INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso senior forward Ryan Broekhoff (Frankston, Victoria, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Valparaiso junior forward Bobby Capobianco [Loveland, Ohio/Loveland (Indiana)] and Wright State junior forward Jerran Young [Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill (McLennan CC)] have been named the co-Newcomers of the Week, for the week of Feb. 4-10. The award is the third for Broekhoff this season, while Young is collecting the honor for the second time this season and Capobianco for the first time in his career.
Valparaiso (19-6, 9-2 Horizon) rolled to two victories last week, increasing its Horizon League lead to 1.5 games after an 86-61 win over UIC and an 80-72 road victory at Cleveland State. Wright State (17-8, 8-4 Horizon) jumped back into a tie for second place on the League ladder after a 3-0 week, rallying for a 62-59 win over Loyola before snaring a 70-68 double overtime victory at Green Bay. The Raiders wrapped the week with a 64-49 triumph at Milwaukee.
Broekhoff carried Valparaiso with 22 points and six rebounds in the Crusaders’ 25-point win over UIC, knocking down five three-pointers in the first half en route to 19 points. The junior capped the half with a 30-foot three at the horn to cap a personal 9-0 burst to close the half. In Saturday’s win, Broekhoff led five Crusaders in double figures with 15 points, knocking down three three-pointers.
On the year, Broekhoff’s 16.8 points per game ranks second in the League, while his 8.0 rebounds per game is second. Hitting three-pointers at a 45.5 percent clip, Broekhoff is second in the conference. The senior’s 125.3 offensive rating ranks 32nd in the country, per Ken Pomeroy, while his 1.32 points per weighted shot is tied for 19th nationally.
Capobianco came off the bench to play 28 minutes against UIC, tallying 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists; the effort made the junior the first player in Division I to reach those marks off the bench in nearly five years. Against Cleveland State, Capobianco posted 13 points in just 13 minutes. On the week, Capobianco was 7-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.
Young posted three consecutive games in double figures for Wright State, all off the bench. In both comeback wins, the junior posted 11 points, going 5-for-6 against Loyola before supplementing his scoring with five rebounds, two blocks and two steals against Green Bay. Young led all scorers with 18 points at Milwaukee, going 7-of-11 from the floor, including a 3-of-5 effort from three-point range.
With two wins this week, Valparaiso can clinch a share of the Horizon League regular-season title; the Crusaders will have to go through the teams tied for second in the standings, as Wright State hosts the Crusaders on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. EST, with the Horizon League Network providing coverage. Valparaiso will close the week welcoming Detroit (16-9, 8-4 Horizon) on Saturday, Feb. 16, as part of ESPN’s Rivalry Week. The Crusaders and Titans will tip at 6 p.m. EST before an ESPN2 audience.
Top Performers for the Week:
Devon Long, Cleveland State (Jr., F) - Erupted for a career-high 23 points in the Vikings’ 66-60 win over Youngstown State.
Ray McCallum, Detroit (Jr., G) - Tallied a season-high 30 points at Green Bay, giving him 14 games in which he has scored 20 or more points.
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay (So., G) - Scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead Green Bay to a key 68-59 win over Detroit.
Christian Thomas, Loyola (So., F) - Extended his string of consecutive game with 10 or more points to nine by scoring 13 points at Wright State ahead of 19 at Youngstown State.
Daniel Barnes, UIC (Sr., G) - Recorded back-to-back double-digit scoring outputs, posting 12 points at Valparaiso ahead of his 20 against Youngstown State.
Cole Darling, Wright State (Jr., F) - Led Wright State in scoring twice, going for 17 against Loyola before an 18-point effort at Milwaukee.
Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (Jr., G) - Scored a game-high 29 points against UIC, moving into 19th on the YSU scoring chart with 1,206 career points.
Top Newcomers for the Week:
Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Scored a career-high 24 points versus Valparaiso, the most by a Cleveland State player this season.
Jordan Fouse, Green Bay (Fr., F) - In averaging a double-double, set a new Green Bay Division I record for rebounds by a freshman, grabbing 22 on the week to reach 191 on the year.
Devon Turk, Loyola (Fr., G) - Became Loyola’s freshman record-holder for three-pointers, knocking down seven to reach 49 on the season.
Josh Crittle, UIC (Sr., C) - Recorded his second double-double of the season, dominating the low block at YSU with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Kamren Belin, Youngstown State (Jr., F) - Scored in double figures in all three of YSU’s games last week, scoring 14 versus UIC after consecutive 11-point efforts.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 12: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Nov. 19: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Nov. 26: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Gary Talton, UIC
Dec. 3: Cole Darling, Wright State
Dec. 10: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Dec. 17: Daniel Barnes, UIC
Dec. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 31: Ray McCallum, Detroit
Jan. 7: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Jan. 14: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Jan. 21: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
Jan. 28: Alec Brown, Green Bay
Feb. 4: Nick Minnerath, Detroit
Feb. 11: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Week:
Nov. 12: Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee
Bobby Hain, Youngstown State
Nov. 19: JT Yoho, Wright State
Nov. 26: Josh Crittle, UIC
Dec. 3: Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State
Dec. 10: Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit
Dec. 17: Devon Turk, Loyola
LaVonte Dority, Valparaiso
Dec. 24: Jerran Young, Wright State
Dec. 31: Cully Payne, Loyola
Jan. 7: Josh Crittle, UIC
Jan. 14: Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State
Jan. 21: Jordan Fouse, Green Bay
Jan. 28: Kamren Belin, Youngstown State
Feb. 4: Kamren Belin, Youngstown State
Feb. 11: Bobby Capobianco, Valparaiso
Jerran Young, Wright State
Tags: Horizon League - Men's Basketball · Valparaiso - Men's Basketball · Wright State - Men's Basketball
