YSU's Perry, Valpo's Peters Collect Men's Basketball Honors

Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Release (Nov. 11, 2013)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State senior guard Kendrick Perry (Ocoee, Fla./Edgewater) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Valparaiso freshman forward Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Nov. 4-11. The award is the fourth of Perry’s career and first for Peters.

Youngstown State (3-0) captured the championship of the Kennesaw State Tournament, becoming the lone team in college basketball to record three wins over the weekend. The Penguins rolled past the host Owls, 73-57, before knocking off Florida International, 74-72, in overtime, before holding off Eastern Kentucky, 75-67, to claim the title.

Valparaiso (2-0) raised its 2013 Horizon League championship banners on Friday night ahead of a 77-74 win over Murray State to open the year. The Crusaders rolled past visiting North Park on Sunday, 113-50.

Perry opened the KSU tournament with a 20-point output against Kennesaw State, leading all scorers and adding seven rebounds and five assists. Despite struggling with foul trouble versus Florida International, Perry posted 15 points and five assists in the overtime win.

Playing his third game in less than 72 hours, Perry went 11-for-19 from the floor, finishing with 31 points in addition to nine rebounds and seven assists as the Penguins moved to 3-0 for the second straight year with the win over Eastern Kentucky. With 66 points in the three games, Perry moved into 15th on the YSU career scoring ledger with 1,375 career points, good for 70th in Horizon League history.

The first freshman to start a season opener for Valparaiso since Erik Buggs and D’Andre Haskins in 2008, Peters went 5-for-11 from the floor, finishing with 12 points and tying for team-high honors with eight boards. Peters’ biggest shot of the night came with 4:36 left, as his 3-point play pushed Valpo’s lead to six with 4:20 remaining.

In 20 minutes on Sunday, Peters scored nine points while corralling four rebounds.

Youngstown State will host Warren Wilson in its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7:05 p.m. ET, live on the Horizon League Network. The Penguins will wrap the week at Massachusetts on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. In its lone game of the week, Valparaiso will make a midweek trip to #--/rv Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on BTN.

Top Performers for the Week:

• Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State (So., G) - Spurred Cleveland State’s comeback win over Iona, knocking down four 3-pointers en route to a 22-point effort in the 73-69 win. 17 of Forbes’ points came in the second half.
• Anton Grady, Cleveland State (So., F) - In his first game back on the court since a season-ending injury last November, Grady returned with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Grady added three blocks and three assists.
• Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (So., F) - In his Division I debut, Tiby tallied 21 points and eight rebounds. The performance was the best debut offensive performance for the Panthers since the 2006-07 season.
• AJ Pacher, Wright State (Sr., F) - Put forth a perfect effort from the floor, going 9-for-9 en route to 21 points in Wright State’s season-opening win. The forward nearly put up a point per minute, recording his total in just 22 minutes of action.
• Vince Garrett, Green Bay (Sr., G) - In his debut with Green Bay, Garrett led the Phoenix in scoring in a 71-49 win over Northern Michigan. Recording 11 of his 15 points after the half, Garrett went 6-for-7 from the floor, including a highlight-reel worthy put-back dunk.
• Marc Brown, UIC (Jr., G) - In UIC’s home opener, Brown paced the Flames offensively, posting his first 20-point effort since Nov. 23, 2011, going 6-of-12 from the floor and recording 20 points against Drake.
• Jordan Coleman, Valparaiso (Sr., G) - In Valparaiso’s 77-74 win over Murray State, Coleman recorded a team-high 16 points, adding eight rebounds in the victory. On the week, Coleman averaged 15.0 ppg as the Crusaders opened the year 2-0.
• Jerran Young, Wright State (Sr., F) - Coming off the bench for the Raiders, Young posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Young added three assists, three steals and three blocks in 27 minutes.
• Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit (Jr., F) - Howard posted his first career double-double in Friday’s loss at South Alabama, leading the Titans with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Six of Howard’s rebounds were on the offensive end of the court, helping Detroit grab 26 offensive boards in the game.