INDIANAPOLIS -- Shooting 64 percent from three-point range, Youngstown State senior forward DuShawn Brooks (Chicago, Ill./Thornton) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 4. The accolade is the first of Brooks’s career, while the senior is the first player from Youngstown State to collect the honors since Jan. 11, 2010.
Helping Youngstown State (5-3, 1-1 Horizon) open with a road split in the first weekend of Horizon League play, Brooks averaged 20.5 points per game, knocking down 9-of-14 three-point attempts as the Penguins knocked off Detroit, 64-61, before suffering a 63-62 defeat at Wright State on Saturday.
In the conference-opening victory at Detroit, Brooks carried Youngstown State down the stretch, scoring 11 straight points to turn a five-point deficit into a late lead. In the spurt, Brooks knocked down three attempts from long distance, finishing the game 6-of-9 from three-point range. Brooks’s 24 points in the win were a career high.
The senior followed up the effort by going 3-for-5 from three-point range en route to 17 points on Saturday. On the week, Brooks went 16-for-26 from the field.
Through the first month of the season, Brooks is part of a Youngstown State offense that is leading the Horizon League in three-point shooting, attempting 23.6 threes per game. The Penguins are knocking down a League-best 39.4 percent of those attempts.
Returning to non-conference play, Youngstown State welcomes Fredonia State to the Beeghly Center on Tuesday, Dec. 6 for a 7:45 p.m. ET tip. The game will be carried live on the Horizon League Network. On Saturday, the Penguins travel to Buffalo, N.Y., for a 7 p.m. ET game against the MAC’s Buffalo.
Top Performers for the Week:
-- Kameron Woods, Butler (Fr., F) - The freshman turned in his first two career double-doubles last week with dual 10-point, 11-rebound efforts against Oakland City and Valparaiso. Making the first two starts of his short tenure with the Bulldogs, Woods added four blocks during the week.
-- Tim Kamczyc, Cleveland State (Jr., F) - Leading Cleveland State in scoring in both of the Vikings’ wins this weekend, Kamczyc averaged 12.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg. In Thursday’s 45-43 win at Wright State, Kamczyc was the lone player in double figures, finishing with 12 points; the junior followed up the performance with a team-best 12 points as Cleveland State started the conference season 2-0 for the second straight year.
-- Ray McCallum, Detroit (So., G) - McCallum recorded his first double-double of the year on Thursday, leading Detroit with 21 points and 10 rebounds against Youngstown State. In a 66-61 setback to Cleveland State on Saturday, McCallum finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
-- Alec Brown, Green Bay (So., C) - Brown controlled the paint for Green Bay, helping the Phoenix start Horizon League play 2-0. The sophomore led Green Bay with 17 points and seven boards in a three-point win over UIC and then put up 14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals as the Phoenix took down Loyola, 57-47.
-- Walt Gibler, Loyola (Sr., F) - With 13 points at Milwaukee and 18 against Green Bay, Gibler notched his first back-to-back games scoring in double figures in nearly a year. Gibler’s 18 points were his highest total since the season opener on Nov. 11, when he scored 19.
-- Kyle Kelm, Milwaukee (So., F) - Kelm led Milwaukee in scoring as the Panthers opened Horizon League play 2-0 in getting off to its best start as a Division I program. On Saturday, Kelm posted a career-best 18 points to lead UWM to a 73-71 overtime win over UIC.
-- Gary Talton, UIC (Jr., G) - In a pair of one-possession losses to open League play, Talton posted two double-digit scoring efforts, scoring 14 points and handing out four assists. Talton bested the output on Saturday, scoring a career-high 18 points and grabbing five boards.
-- Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso (Jr., F) - Broekhoff recorded his Horizon League-leading fourth double-double of the season on Saturday, helping push Valparaiso past Butler, 77-71, on Saturday, the Crusaders’ first win at Hinkle Fieldhouse since 1988. Broekhoff finished the game with 13 points and a game-high 12 boards.
-- Julius Mays, Wright State (Jr., G) - Mays led Wright State to its first Horizon League win of the year with 19 points against Youngstown State.
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
