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Jeremy Harris, Buffalo
Guard/Forward, Junior, Greensboro, NC (Paige High)
Junior Jeremy Harris led the Bulls to a pair of victories this past week as Buffalo clinched the MAC East Division Title. Harris averaged 21.5 points per game during the two contests beginning on Tuesday night when he scored a career-high 24 points in the win over the Golden Flashes. Harris added six rebounds, two assists and two steals against Kent State as he went 9-of-15 from the floor. Harris scored just under 20 points in the win over Bowling Green as he had 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots against the Falcons. Over the last six games, Harris is averaging 19.8 points per game. He is second on the team in scoring in MAC games this season.
MAC West Division. Player of the Week
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
Center, Junior, Baton Rouge, La. (Parkview Baptist)
A week after joining the exclusive 1,000 point, 1,000 rebound club, James Thompson IV helped lead Eastern Michigan University to its first 2-0 week in conference play. The junior opened up the week with a 14-point, 14-rebound performance in the Eagles' 58-57 win over Miami, where he also added four blocks and a steal. He followed that showing with his sixth 20+ point performance of the season in Eastern's come-from-behind 72-67 victory at Central Michigan, pouring in 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing 14 rebounds and swatting four shots. Thompson is the league's leader in five categories, dominating the rebounding statistics and double-doubles, while also adding a league-best .675 shooting percentage from the floor.
Malcolm Duvivier, Akron
Guard, G-Senior, Oregon State
Graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ohio) had a career week as he led the Zips with 26.5 points per game en route to a pair of career-high scoring performances while surpassing the 1,000 career point mark. Duvivier opened the week with a personal best 26 points against Ball State. He shot 40 percent from the field (8-of-20) and 46.2 percent from downtown (6-of-13). He added a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line while adding two rebounds and two assists. Against Kent State, Duvivier topped that performance by scoring a career-high 27 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor (8-of-16) and 44.4 percent from long distance (4-of-9). He drained 7-of-9 free throws and pulled down three rebounds while achieving another career milestone with two blocked shots in a game. For the week, He nailed 44.4 percent of his shots from the floor (16-of-36) and 45.5 percent from deep (10-of-22). Duvivier finished the week with a 73.3 percent free throw percentage while grabbing 2.5 rebounds per game (5 rebs.).
Tahjai Teague, Ball State
Forward, Sophomore, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
Tahjai Teague led Ball State to two key wins last week with a pair of double-doubles, averaging 18.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. The sophomore forward scored 21 points and pulled down 10 boards Tuesday in the Cardinals’ 90-77 victory at Akron. He also added three assists and a pair of steals to lead BSU to its first win in Akron in 17 years. Teague then went for 16 points and 12 rebounds Saturday in Ball State’s 99-71 victory over Toledo. His fifth double-double in the past seven games guided the Cardinals to a sweep of the season series from a Toledo team that entered the weekend tied for the overall MAC lead. Teague’s performance helped Ball State take a firm hold of the No. 3 position in the race for a top-4 MAC Tournament seed. The Cardinals have won six of their past seven games, with Teague averaging 16.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game during that stretch.
Justin Turner, Bowling Green
Guard, R-Freshman, Detroit, Mich. (Renaissance)
Redshirt-freshman guard Justin Turner averaged 26.0 points on 59.3 percent shooting last week, as the Falcons went 1-1. On Tuesday, Turner went an insane 11-for-13 from the field en route to a 29-point performance in a victory versus Western Michigan. He also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Turner completed his week with a final stat line of 23 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block. Turner has now scored 20-plus points a total of nine times in 2017-18. He leads all MAC freshmen in scoring (15.7 PPG).
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan
Guard/Forward, Sophomore, Warren, Mich. (Warren De La Salle)
Sophomore guard/forward Kevin McKay stepped to the forefront in a major way for Central Michigan last week, averaging a double-double in its two conference games (23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds). On Tuesday at NIU, CMU’s super sixth-man and top defensive stopper was an offensive force, leading the Chippewas to a 80-72 road win over the Huskies. He shot .700 (14-of-20) from the field en route to scoring a career-high and season team-best 33 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds and had three assists and one steal. On Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan, McKay notched his second double-double in the last three games, totaling 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to a along with a career-best seven assists. The 6-5 McKay outrebounded the MAC’s top board man, EMU’s 6-10 James Thompson IV, 16-14, including a game-high seven on the offensive end. He was also a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. In MAC games, McKay is CMU’s third-leading scorer (13.2 ppg) and top rebounder (7.4 rpg) and leads the conference in steals with 33. He ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg) (MAC games only) and is seventh overall in rebounding (7.4 rpg).
