all three of his shots behind the arc. Stewart averaged 2.0 points in his first four collegiate games but is at 9.3 in six contests with three double-figure performances since joining the Flames' starting line-up.

Sophomore center Scott VanderMeer leads the League with 2.40 blocked shots per game., including three in each outing last week. As a team, UIC is second in the League at 73.1 points per contest, and also with an average of just 13.1 turnovers per outing.

Raiders winning the close ones
Wright State split two games last week, moving to 3-3 on the season with a 59-57 victory at St. Bonaventure on Saturday.

For the Raiders, who opened the week with an 88-49 loss at Bradley on Tuesday, the three wins have come by a total of four points. WSU defeated Miami (Ohio) 57-56 in its season debut on Nov. 11, and edged Detroit 50-49 on Dec. 2 to begin the League schedule.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood has been the difference in all three games, hitting two free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining Saturday to cap a 17-point performance. Wood canned the winning jumper against Miami and hit two free throws in the waning seconds against the Titans.

Wood's 15.0 points-per-game average puts him ninth on the League scoring charts, while his rate of 1.67 steals per outing is second. The senior guard also boasts a .818 free-throw percentage. His 154 career steals lead all active Horizon League players.

Freshman guard Todd Brown came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points with three tri-lighters in 23 minutes at St. Bonaventure. Brown had scored 17 points in five appearances before his breakout effort Saturday.

Wright State closes a rugged early stretch with Wednesday's game at Marshall. The Raiders will have played six of their first seven games on the road before opening a three-game homestand Saturday versus Bowling Green.

In four of the team's six games, the team holding a halftime lead went on to lose the contest. Wright State trailed 27-24 at the break against St. Bonaventure but shot 58 percent (15-of-26) from the floor in the final 20 minutes to rally for the victory. WSU's game versus Coastal Carolina (Nov. 19) was tied at the break but the Raiders came back from a 25-20 deficit at Miami (Ohio) and trailed 23-22 at intermission against Detroit. Wright State let a 33-31 lead slip away in a (Nov. 22) loss at Chicago State.

Penguins stop skid with two victories
Youngstown State improved to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the League with two victories last week. The Penguins snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating Lock Haven, 70-36, on Tuesday, and slipped past defending League champion UW-Milwaukee, 68-65, on Sunday.

Both games marked historic accomplishments for the Penguins. Sunday's victory marked YSU's first win in Milwaukee since 1991, while the 36 points allowed Tuesday was the fewest by a Youngstown State squad since Hiram scored 35 on Dec. 20, 1970.

Senior guard Keston Roberts led the way last week, scoring 21 and 22 points in the two contests. He has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games, averaging 16.9 points per contest during that run. Roberts now ranks eighth in the League at 15.1 points per game for the season after shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the floor last week.

Senior guard Quin Humphrey remains atop the loop scoring charts at 17.9 points per contest after a 14-point showing versus UWM. Humphrey has scored in double figures in all ten games this year, and in 61 of his last 65 over the past three seasons.

Junior guard Byron Davis had one of his best all-around games Sunday, scoring 12 points while grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists in 35 minutes against the Panthers. Davis also had six helpers Tuesday and ranks third in the circuit at 3.90 per game for the year.

YSU overcame a halftime deficit in a victory for the first time this season by holding off the Panthers. The Penguins were 0-6 when trailing at intermission prior to Sunday, but rallied from a 32-30 score by shooting 52 percent from the field in the second half.

Only three of Youngstown State's ten games have been decided by nine points or less. YSU has posted victories by three, 24, 34 and 38 points while losing by margins of six, nine, 12, 16, 25 and 34.

Vikings see daylight ahead
Cleveland State dropped a pair of games last week, slipping to 5-6 overall after a 93-60 loss at Kansas State on Tuesday and a 78-57 setback versus fifth-ranked Ohio State on Saturday. CSU has now lost three games in a row immediately following a four-game winning streak, the school's longest in six seasons.

The Vikings are idle until Sunday's match-up at Central Michigan, with a Dec. 19 home date versus Chicago State as the only other action until UIC comes to town on Dec. 27.

CSU trailed 50-23 at the break against Kansas State and could not recover from 24 percent shooting in the first half. Senior forward Patrick Tatham grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock had seven but no Viking scored in double figures.

Bullock made up for lost time Saturday, scoring 17 points in the first half against the Buckeyes as CSU trailed 41-31 at intermission. He finished with 21 points and four rebounds, hitting three three-pointers in the contest.

Bullock ranks tenth in the League at 14.7 points per game, while his rate of 6.2 rebounds per outing is eigthth-best in the circuit. Bullock is the only Viking scoring in double figures, but a balanced attack has six players averaging at least 6.5 points per contest. Freshman guard Joe Davis adds 9.3 per outing after a 12-point showing at OSU, with senior guard Victor Morris 8.7, senior guard Raheem Moss Moss at 8.4, senior guard Carlos English at 6.8 and junior forward Kevin Francis at 6.5. English also averaged 3.36 assists per contes to rank fifth on the League charts.

Morris went down with a foot injury Saturday, forcing coach Gary Waters to play Davis at point guard for a short period in the second half. It was the first time Davis has played the position at the collegiate level. Morris' condition will be evaluated later this week.

As a team, CSU is shooting 72.3 percent at the free-throw line, second-best in the League.

Phoenix shoot to victory
UW-Green Bay enters the week at 3-5 overall following an 89-71 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. That contest started a three-game homestand for the Phoenix, who played six of the first seven games away from the Resch Center.

