MAC East Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Loren Cristian Jackson, Akron, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep)
Jackson had a historic week by establishing a new career-high scoring mark with red-hot shooting en route to collecting his 1,000th career point. He led the Zips to a pair of road wins over Miami (81-60) and Ohio (88-86) while averaging 27.5 points per game. Jackson shot a sizzling 70.0 percent from the field (21-of-30), including an incredible 78.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (11-of-14). He added 4.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. In the opening game the week against Miami, Jackson scored 20 points with a nearly flawless effort from deep, draining 4-of-5 (.800) triples and finishing 8-of-13 (.615) from the floor. He grabbed two rebounds, had a pair of assists and collected one steal. Jackson finished the week in extremely efficient fashion, posting a career-high 35 points on 17 shot attempts at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. He went 7-of-9 (.778) from downtown and 13-of-17 (.765) from the floor. Jackson buried both of his free throw attempts and dished out five assists with two rebounds and two steals.
MAC West Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Marreon Jackson, Toledo, Guard
Junior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Jackson continue his great start to conference play by leading the Rockets with 28.0 ppg and 6.5 apg to go along with 4.0 rpg in two games last week. He also shot 44.4 percent (16-of-36) from the field, 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from three-point range and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free-throw line. Jackson opened the week with a 29-point, seven-assist outing in an 83-74 victory at Ohio. He got the Rockets off to a great start in the contest by scoring 16 points points in the first half en route to a 35-28 advantage.The Cleveland, Ohio native then nearly helped Toledo rally from a 10-point second-half deficit against Bowling Green. He tallied a team-high 27 points and six assists along with five rebounds against the Falcons. Jackson scored 19 points in the final 12 minutes. Jackson ranks second in the MAC with 19.2 ppg in overall games and with 23.3 ppg in league contests.
Other Top Performances
Tahjai Teague, Ball State, Forward
Senior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
Teague scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds in Ball State’s only game last week at Central Michigan. It was his third double-double in the past four games and his seventh of the season. Teague also added five blocked shots against the Chippewas. He is averaging a double-double in MAC play at 17.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. The fifth-year senior moved into seventh on Ball State’s all-time rebounding list with 848 boards for his career.
Justin Turner, Bowling Green, Guard
Redshirt-Junior, Detroit, Mich. (Renaissance)
Turner led the Falcons to their third-consecutive 2-0 week by averaging 22.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in wins over Eastern Michigan (Jan. 21) and Toledo (Jan. 25). The native of Detroit shot 48.4 percent (16-of-33) from the floor, including a 4-for-8 (50.0 percent) mark from downtown. In a home win over Eastern Michigan to open the week, Turner posted 25 points (9-of-18 FG) and seven rebounds. Turner converted on 3-of-6 attempts from three-point range in the win. In BGSU's first win at Toledo since 2011, Turner scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half. Turner drilled a dagger three-pointer with under two minutes to go to help seal the victory for the Falcons. The BGSU guard has now scored 20-plus points in 33 games across his career.
Dallas Morgan, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior Peoria, Ill. (Moberly Area CC)
Morgan headlined Central Michigan in its big 71-66 home win over MAC West rival Ball State, helping the Chippewas move into a first-place tie with the Cardinals. Morgan scored a game-high 21 points, on a sizzling 9-of-14 (.643) shooting, and made 3 of his 5 3-point attempts. His personal 5-0 run late in the game, which included a clutch corner 3-pointer, stretched CMU's lead from 3 to 8 and effectively sealed the game for the Chippewas. Morgan also tallied a career-high 3 steals, part of CMU's fantastic defensive effort which forced the Cardinals into 28 turnovers. Morgan has emerged as one of Central's top long-range threats, totaling a team-best 50 3-pointers through 19 games.
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan, Center
Redshirt Senior, Dakar, Senegal (Phase One Academy)
Toure led the Eagles on both ends of the court last week as EMU dropped two close Mid-American Conference affairs. Toure averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and shot 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the field. The Dakar, Senegal native also contributed seven blocks and two steals. Toure notched a double-double (17 pts., 13 rebs.) and went 8-of-10 form the floor in a 62-59 loss at Bowling Green, Jan. 21. He swatted away a team-high three shots in 34 minutes of play against the Falcons. The redshirt senior posted another double-double, his seventh of the season, on Saturday, Jan. 25 with 16 points and 12 rebounds at Miami. Toure tied a career-high four blocks and played a team-high 37 minutes against the RedHawks. In MAC play, Toure leads the league with a 64.7 field-goal percentage (33-of-51) and is one-of-three players who are averaging a double-double.
Danny Pippen, Kent State, Forward
Junior, Detroit, Mich.
Pippen scored in double figures in his 18th game of the season after leading the Flashes in games against Northern Illinois and Buffalo this week. Against Northern Illinois, Pippen scored 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Pippen scored eight points in his first six minutes of the game. Pippen’s performance against Buffalo gave Kent State a direly needed victory, 70-66 snapping a three-game skid. He scored Kent State's final nine points, including a banked-in three and six consecutive free throws in the final minutes for the come behind win at Buffalo. Pippen scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-7 from 3-point range. Pippen was perfect from the charity stripe going 6-of-6.
Darius Beane, NIU, Guard
Sophomore, Carbondale, Ill. (Carbondale)
NIU sophomore guard Darius Beane averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as the Huskies swept a pair of games against Kent State (Jan. 21) and Western Michigan (Jan. 25). Beane, making his second career start, scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Golden Flashes as NIU handed Kent State its first home loss of the season, 76-69. The transfer from Southern Illinois then scored 11 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals as the Huskies topped Western Michigan, 58-52.
Jason Preston, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Orlando, Fla. (Boone)
Preston led the Bobcats offensively this past week. Overall, Preston averaged 21.0 points per game, while grabbing 5.5 rebounds. He dished out 8.5 assists per game, while going 18-of-32 (.563) from the field, 2-of-4 (.500) from three-point range and 4-of-5 (.800) from the free throw line. On Jan. 21 against Toledo Preston tied his career-high of 27 points, going 11-of-21 from the field, 1-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists and only committed one turnover. Preston was just as impressive on Jan. 25 against Akron, scoring 15 points while going 7-of-11 from the field and 1-of-1 from three-point range. He also grabbed four boards, dished out nine assists and once again, only committed one turnover.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
Redshirt Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
The Broncos were led this week by redshirt junior Brandon Johnson who averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds in contests against Buffalo and Northern Illinois. On Tuesday night Johnson led WMU with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Johnson also knocked down two three-pointers against the Bulls and corralled six rebounds. Against NIU on Saturday, Johnson had 12 points to go along with six rebounds for his seventh straight game scoring in double figures. The Chicago, Ill., native also had two blocks, marking the fourth time this season Johnson has recorded at least two blocks in a game.
