Stars of the Valleys

Depth is Showing

(St. Louis, MO) – New players are being awarded weekly honors in the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences. This week’s stars of the Valleys find some previously unmentioned players. The two conferences are showing the depth of their star power as more players are being noticed for their outstanding play.

Significant team victories occurred when Loyola defeated DePaul, Murray State knocked off Middle Tennessee, Morehead State bested Georgia Southern and Indiana State handled of Miami of Ohio.

Missouri Valley Conference

Shamar Givance had an explosive week and is the Valley’s ‘Player of the Week‘. The 5’10 Evansville senior tallied a career-high 31 points against Southern Illinois and 15 points during a win over Tennessee Tech. For the week, Givance shot 58.6% from the field and is tenth in the Valley with a 15.0 points per game scoring average.

Bradley’s Terry Roberts hit a game-winning shot and averaged 18.5 points per game and is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘. The junior college transfer scored 20 points during the Braves’ win over Northern Iowa. It was during that game, that he hit the game winner. Roberts leads BU in scoring (with a 14.8 points-per-game average) and in assists (3.9 per game).

Ohio Valley Conference

Reigning OVC ‘Freshman of the Year’ Johni Broome is not an unknown to league watchers, but received his first weekly award of the season. The 6’10 sophomore recorded a double-double (15 points & 11 rebounds) during Morehead State’s win over Georgia Southern. Broome also blocked six shots on his way to claiming the OVC’s ‘Player of the Week’ nod.

The lefty is fourth nationally in blocks (3.88 per game) and has registered four double-doubles in the Eagles’ first four games.

Speaking of double-doubles, Murray State’s D.J. Burns posted one of his own. The 6’7 sophomore scored 12 points and hauled in 15 rebounds during the Racers’ win over Middle Tennessee. He scored 19 points in the team’s win over Campbellsville and is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’. Burns transferred from Southern.

Southern Illinois Edwardsville split its two games last week and freshman Ray’Sean Taylor stood out. During a win at Omaha Taylor was one rebound shy of a triple-double. The Collinsville, Illinois native scored 13 points, handed out 12 assists and collected nine rebounds. Taylor scored 22 points during the Cougars’ loss at Bradley. The ‘Freshman of the Week’ is the OVC’s fourth leading scorer (17.0 ppg).