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Emmanuel Olojakpoke, Akron
Forward, Sophomore, Houston, Texas (Cypress High School)
Sophomore frontcourt player Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) led Akron to a pair of wins over Fort Wayne and Appalachian State as the Zips improved to 5-2 on the season. For the week, Olojakpoke poured in 39 points (19.5 pts/g) in 42 minutes played. He scored at 77.3 percent rate on 17-of-22 shooting from the field. He connected with 5-of-8 free throws en route to a 62.5 percent performance and grabbed 11 rebounds (5.5 rebs/g), recorded six blocked shots ( 3 blk/g), and added an assist (0.5 ast/g). In 25 minutes of action, Olojakpoke opened the week with a career-high 24 points, connecting with 76.9 percent (10-of-13) of his shots from the floor. In addition, he added a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line, seven rebounds, and matched a career-best four blocked shots. Against Appalachian State, Olojakpoke played 17 minutes and dropped 15 points. He shot 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field, while adding four rebounds and two blocked shots.
Tayler Persons, Ball State
Guard, Junior, Kokomo, Ind. (Kokomo)
Tayler Persons demonstrated a remarkable flare for the dramatic to lead Ball State to the programs biggest week in well over a decade. Persons hit two thrilling game-winners and averaged 23.5 points per game in Ball State’s wins over No. 9/8 Notre Dame and another top-100 team in Valparaiso. The junior point guard dropped 24 points Tuesday against the Fighting Irish as the Cardinals posted their first-ever road victory over a top-10 opponent. He scored 14 of his points in the second half and drilled the winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining in a tied game to give Ball State an 80-77 victory. It was the first win by a Mid-American Conference program over an AP top-10 team since the Cardinals beat No. 4 Kansas and No. 3 UCLA on back-to-back days in the 2001 Maui Invitational. Persons was back at it again Saturday against Valparaiso, the nationals No. 87 team according to Ken Pomeroy. With Ball State trailing by two as the clock ticked down, Persons buried another 3 from virtually the same spot with 3.3 seconds left to lift the Cardinals to a 71-70 victory and extend the teams winning streak to five games. He scored the final 10 points for Ball State and finished the afternoon with 23 points, five assists and five rebounds. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season. Persons shot 53 percent for the week (19 for 36) and 56 percent from beyond the arc (5 for 9). He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. The preseason All-MAC West Division selection leads the Cardinals with averages of 16.9 points and 4.4 assists per game for the year.
CJ Massinburg, Buffalo
Guard, Junior, Dallas, TX/South Oak Cliff
Junior CJ Massinburg averaged a double-double from the guard position this past week as he had 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in a pair of victories. Massinburg led the Bulls to a win at Delaware on Wednesday as he recorded 30 points, the second time in his UB career he had a 30-point game. Massinburg also recorded a career-high 14 rebounds against the Blue Hens, while converting on his first five three-pointers. On Saturday in just 23 minutes of action, Massinburg added 13 points and 11 rebounds in a dominating win over Central Penn. Massinburg currently leads the Bulls in scoring and rebounding.
Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan
Guard, Junior, Edwardsville, Ill. (Mineral Area College)
Junior point guard Shawn Roundtree continued his brilliant start to his Central Michigan career, leading the first-place Chippewas to a 2-0 record last week and extending their win to seven-straight games. Against Montana State on Tuesday, Roundtree totaled 14 points and four assists. He also was a key part of a defensive effort that held the Bobcats to more than 30 points below their season scoring average and held guard Tyler Hall, who entered the game averaging more than 20 points a game, scoreless. On Saturday against Tennessee Tech, Roundtree tied for the team lead with 17 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Roundtree leads CMU in scoring through nine games, averaging 14.7 points per game, and in assists with 38. He ranks second in the MAC in free throw percentage (.881).
