Close Game Heroics – Weekly Awards

Upsetting League Leaders All the Vogue

(St. Louis, MO) – Christian Williams and Josiah Wallace were heroes in big upsets and are this week’s top award winners. During a week when league leaders were knocked off by clutch late game exploits, the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences have never had more exciting races.

Missouri Valley Conference

Indiana State was the only Valley team to win both of its games. Senior Christian Williamson played a pivotal role. The 6’6 guard averaged 15 points per game during the Sycamores’ wins over Northern Iowa and Evansville. While ISU battled first place UNI, Williamson made four, late game, clutch free throws as the Sycamores defeated UNI 67-64. Williams is the Valley’s ‘Player of the Week‘.

Fellow Sycamore Jake LaRavia is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘. The ISU freshman averaged 13 points and 5.5 rebounds during ISU’s big week. LaRavia scored a game-high 18 points in the team’s win over the first place Panthers. The 6’8 LaRavia is the league’s third leading rebounder.

Ohio Valley Conference

Speaking of heroics, maybe Josiah Wallace should apply for Avenger Status. The Eastern Illinois junior hit game-winning three-pointer against Murray State. Wallace scored six of EIU’s ten points during an overtime win over Austin Peay. The 6’4 guard scored all 20 of his points against Murray in the final eleven minutes of their crazy come back win. He is the OVC ‘Player of the Week‘.

EIU’s George Dixon was a big part of those two upset wins. The Vincennes University transfer averaged 15 points and nine rebounds during the Panthers’ unlikely victories. Dixon recorded a double-double against Austin Peay. This week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘ is second in the OVC to APSU’s Terry Taylor in double-doubles and in rebounds per game.

Austin Peay freshman Jordyn Adams continues to dominate the weekly award given to OVC rookies. The 6’3 guard scored 31 points during the Governors’ narrow loss at Eastern Illinois. Adams earned his ninth ‘Freshman of the Week‘ award while boosting his season-long scoring average to 17.6 points per game. He is the nation’s third leading freshman scorer.