Valparaiso's Wood Tallies Second Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award of Season

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Jan. 17, 2011)

Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Brandon Wood, Valpraiso
Junior, Guard
Kokomo, Ind.

INDIANAPOLIS – Valparaiso junior guard Brandon Wood (Kokomo, Ind.) has been named Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week beginning Jan. 10.  The honor is the second of the year for Wood, who was co-player of the week on Dec. 27.

With road victories at Wright State and Detroit, Valparaiso (14-5, 6-1 Horizon) climbed into sole possession of first place in the Horizon League as the conference schedule nears the halfway point.

Down 29-17 with just over six minutes to play in the first half, Wood spurred a 32-14 run over the course of 12 minutes, pouring in 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting during the span, leading the Crusaders to a 71-60 victory.  The junior finished the contest with a game-high 26 points.

The victory was the fifth victory for the Crusaders this season when trailing by 10 or more points.

On Saturday, Wood made sure Valpo would not fall into the same hole, helping the Crusaders score on 11 straight possessions in the first half to build a 10-point lead they would not relinquish the rest of the afternoon in a 78-68 triumph over the Titans.  Wood wrapped up the contest with a team-high 17 points, four rebounds and four steals.

For the week, the Kokomo, Ind.-native averaged 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists; Wood knocked down 19-of-31 field goal attempts in the two-game stretch.

ESPN3.com will carry Valparaiso’s next contest, a 7 p.m. ET tip against Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 21 from the Athletics-Recreation Center.  The Crusaders will host Green Bay on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. ET.

Top Performers for the Week:
Andrew Smith, Butler (So., F) - Smith recorded consecutive 15-point performances as Butler split its road trip to Detroit and Wright State.  Leading Butler to a win at Calihan Hall, the 6’11” post added six rebounds and two blocks in 26 minutes of the 23-point win.  Smith led the Bulldogs with 15 points and eight rebounds in a five-point setback to the Raiders.

Norris Cole, Cleveland State (Sr., G) - On a night in which Cleveland State struggled from the field, Cole carried the Vikings to a 61-51 victory at Youngstown State with 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Registering his 10th 20-point game of the season, Cole moved from seventh to fifth on the CSU career scoring list with 1,589 points.

Nick Minnerath, Detroit (Jr., F) - Registering his first career double-double on Sunday, Minnerath tallied career highs with 23 points and 12 rebounds.  The point total was Minnerath’s third 20-point performance of his career.

Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay (Sr., G) - Fletcher led Green Bay to its third and fourth straight wins this weekend, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half as the Phoenix held off Loyola on Thursday and tallying 17 of his game-high 20 in the first half of a 74-50 win over UIC.  The senior knocked down 53.8 percent of his attempts from three-point range, going 7-of-13.

Geoff McCammon, Loyola (Sr., G) - McCammon helped Loyola split its Wisconsin road trip, averaging 16 points and shooting 12-of-18 from the field.  In Loyola’s comeback victory over Milwaukee, McCammon led all players with 21 points, making the Ramblers 8-2 when he goes over 20 points.

Kaylon Williams, Milwaukee (Jr., G) - Knocking down four three-pointers in each of his two games last week, Williams led Milwaukee, averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.  The junior dished out six assists and tallied 17 points in the Panthers’ win over UIC and finished with 14 points and seven assists agaisnt Loyola.

N’Gai Evans, Wright State (Sr., G) - With a career-high 26 points on Sunday, Evans helped Wright State gain a split of the weekend with a five-point decision over Butler.  Evans added four rebounds, four assists and two steals 48 hours after leading the Raiders with 19 points in a loss to Valparaiso.

Damian Eargle, Youngstown State (So., F) - Falling three total rebounds shy of back-to-back double-doubles, Eargle led the Penguins to a 1-1 record last week, recording 16 points and nine rebounds in a 25-point victory over Wilberforce and finishing with 20 points and eight boards against Cleveland State.