INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso junior forward Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Youngstown State sophomore guard Cameron Morse (Flint, Mich./Carman-Ainsworth) have been named Co-Horizon League Men’s Basketball Players of the Week, while UIC freshman forward Dikembe Dixson (Freeport, Ill./Mingo Central) has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week.
Peters recorded double-doubles in both of Valparaiso’s wins last week to claim his first Player of the Week honor this season. The junior forward opened the weekend with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Crusaders won at Oakland, 84-67.
On Sunday, Peters had a career-day as he matched Valpo’s modern-era scoring record with 39 points in the Crusaders 92-74 win at Detroit. He also set another career-high with 14 rebounds in the win as he now has five double-doubles in the last seven games.
For the week, Peters averaged 27.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in two Valparaiso wins. He shot 60 percent (18-of-30) from the field and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the foul line.
Valparaiso (13-3, 3-0) returns home this week and will host Milwaukee (12-5, 3-1) on Thursday and Green Bay (10-6, 3-1) on Saturday.
Morse garnered his first Horizon League Player of the Week honor of his career after averaging 29.3 points per game in YSU’s three contests last week. Morse began the week with 23 points as the Penguins won on a last second tip-in at Oakland, 100-98. After scoring 18 points versus Milwaukee on Thursday, Morse exploded for 44 points on Saturday as YSU handed Green Bay its first League loss of the season, 103-93. The sophomore guard hit 13 of his 18 field goal attempts, including three three-pointers, while tying a school-record with 15 made free throws. The 44 points are the most scored by a Horizon League player this season and rank ninth on the single game scoring chart in YSU history.
Youngstown State (7-10, 2-2) is back in action on Thursday when it plays at Northern Kentucky and closes the weekend at Wright State on Saturday.
Dixson captured his fourth Freshman of the Week honor this season after averaging 25.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in UIC’s two games last week. He matched his career-high with 28 points at Oakland on Sunday. On Friday, he scored 22 points in the Flames loss at Detroit. He added 13 rebounds and four steals for the week. Dixson scored 38 of his 50 points in the second half of UIC’s games.
After playing its first three Horizon League games on the road, UIC returns home for the first time in 2016 as it hosts Green Bay on Thursday and Milwaukee on Saturday.
Top Performers for the Week:
Mark Alstork, Wright State (So., G) - Alstork led Wright State in scoring in both of its games last week. He averaged 17.5 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game, while also adding four blocked shots and three steals.
Paris Bass, Detroit (So., G/F) - Bass recorded two double-doubles in three games last week and averaged 20.3 points for the week. He tied his career-high with 28 points and recorded 13 rebounds, four steals and three blocks in the win over Cleveland State on Monday. He added 17 points in the win over UIC and had 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against Valparaiso on Sunday.
Kay Felder, Oakland (Jr., G) - Felder averaged 23.0 points, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals in three Golden Grizzlies games last week. He scored 23 points and tied his career-high with 14 assists versus Youngstown State on Monday.
Lavone Holland II, Northern Kentucky (So., G) - Holland scored a career-high 19 points at Milwaukee on Monday, adding eight rebounds and four assists in the contests. He had eight points, four rebounds and two assists on Saturday against Wright State.
Akeem Springs, Milwaukee (Jr., G) - Springs averaged 18.0 points per game on 62.9% shooting in three UWM wins last week. He was 22-35 from the field, including 7-of-11 from three-point range in the three contests. He scored a career-high 33 points in the win at Youngstown State on Thursday. His 77.8% field goal percentage (14-18 FGs) in the game was the fourth-best in Milwaukee history.
Andre Yates, Cleveland State (Jr., G) - Yates averaged 15.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in CSU’s three games last week. He shot 56.3% (18-32) from the field over the three games.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Gerald Blackshear, Detroit (Fr., F) - Blackshear recorded back-to-back double-digit scoring games last week with 10 points in Detroit’s wins over Cleveland State and UIC. He grabbed six rebounds in games against the Flames and Valparaiso. He also registered two blocks against the Crusaders.
Rob Edwards, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Edwards averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in CSU’s three games last week. He scored a career-high 26 points at Detroit on Monday night and had 14 points against Milwaukee on Saturday. He went 5-for-9 from three-point range in the three games and was 8-of-10 at the free throw line.
JayQuan McCloud, Milwaukee (Fr., G) - McCloud averaged 9.3 ppg., in three UWM wins last week. He scored 10 points in the win over Northern Kentucky and had a season-high 13 points in the win at Youngstown State on Thursday.
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky (Fr., F) - McDonald tallied 14 points and seven rebounds at Milwaukee on Monday.
