MAC East Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Dylan Frye, Bowling Green, Guard
Senior, Miami, Fla. (Mater Academy)
Frye led Bowling Green to the Paradise Jam Championship Game with a 2-0 week. The senior guard averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The native of Miami, Florida was a lethal 8-of-16 from downtown, and converted 9-of-10 shots at the charity stripe. In BGSU's win over Western Kentucky (Nov. 22), Frye scored 19 points and tied his career high with five (5-of-7) triples. In a historic win over Cincinnati on Nov. 24, Frye turned in his best game as a Falcon. He tied his career high with 28 points, while also added a career-high nine rebounds and a season-high six assists.
MAC West Division Co-Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
Kyle Mallers, Ball State, Forward
Senior, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Carroll)
Mallers averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last week, leading Ball State in scoring against both Northern Kentucky and Howard. The senior forward blistered the nets for 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from beyond the arc for the week and tied the individual BSU school record with eight 3-pointers in the Howard game. Mallers hit 8-of-10 from deep against the Bison, including 7-of-8 in the first half, leading Ball State to a school-record 21 treys as a team. He scored a career-high 24 points in just 25 minutes in the blowout victory while also adding six rebounds and a pair of assists. Earlier in the week, Mallers scored 17 points and hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range against defending Horizon League champion Northern Kentucky. He is averaging 13.5 points per game for the season and leads the MAC at 55.6 percent from 3-point range.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German averaged 20.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 steals per game as the Huskies went a perfect 3-0 for the week, including a pair of road wins. The senior from Gary, Ind., shot 50 percent from the field (21-of-42), including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from the three-point line as the Huskies are currently on a five-game winning streak, their longest in four seasons. After opening the week with 12 points and four assists in a 65-48 victory over Longwood, German netted 26 points, along with six rebounds and six steals, as the Huskies picked up their first road victory of the season, 86-81, at Western Illinois. The Huskie guard was 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the field against the Leathernecks and 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from behind the three-point line. German then scored 23 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range, in a 68-64 win at SIU Edwardsville. With the Huskies trailing by two, the senior guard made a three and was fouled, converting the four-point play, with 10 seconds left to help NIU to a dramatic road win against the Cougars.
Other Top Performances
Loren Cristian Jackson, Akron, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep/Long Beach State)
Jackson led Akron to a 2-1 record for the week, defeating USC Upstate (76-45) and Youngstown State (82-60) at James A. Rhodes Arena before falling to No. 2 Louisville (82-76) at the KFC YUM! Center. He averaged 19.0 points for the week on 54.1 percent from the floor 20-of-37 included a 42.9 showing from beyond the 3-point arc (9-of-21). He scored 18 points (USC Upstate) to open the week and followed with a 19-point performance (YSU) before posting a season-high 20 points against No. 2 Louisville. Jackson scored 14 second-half points against the Cardinals, including eight-straight in the final 3-minutes which kept the Zips in the game. He dished out 14 assists and 14 rebounds for a 4.7 per game average in both categories, while tying season-bests in the final game of the week with six each.
Davonta Jordan, Buffalo, Guard
Senior, Coca, FL (Montverde Academy)
Jordan led the Bulls to a 2-1 performance at the ultra competitive Charleston Classic, including back-to-back victories over Towson and Missouri State. After recording eight points, five rebounds, and five assists against UConn, Jordan notched the double-double with 10 points, while tying his career high with 10 assists in the victory over Towson. He scored a career best 25 points on Sunday in Buffalo's win over Missouri State, going 5-of-6 from three point range. Jordan added six assists and four rebounds in the win over the Bears. Through six games, Jordan is averaging 5.8 assists per game and 12.7 points per contest.
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Warren, Mich. (Warren HS)
McKay had a standout week for Central Michigan, helping the Chippewas go 1-1. At Minnesota, on Tuesday, McKay battled against a much larger Golden Gopher line-up to post a team-high 16 points and 8 rebounds. On Saturday against Trinity Christian, McKay led CMU with 18 points in 18-plus minutes of court time.
Noah Morgan, Eastern Michigan, G/F
Junior, Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon
Morgan helped the Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team to a 2-0 week and the championship of the Rose Hall Division of the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic, Nov. 22-24. Morgan and the Eagles used a strong defensive pressure to force 42 turnovers while holding both squad’s under 55 points. For the week, Morgan averaged 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assist, and 2.0 steals in 36.0 minutes per contest. Against UMBC, Morgan poured in 11 points (4-of-10 shooting) in 32 minutes. He followed it up with a 12 point, five rebound, three steal contest against North Carolina A&T. The 12-point performance against the Aggies tied his season/career-high.In the four games that Eastern Michigan played as a part of the in-season tournament, Morgan averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals a contest, while leading the squad with seven three-pointers and 33.8 minutes on the floor. Eastern held its four opponents to just 52.2 points per game while out-scoring them by nearly 10-points a contests. Rob Murphy’s team was masterful defensively with an average of 20.8 turnovers forced of the four-game span, while swiping 13.0 steals a game.The in-season tournament was the first won by Eastern Michigan since 2014 when it took home the EMU Showcase at the Convocation Center. Additionally, that same season is also the last time Eastern Michigan began the year with a 6-0 mark.
Jordan Dartis, Ohio, Guard
R-Senior, Newark, Ohio
Dartis helped the Bobcats this past weekend, averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 35.9 percent from the field and going 12-of-28 from three-point range, while hitting six of his eight free throws. On Nov. 24 against No. 24 Baylor, Dartis when 3-of-12 from the field and 3-of-8 from three point range, while grabbing two rebounds and dishing out four assists. On Nov. 22 against Utah, Dartis scored five points while grabbing five rebounds. On Nov. 24 in the final game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Dartis final caught fire, scoring a season-high 32 points, going 9-of-18 from the field and 8-of-13 from three-point range. He also went 6-of-8 from the freshman throw line, while grabbing two rebounds and dishing out four assists in Ohios 75-63 victory over Middle Tennessee State.
Willie Jackson, Toledo, Forward
Senior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Jackson averaged a double-double last week with 11.0 ppg and a team-high 16.0 rpg to go along with 4.0 apg and 2.0 spg. Jackson scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in the Rockets' near upset at Notre Dame and followed that with an 11-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Northwestern Ohio. Jackson also dished out a career-high six assists and grabbed four steals vs. the Racers.
Rafael Cruz Jr., Western Michigan, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Von Steuben Metro)
In two games off the bench against Alma College and Oklahoma State, junior Rafael Cruz Jr. led the Broncos with 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game white shooting 52.4 percent from the field for a total of 34 points. Against Alma College, Cruz Jr., came off the bench and scored a game-high 22 points in 15 minutes going 7-of-10 from the field with four three-pointers. Against Oklahoma State Cruz Jr. once again came off the bench and nearly recorded a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds in a season-high 26 minutes of action. Cruz Jr., posted his first and second career double digit scoring game as a Bronco with his first career 20-point performance against Alma College.
