MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Loren Cristian Jackson, Akron, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep/Long Beach State)
Jackson led the Zips to a pair of victories last week, averaging 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He buried 54.2 percent (13-of-24) of his shots from the field, including a 53.3 percent (8-of-15) effort from beyond the 3-pioint arc. For the week, he recorded 43 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and a steal. Jackson shot 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe. Jackson led the Zips to an 85-79 win over UMass, which extended the Zips home court winning streak to 8-0 this season and 10-0 overall. He registered a game-high 26 points on 50.0 percent (5-of-10) shooting from the floor and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from downtown. Jackson grabbed three rebounds and dished out a trio of assists. In the MAC opener at Eastern Michigan, the Zips moved to 1-0 in league play as Jackson contributed 17 points to the 69-45 triumph. Again, Jackson was hot from the floor, connecting with 60.0 percent (6-of-10) of his shots from the floor and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from deep. He secured six rebounds, dished out five assists and had a steal.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German scored a game-high 26 points as NIU opened conference play with a 73-72 victory at Buffalo, handing the Bulls their first home loss against a conference foe since February 24, 2017. The senior from Gary, Ind., was 10-of-17 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range, as NIU earned its third consecutive victory against the Bulls, but its first in Buffalo since 2003, snapping an 11-game road losing streak against UB. German’s 26 points moved him past Allen Rayhorn and Donnell Thomas into second on NIU’s all-time scoring list with 1,859 career points, trailing just NIU career scoring leader T.J. Lux (1,996 points).
Other Top Performances
Ishmael El-Amin, Ball State, Guard
Junior, Minneapolis, Minn. (Hopkins)
El-Amin scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to lead Ball State to a MAC-opening win over preseason West Division favorite Toledo. The junior guard added three assists and a steal while connecting on 7-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He helped Ball State hold Toledo to just 57 points, matching the Rockets’ lowest scoring output of the season. El-Amin raised his team-leading scoring average to 14.6 points per game and upped his 3-point percentage to 46.7 percent, third-best in the league.
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo
Guard, Junior, Malvern, Ohio (St. Vincent-St. Mary)
Graves had one of the best weeks of his career as he averaged 22.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 steals per game in Buffalo's two contests this past week. On Monday, Graves closed out non-conference play with a career high 28 points in an 84-79 win over St. Bonaventure. Graves went 9-of-16 from the floor and was perfect from the free throw line. He chipped in five rebounds, three assists, and four steals in the victory. As the calendar turned to 2020, Graves had another solid day against NIU in the MAC opener as he had 16 points, six rebounds, and tied his season high mark with a second straight 4-steal performance. Graves leads the Bulls in scoring at 16.9 points per game.
Dallas Morgan, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Peoria, Ill. (Moberly Area CC)
Morgan caught fire in the second half of Central Michigan's Mid-American Conference season opener, leading the Chippewas to a 93-82 win over Miami. Morgan totaled 23 points, with 19 coming in the second half to help keep the RedHawks at bay and secure CMU a MAC win. He was red hot from beyond the arc in the game's final 20 minutes, going 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts. Morgan ranks second in the MAC in 3-pointers, totaling 41 through 14 games.
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan, Center
Redshirt Senior, Dakar, Senegal (Phase One Academy)
Toure averaged nearly a double-double (12.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) last week as the Eagles went 1-1. The center notched his fourth double-double of the season and 12th of his EMU career as he finished with 11 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a loss to Akron on Saturday, Jan.4. Toure went 5-of-8 from the field and contributed an assist and a steal while leading the Green and White with 33 minutes of game action. Five days earlier, the Dakar, Senegal native posted a team-high 14 points to help secure a convincing 88-53 EMU victory over Concordia-Ann Arbor, Dec. 30, to finish the non-conference slate. He shot 78 percent (7-9) from the field in 15 minutes of play against the Cardinals. Toure leads the MAC with a .663 field goal percentage (55-83) and averages 8.4 rebound per game, which is good for fifth in the conference.
Antonio Williams, Kent State, Guard
Senior, Detroit, Mich.
Williams scored in double-figures in Kent State’s last two games. Against Mississippi State, Williams was one of three double-digit scorers with 10 points. Williams also grabbed two rebounds and dished out two assists. In the conference opener against Bowling Green, Williams paced the Flashes in the 79-61 win over the Falcons with a game-high and tied his career record with 22 points. Williams grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished out a game-high five assists. This was the Flashes first time winning in Bowling Green since 2017.
Mekhi Lairy, Miami, Guard
Sophomore, Evansville, Ind. (Bosse)
Lairy was Miami's leading scorer despite coming off the bench in both games last week. He averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Lairy was fantastic from the field, finishing 12-for-16 (75 percent). That included an incredible 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) from behind the arc. In the RedHawks' record-setting win over Wilberforce last Monday, Lairy scored 18 points and finished with six assists and two steals. In their game against Central Michigan last Saturday, he had another 18 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
Ben Vander Plas, Ohio, Forward
R-Sophomore Ripon, Wis. (Ripon)
Vander Plas led the Bobcats last weekend in Ohio's MAC Opener at Western Michigan. In 37 minutes, Vander Plas scored 16 points and tied his career-high of 13 rebounds. Vander Plas went 6-of-17 from the field, 2-of-9 from three-point range and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Vander Plas also dished out two assists, had one steal and had one block.
Willie Jackson, Toledo, Forward
Senior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Senior Willie Jackson tallied his eighth double-double of the season with a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds at Ball State last Friday. Jackson was 7-of-10 from the field and ranks fourth nationally with 12.2 rpg.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
R-Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
Johnson was tied for the team lead on Saturday against Ohio with 18 points while registering a team-high eight rebounds in the 77-65 victory. Johnson was 7-of-13 from the field, 3-of-3 from the free-throw line and knocked down one three-pointer. The Chicago, Ill., native has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games and is averaging 14.2 points and 8.8 rebounds over the last five games. Johnson ranks second on the team this season with 14.9 points per game while leading the team on the glass with 8.6 rebounds per contest. In the MAC, Johnson ranks 9th in the MAC in scoring and fourth in rebounding. The redshirt junior forward is also ninth in the MAC with 0.9 blocks per game.
