MAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Mark Sears, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Muscle Shoals, Ala. / Hargrave Military Academy
Sophomore guard Mark Sears was stellar for the Bobcats during the opening week of the season. Overall, Sears averaged 21.0 points per game. He went 15-of-22 (.682) from the field, 5-of-6 (.833) from three and 7-of-8 (.875) from the free throw line. He added 4.0 assists per game, 4.5 rebounds a game and one steal per game. Sears opened up the season is spectacular fashion against Belmont on opening night. Sears scored 27 points, going 10-of-11 from the field, 4-of-4 from three and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He grabbed six boards, dished out four assists and had two steals in 31 minutes on the court in Ohio's 90-82 victory. Sears led Ohio once again On Nov. 13 at Cleveland State, leading Ohio with 15 points. He went 5-of-11 from the field, 1-fo-4 from three, a perfect 4-of-4 from the line and grabbed there boards. He also dished out four assists in 27 minutes in the Bobcats' 67-56 victory over Cleveland State.
Other Nominees
Enrique Freeman, Akron, Forward
Sophomore, Cleveland, Ohio
In the opening week of 2021-22 season, Enrique Freeman averaged a double-double with 13 points a 11.5 points per game as the Zips posted a 1-1 overall record. In the season opener against No. 17 ranked Ohio State, Freeman tallied nine rebounds and eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and oner blocked shot. Akron fell 67-66 on a buzzer beater in Columbus. In Saturday’s home opener the Zips posted a 102-46 win over Point Park where Freeman registered his first double-doubel of the season with a team-high 18 points and a team-best 14 rebounds. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and made 2-of-3 free throws while collecting one steal. For the week, Freeman played 52:24 minutes while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (12-of-18) and the free throw line (2-of-3) while scoring 26 total points. He grabbed 13 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for 23 total rebounds.
Luke Bumbalough, Ball State, Guard
Junior, New Castle, Ind. (New Castle)
Led Ball State with a career-high 21 and went 5-9 from behind the arc against Georgia Southern. He collected a career-high eight assists against Omaha and added eight points. He shot .438 from 3-point range.
Daeqwon Plowden, Bowling Green, Forward
5th-Senior, Philadelphia, Pa. (Mastery Charter North)
Through the first two games of the season, Bowling Green fifth year player Daeqwon Plowden has been among some of the best in the nation. In the season-opener, Plowden tallied a double-double for the Falcons with 18 points and 13 rebounds. In the second game Plowden posted double-digit points again (14) with six rebounds while adding a block in each contest. Where Plowden has been most impressive is at the foul line, being a combined 12-of-15 from the charity stripe, ranking 23rd in the nation for free throws made through Friday's slate of games.
Jeenathan Williams, Buffalo, Forward
Senior, Rochester, NY (Prolific Prep)
Senior Jeenathan Williams was the best player on the floor in Buffalo's season opener at Michigan as the Rochester, NY native had a career-best 32 points in the contest. Williams went 14-of-22 from the floor and added eight rebounds. The 32 points are the most by a non-conference player against Michigan since since the 2010-11 season. Over the first week of play, he is tied for sixth nationally for points in a game and the only player to do it against a Power 5 opponent.
Noah Farrakhan, Eastern Michigan, Guard
Freshman, Newark, N.J.-The Patrick School (East Carolina))
Freshman transfer guard Noah Farrakhan started his Eastern Michigan career in impressive fashion. The first-year Eagle was electric in the team’s season-opener at Indiana, Nov. 9, where he led the Eagles in scoring with 18 points. After Eastern fell behind the Hoosiers by more than 20 points, Farrakhan led an unbelievable comeback. His efforts included 14-straight EMU points in the second half, a run that culminated with the Eagles pulling within two points of the Hoosiers, 64-62, with 24 seconds left in the contest. Eastern Michigan could not overcome the deficit and lost 68-62 to IU. The Newark, N.J native was outstanding yet in the Eagles home-opener inside the Convocation Center, scoring in double-digits again with 17 points, against Illinois State, Nov. 12. Farrakhan paced the squad with four assists in the contest and helped the team secure first-year Head Coach Stan Heath’s first win at Eastern, defeating the Redbirds 103-91 in double overtime. Playing the role of “Comeback Kid” yet again, Farrakhan helped to orchestrate a 16-point come-from-behind effort that finished, this time, with EMU in the win column. The comeback was the largest for Eastern in a win since Feb. 29, 2020, when the Green and White came back from 14 down to defeat Central Michigan. In total, Farrakhan dropped 35 points on 11-of-36 (.305) shooting from the field and 10-of-13 (.769) from the charity stripe, while adding nine rebounds, three steals, and one block across the team’s first two games.
