Win Games – Win Awards

(St. Louis, MO) – ‘To the victor belong the spoils’ has always been true and this week’s Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conference weekly award winners follow that axiom. Belmont is in first place after knocking off two of their closest OVC competitors and one of their players picked up the league’s top honor.

Loyola has won five straight games and they swept the Valley’s weekly awards.

Missouri Valley Conference

Donte Ingram exploded for a season high 25 points in one of the Ramblers’ wins and averaged 18 points over the two Loyola victories. He hauled in 14 rebounds in last week’s sweep and is the ‘Player of the Week‘ for the second time this season. Ingram is one of four Ramblers averaging double figures in scoring and Ingram is the only player in the top three of the Valley’s active players’ list in career scoring and rebounding.

Ingram’s freshman teammate, Cameron Krutwig is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘. It is Krutwig’s second such honor. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in victories over Southern Illinois and Valparaiso.

Ohio Valley Conference

Belmont entered last week in a three-way tie for first place and swept their closest competitors (Austin Peay and Murray State). Forward Dylan Windler scored a career high 31 points in Saturday’s win over Austin Peay and dropped 21 on Murray State earlier in the week. This week’s ‘Player of the Week‘ amassed 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the crucial victories. The weekly award is Windler’s second of the season.

Jacksonville State entered the week trailing Belmont and those other two teams by one game, but swept their games and are now tied with Murray State and Austin Peay for second place, one game behind the Bruins. Jason Burnell was named this week’s ‘Co-Newcomer of the Week‘ for scoring a career high 20 points against Morehead State and sparking the Gamecocks to their first-ever win at Eastern Kentucky.

SIUE didn’t win a game last week, but junior transfer David McFarland broke out in a big way. After being held scoreless in the first half of their game against Southeast Missouri, the East Mississippi Community College transfer netted a career high 22 second half points. He followed that up with 18 points against Morehead State. McFarland, ‘Co-Newcomer of the Week‘ converted five three-pointers in each game.

Eastern Illinois split their games last week and Mack Smith recorded a double-double and registered career highs in scoring (22 points) and rebounding (11). This week’s ‘Freshman of the Week‘ scored 17 points in the Panthers’ other game.