MAC East Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Xeyrius Williams, Akron, Wing
Senior, Springfield, Ohio
Williams led the Zips to a pair of Mid-American Conference wins, averaging a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. He shot 66.7 percent from all areas of the court and connected on eight 3-pointers, 12-of-18 from the field and 8-of-12 from deep. Williams scored 34 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, had three steals and dished out two assists. Williams scored 11 points in Akron’s 84-69 triumph over Western Michigan to start the week.. He shot 4-of-5 (.800) from the field which included a 3-of-4 (.750) effort from long distance. Williams added a team-high eight rebounds, three steals and an assist. Against Ball State, Williams recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 23 points while securing 12 rebounds. Williams shot 8-of-13 (.615) from the floor and 5-of-8 (.625) from downtown with one assist.
Antonio Williams, Kent State, Guard
Senior Chicago, Ill.
Senior guard Antonio Williams helped Kent State improve to 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play after wins against Toledo and Central Michigan. In the 84-77 win over Toledo, Williams scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out a career-high seven assists. He shot 6-of-11 from the floor and went 2-of-3 from long range. In the 79-73 victory of Central Michigan, Williams scored a career and game-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He brought down four boards and dished out four assists along with two steals. The two wins at home improved the Flashes to 9-0 at home.
MAC West Division Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Tahjai Teague, Ball State, Forward
Senior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
Teague averaged 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for Ball State last week. He shot 59.4 percent from the floor while also adding 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. Teague scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds Tuesday, connecting on 11-of-16 from the floor to lead the Cardinals to an 88-68 victory over two-time defending league champion Buffalo. He then recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds Friday at early MAC co-leader Akron. Teague is averaging a career-high 14.1 points per game this season while ranking among the top 10 in the MAC in rebounds (8.1), blocks (1.4), steals (1.6) and field goal percentage (.522).
Marreon Jackson, Toledo, Guard
Junior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Jackson averaged a team-high 22.0 ppg, 7.0 apg and 2.0 spg in addition to grabbing 5.0 rpg for the Rockets last week. Jackson also shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field and 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from three-point range. Jackson erupted for a career-high 32 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals at MAC East Division co-leader Kent State on Tuesday. He hit 10-of-18 shots and was 7-of-13 from behind the three-point arc against the Golden Flashes. In Saturday’s win over Western Michigan, he helped the Rockets to their first conference victory after coming down with the flu earlier that day. Jackson notched 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds against the Broncos while playing 35 minutes.
Other Top Performances
Justin Turner, Bowling Green, Guard
R-Junior, Detroit, Mich. (Renaissance)
Turner led Bowling Green to a 2-0 week with wins over Miami (Jan. 7) and Ohio (Jan. 11). Turner averaged 22.5 points and 5.0 rebounds -- all while making 17 field goals on 46.0 percent shooting. After a 16-point night in a home win over Miami, Turner scored a season-high 29 points in the Falcons' first Saturday win in Athens over Ohio since 2009. Turner tied a career high with 12 made field goals (12-of-23) in victory against the Bobcats. The native of Detroit grabbed five rebounds in both games on the week.
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Malvern, OH (St. Vincent/St. Mary)
Graves led the Bulls to a 1-1 split on the week as he averaged 19.0 points per game in road contests at Ball State and Miami. On Friday night, Graves led all players with 25 points in an 83-78 victory over Miami (OH), adding three rebounds and three assists to pace five players in double figures in scoring. The Malvern, OH native began the week with 13 points at Ball State, adding five rebounds against the Cardinals. Graves leads the Bulls in scoring at 17.2 points per game.
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Warren, Mich.
McKay posted a game-high 21 points and 8 rebounds, shooting .750 from the field, in CMU's last-second win over NIU. McKay provided the game winner laying in a basket with 0.2 seconds remaining to lift the Chippewas to the come-from-behind win. In addition to being CMU's leader in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg), McKay leads all Division NCAA guards in shooting percentage (6th regardless of position) (.664). He missed the game at Kent State to injury.
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan, Center
R-Senior, Dakar, Senegal (Phase One Academy)
Toure averaged a double-double (11.1 ppg, 10.5 rpg) last week as the Eagles went 0-2. He also tallied 2.5 blocks, 1.0 steal and 1.0 assists, while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor (10-of-16) and perfect from the free-throw line (2-of-2). The center notched his fifth double-double of the season and the 13th of his EMU career as he finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in a close 71-68 loss at Northern Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 11. Toure went 6-of-10 from the field and contributed three blocks in 33 minutes of action against the Huskies. Four days earlier, the Dakar, Senegal native led all players with 10 rebounds and added eight points in a 74-68 loss at Ohio, Jan. 7. Toure is averaging 9.7 points per game to go along with 8.7 rebounds, but is averaging a double-double (11.0 ppg, 12.7 rpg) in conference play. He ranks second in the MAC with a 65.7 field goal percentage (65-of-99) and averages 1.4 blocks per contest, which is good for fourth in the league.
Dalonte Brown, Miami, Forward
Junior, Toledo, Ohio (Bowsher)
Brown was dominant for Miami in both games last week, leading the RedHawks in scoring and rebounding. He nearly averaged a double-double with 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Playing near his hometown of Toledo in front of friends and family Brown recorded a double-double against Bowling Green, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. He followed that up with 18 points and seven rebounds against Buffalo. Brown was impressive from the free throw line during the week, going 13-for-15, including a perfect 8-for-8 against the Bulls.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the week as the Huskies split a pair of games against Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The MAC’s leading scorer opened the week with 20 points and four assists at Central Michigan (Jan. 7), where the Huskies were edged at the buzzer, 73-72. The 20-point effort was German’s 11th of the season and the 51st of his Huskie career. German and the Huskies rebounded with a 71-68 victory over Eastern Michigan (Jan. 11) in their conference home opener as the senior guard netted a game-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds, marking his 16th game this season scoring in double figures, the 93rd of his career.
\Jordan Dartis, Ohio, Guard
R-Senior, Newark, Ohio (Newark)
Dartis helped lead the Bobcats this past week to a 1-1 record. Overall, Dartis averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He went 13-of-30 (.433) from the field, 11-of-21 (.524) from three-point range and was 1-of-2 from the free throw line. On Jan. 7 against EMU, Dartis was exceptional, scoring 26 points while going 9-of-19 from the field and 8-of-15 from three-point range. She also grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals in the 74-66 victory. Dartis was clutch for the Bobcats on Jan. 11 against Bowling Green. Dartis scored 12 points, going 4-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. He also grabbed two boards and had two steals in the game.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
R-Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
In two games last week Johnson ranked second on the team with 17 points per game while leading the Broncos on the glass with 7 rebounds per contest. On the road at Akron, Johnson nearly notched a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Against the Zips, the redshirt junior also collected two blocks and two assists while going 1-for-3 from long distance. On Saturday at Toledo, Johnson posted a career-high 23 points on a career-high 8-of-19 shooting from the field with six rebounds. Johnson was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line against the Rockets. The Chicago, Ill., native earned his fifth career 20-point game and fourth this season against Toledo. Overall Johnson ranks 10th in the MAC in scoring at 15.1 points per game.
