MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Co-Players of the Week
Justin Turner, Bowling Green,
Guard, Redshirt-Junior, Detroit, Mich. (Renaissance)
Turner led Bowling Green to its fourth-consecutive 2-0 week, as the Falcons posted wins over Ball State (Jan. 28) and Buffalo (Jan. 31). Turner averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, scoring 20-plus points in both contests. The redshirt-junior shot 46.2 percent (18-of-39) from the floor for the week. In BGSU's win over Ball State, Turner scored all 20 of his points in the second half, including 16 points inside the final six minutes. In Bowling Green's first win at Buffalo in nine years, the native of Detroit registered 23 points and three rebounds. Turner went 11-for-21 from the field, coming just one field goal shy of tying his career high.
Danny Pippen, Kent State, Forward
Junior, Detroit, Mich.
Pippen’s performance this week helped Kent State reach a three-game win streak and improve to 16-6 overall and 6-3 in league play. In the win at Toledo, Pippen helped the Flashes in their 21-point comeback with his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. In the rivalry game against Akron, dominated the floor on both sides with a monster 20 point, 12 rebound performance, recording his fifth double-double of the season. Pippen missed both games against the rival Zips last season due to injury. Pippen has now scored double figures in 18 games this season and has recorded a double-double in back-to-back games.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Co-Players of the Week
Tahjai Teague, Ball State, Forward
Senior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
Teague averaged 21.0 points and 9.5 rebounds last week as Ball State split a pair of contests against MAC East Division opponents. Teague scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds at Bowling Green for his fourth double-double in a five-game stretch. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the game, matching his career high for 3’s. Teague then scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Cardinals to victory over Ohio. He went 10-for-13 from the floor and connected on 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Teague continues to average a double-double during conference play at 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German became NIU’s all-time leading scorer and the first Huskie men’s basketball player to score 2,000 career points on Saturday (Feb. 1) with his 21-point performance against Miami. The Gary, Ind., native averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game for the week as the Huskies ran their win streak to four games with victories over Ohio (Jan. 28) and Miami. In the first game of the week against the Bobcats, German scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting as the Huskies edged Ohio, 61-59. The senior point guard finished the week with 21 points, a season-high tying six assists and four rebounds, going 8-of-17 from the field, as NIU topped Miami, 70-55. The leading scorer in the MAC, German also ranks ninth among active scorers in Division I.
Other Top Performances
Josh Mballa, Buffalo, Forward
Sophomore, Bordeaux, France (Putnum Sciences Academy)
Mballa averaged a double-double for the week as he scored 12.5 points per game and added 16.0 rebounds per contest as Buffalo split its two games this week. Coming off the bench for the first time this season, Mballa had 13 points and a career high 17 rebounds as the Bulls went on the road to defeat the Zips. The 17 rebounds were the most by a Buffalo player since March 3, 2015. Mballa followed that up with 12 points and 15 boards on Friday against Bowling Green as he already had a double-double by the first half. Mballa added three blocks. He is averaging 10.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Warren, Mich. (Warren HS)
McKay stepped to the forefront for Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon in its MAC West rivalry matchup with Western Michigan, helping the Chippewas win a second-straight road game and maintain their position atop the division standings. In the 85-78 victory, CMU's program-record fifth-straight against the Broncos, McKay notched his 16th career double-double, posting 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with two blocks and one assist. McKay shot 75% (9-12) from the field, upping his season mark to 67.1%, which ranks first in the MAC, tops nationally among guards and fifth in the NCAA overall. McKay leads CMU in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.7).
Yeikson Montero, Eastern Michigan, Guard
Junior, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Redemption Christian Academy)
Montero posted a career day against Toledo, Feb. 1, as he led Eastern Michigan to its first victory in Mid-American Conference play. The guard scored a personal-best 26 points; 20 of which came in the second half. Montero went 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the field and drained a career-high five triples in the 61-57 win over the Rockets. He also contributed a pair of steals, a block, and a rebound in 34 minutes of play. Montero’s 26 points is the most an Eagle has scored this season and his first 20+ point scoring performance in an EMU uniform. He has tallied 11 double-digit scoring performances this season and averages 10.4 points per game.
Ben Vander Plas, Ohio, Forward
RS Sophomore, Ripon, Wis. (Ripon)
Vander Plas led the Bobcats offensively this past week. Overall, Vander Plas averaged 15.0 points per game, while adding 8.5 rebounds. She also dished out 2.0 assists per game, while shooting .462 from the field. On Jan. 28 at Northern Illinois, Vander Plas led Ohio with 18 points, going 7-of-10 from the field. Vander Plas also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists and had one steal. Then on Feb. 1 at Ball State, Vander Plas scored a team-high 12 points, while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. He went 5-of-16 from the field and also dished out two assists and had one block.
Luke Knapke, Toledo, Center
Senior Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local)
Knapke registered a pair of double-doubles last week for Toledo, averaging 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game to go along with a 40.0 three-point FG% (2-of-5) and a 90.0 free-throw percentage (9-of-10). Knapke tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds against Kent State on Tuesday before leading the team with 11 rebounds and a career-high tying five assists and scoring 10 points at Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Michael Flowers, Western Michigan, Guard
Junior, Southfield, Mich. (Southfield A&T)
On Saturday against in-state rival Central Michigan, Michael Flowers had a game-high 23 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and four three-pointers. Flower was 6-of-20 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. The 23-point performance pushed Flowers to 25 straight games scoring in double figures dating back to last season. It was also the fifth 20-point game of the season for Flowers and 17th of his career. The junior guard is now just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.
