This week's honorees are:
MAC East Co-POTW: Justin Turner (Bowling Green), Jason Preston (Ohio)
MAC West Co-POTW: Eugene German (Northern Illinois), Brandon Johnson (Western Michigan)
Click Read More for details on these players and other top performers . . .
Justin Turner, Bowling Green, Guard
R-Junior, Detroit, Mich. (Renaissance)
Turner averaged 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, as the Falcons went 1-1 with a Battle of I-75 victory over Toledo. Turner opened the week with one of the best games of his career, as he scored 31 points on just 16 shots at Central Michigan on Feb. 4. Turner shot 50.0 percent from the floor, and went 11-of-11 at the charity stripe. In Bowling Green's win over Toledo on Feb. 8, Turner was dominant down the stretch. He scored or assisted on eight of BGSU's final 11 field goals. The native of Detroit finished the ballgame with 21 points, five assists and five rebounds. He's now scored 20-plus points in six-consecutive games.
Jason Preston, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Orlando, Fla.(Boone)
Preston was masterful on Saturday against Miami, recording his first career triple-double and only the second in Ohio men's basketball history. Preston finished the game with 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Preston sent 6-of-9 (.667) from the field and 3-of-4 (.750) from the free throw line to help the Bobcats to a commanding 77-46 victory over arch rival Miami, snapping the Bobcats' four-game losing streak.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Co-Players of the Week
Eugene German, NIU, Guard
Senior, Gary, Ind. (21st Century Charter)
German averaged 26.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three, as the Huskies extended their winning streak to six games with a sweep of Toledo (Feb. 4) and Kent State (Feb. 7) last week. With the pair of wins, NIU took sole possession of first place in the MAC West. German opened the week 25 points in a 66-61 win at Toledo, going 7-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-6 from three and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. With the Huskie up by a pair in the final minute against the Rockets, the Huskie senior scored four-straight points to give NIU a two-possession lead and, ultimately, the victory. Against Kent State, the Gary, Ind., native scored a season-high 27 points, with six rebounds and three assists, as the Huskies outlasted the Golden Flashes, 57-54. German went 10-of-19 from the floor against Kent State, including 3-of-7 from three.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
R-Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
Johnson led the Broncos to two victories this past week, leading the team with 21 points at Miami followed by a career-high 29 points vs. Ball State. Against the RedHawks last Tuesday Johnson scored the go-ahead basket with 36.9 seconds left to cap off a 7-of-10 shooting night from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Johnson also made his mark at the free-throw line at Miami going 7-of-10. Johnson followed up his 21-point performance with a career-high 29 points in a 68-64 win at home over Ball State. Johnson scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half including 15 straight during the final five minutes of play. The Chicago, Ill. forward was 12-of-14 from the field against the Cardinals while recording seven rebounds. It was the 5th and 6th 20-point performances of the season for Johnson and now has 7 20-point games in his career. Johnson is also inching close to the 1,000-point mark, needing just 122 more points to become WMU’s 43rd member of the 1,000-point club. Johnson ranks second on the team with 15.4 points per game while during MAC play is averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Other Top Performances
Tyler Cheese, Akron, Guard
Senior, Albany, Ga.
In Akron’s lone game of the week, Cheese led the Zips to a come from behind victory, scoring 11 second-half points. Cheese kept the game close with timely 3-pointers and knocking down 8-of-9 free throws to set up late game heroics by teammate Xeyrius Williams for a 59-58 win at the buzzer over Eastern Michigan. Cheese added three rebounds and three assists while shooting 5-of-13 from the floor which included a 3-of-8 effort from deep.
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Malvern, OH
Graves had the best rebounding week of his career as he averaged 11.0 boards over the two contests. He tied his career high with 12 rebounds in the victory over Central Michigan as he completed the double-double, while adding 11 points. Graves had another 11 rebounds earlier in the week at Eastern Michigan. He leads the Bulls in scoring at 16.2 points per game.
David DiLeo, Central Michigan, Forward
Senior, Iowa City, Iowa (New Hampton School [N.H.])
DiLeo had a standout and memorable week, first leading Central Michigan to a pivotal win and then making program and conference history. For the week, DiLeo averaged 21.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, shooting .583 overall, .556 from beyond the arc and 1.000 from the line. On Tuesday, DiLeo scored 26 points, making 6-of-8 3-point attempts, and had six rebounds in a 92-82 win over Bowling Green, snapping the Falcons' eight-game win streak and handing the MAC's top team just its second conference loss of the season. On Friday at Buffalo, DiLeo helped spark an 18-point second half comeback by the Chippewas and, in the process, became the CMU and MAC 3-point shooting career leader. He finished the game with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals.
Ty Groce, Eastern Michigan, Forward
Redshirt Junior, Ypsilanti, Mich. (Lincoln)
Groce averaged 14.5 points per game, as the Eagles went 1-1 last week. Eastern Michigan notched its second-consecutive victory in the Mid-American Conference with a 66-62 win over Buffalo, Feb. 4, but dropped a cross-divisional affair at Akron in the final seconds, 59-58, Feb. 8. The redshirt junior finished the week shooting 50 percent (11-of-22) from the field and averaged 3.5 blocks, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. Groce led the Green and White with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting against the Bulls. He also contributed four steals, three blocks, and three assists in 38 minutes of play. On Saturday, the Ypsilanti, Mich. native recorded his 16th double-figure scoring performance with 15 points versus the Zips. Groce went 5-of-7 from the field and tallied four rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 40 minutes of action. The redshirt junior has led the Eagles in scoring 10 times this season and is leading the team averaging 11.4 points per game. Groce is tied for second in the MAC with 2.0 steals per game.
Danny Pippen, Kent State, Forward
Junior , Detroit, Mich.
Pippen led the Flashes efforts this week for the Flashes. Over two games, Pippen averaged 12 points a game and 10 rebounds a game. Against Ball State, Pippen grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, his sixth game this season grabbing double-digit boards and third straight game. He also added eight points. At Northern Illinois, Pippen scored a team-high 16 points, his 20th game this season scoring in double figures. Pippen added eight boards and two assists.
Marreon Jackson, Toledo, Guard
Junior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Jackson averaged 22.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 4.5 apg in two games for the Rockets last week. Jackson tallied 14 points, six rebounds and five assists against MAC West leader Northern Illinois before erupting for 31 points and grabbing six boards at MAC East leader Bowling Green. Jackson scored the Rockets’ final five points vs. the Falcons to tie the score at 83-83.