Jalen Avery, Kent State
Guard, Junior, Covington, Ky. (Shroder)
Kent State's Jalen Avery came up clutch in Kent State's 78-68 victory over arch-rival Akron this week. The Junior scored 16 points against the Zips all coming in the last 4:47 of the game. With roughly five minutes to go Akron had a four-point lead and Avery made his first field goal, a three-pointer, to cut it to just a one-point deficit. After a Kent State made bucket he drilled the dagger, a three-pointer with 3:10 left and the Flashes never looked back. Avery continued to make big shots down the stretch from the field and at the free throw line. He was a perfect 6-for-6 in the last five minutes and finished the game 4-of-7 from the floor. Against the MAC-leading Buffalo Bulls on Tuesday night on the road, Avery again played a stellar second half, scoring 14 of his 16 points. He netted four threes in the second half to keep Kent State in the game and led the Flashes to 45 second-half points. On the week Avery shot 50% from the field (10-of-20) and 100% from the free-throw line (6-for-6). Avery who is second in the nation in assist to turnover ratio, had six assists to just one turnover.
Eugene German, NIU
Guard, Sophomore, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
Eugene German continued his spectacular offensive season this week averaging 27.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a pair of games against Western Michigan and Central Michigan. German is now averaging a league-high 20.5 points per game, including a league-best 21.1 points per game in league play. After opening the week with 23 points and seven rebounds against Central Michigan (Feb. 13), German netted a career-high 31 in a 75-67 victory over Western Michigan (Feb. 17). German now has 15 games of 20-plus points, including a pair of 30-plus point games. For the week, the sophomore from Gary, Ind., shot 51.3 percent (20-of-39) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-20) from three, and went 7-of-9 from the free-throw line (77.8 percent). With his 31 points against the Broncos, German moved into third in single-season points by a sophomore in NIU history with 554, moving past Kenny Battle who scored 528 points in 1985-86.
Teyvion Kirk, Ohio
Guard, Freshman, Joliet, Ill. (Joliet West)
Freshman guard Teyvion Kirk (Joliet, Ill.) continued his sensational rookie season by putting together another big week for the Ohio men's basketball team (11-15, 4-10 MAC), averaging a team-high 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds as well as 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 points while averaging 35.0 minutes as the Bobcats split a pair of Mid-American Conference games. He shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line. Kirk finished with 21 points and a game-high 10 boards to achieve his third double-double of the season as Ohio fell to MAC West Division foe Toledo, 82-74, last Tuesday (Feb. 13) at Savage Arena in Toledo. He shot 7-of-11 from both the field and the free throw line, shaking off a tough first half in which he went 1-of-3 for two points with a second half in which he went 6-of-8 for 19 points. He also totaled an assist, a block and a steal over 26 minutes of work. Kirk then went 6-of-15 from the field and made all five of his free throws to compile 18 points as Ohio erased a four-point deficit in overtime and beat MAC East Division archrival Miami, 92-87, on Saturday (Feb. 17) at the Convocation Center in Athens. He also logged seven rebounds, a team-high five assists and a steal over 44 minutes.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior, Wilmar, Ark. (Univ. of Colorado)
Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher led Toledo with 16.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg in the Rockets' two games last week. In UT's home victory over Ohio, Fletcher tallied 17 points and eight rebounds. He then registered 15 points, eight boards and four assists in a setback at Ball State.
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan
Guard, Senior, Montgomery, Ill. (Quakerdale Prep)
In two games on the road against Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, Thomas Wilder led the Broncos in scoring with 18 against BGSU and 20 against NIU. Against the Falcons, Wilder poured in 18 points to go along with three rebounds, five assists and six steals. His six steals is tied for the second most in a game in program history and was the second time this season the senior guard has had six steals. Against BGSU, Wilder shot 42.9 percent from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. On Saturday at Northern Illinois, Wilder registered 20 points on 5-of-17 shooting from the field. Wilder also tallied three rebounds and five assists against the Huskies. Overall in the two games, Wilder was a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe.