INDIANAPOLIS -- Carrying Valparaiso into a tie for second place, junior forward Kevin Van Wijk (Hoofddorp, Netherlands/Katholieke Scholengemeenschap Hoofddorp) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Jan. 9-15. The accolade is the second of the year for Van Wijk, who also won on Nov. 21.
Controlling the post, Van Wijk led Valparaiso (12-7, 5-2 Horizon) to a 2-0 weekend in conference play, vaulting the Crusaders into a tie for second place in the League, one-half game behind Milwaukee (13-6, 6-1 Horizon). On Friday night, Van Wijk posted a career-best 23 points, going 7-for-14 from the floor and adding nine free throws as Valpo knocked off visiting Youngstown State, 76-62.
The junior saved his best performance for Sunday afternoon, matching his 23-point effort by going 10-of-13 from the field as the Crusaders held off Cleveland State, 72-66. Battling foul trouble most of the afternoon, Van Wijk spurred the game’s decisive 13-4 run with seven points late in the second half.
On the week, Van Wijk scored 46 points in 48 minutes of play, going 17-for-27 from the field. Van Wijk is presently 12th nationally in field goal percentage, hitting 60.8 percent of his attempts this year. As a team, Valparaiso is second in two-point field goal percentage, hitting on 57.4 percent of its attempts.
Valparaiso will take its shooting prowess on the road next weekend, making the short trip to Chicago for games against Loyola (5-12, 0-7 Horizon) and UIC (6-11, 2-5 Horizon). The Crusaders and Ramblers will meet on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. ET, with the Horizon League Network providing live coverage. HLN and Comcast SportsNet Chicago will bring fans the UIC-Valpo contest on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m. ET.
Top Performers for the Week:
-- Andrew Smith, Butler (Jr., F) - Going 10-of-16 from the floor on the weekend, Smith helped Butler rebound from a Friday night loss to Cleveland State with a team-high 20 points in the Bulldogs’ 71-55 win over Youngstown State. Smith also paced Butler in scoring with 13 points against the Vikings.
-- Tim Kamczyc, Cleveland State (Jr., F) - Kamczyc led Cleveland State to its first regular season win at Hinkle Fieldhouse since 2005, scoring 17 points in the Vikings’ 76-69 victory. The junior followed up the effort with a team-high 18 points at Valparaiso, his ninth double-digit scoring effort of the season. Kamczyc entered the year with nine such games in his career.
-- Ray McCallum, Detroit (So., G) - The sophomore paced Detroit in scoring as the Titans split their road trip to Wisconsin. In an 80-73 win over Green Bay, McCallum recorded 16 points and four assists, finishing the weekend with a team-best 23 points in Detroit’s loss to Milwaukee.
-- Alec Brown, Green Bay (So., C) - Brown moved into second place on the Green Bay career blocks ledger in grand fashion, recording a Horizon League single-game record 11 in the Phoenix’s 57-56 victory over Wright State. The sophomore narrowly missed a triple-double in the win, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds to go along with the blocks. On Thursday, Brown led Green Bay with 17 points and nine rebounds versus Detroit.
-- Walt Gibler, Loyola (Sr., F) - With 21 points in a 58-51 loss to UIC, Gibler extended his double-digit scoring streak to 11 games, moving within 37 points and 25 rebounds of becoming the 18th player in Loyola history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
-- Paris Gulley, Milwaukee (Jr., G) - Red-hot shooting helped Gulley match the highest points total in a Horizon League game this season, as the junior poured in 26 points in Milwaukee’s 84-74 win over Detroit. Over his last four games, Gulley is averaging nearly 16 points per game; Milwaukee is 5-1 on the year when he reaches double figures.
-- Daniel Barnes, UIC (Jr., G) - Barnes scored a team-high 18 points to lead UIC to a 58-51 victory over Chicago rival Loyola. Barnes knocked down six three-pointers in the game as the Flames snapped a four-game losing skid to the Ramblers.
-- Ashen Ward, Youngstown State (Sr., G) - The senior averaged 17.0 ppg on Youngstown State’s road trip to Valparaiso and Butler, pouring in a game-high 21 points in Sunday’s defeat to the Bulldogs. The output marked the third time in four games Ward has scored at least 20 points.
Men’s Basketball Players of the Week:
November 14: D’Aundray Brown, Cleveland State
November 21: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
November 28: James Haarsma, Milwaukee
December 5: DuShawn Brooks, Youngstown State
December 12: Trey Harmon, Cleveland State
December 19: Andrew Smith, Butler
December 26: Brennan Cougill, Green Bay
Julius Mays, Wright State
January 2: Damian Eargle, Youngstown State
January 9: Julius Mays, Wright State
Ashen Ward, Youngstown State
January 16: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso
Tags: Valparaiso - Men's Basketball