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Center, Junior, Baton Rouge, La. (Parkview Baptist)
In EMU's showdown against CollegeInsider's Mid-Major No. 13 Oakland, Dec. 6, Thompson IV scored 24 points on an NCAA-best 11-for-11 (1.000) from the floor, while also grabbing 12 rebounds. He followed that up with a 19-point, 18-rebound performance against Central State, Dec. 9, setting a new season-high in rebounds. The junior missed just one shot on the week, going an outstanding 20-of-21 from the floor, and also added six blocks (3.0 per game) and three steals (1.5 per game). Thompson IV is third in all of NCAA Division I in rebounds per game (12.9 rpg) and leads the Mid-American Conference by more than three rebounds per contest. He has had eight double-doubles in nine games, putting him in third in the nation and leading the MAC by three as well. The Baton Rouge, La. native is seventh in scoring for the season (17.6 ppg) in the conference, and third in both field goal percentage (.692) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg)
Jalen Avery, Kent State
Guard, Junior, Covington, Ky. (Shoroder HS)
Jalen Avery had a solid week in two tough road matchups at No. 13 Xavier and Wright State. With the team's top gun, Jaylin Walker, recovering from injury, Avery has emerged as the team's leading scorer over the last four games. This week, he shot 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3-point range, while going perfect from the line. He averaged 15 points a game and tallied seven assists to one turnover. In a return to his hometown at Xavier, Avery scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting with a team-best five assists. Against Wright State, he led the Golden Flashes with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting overall and 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. He did not have a single turnover on Saturday.
Darrian Ringo , Miami
Guard, Junior, Brownsburg, Ind. (Brownsburg)
Ringo continued to show he is a complete point guard with two fantastic games this week. He averaged 11.0 points per game and recorded 16 total assists. Against Missouri, Ringo scored a career-high 14 points and added in five assists and five rebounds. He followed that up with eight points and incredible 11 assists in the victory over Fort Wayne on Saturday. He added four rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes of action. Ringo went 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from behind the arc during the week.
Mike Laster, Ohio
Guard, Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical)
Senior guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) averaged a team-high 18.5 points and shot a team-best 56.5 percent (13-of-24) from the field -- including a team-best 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from beyond the arc -- as the Ohio men's basketball team (5-4) split a pair of non-conference games last week. He also tied for the team lead with 2.5 assists per game and ranked second on the squad with 1.5 steals per game. Laster led the Bobcats with a 14-point effort, going 5-of-12 from the field -- including 3-of-6 from three-point range -- as Ohio suffered an 87-62 loss to Big Ten Conference foe Maryland last Thursday (Dec. 7) at Xfinity Center in College Park, Md. He also tallied four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 33 minutes. Laster then turned in his fourth game of the 2017-18 season with at least 20 points as Ohio withstood a late charge from Western Kentucky (6-3) to earn an 89-84 triumph on Sunday (Dec. 10) at the Convocation Center. He led the Bobcats with a 23-point effort, going 8-of-11 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from three-point range -- en route to finishing in double figures for the sixth game in a row. He also tallied six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior, Wilmar, Akr. (Univ. of Colorado)
Senior guard Tre’Shaun Fletcher averaged 23.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists to go along with a 41.7 three-point FG% (5-of-12) and an 80.0 FT% (16-of-20) in Toledo’s two games last week. In the Rockets’ 89-86 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, Fletcher hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer and registered 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Fletcher then poured in a career-high 31 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Rockets’ 93-87 setback to Marshall. Fletcher also knocked down a career-best 15-of-16 free-throw attempts against the Thundering Herd.
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan
Guard, Senior, Montgomery, Ill.
Wilder led the Broncos with 22.0 points per game in two contests against Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy en route to a 2-0 week for WMU. Wilder against Cleveland State had 14 points along with four rebounds and three assists. At Detroit Mercy, Wilder had 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor and connected on a career-high six three-pointers. In the second half alone against UDM, Wilder had 19 points and four three-pointers. It was the second time this season Wilder has scored at least 30 points, scoring 31 points back on Nov.17 against Appalachian State. In the two games this week, Wilder shot 61.5 percent from behind the three-point line and knocked down eight three's. Wilder leads the team with 20.2 points per game this season and has 203 total points this season. The Montgomery, Ill., native has registered 29 straight games with at least double digit points, the 12th longest streak in the NCAA.