INDIANAPOLIS – Oakland sophomore guard Kahlil Felder (Detroit, Mich./Pershing) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while his teammate freshman forward Jalen Hayes (Lansing, Mich. /Sexton) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
Felder earned his second Player of the Week nod this season after leading Oakland to three wins last week. He opened the week with 16 points, six assists and four rebounds in the Golden Grizzlies win over Cleveland State. The Vikings led 56-55 with 33 seconds left when Felder hit a jumper to give Oakland a one-point lead. After a stop, Felder hit two free throws to seal the win as Oakland won, 59-56.
On Wednesday, Felder scored 18 points and tied his career-high with 13 assists in Oakland’s 84-76 overtime win over Wright State. He added five rebounds and one blocked shot in the game. The sophomore guard closed the week with 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in the Golden Grizzlies 96-80 win at Youngstown State on Sunday.
For the week, Felder averaged 17.7 ppg., 8.7 apg., and 5.3 rpg. He connected on 54.5 percent of his three-point attempts (6-of-11) and was 25-of-26 from the foul line.
Felder continues to pace the Horizon League in assists per game at 7.5 and also leads the League with 136 free throws made and 158 free throws attempted.
Hayes won his fourth Horizon League Player of the Week honor, tying with Detroit’s Paris Bass for the most this season. The Lansing, Mich., native had 15 points, six rebounds, one block and one steal in Oakland’s 59-56 win over Cleveland State. He had a career performance on Wednesday as he scored a career-high 27 points, while also grabbing nine rebounds in Oakland’s 84-76 overtime win against Wright State. The 27 points are the most by a freshman in the Horizon League this season and the most by an Oakland freshman since 2001. He closed the week with nine points, six rebounds, one steals, two assists and one blocked shot as the Golden Grizzlies won at Youngstown State, 96-80.
For the week, Hayes averaged 17.0 points on 56 percent shooting, while also averaging 7.0 rebounds per game.
Hayes has picked up his offensive production in Horizon League play. He is averaging 10.9 points per game in eight conference games after averaging 5.7 points per game in non-conference play.
Oakland (11-12, 6-2) will take its six-game win streak on the road this week with two League games on the schedule. The Golden Grizzlies play at UIC on Wednesday, before visiting Valparaiso (20-4, 7-2) on Sunday.
Top Performers for the Week:
Ahman Fells, UIC (Sr., G/F) – Fells scored 48 points on 78.3 percent shooting last week. He scored a then career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting at Milwaukee on Thursday, before scoring a career-high 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting versus Valparaiso on Saturday. He was 6-of-7 from three-point range against Valparaiso becoming the first UIC player since March of 2013 to connect on six three pointers in a game.
Anton Grady, Cleveland State (Sr., F) – Grady averaged 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds as CSU split two games last week. He had his fourth straight double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in loss at Oakland. He added four assists, five steals and three blocked shots in the contest. He scored 24 points with six rebounds in win over Green Bay on Saturday, helping CSU regain possession of first place
Kendall Griffin, Wright State (Sr., F) – Griffin set a career-high with 20 points, connecting on a career-best four three-point field goals, in WSU’s win at Detroit on Monday. He had scored seven points at Oakland on Wednesday when he suffered a concussion while blocking a shot and will miss the rest of the season, ending his career at Wright State.
Bobby Hain, Youngstown State (Jr., F) - Hain averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 56 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Against Oakland, Hain tied a career high with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. He also grabbed nine rebounds, just missing out on his eighth double-double. He scored 12 points in an overtime loss at Detroit. Hain now has 943 career points and needs 57 more to reach 1,000 for his career.
Alec Peters, Valparaiso (So., F) - Peters averaged 21.5 ppg., and 6.5 rpg in two Valpo wins last week. He scored 24 points, matching a career-high with 10 field goals, in the win over Milwaukee on Monday. He had 19 points and seven rebounds at UIC on Saturday.
Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (Jr., F) – Tiby put up 16.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg and shot 88.9 percent (24-for-27) from the free throw line as Milwaukee won two of three Horizon League games last week. The junior forward also ran his string of consecutive games with double-figure points to a career-best 14, the longest by a Panther since 2008-09. He collected 19 points and 13 rebounds, both one shy of matching season highs. He then accounted for 16 points and six boards in a 78-74 decision over Detroit two days later. Tiby opened the week with 15 points and five boards in a loss at Valparaiso.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Paris Bass, Detroit (Fr., G/F) – Bass averaged 13 ppg., 7 rpg, 2 apg., and 2.3 bpg., last week in three games. He recorded his third double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the win over Youngstown State. He also had four assists, three blocked shots and one steal in that game; which led to his second SportsCenter top 10 play (No. 9). He followed that with 14 points and five rebounds at Milwaukee, he scored 12 in the first half to keep Detroit in the game
Grant Benzinger, Wright State (Fr., G) – Benzinger tied his career-high with 18 points on five three-pointers, also tying a career-high, in Wright State’s win at Detroit on Monday. He scored nine points, all on three-pointers, on Wednesday in WSU’s overtime loss at Oakland.
Daeshon Francis, Green Bay (Fr., G) – Francis scored a career-high 10 points, connecting on 5-of-6 field goals at Cleveland State on Saturday.
Justin Jordan, Milwaukee (Fr., G) - Jordan averaged 10.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 2.3 apg in helping Milwaukee go 2-1 in three Horizon League games last week. The freshman guard scored in double figures twice last week and has done so now in three of the Panthers' last five games. He tallied all 11 of his points in the second half in a loss at Valparaiso on January 26, then pitched in six points, two boards and three assists in a victory over UIC before going for 14 points, the second-highest total of his career, three rebounds, four assists and no turnovers in a win over Detroit.
Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso (Fr., G) - Walker scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had six assists in two Valpo wins last week. He had 10 points and three steals in the win over Milwaukee and 14 points and three steals in the win at UIC.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 10: Chrishawn Hopkins, Wright State
Nov. 17: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Nov. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 1: Bobby Hain, Youngstown State
Dec. 8: Jay Harris, UIC
Dec. 15: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Dec. 22: Carrington Love, Green Bay
Dec. 29: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Jan. 5: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Jan. 12: Trey Lewis, Cleveland State
Jan. 19: Trey Lewis, Cleveland State
Jan. 26: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 10: Justin Jordan, Milwaukee
Nov. 17: Paris Bass, Detroit
Nov. 24: Paris Bass, Detroit
Dec. 1: Nick Daniels, Oakland
Dec. 8: Grant Benzinger, Wright State
Dec. 15: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 22: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 29: Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso
Jan. 5: Paris Bass, Detroit
Jan. 12: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Jan. 19: Paris Bass, Detroit
Jan. 26: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
