YSU's Amiker, UIC's Birt Tabbed for Men's Basketball Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State junior forward Shawn Amiker (Oak Park, Mich./Ferndale) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while UIC guard Pat Birt (Plano, Texas/East) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Dec. 23-29. The award is the first for both Amiker and Birt.

Returning from the holiday break, Youngstown State (9-6) rolled in its final non-conference game, 85-59, over South Dakota. UIC (5-9) dropped a 74-61 contest at Colorado State on Dec. 23 and pushed #rv/rv Illinois at the United Center before falling, 74-60, on Dec. 28.

Amiker played just 18 minutes against South Dakota, but notched a career-high 20 points. Coming off the bench, Amiker went 8-of-9 from the floor while collecting a team-high seven rebounds.

Emerging as the Penguins’ sixth man, Amiker now has four games this year with 10 or more points off the bench and five total. The junior has posted consecutive double-digit scoring efforts for the second time this season after he scored 10 at St. John’s.

Becoming a mainstay in the UIC starting lineup, Birt had seven points in the Flames’ road loss against the Rams. All seven points came in the second half as UIC attempted to rally in Fort Collins, Colo. Against Illinois, Birt scored all nine of his points in the first half, helping UIC open a 10-point halftime lead. Among Horizon League freshman, Birt ranks third in scoring. 

Youngstown State will open Horizon League play in Wisconsin, taking on Milwaukee (10-4) at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 2, in a game carried on the Horizon League Network. The Penguins will wrap the trip at Green Bay (9-3) on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. ET, also on HLN. UIC has the shortest road trip in the conference this week, heading to Valparaiso (8-7) on Jan. 2. ESPN3 will carry the contest live at 8:05 p.m. ET.

Top Performers for the Week:

• Travis Bader, Oakland (Sr., G) - With 34 points in Oakland’s 87-66 victory over Defiance College, Bader eclipsed 2,000 points in his career. After knocking down seven 3-pointers, Bader now sits 29 3-pointers from breaking J.J. Redick’s NCAA career 3-pointer record (457).
• Kelsey Barlow, UIC (Sr., G) - Led UIC in scoring in both games last week, posting 20 points at Colorado State before recording 21 against Illinois. Barlow had 18 of those points in the first half against Illinois as the Flames opened a lead as big as 13 in the first half.
• Vashil Fernandez, Valparaiso (So., F) - Recorded his second career double-double at East Tennessee State, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Playing the entire second half, Fernandez posted 10 points and nine boards.
• Kahlil Felder, Oakland (Fr., G) - Finishing with 10 assists and six rebounds against Defiance College, Felder posted career highs in both categories. The 10 assists matched the most in the Horizon League this season.
• Vincent Garrett, Green Bay (Sr., G) - Posted career highs with 20 points and nine rebounds in Green Bay’s 91-41 win over St. Francis (Ill.). Garrett finished the game 8-of-11 from the floor and knocked down 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point range.
• Anton Grady, Cleveland State (So., F) - Helped Cleveland State go 2-0 last week by averaging 15.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Grady started the week with 19 points and five rebounds against La Roche before scoring eight of his 12 points against Kent State in the second half, helping the Vikings to a 78-70 road win.
• AJ Pacher, Wright State (Sr., F) - Finished one rebound shy of a double-double in Wright State’s 46-43 win over Bowling Green with 14 points and nine boards. The 14 points marked Pacher’s first double-figure scoring game since Dec. 15.
• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State (Sr., G) - After a 17-point effort in YSU’s 26-point win over South Dakota, Perry sits 200 points from matching the Penguins’ Division I scoring record of 1,821.

Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 11: Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Nov. 18: Steve McWhorter, Milwaukee
                Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Nov. 25: Alec Brown, Green Bay
Dec. 2: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 9: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 16: Kelsey Barlow, UIC
Dec. 23: Travis Bader, Oakland
                Alec Brown, Green Bay
Dec. 30: Shawn Amiker, Youngstown State

Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 11: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Nov. 18: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Nov. 25: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Dec. 2: Lexus Williams, Valparaiso
Dec. 9: Matthew Grant, Detroit
Dec. 16: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Dec. 23: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Dec. 30: Pat Birt, UIC