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Justin Turner, Bowling Green
Guard, Redshirt-Sophomore, Detroit, Mich.
Justin Turner, by averaging 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals, led the Falcons to a 2-0 week with wins over Central Michigan (Feb. 12) and Northern Illinois (Feb. 16). The redshirt-sophomore guard shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) on the week, including a 5-for-9 (55.5 percent) mark from downtown. After a 20-point, six-rebound, three-assist effort in a come-from-behind win over Central Michigan, Turner led BGSU to a wire-to-wire win at NIU. The Detroit native scored a career-high 34 points on 10-of-14 (4-of-5 from three) shooting, while also adding seven rebounds and four assists. Turner has scored 978 points in just 60 career games.
MAC West Division Player of the Week
Shawn Roundtree Jr., Central Michigan
Guard, Senior, Edwardsville, Ill. (Mineral Area College)
Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. had a standout week for Central Michigan, helping the Chippewas to a 1-1 record. He averaged 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists and shot 93 percent (13-of-14) from the free throw line. At Bowling Green on Tuesday, Roundtree scored a team-high 20 points, including knocking down three 3-pointers. In an 87-80 win over Ohio on Saturday, Roundtree again led CMU, scoring 22 points, including 16 in the decisive second half. Down the stretch he made eight consecutive free throws to seal the victory. Roundtree has scored 20 or more points in three straight games, a season long. He ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game, and is 61 points shy of becoming the 34th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.
Tayler Persons, Ball State
Guard, Senior, Kokomo, Ind. (Kokomo)
Tayler Persons led Ball State with 15 points and five assists while also tying for team-high honors with nine rebounds in the Cardinals’ 57-56 victory over Akron. The Cardinals extended their winning streak to three games. Persons ranks sixth in the league in scoring and fourth in assists.
Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Forward, Senior, Ypsilanti, MI (Milan)
Senior Nick Perkins helped lead the Bulls to a pair of road victories this past week as he averaged 17.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Perkins tied his career high with 26 points in a come from behind road win at Toledo on Friday, just the second time in the last 10 games that Toledo has suffered a defeat. Perkins tied his career best with four triples against the Rockets, all coming in the second half. He also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. In the game against Toledo, Perkins played in his 128th career game, tying the school record for games played in a career.
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Senior, Baton Rouge, La. (Parkview Baptist)
Eastern Michigan Senior James Thompson IV proved to once again be a menace for opponents, averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds in the Eagles' 1-1 week. The forward helped lead Eastern to just its sixth win all-time in the Ohio University Convocation Center by putting up a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor and knocking down 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Baton Rouge, La. native also grabbed nine rebounds at Kent State, and now just needs 64 boards to pass Kennedy McIntosh as Eastern's all-time rebound leader.
Philip Whittington, Kent State
Forward, Junior, Columbus, Ga.
Junior Philip Whittington helped the Flashes down Western and Eastern Michigan this week improving Kent State to 19-6 overall and 8-4 in league play. Whittington had back-to-back double-double performances giving him a total of seven this season and averaged 17 points for the week. Against Western Michigan, the big man scored 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field and connected on 3-of-5 free throws. Whittington brought down a game-high 13 rebounds and also blocked two shots in the Flashes’ 82-63 victory over the Broncos. In his game against Eastern Michigan, Whittington recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds and paced the Flashes to their 26 points in the pain. The junior shot 6-of-10 for the night and connected on 5-of-8 of his free throws. On the season, Whittington increased his average scoring to 10.1 points per game and averages 7.9 rebounds per game. He paces the team with 33 total blocks.
Ben Vander Plas, Ohio
Forward, RS Freshman, Ripon, Wis. / Ripon
Redshirt freshman Ben Vander Plas led the Bobcats this past weekend. Vader Plas averaged 16.5 points per game, shooting 56.5 percent form the field and 43.8 percent from three-point range. He averaged 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. On Feb. 12 against Eastern Michigan, Vader Play scored nine points, going 3-of-8 from three-point range. He grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and had one steal. Vander Plas' career day came on Feb. 16 at Central Michigan. In that game, he scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He shot 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. He also dished out four assists, had one block and two steals.
Jaelan Sanford, Toledo
Guard, Senior, Evansville, Ind. (Reitz)
Senior guard Jaelan Sanford tallied a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets' 88-82 loss to No. 24 Buffalo on Friday night. Sanford also finished with three assists and just one turnover in 38 minutes while shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range.
Seth Dugan, Western Michigan
Center, Senior, Otsego, Mich.
In three games in five days, senior Seth Dugan averaged 37.3 minutes per game along with 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds. Dugan led the Broncos to a 2-1 record over the three games, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and scored in double figures in two of the three contests. Against NIU on Tuesday, the Broncos secured their first MAC win after Dugan dominated with 26 points and 11 rebounds for this 11th double-double of the season. The Otsego, Mich., native followed up that performance with 12 points and 7 rebounds vs. Kent State. On Saturday vs. Miami, Dugan registered just eight points but had a team-high 10 rebounds and played a career-high 43 minutes as WMU defeated the RedHawks in overtime. Dugan on the year is averaging 15.7 points and 9.0 rebounds while the senior center has been dominant in conference play, averaging 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per conference contest.