Mid-American Conference

• Looking for someone to take the role of reigning MAC Player of the Year, Javon McCrea, junior forward Justin Moss has looked like he is up to the challenge through the first two games.  Moss averaged 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds as the Bulls split their two games this week.  In the season opener, Moss had 25 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs.  He went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.  On Sunday, Moss continued to play well despite the Bulls facing the number one team in the nation in the Kentucky Wildcats.  Moss had eight points and six rebounds, including a huge dunk over a Kentucky defender, giving the Bulls a lead heading into the half.  Through the first two games, Moss is a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

Sean Sellers, Ball State
Freshman • Forward • Greensburg, Ind. (Greensburg)
• Sean Sellers set a Ball State freshman record for most points in a debut performance with 26 in Friday’s season opener at Utah. He led all players in scoring against a Utes team ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and picked to finish second in the Pac-12. Sellers shot 8-for-13 from the floor, 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He helped Ball State stay within two possessions of Utah on the road through 35 minutes before the Utes pulled away late. Sellers scored 10 points in the first half and 16 in the second. His 26 points are the fifth-most ever by a Ball State freshman and the most since Bonzi Wells set the school’s freshman scoring record with 40 points against Ohio in March of 1995.

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Other Top Performances:

• Jake Kretzer, Akron: Led the Zips and tied for the game-high with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting (3-of-4 from 3-point range) … 11 of his 13 points came in the second half as he went 3-of-3 from the field, hitting all three e-point attempts, and adding three rebounds and going 2-of-2 at the charity stripe.

• Richaun Holmes, Bowling Green: Holmes totaled 12 points, five blocks and four rebounds in the Falcons’ 77-58 season opening win at Drake on Saturday afternoon. The senior forward was 4-of-6 from the floor overall and went 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line. He also went 2-of-2 from the free throw line as well in 21 minutes of play. Holmes also added an assist and one steal in the road win to put BGSU at 1-0 to start the season.

• Chris Fowler, Central Michigan: In Central Michigan’s 106-64 season opening win over Alma College, junior guard Chris Fowler picked up where he left off a year ago when he ranked in the top three in the MAC in four major statistical categories. Fowler notched the third double-double of his career to lead the Chippewas, posting 12 points and 11 assists to go along with two steals and one rebound in just 24 minutes of play. Fowler, who has started all 63 games of his career, totaled double digit assists for the fourth time in his career and has reached double figures in scoring in 19 of his last 20 games.

• Karrington Ward, Eastern Michigan: Ward lived up to his preseason All-MAC nomination as he led the Eagles to a season-opening victory over Saint Francis, Nov. 14. The senior swingman shot 7-of-15 from the floor for 16 points, including a thunderous slam on an alley-oop, to pace the Green and White in scoring. Ward posted a team-best eight rebounds and dished out a pair of assists as well in 30 minutes of play. Ward also showed his leadership ability on the defensive end of the floor, swiping three steals and rejecting two shots, both team highs.

• Jimmy Hall, Kent State: Hall scored 12 of his team-high 14 points after halftime of his much-anticipated Kent State debut as the Golden Flashes pulled away to defeat Youngstown State, 69-61, Saturday night at the Beeghly Center. After being limited to just 10 minutes of action in the first half due to foul trouble, Hall made an immediate impact coming out of the locker with two baskets in the opening two minutes to give the Flashes an 8-poiny lead.

• Will Sullivan, Miami: Will Sullivan poured in a game-high 21 points to lead four RedHawk scorers in double figures to lift Miami to a 76-63 season-opening win over Southern Utah on Sunday. Sullivan was perfect from the field in the second half, going 5-for-5 from the floor all coming from 3-point range. His shooting sparked Miami to a 65-percent shooting effort from the field and a scorching 70-percent performance from 3-point range in the second half, which propelled the RedHawks to over 50 percent shooting from both for the game. Sullivan was 6-of-8 from 3-point range for the game (.750) and 7-of-9 from the floor (.778). His six 3-pointers tied for 10th on Miami’s single season list. It also was the fourth 20-point scoring effort for Sullivan.

• Jordan Threloff, Northern Illinois: Threloff led NIU with a game-high 17 points and 16 rebounds at the Huskies defeated Aurora, 86-56, in the season opener (Nov. 15). Threloff dominated the paint against the Spartans, going 6-of-8 from the field in just 21 minutes of action. Threloff grabbed 10 of his 16 rebounds on the defensive end while adding a half-dozen on the offensive end of the floor. The senior from DeKalb also went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and recorded a blocked shot.

• Ryan Taylor, Ohio: Taylor totaled a game-high 21 points off of 9-of-13 shooting in his collegiate debut to help power the Ohio men’s basketball team (1-0) to a 73-47 season-opening victory over Appalachian State (0-1) last Saturday (Nov. 15) at the Convocation Center. Taylor also distributed a team-high four assists and hauled in three rebounds. His 21 points marked the first time a Bobcat scored at least 20 points in his first career game since Ivo Baltic put up 20 against Ohio Valley in 2009.

• Nathan Boothe, Toledo: Boothe tied his career high with 19 points and shared team rebounding honors with six boards in the Rockets’ 71-58 season-opening victory over Northern Arizona. Boothe was nearly perfect in his outing, knocking down 7-of-9 shots (including one three-pointer) and all four of his free-throw attempts. Boothe’s trey with 7:10 to play gave the Rockets a 50-41 advantage and ignited a 14-3 spurt that put the Lumberjacks away.

• Austin Richie, Western Michigan: Richie was on fire in the Broncos’ 103rd season opener, making his first six shots of the game as well as all five of his three-point attempts to set a new career-high in scoring and help WMU defeat Aquinas 87-57.  Richie went a sizzling 10-of-11 from the field, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range to score 28 points against the Saints, setting a new career-high (previous career high was 22, set twice).  The 5-of-5 night from three-point range makes him one of just four WMU players all-time to be perfect from beyond the arc with a minimum of five attempts in a single game, and his field goal percentage of 90.9 percent with a minimum of 10 field goal attempts is one of just six such performances in program history.