This week’s honorees are:
East Division – Nick Perkins (Buffalo)
West Division – Luke Meyer (Central Michigan)
AND Tre'Shaun Fletcher (Toledo)
For details on these players and other nominees, click Read More . . . )
Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Forward, Junior, Ypsilanti, MI (Milan)
Junior Nick Perkins averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds this past week as the Bulls continued to roll through the Mid-American Conference, improving to 6-0 in league play. Perkins led the Bulls to a dominating 95-67 win over Northern Illinois as he tied his career high with 26 points, going 10 of 15 from the floor. He continued his domination on Friday evening in UB's nationally-televised road win at preseason MAC West favorite, Western Michigan. Perkins just missed a double-double as he scored 18 points and finished with nine rebounds. Perkins was one of four UB players in double figures in scoring. Despite coming off the bench in all six games, Perkins is second in the league in scoring in MAC games at 19.2 points per game. The 6-0 start for the Bulls is their best ever start to conference play in school history, regardless of conference.
West Division Co-Players of the Week
Luke Meyer, Central Michigan
Forward, Senior, Addison, Mich. (Addison)
Senior forward Luke Meyer nearly averaged a double-double (21.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) to lead Central Michigan last week in a pair of road games. On Tuesday at Ball State, Meyer had a career night, setting personal bests in points (26) and rebounds (14). He also knocked a career-high six 3-pointers, shooting .600 from long range. Meyer was 2-for-2 from the free throw line, extending his streak to 16 consecutive makes. He also added two blocks and one steal. On Saturday, Meyer was a key part of the Chippewa’s 84-75 win at Bowling Green, helping CMU overcome a 15-point second half deficit to gain the conference victory. Meyer totaled 16 points, on 7-for-11 (.636) shooting from the field, and had five rebounds, as Central Michigan snapped a four-game MAC skid. Meyer currently ranks No. 6 in the MAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.429), No. 7 in field goal percentage (.552) and No. 17 in rebounding (5.9 rpg).
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior,Wilmar, Ark. (Univ. of Colorado)
Senior guard Tre’Shaun Fletcher nearly averaged a double-double to help the Rockets extend their winning streak to a season-high five games and extend their lead in the Mid-American Conference West Division to two games. Fletcher averaged 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game to go along with a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio. Fletcher opened the week by scoring a team-high 18 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists in a 91-57 victory at Ohio. The 34-point margin of victory was the Rockets ever in a MAC game in school history. The Wilmar, Ark. native then helped the Rockets to a 72-65 home win over Kent State by rebounding from a two-point, one-rebound first half to finish with a 17-point, 12-rebound, four-assist outing for his eighth double-double of the season. Fletcher came up with a pair of key plays down the stretch to help the Rockets pull away. With the score tied at 61-all, Fletcher slammed one home with 3:35 to play and then fed sophomore center Luke Knapke for a dunk on UT’s next possession to give the Rockets the lead for good.
OTHER NOMINEES
Trey Moses, Ball State
Center, Junior, Louisville, Ky. (Eastern)
Trey Moses averaged 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds last week while also tying the Ball State record for consecutive made field goals. Moses made his last four shots Tuesday against Central Michigan and his first nine Saturday at Miami. His 13 straight makes matched the school record set by Clement Murrell in 1979. Moses finished the CMU game with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double in eight games to lead the Cardinals to a victory. He then scored a season-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds at Miami. He finished that game 9 for 10 from the floor and didn’t miss a shot until there was 1:16 left in the game. Moses is averaging a double-double over the past nine games. He ranks third among all players in MAC play in rebounding (9.8) and field goal percentage (.612).
Demajeo Wiggins, Bowling Green
Forward, Junior, Toledo, Ohio (Springfield)
Demajeo Wiggins, a junior forward from Toledo, played a huge role in Bowling Green’s 1-1 week. For the week, Wiggins, who shot an astonishing 81.2 percent (13-of-16) from the floor and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11), averaged 17.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The junior began the week with a monster performance in a win at Miami. He went 8-for-9 from the floor, while registering 22 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high five assists. To conclude the week, Wiggins posted 13 points and 11 rebounds, and shot 5-for-7 from the field. What made the performance more impressive was the fact that he played just three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Wiggins came out in the second half, and posted 11 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes. The 6-10 big man has now posted a double-double in five-consecutive games. He’s averaging 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds on the season.
James Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan
F/C, Junior, Baton Rouge, La. / Parkview Baptist
As has been the case most of the year and for his career, junior James Thompson averaged a double-double with an average of 14.5 point and 11.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for EMU. Thompson was 9-of-10 from the floor again Akron and Ohio, while going 11-for-16 from the free throw line for a total of 29 points. He also finished with a total of four blocks on the week in 39.0 minutes of work. In holding the Zips to just 49 points, Thompson scored eight points and grabbed eight boards. Against Ohio, he followed up with 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting to go with a team-high 14 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the campaign.
Kevin Zabo, Kent State
Guard, Senior, Gatineau, Quebec (Brewster Academy {N.H.})
Senior guard Kevin Zabo registered his best week of the season averaging a team-best 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Zabo has been efficient over the past week shooting 54.8% (17-of-31) from the field while catching fire from three, shooting 66.7% (6-of-9). In Kent State's win over Western Michigan he stuffed the stat sheet shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range, grabbed four rebounds, and recorded four assists with three steals. On the road against MAC West leader Toledo, he poured in 20 points while shooting 64.2% (9-of-14) in the nail-biting loss. The Gatineau, Quebec native leads the Golden Flashes averaging nearly 19 ppg in conference games. KSU is shooting 48% (29-of-60) from three in its last three games, up 14 percentage points on their season average (34%).
Jordan Dartis, Ohio
Guard, Junior, Newark, Ohio (Newark)
Junior guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) helped lead the Ohio men's basketball team (9-9, 2-4 MAC) to split of games against Mid-American Conference West Division foes last week, averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game and shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the field -- including a team-best 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range. Dartis matched his career high by draining seven-three pointers en route to a game-high 24 points to help power Ohio to a 72-66 triumph over Eastern Michigan last Saturday (Jan. 20) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. Dartis went 8-of-12 from the field -- including 7-of-10 from three-point range. He piled up 21 points in the second half, draining six treys. He also finished the contest with two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes. Junior guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) recorded his fourth 20-point outing of the season and 10th of his Ohio career by dropping 24 in a 72-66 triumph over Eastern Michigan last Saturday (Jan. 20) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan
Forward, Sophomore, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
Johnson averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in two contests over the week while shooting 62.5 percent from the field. Against Kent State, Johnson recorded 14 points, eight of which came in the first half. Against Buffalo on Friday, Johnson registered 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. At the free-throw line over the week, Johnson was near automatic, going 6-of-8. This season, Johnson leads the team in field goal percentage (min. 100 attempts), with a .500 clip. Johnson ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.4 per game and is averaging 9.2 points per game this season.