MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Malvern, OH (St. Vincent-St. Mary)
Graves led Buffalo with 24 points in their 88-77 victory over William & Mary on Saturday afternoon as UB improved to 5-2 on the seasons. Graves went 10-of-16 from the floor and hit three big three pointers, including back-to-back three which ignited a game-changing 8-0 run. Graves added a pair of rebounds and a season-best five assists. He leads Buffalo in scoring at 17.7 points per game.
Jordan Dartis, Ohio, Guard
Redshirt Senior, Newark, Ohio
Dartis led the Bobcats this week in Ohio's 91-81 victory over Detroit Mercy on Saturday, to help improve the Bobcats to 5-3 overall on the season.In that game, Dartis scored 26 points, 18 of which came within the first four minute of the game. Overall, Dartis finished the day 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range, and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. Dartis also grabbed two rebounds and dished out one assist while playing all 40 minutes on the court.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Warren, Mich. (Warren HS)
McKay continued his high-level of play of late this week, as Central Michigan went 1-1. McKay averaged 19.5 points, while shooting .667 from the field and .909 from the line, and 7.5 rebounds. On Tuesday, in Chicago versus undefeated DePaul, McKay helped the Chippewas build an 18-point halftime lead, finally finishing with 15 points, on 5-of-7 shooting, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. On Saturday, against Youngstown State, McKay notched his 14th career double-double, scoring a game-high 24 points while collecting 11 rebounds. Also adding 2 steals and 2 assists, he shot .643 from the field overall (9-14), 1.000 (1-1) from 3-point range and 1.000 (5-5) from the free throw line. McKay is tied for the CMU team-lead in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game, and ranks second in the MAC in field goal percentage (.606). He recently moved into the top 10 on the CMU career steals list and is just 31 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.
Other Top Performances
Tyler Cheese, Akron, Guard
Senior Albany, Ga.
Cheese led Akron past Merrimack 64-47 as the Zips recorded their fifth win at home to stay undefeated. Cheese was the Zips’ leading scorer with 20 points, marking his third 20-point performance of the season and sixth time scoring in double figures. He shot 7-of-15 from the field (.467) which included a 1-of-2 effort from deep. In addition, Cheese knocked down 5-of-6 free throws, dished out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and had one steal.
Ishmael El-Amin, Ball State, Guard
Junior, Minneapolis, Minn.
El-Amin scored a career-high 21 points and knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers against Western Illinois in Ball State's only game last week. He hit 5-of-9 from beyond the arc to raise his 3-point percentage to .462 for the season. El-Amin is averaging 13.9 points per game for the year, second-best on the Ball State team and more than eight points per game better than his career average entering the season.
Nike Sibande, Miami, Guard
Junior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Crispus Attucks)
Sibande was Miami's leading scorer for the week at the Gulf Coast Classic in Estero, Fla. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, leading the RedHawks in both categories. In the RedHawks' win against defending MVC Champion Drake on Monday, Sibande had his first double-double of the season, leading Miami with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He followed that up with 13 points and two assists against Sun Belt favorite South Alabama on Tuesday. Sibande finished the week with a team-high 20 points against Wright State on Wednesday.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German scored a game-high 21 points, along with three assists, three steals and two rebounds, as NIU dominated Oakland, 74-50, in its lone game of the week. The senior guard played a team-high 30 minutes as the Huskies earned their sixth consecutive victory with their 24-point win over the Golden Grizzlies. German has scored in double figures in all six games during the winning streak, including five games of 20-plus points during NIU’s longest winning streak in four seasons.
Luke Knapke, Toledo, Center
Senior, Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local)
Knapke led Toledo to a 65-63 victory over Oakland on Saturday night by scoring a team-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and also blocked a pair of shots to move within three rejections of the Rockets’ school record for blocked shots in a career. Knapke played a key role at the start of the second half by scoring seven quick points to extend the Rockets’ lead to 48-40 for Toledo’s largest point advantage of the evening.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
Redshirt Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
Johnson scored in double figures in both games over the week and led the Broncos with 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. In the first game of the 2019 NIT Season Tip-Off, Johnson was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line as the forward registered 12 points and six rebounds vs. Yale. Johnson followed up that performance the following day with a 19-point, nine rebound effort vs. Seattle. Johnson’s 19 points led WMU and was two shy of his career-high. Against Seattle, Johnson played 34 minutes and was 7-of-15 from the field while knocking down one three-pointer.
