Starting the Second Half
(St. Louis, MO) – Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference weekly stars high-lighted the final week of the first half of the two leagues’ conference schedules. While each league currently has one team standing atop the league standings, the second place team is one game back and multiple teams are within two games of first place.
Career-high marks sparked the MVC weekly stars announcements, and a first-time honoree was announced in the OVC.
Weekly Stars – Players of the Week
Missouri State’s Alston Mason scored a career-high 36 points during a win over Drake and 22 in a second victory over Valparaiso. The junior guard also handed out a career-high nine assists in against Valpo. Mason is the Valley’s fourth leading scorer (18.4 ppg) and this is his second ‘Player of the Week’ award.
Issa Muhammad sparked UT Martin to a pair of victories. The 6’9 senior averaged 14 points and 14 rebounds during the Skyhawks important week. During one of his double-doubles (against Lindenwood) he added a career-high five blocked shots. Muhammad is the third Skyhawk to be named the OVC’s ‘Player of the Week’.
Newcomers of the Week
Isaiah Swope joins Indiana State teammate Ryan Conwell as a two-time ‘Newcomer of the Week’ award recipient. Swope scored a career-high 30 points against Illinois Chicago and added 19 during the Sycamores’ overtime victory against Bradley. Swope is the Valley’s third-leading scorer (18.4 ppg) and leads the MVC by making 3.6 triples per game.
Muhammad, a New Mexico State transfer is the OVC’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’. This is the seventh time this season that an OVC player has earned both the ‘Player‘ award and the ‘Newcomer‘ nod.
Freshman Weekly Stars
Johnny Kinziger is a first-time weekly award winner. The Illinois State guard is the Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ after a week where he averaged 11.5 points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists during the Redbirds split of two games. He is the Redbirds’ second weekly winner as Myles Foster earlier received a ‘Newcomer of the Week’ honor.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is back. The Little Rock rookie is the OVC’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ for a league-leading fifth time. The 6’8 Texas native averaged a solid 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds as the Trojans won a pair of league games.
Tennessee State’s Jaylen Jones has claimed the rookie award three times.
Do Good
Editor: Cover photo credit Maeve Coulter
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