Sincere Carry, Kent State, Guard
Redshirt Junior, Solon, Ohio
Sincere Carry made his Kent State debut on Friday night on the road against Xavier. Carry kept the Flashes in the game and leading for the first 28 minutes by hitting big shots all night. He finished the game with a team-high 18 points, four assists and three assists. Carry led the team, playing 38 minutes and making three 3-pointers.
Mekhi Lairy, Miami, Guard
Senior, Evansville, Ind. (Evansville Bosse)
Lairy propelled Miami to a 72-69 win at defending ACC tournament champion Georgia Tech and a dominant 104-75 win against Lamar to open the 2021-22 campaign. Lairy poured in 23 points against the Yellow Jackets, hitting the go-ahead shot with 15.8 seconds left. He scored 14 of his points in the first half to help Miami keep pace with Georgia Tech, going into the half tied at 33 apiece. Lairy was 9-of-19 from the field (.474) with three triples. His nine field goals tied a career high. He added two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot to his line. Against Lamar, Lairy scored 15 points, shooting a scorching 71.4 percent from the field (5-of-7) and going 3-for-4 from 3-point range, helping Miami to a 60.9 shooting percentage while amassing 17 treys and hitting 53.1 percent of its shots from long range. He added two rebounds, four assists and two steals to his line. The win against Georgia Tech moved Miami to 17-25 in road wins when opening the season, while the win against Lamar was the first time Miami hit triple digits since 2019 and pushed Miami to 94-23 in home openers. Lairy averaged 19.0 ppg for the week, shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg and 2.0 rpg.
Trendon Hankerson, NIU, Guard
Senior, Novi, Mich. (Novi)
rendon Hankerson netted a career-high 28 points, including 6-of-11 from three-point range, in NIU’s season-opening 71-64 victory at Washington. The Novi., Mich., native went 9-of-15 from the field and added seven rebounds and three steals as the Huskies won Rashon Burno’s head coaching debut, beating a Pac-12 opponent for the first time in program history. After Washington took a one-point lead with 5:26 left, NIU went on a 15-2 run, with Hankerson scoring eight of the 15, to secure the win for the visiting Huskies. Three days later, Hankerson had three points, four rebounds and three steals at Indiana.
JT Shumate, Toledo, Forward
Junior, Newark, Ohio (Newark)
Junior forward JT Shumate averaged a double-double with a team-high 18.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg in Toledo‘s two eight-point victories over Valparaiso and Detroit Mercy. Shumate was also red-hot in the shooting department with a 70.6 FG% (12-of-17) and 70.0 3PTFG% (7-of-10). Shumate poured in a team-high 20 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in the Rockets’ season-opening 69-61 road win over Valparaiso. He scored the Rockets’ first 10 points of the game and then hit a big three-pointer with 1:06 remaining to give UT a 67-61 lead. The Newark, Ohio native then registered his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 boards in an 81-73 win over Detroit Mercy in the Rockets’ home opener. Shumate was extremely efficient offensively, going 5-of-6 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Shumate leads the MAC with a 70.0 3PTFG% and ranks second in rebounding (10.0) and field-goal percentage (70.6), three-point FGs per game (3.5) and fourth in scoring (18.5) and blocked shots (1.5).