UW-Green Bay raced to a 48-37 halftime lead against the Chippewas and never looked back, shooting a season-best 54.5 percent from the field. UWGB hit 59 percent in the first half, and also finished the game with a 36-of-45 showing at the free throw line. The 45 tries tied for the 11th-most in program history. Junior guard Ryan Werch led the parade to the charity stripe with a 12-for-12 performance, finishing with those 12 points in 13 minutes despite not attempting a field goal.

Senior guard Ryan Evanochko scored a team-high 25 points, reaching the 20-point mark for the third time this year. He has scored 15 or more points seven times in eight outings, and ranks second in the League at 17.5 points per game. Evanochko also leads the circuit with a rate of 5.13 assists per contest.

Freshman guard Troy Cotton scored a season-high 19 points Saturday, hitting six-of-11 shots including four three-pointers. Sophomore forward Mike Schachtner added ten points.

Sophomore forward Terry Evans ranks third on the League rebounding list at 8.1 caroms per contest, while his 1.13 blocks-per-game average is fourth-best on that chart. Evans also is tied for fourth with a pace of 1.63 steals per outing.

Titans fall to Musketeers
Detroit carries a 2-6 mark into the week following an 88-55 loss to 24th-ranked Xavier on Tuesday. XU shot 59 percent from the field and cruised to victory after taking a 50-26 lead into intermission.

Senior guard Brandon Cotton led the Titans with 19 points, hitting seven of 14 shots from the field including two three-pointesr. Cotton bounced back after being held to nine points in a loss at Wright State on Dec. 2, and moved to within six points of the No. 30 spot on UDM's all-time scoring list with 1,054 career markers. His 16.5 points-per-game norm this season is fourth-best in the League. In addition, Cotton is fifth in the League with a .472 field-goal percentage which is 56 points higher than his mark from last season.

Sophomore forward Chris Hayes and junior guard Jon Goode added 11 and ten points, respectively, at Xavier. Goode lifted his season scoring average to 8.6 points per game. Hayes' career-best point total included his first three collegiate tri-lighters.

Senior forward Ryvon Covile had his streak of seven consecutive double-doubles end as he was held to seven points and three rebounds in 28 minutes. Covile, who missed all of last season due to injury, is still averaging a double-double for the season with rates of 13.6 points and a League-high 11.1 rebounds per contest. Covile is shooting 56.3 percent from the field, trailing only Leon Young of Loyola (58.3 percent) among League players in that category.

Panthers' skid hits five
UW-Milwaukee has lost five games in a row, dropping to 2-9 overall with a 79-60 loss at Missouri State on Wednesday and a 68-65 defeat against Youngstown State in the Panthers' League-opener Sunday. Coach Rob Jeter's team has already matched its loss total for all of last season, when the Panthers finished 22-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Championship.

In trying to find the right combination, Jeter used his fifth different starting lineup of the season against Youngstown State. The latest change saw junior guard Avery Smith return to the starting five while junior guard Allan Hanson came off the bench for the first time this season. Eleven games into the season, only junior forward Paige Paulsen has started every contest.

UWM continues to try to make up for its poor shooting from the field by getting to the offensive glass. The Panthers had a season-high 21 offensive boards Sunday and now have 161 offensive boards in 11 games.

A pair of juniors are topping the UWM scoring charts, with Smith averaging 15.2 points per game to rank seventh in the League and Paige Paulsen added 11.4 points per contest (15th). Each player is vying to become the first non-senior to lead UWM in scoring since the 2001-02 campaign, when Clay Tucker topped the scoring charts at 17.6 points per game. Paulsen, who led the Panthers with 16 points against YSU, is also sixth in the circuit at 6.4 rebounds per night.

Crusaders' slide continues
Valparaiso---which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007-08---has also lost five in a row, falling to 3-5 with a 69-64 loss at Evansville on Tuesday. The Crusaders, who started the season with three consecutive victories, visit Ball State on Saturday before heading to Hawai'i for the Outrigger Hotels Rainbw Classic.

Sophomore guard Brandon McPherson scored 20 points in a losing effort, hitting his first eight shots from the field including a trio of triples. He raised his season scoring average to 10.0 points per game to join junior guard Shawn Huff (11.3) and sophomore forward Urule Igbavboa (11.1) in double figures, and leads the Mid-Con as a 56 percent shooter from three-point range. He is also second in overall field-goal accuracy at 63.6 percent.

Igbavboa ranks second in the Mid-Con rebounding charts at 8.7 caroms per contest while leading the team with ten blocked shots.

McPherson leads a highly-prodcutive perimeter attack, with Huff (14 tri-lighters on 45 percent accuracy) and freshman Samuel Haanpaa (13 treys, 36 percent touch) also part of that group. Haanpaa averaged 9.3 points per game. Junior guard Jarryd Loyd adds 10 three-pointers on 42 percent shooting behind the arc.

Loyd was the only other Crusader in double figures with 11 points at UE, while Igbavboa pulled down 11 rebounds to mark the fourth time this season he has collected ten or more caroms in a game.

On the Horizon This Week:

Tuesday, December 12
Chicago State at UW-Green Bay, 8:05 p.m.

Wednesday, December 13
Wright State at Marshall, 7 p.m.
UW-Milwaukee at #7 Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Saturday, December 16
#18 Butler vs. Purdue, 1 p.m. - #
Akron at UIC, 4 p.m.
Canisius at Detroit, 4:05 p.m.
Bowling Green at Wright State, 5 p.m.
Youngstown State at Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
Northern Iowa at Loyola, 8 p.m.
South Dakota State at UW-Green Bay, 8:05 p.m.
Valparaiso at Ball State, 2 p.m.

Sunday, December 17
Cleveland State at Central Michigan, 2 p.m.

# - Wooden Tradition - at Indianapolis, Ind. (Conseco Fieldhouse)
ALL TIMES EASTERN / rankings noted are from Dec. 11 AP poll