Ali Ali, Akron, Wing
Sophomore, Kendallville, Ind. (East Noble)
Sophomore wing Ali Ali led Akron to its first league win with a career-high 32 points as the Zips defeated Buffalo 88-76 at James A. Rhodes Arena to open Mid-American Conference play on Saturday. Ali buried 7-of-12 shots from the field for a 58.3 shooting percentage, including a 50-percent showing from beyond the 3-point arc with two made triples. He visited the free throw line 22 times while registering a career-best 16 points from the charity stripe at a 72.7-percent rate. Ali added a team-high four assists, grabbed three rebounds and issued a blocked a shot.
Mekhi Lairy, Miami, Guard
Senior, Evansville, Ind. (Bosse)
Lairy poured in a career-high 28 points, evaporating an 11-point second-half deficit and lifting Miami to an 11-point advantage late in the second half, in a 91-81 win at Buffalo in the RedHawks’ lone game of the week. It was the RedHawks’ first MAC-opening win since 2017-18. Lairy scored seven points over the final 1:50 of the game to help clinch the road win, including two of his eight free throws to hand Miami their largest lead of the game with 44 seconds to play, 88-77. Lairy led all players in scoring, going 8-of-16 (.500) from the floor, including 4-of-5 (.800) from 3-point range, and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He accounted for five of the RedHawks’ 12 assists for the game and added four rebounds to his line.
Other Nominees
Payton Sparks, Ball State, Center
Freshman, Winchester, Ind. (Winchester)
Sparks recorded a career-best 20 points while adding nine rebounds, two assists, and a block. Sparks started the game against Bowling Green on fire, scoring the team's first six points of the game. Sparks was a big reason the Cardinals outscored the Falcons, 34-12, in the paint. Sparks was on the court for a season-high 29 minutes. He also drew 10 of the Falcons' 19 fouls.
Trey Diggs, Bowling Green, Guard
Senior, Niceville, Fla. (Niceville)
Bowling Green senior Trey Diggs paced the Falcons in their MAC opener against Ball State with 18 points, all coming from behind the arc (6-of-10). The six triples marks a new season-high for Diggs, just one shy of his career-high. Diggs also set a new season-high for steals with two in the game and was second on the team for rebounds in the contest with five.
Harrison Henderson, Central Michigan, Forward
Graduate, Dallas, Texas/South Grand Prairie
Henderson led Central Michigan to a victory at Kent State, 72-69, in CMU's conference opener with 18 points and five rebounds. The forward was stellar at the line, hitting 8-of-9 free throws as CMU won for just the second time at Kent State since 1997.
Mark Sears, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Muscle Shoals, Ala. / Hargrave Military Academy
Ohio men's basketball sophomore guard Mark Sears led the Bobcats once again on the court. Last week, Sears averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. On Jan. 1 at Western Michigan, Sears led Ohio to a MAC play Oper victory over the Broncos, scoring 21 points, while going 7-of-14 from the field. He also went 7-of-8 from the line, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and had three steals. Sears also registered a block in the Bobcats' 59-47 victory, helping Ohio improve to 10-2 on the season.
JT Shumate, Toledo, Forward
Junior, Newark, Ohio (Newark)
Shumate averaged 17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.0 bpg in Toledo‘s two games last week. Shumate also shot 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from the field, 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from three-point range and 100.0 percent (7-of-7) from the charity strip. Shumate poured in a team-high 22 points, grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists for his third double-double of the season in the Rockets’ MAC-opening 95-63 victory over Western Michigan.The Newark, Ohio native then scored 12 points and collected five rebounds in a 66-63 setback at Kent State. Shumate leads the MAC with a 51.9 3PTFG% and ranks fourth with 7.5 rpg and a 55.7 field-goal percentage.
Markeese Hastings, Western Michigan, Forward
R-So., Wyoming, Mich. (Godwin Heights)
Hastings nearly averaged a double-double for the week, posting 9.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block per game for the Broncos. In his first career MAC game, the redshirt sophomore scored nine points and snagged a career-high 18 rebounds at Toledo. The 18 rebounds are the most by any MAC player in a single game this season ... Of his 18 rebounds, 11 were on the offensive end, with 10 of the offensive boards coming in the second half ... Followed that up with nine points, 14 rebounds and two blocks against Ohio.