INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso senior center Vashil Fernandez (Kingston, Jamaica/ Princeton Day [Md.] Academy) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Northern Kentucky freshman forward Drew McDonald (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week.
The defending Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year was exceptionally efficient on the offensive end of the floor last week to garner his first career Horizon League Player of the Week honor.
Fernandez opened the week with a 14-point, nine-rebound effort in the Crusaders’ 68-56 win over Milwaukee. The senior center connected on 6-of-7 field goal attempts in the victory. He added two blocked shots in the win as he anchored the Valpo defense that held Milwaukee to a season-low 56 points.
On Saturday, Fernandez again was 6-of-7 from the field as he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in Valpo’s 85-70 win over Green Bay. He added five blocks in the victory and Valpo held Green Bay to a season-low tying 32.4 percent field goal percentage.
For the week, Fernandez averaged a double-double at 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He shot an HL-best 85.7 percent from the field (12-of-14) and his seven offensive rebounds were the most of any player in the HL last week.
Valparaiso (15-3, 5-0) hits the hardwood three times this week with all three contests on the road. The Crusaders play at Youngstown State Monday night before heading to Wright State on Friday and Northern Kentucky on Sunday.
McDonald captured his second Freshman of the Week honor in three weeks after helping lead Northern Kentucky to its first Horizon League win on Thursday. McDonald scored 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting in just 17 minutes in NKU’s 84-64 win over Youngstown State on Thursday. He added five rebounds and a steal and blocked shot in the victory. For the week, McDonald averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games.
Northern Kentucky is back in action on Tuesday night when it plays at Oakland. The Norse return home on Friday night to face UIC before closing the weekend on Sunday with a visit from Valparaiso.
Top Performers for the Week:
Paris Bass, Detroit (So., G/F) - Bass tallied 20 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six assists, along with three blocks, against Oakland on Saturday. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season.
Grant Benzinger, Wright State (So., G) - Benzinger averaged 15 points per game last week and led the Raiders in scoring in their win over Cleveland State and tied for the team lead in the win over Youngstown State. He was 10-of-19 from the field for the week, including 7-of15 from three-point range. He hit five three-pointers in the win over CSU.
Paris Burns, UIC (Sr., G) - Burns scored a season-high 19 points against Milwaukee on Saturday. He was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the second half, scoring 14 points. For the week, he averaged 17 points and shot 65 percent (13-of-20) from the field.
Kenny Carpenter, Cleveland State (So., G) - Carpenter came off the bench to average 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in helping CSU split a pair of road games last week. He shot 11-of-16 from the field in the two games, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. He scored a career-high 18 points with five rebounds and three assists on Saturday in the win over Northern Kentucky.
Kay Felder, Oakland (Jr., G) - Felder scored 22 points, passed out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds in Oakland’s Metro Series win over Detroit on Saturday. It was his 11th game of the season with nine or more assists and fifth game with six or more rebounds. Felder has scored 20 or more points in every game this season.
Cameron Morse, Youngstown State (So., G) - Morse averaged 23.5 points per game while shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field, 50 percent (4-of-8) from three-point range and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free-throw line. He scored 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting against Northern Kentucky and scored 18 points versus Wright State. Morse has scored at least 18 points in seven consecutive games and has scored in double figures 15 times this season, including 13 straight.
Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (Sr., F) - Tiby paced the Panthers in a 1-1 week, averaging a near double-double of 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in the two games. He shot 50 percent from the floor, 67 percent on three-pointers and 91 percent from the foul line. He led Milwaukee with 23 points in the win over UIC and had a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards at Valparaiso.
Tyler White, Northern Kentucky (Sr., G) - White averaged 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in two games last week. White had 20 points, a career-high nine rebounds and six assists in NKU’s win over Youngstown State on Thursday. The win was NKU’s first-ever in the Horizon League. He had 17 points, six rebounds, a career-high eight assists and tied his career-high with four steals on Saturday against Cleveland State.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Michael Kolawole, UIC (Fr., G) - Kolawole scored a career-high 11 points versus Milwaukee on Saturday. He also grabbed a career-high six rebounds against the Panthers. He shot 53.8% (7-of-13) from the field for the week.
Josh McFolley, Detroit (Fr., G) - McFolley recorded nine points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals against Oakland in his Metro Series debut.
