INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso sophomore forward Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Oakland freshman forward Jalen Hayes (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Dec. 15-21.
Peters earned his second Player of the Week nod this season after leading the Crusaders to two wins last week. On Saturday night, Peters entered halftime with three fouls and zero points scored as the Crusaders found themselves in a nine-point hole at IPFW. In the second half though, Peters scored 23 points to lead Valpo to a come-from-behind win, 75-72. The sophomore forward shot 8-of-13 from the field, including a 4-of-7 effort from the 3-point line, and 3-of-4 from the foul line. Peters’ 23 points in the second period were the most points by a Crusader over the final 20 minutes since Brandon Wood dropped 23 second-half points on Detroit in the 2011 Horizon League Championship.
Peters stayed hot on Sunday as he scored 13 points inside the game’s first five minutes against Goshen. He ended the night with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including four 3-pointers, in just 21 minutes of action.
For the week, Peters averaged 26.0 points per game as he scored 52 points in 48 minutes of action. He shot 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field, including 8-of-15 (53.3%) from three-point range.
Valparaiso (12-2) returns to action next Monday with a game at James Madison.
Hayes captured his first Freshman of the Week award after a stellar performance on Saturday at Pittsburgh. The freshman forward scored a season-best 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against the Panthers. He fouled out with 3:37 remaining and Oakland leading 70-67. Pitt would go on to force overtime and edged the Golden Grizzlies in overtime. Earlier in the week, Hayes made his first-ever start at No. 3 Arizona.
For the week, Hayes averaged 9.0 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and shot 80 percent (8-for-10) from the floor. He leads the team with a .625 field goal percentage.
Oakland continues its tough stretch of road games with a game at Clemson Monday night before playing at Maryland on Saturday.
Top Performers for the Week:
Marc Brown, UIC (Sr., G) - Brown scored a season-high 23 points versus UT-Martin last Monday. He returned to his hometown and scored 15 points at SMU.
Kahlil Felder, Oakland (So., G) - Felder posted consecutive 20+-games for the first time in his career last week. He averaged 21.5 points per game and 8.0 assists per game.
Jordan Fouse, Green Bay (Jr., F) - Fouse led the Phoenix with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in GB’s 66-46 win over UALR on Sunday. Fouse also grabbed nine rebounds in the game, including four on the offensive end. He also had nine rebounds in GB’s 66-50 win over Morehead State on Wednesday.
Bobby Hain, Youngstown State (Jr., C) - Hain led the Penguins to a 1-1 week with a pair of double-doubles. He scored a career-high 26 points and tied a career-best with 17 rebounds against Kennesaw State. He also posted 17 rebounds and had a career-high four blocks against Wilberforce.
Juwan Howard Jr., Detroit (Sr., F) - Howard Jr., averaged 21.0 points per game in two Titan games last week. He had a game-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting in UDM’s game at Central Florida on Wednesday.
Trey Lewis, Cleveland State (Jr., F) - Lewis averaged 19.3 points per game in three Vikings contests last week. he tied a CSU single game record with nine three-pointers in the win over Mount Vernon Nazarene on Monday, hitting 9-of-11 from three and scoring a career-high 32 points. He scored a game-high 18 points in the setback at #5 Virginia on Thursday.
Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (Jr., F) - Tiby scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in UWM’s game at SIU Edwardsville on Saturday night.
TJ Yoho, Wright State (Jr., F) - Yoho led the Raiders with his third career double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds in the win at Western Carolina on Thursday.
Top Freshman for the Week:
Paris Bass, Detroit (Fr., G/F) - Bass averaged 10.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in two UDM games. He scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds on Wednesday in UDM’s loss at Central Florida.
Justin Jordan, Milwaukee (Fr., G) - Jordan had eight points on 50 percent shooting and grabbed two rebounds and had one steal off-the-bench at SIU Edwardsville.
Tai Odiase, UIC (Fr., F/C) - Odiase scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had seven blocked shots in two games for the Flames last week.
Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso (Fr., G) - Walker scored eight points and had four assists with no turnovers in Valpo’s comeback win at IPFW on Saturday night. He scored 10 points and had four assists in the win over Goshen on Sunday.
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
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
Tags: Horizon League - Men's Basketball · Oakland - Men's Basketball · Valparaiso - Men's Basketball
