Kent State's Walker, CMU's DiLeo Named Players of the Week
MAC East Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Guard, Junior, Inkster, Mich.
Walker returned to the starting lineup this week after dealing with a lower leg injury and propelled his team to a marquee victory, defeating a PAC-12 foe Oregon State. On the week, he led the Flashes with 21.5 points and 2.5 steals per game, while bringing down 4 boards a night. He was most efficient when driving to the basket, drawing fouls consistently and scoring at a high rate at the free throw line. Against Oregon State, he posted 25 points and five rebounds. He also tallied three assists and three steals. Earlier in the week against Northeastern, he led the Flashes with 18 points. He shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-7 from distance.
MAC West Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
David DiLeo, Central Michigan
Forward, Sophomore, Iowa City, Iowa (New Hampton School [N.H.])
Sophomore forward David DiLeo led Central Michigan to two victories last week, helping the Chippewas become the first MAC team to 10 wins this season and tie the program record for nonconference wins. He averaged 18.0 points and 12.0 rebounds, as CMU claimed a true road win and remained undefeated at home (6-0). On Tuesday, on the road at UMKC, DiLeo posted one of the top individual performances in the conference this season, recording career high numbers in points with 29 and rebounds with 15 in a 92-86 overtime win. He knocked down six 3-pointers and made 7-of-8 free throws. On Friday, in a 70-52 rout of SIUE, the 6-7 DiLeo nearly reached double figures in rebounding again, tying for the game-high with nine to go along with seven points. DiLeo currently is one of three Chippewas that averages double figures in scoring (13.1 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and steals (15).
Other Nominees
Trey Moses, Ball State
Center, Junior, Louisville, Ky. (Eastern)
Trey Moses averaged a double-double last week (11.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg) in helping Ball State to a pair of victories. Moses scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out five assists in Tuesday’s win over North Florida. He became the first player to lead BSU in all three categories since Bo Calhoun in 2015. He then scored seven points and grabbed 11 boards Friday against Jackson State. Moses made 10 of his 12 attempts from the floor over the two games, helping the Cardinals run their winning streak to seven games. It’s the longest streak for the program since the 2010-11 season.
Paul Jackson, Eastern Michigan
Guard, Redshirt Junior, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Jackson set a new career-high in points scored at Oakland University, pouring in 25 points and fueling the Eagle's comeback efforts with 17 second half points. The point guard is 10th in the Mid-American Conference with a 17 points per game average, and is second in the league in assists per game with a 4.8 average. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native is also fourth in the MAC in steals per game with a 1.7 average, fueling an EMU defense that leads the league in steals per game with a 10.4 mark.
Dante Thorpe, NIU
Guard, Junior, Washington, D.C. (Friendship Collegiate Academy/Triton College)
Thorpe scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds to help lead the Huskies to a 69-63 victory over UIC. For the week, the Washington, D.C., native averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field. Thorpe opened the week with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists on the road at Marquette (Dec. 18). Thorpe and the Huskies led the Golden Eagles in the second half until a late Marquette run spoiled any hopes of an upset. In a local rivalry game against UIC, Thorpe went 7-of-11 from the field with 21 points and seven rebounds as the Huskies topped the Flames. Thorpe scored 14 of his 21 in the second half, including a key triple midway through the second half that put the Huskies ahead for good. For the season, Thorpe is averaging 12.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, shooting 60.9 percent from the field.
Jordan Dartis, Ohio
Guard Junior Newark, Ohio (Newark)
Dartis (Newark, Ohio) recorded his second-straight outing with at least 20 points, tallying a team-high 23 off a 6-of-13 shooting effort from the field that included three treys as the Ohio men's basketball team (6-5) scrapped its way to an 84-65 win over Prairie View A&M thanks to a second-half surge on Wednesday (Dec. 20) at the Convocation Center. Dartis also sank eight of his nine free throw attempts in the win. He has now scored 20 or more points in a game three times this season and nine times in his career. Dartis also totaled four assists, a rebound and a block over 35 minutes of work in the Bobcats' victory over the Panthers.
Jaelan Sanford, Toledo
Forward, Junior, Geneva, Ill. (Geneva)
Sanford led the Rockets to a pair of dominating victories last week by averaging a team-high 17.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.5 spg and 1.5 bpg. He also averaged 5.0 rpg during the two contests to go along with an impressive 52.0 FG% (13-of-25), 50.0 3PTFG% (7-of-14) and 100.0 FT% (2-of-2). Sanford's top performance came in UT's 77-62 win at Cleveland State, as he tallied a team-best 20 points (4-of-8 shooting from three-point range), six assists and three steals while committing just one turnover in 36 minutes. Against Jackson State, Sanford scored 11 of his 15 points in the game's first four-and-half minutes to spark the Rockets to an early 14-4 lead.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan
Forward, Sophomore, Chicago, Ill.
Johnson propelled the Broncos to a 1-1 week after defeating Milwaukee on the road and falling to Idaho. Johnson against Milwaukee recorded 14 points, shooting 44 percent (4-of-9) from the field. Johnson was near automatic from the free-throw line against Milwaukee, going 6-of-7 and was a perfect 4-of-4 in the first half. Overall, Johnson had seven of WMU's nine total free-throws against Milwaukee. Over the week, Johnson compiled 4.5 rebounds per game with three against Idaho and six against Milwaukee. Johnson's 14 points against Milwaukee was the seventh time this season the sophomore forward has reached double figures. For the season, Johnson is second on WMU with 9.9 points per game, along with 57 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists. Within the MAC, Johnson ranks 7th with a .551 field goal percentage.
