MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Co-Players of the Week
Tyler Cheese, Akron, Guard
Senior, Albany, Ga.
Cheese stuffed the stat sheet last week as he led the Akron Zips to a pair of Mid-American Conference victories. Cheese scored 40 points (20.0 ppg), grabbed 17 rebounds (8.5 rebs/g), dished six assists (3.0 ast/g), had four steals (2.0 stl/g) and blocked a shot (0.5 blk/g). For the week he shot 52.0 percent from the field (13-of-25), 55.6 percent from downtown (5-of-9) and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11). Cheese led Akron to its 20th win of the season and sixth win on the road as Akron defeated Western Michigan 71-67. He recorded his first double-double of the season with game-high numbers, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Cheese knocked down 7-of-14 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep. He also buried 6-of-7 free throws while posting three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Against Miami at home, cheese led Akron to a 75-65 win. He scored a team-high 17 points along with Xeyrius Williams. Cheese was just as efficient in the 21st win of the season, connecting with 6-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-4 from long distance and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. He secured six rebounds, handed out four assists and registered one steal.
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Malvern, OH (St. Vincent-St. Mary's)
Graves had one of the best weeks of his career as he averaged 24.5 points, leading Buffalo to a pair of victories. The highlight came on Friday night in a double overtime victory at Kent State where Graves put the Bulls on his shoulders, setting a new career high with 33 points, including 30 of those which came in the second half and overtime. Graves went 11-of-22 from the floor and 7-of-10 from three point range. He began the week by notching a double-double in a 72-59 win over Ball State as he finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. With his 49 points on the week, Graves has inched ever so close to the 1,000 point mark for his career as he currently sits at 997.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Co-Players of the Week
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
In NIU’s only game of the week, senior guard Eugene German scored a team-high 23 points, along with a season-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals to help lead the Huskies to an 82-81 overtime victory over Central Michigan. German netted 14 of his 23 points in the final seven minutes of regulation and overtime, helping the Huskies snap a two-game losing streak. German’s 23 points give him 2,114 for his career, moving him past Ray McCallum (Ball State, 1980-83) and Gary Trent (Ohio, 1992-95) into seventh on the MAC all-time scoring list against the Chippewas. The leading scorer in the MAC, German is averaging 20.2 points per game, which ranks 27th nationally.
Willie Jackson, Toledo, Forward
Senior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Jackson tallied his 15th double-double of the season with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 68-59 victory over Western Michigan. Jackson also blocked a season-high three shots, hit 6-of-11 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Jackson scored 11 of his points and blocked all three of his shots in the final 20 minutes to help Toledo rally from an eight-point second-half deficit to match the Rockets’ biggest comeback of the season.
Other Top Performances
Jarron Coleman, Ball State, Guard
R-Freshman, Indianapolis, Ind. (Cathedral)
Coleman averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last week for Ball State. Coleman registered his highest-scoring MAC game Saturday with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists against red-hot Eastern Michigan. He helped to lead a second-half comeback, as Ball State rallied from 11 down with 10 minutes to play for a 64-55 win to stay one game back in the West Division standings. Earlier in the week, Coleman had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists at Buffalo. During conference play, the Indianapolis native leads all MAC freshmen in assists and rebounding while ranking second among that group in scoring.
Trey Diggs, Bowling Green, Forward
Junior, Niceville, Fla. (Niceville)
Diggs led the Falcons to a victory over Ohio on Saturday (Feb. 22) in front of a packed Stroh Center. Diggs made a career-high seven three-pointers to finish with a team-high 22 points. Diggs went 7-for-10 from downtown. In fact, all 10 of his field goal attempts on the day were from deep. The junior forward from Niceville, Florida fell two triples shy of tying the school record. His seven three-pointers marked the most hit by a BGSU player in six years.
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan, Center
R-Senior, Dakar, Senegal (Phase One Academy)
Toure led Eastern Michigan on both end of the floor, as the Eagles went 1-1 last week. Toure averaged 13.0 points per game and grabbed 8.5 rebounds to go along with 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, and 0.5 assists. The center shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the floor between the two contests. Toure nearly missed a double-double as he tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in a 70-49 victory over Kent State, Feb. 18. He shot 50 percent (4-of-8) from the floor and led the team with two steals against the Golden Flashes. On Saturday, the Dakar, Senegal native paced all Eagles with 16 points in a 64-55 loss at Ball State. Toure also contributed eight rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal in 35 minutes of play. The redshirt senior ranks second on the team averaging 11.0 points per game and is grabbing a team-best 9.1 rebounds. Toure also lead the Mid-American Conference with a 67.2 field goal percentage (127-of-189).
Antonio Williams, Kent State, Guard
Senior , Chicago, Ill.
Williams led the Kent State men’s basketball team last week averaging 19.5 points through two games (Eastern Michigan and Buffalo). Despite the Flashes falling in both matchups, Williams had a career performance against the double-overtime loss to Buffalo. Williams crashed into defenders all night long while pouring in a career-high 34 points without the benefit of a single 3-pointer. He also dished out four assists.
Jason Preston, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Orlando, Fla. (Boone)
Preston led the Bobcats this past week, helping them to a 1-1 week. Overall, Preston averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He dished out 4.5 assists and recorded 2.5 steals. Preston went 13-of-27 (.481) from the field and 5-of-9 (.556) from three-point range and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. On Feb, 18 against Central Michigan Preston scored 15 points, going 6-of-12 from the field, 1-of-3 from three-point range and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He dished out six assists while grabbing six rebounds. He also recorded three steals, helps Ohio to the 77-69 victory and defeating CMU for the first time since 2014. On Feb. 22 at MAC-leading Bowling Green, Preston scored a team-high 18 points, going 7-of-15 from the field, while hitting a career-high four made three pointers. He grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steals in the last second, one-point defeat.
Rafael Cruz Jr., Western Michigan, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Triton College)
Averaging 28.5 minutes per game, junior Rafael Cruz Jr. led the Broncos with 14.5 points per game while ranking third on the team with five rebounds per game. Cruz Jr. over the week was 9-of-16 from the field while registering a staggering .700 three-point field goal percentage. Against Akron last Tuesday, Cruz Jr. came off the bench, playing 22 minutes and scoring eight points to go along with three rebounds in three assists. In his second start of the season on Saturday against Toledo, Cruz Jr. led the Broncos with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field with five three-pointers, one shy of his career-high. Cruz Jr. against the Rockets also had seven rebounds and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
