Courtesy of HorizonLeague.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Oakland junior guard Kay Felder (Detroit, Mich./Pershing) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Northern Kentucky freshman forward Drew McDonald (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week.
Felder averaged 24.3 points, 8.7 assists and 3.3 steals in three games for the Golden Grizzlies last week to claim his fourth Horizon League Player of the Week recognition this season. He opened the week with 23 points, 13 assists and a career-high eight steals as Oakland raced past Chicago State, 101-93.
On Wednesday, Felder scored 30 points – his fourth 30+-point performance of the season – as the Golden Grizzlies fell at fifth-ranked Virginia, 71-58. It was the most points a single player has scored this season against the Cavalier defense that is ranked eighth in the country in scoring defense.
The Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year opened League play on Saturday with his seventh double-double performance of the season as he scored 20 points and had 10 assists in Oakland’s 86-68 win over Cleveland State.
Felder leads the Horizon League and ranks second in Division I in scoring with an average of 26.4 points per game. He leads all of Division I in assists per game with an 8.9 per game average. Only one player listed as a guard (Stetson’s Brian Pegg) has more double-doubles on the season than Felder’s seven.
Felder’s Player of the Week nod is his fourth this season. The record for Player of the Week selections in a single season is six set by Green Bay’s Keifer Sykes in the 2013-14 season. The Oakland junior now has six career Player of the Week honors. Sykes has the most in Horizon League history with 11.
Oakland (9-5, 1-0) returns to the court tonight versus Youngstown State. On Friday, the Golden Grizzlies host Horizon League defending champion and preseason favorite Valparaiso (11-3, 1-0). The game will be televised on ESPN2 and is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. Oakland closes the week with a Sunday afternoon game against UIC.
Drew McDonald captured his first Freshman of the Week honor this season after averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in NKU’s two games last week. The Cold Spring, Ky., native closed non-conference play in style with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting versus Toledo. He added five rebounds in the game. On Saturday, McDonald had his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds at Green Bay. The 13 rebound effort tied for the most by a player on opening day of Horizon League play.
McDonald is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the season, but has seen his production go up over the last four games. Since Dec. 19, the freshman is averaging 13.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in four games for the Norse.
Northern Kentucky plays at Milwaukee tonight to close its first Horizon League roadtrip of the season and returns to action on Saturdaywhen it hosts its first Horizon League game at BB&T Arena as NKU faces Wright State. Tipoff is scheduled by 1 p.m. ET.
Top Performers for the Week:
Kenny Carpenter, Cleveland State (So., G) – Carpenter averaged 13.0 points and 5.0 assists in CSU’s two games last week. He scored 13 points with a career-high nine assists in the win over Cedarville on Tuesday. He also scored 13 points in the Vikings’ HL-opener at Oakland.
Keith Carter, Valparaiso (Sr., G) – Carter averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in two Valpo games last week. He had 16 points and five assists at Belmonton Monday and led the Crusaders with 15 points in their HL-opening win over UIC.
Matt Donlan, Youngstown State (Jr., F) – Donlan scored a career-high 22 points on a career-best six 3-pointers against Detroit. Donlan went 8-for-14 from the floor overall and 6-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and two assists.
Carrington Love, Green Bay (Sr., G) – Love scored 18 points in both Green Bay wins last week after shooting 13-of-27 from the field. He tied his career-high with seven assists in the win at Morehead State.
Joe Thomasson, Wright State (Sr., G) – Thomasson led WSU in scoring with 21 in its 84-82 overtime victory at Milwaukee on Saturday. He played 44 of a possible 45 minutes in the game and added four assists, three rebounds and one steal. He was 8-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-2 from long distance, while also connecting on all three of his free throw attempts.
Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (Sr., F) – Tiby led a Milwaukee comeback effort that came up just short against Wright State, finishing a rebound short of a double-double with 23 points and 9 boards. He scored 10 points in a key 16-0 UWM run that helped erase a 17-point deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation. He added 4 assists and was 13-of-14 at the foul line.
Anton Wilson, Detroit (Sr., G) – Wilson tallied a career-high 34 points and nine rebounds in UDM’s win over Youngstown State on Saturday. He was 10-of-18 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 at the line in the game. He scored 26 points in the second half as the Titans overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Penguins. He started the week with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals at Eastern Michigan.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Jordan Andrews, Youngstown State (Fr., G) – Andrew scored a career-high 13 points against Detroit. he connected on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and made two 3-pointers. He also had four rebounds and two assists.
Gerald Blackshear, Detroit (Fr., F) – Blackshear matched his season-high with 10 rebounds in UDM’s game at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday. He added eight points against the Eagles. He had six points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot in the win over YSU on Saturday.
Dikembe Dixson, UIC (Fr., F) – Dixson scored a career-high 28 points in the Flames game versus Northern Illinois on Tuesday. It was the most points scored by a UIC player this season. He shot 50 percent (8-of-16) from the field and knocked down 11-of-16 from the foul line. He matches his career-high with three steals against NIU.
Rob Edwards, Cleveland State (Fr., G) – Edwards averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in CSU’s two games last week. He set career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (9) in the win over Cedarville. He tied the CSU single-game record, going 5-of-5 from three-point range vs. Cedarville.
Mark Hughes, Wright State (Fr., G) – Hughes hit three three-pointers, including back-to-back treys to help WSU win at UWM Panther Arena for the first time since 1998. He finished with 11 points, three rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes of action. He was 4-of-5 from the field.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week: Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 9: Carrington Love, Green Bay Nov. 9: Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Nov. 16: Kay Felder, Oakland Nov. 16: Josh McFolley, Detroit
Nov. 23: Bobby Hain, Youngstown State Nov. 23: Rob Edwards, Cleveland State
Nov. 30: Jordan Fouse, Green Bay Nov. 30: Josh McFolley, Detroit
Dec. 7: Kay Felder, Oakland/Jordan Johnson, Milwaukee Dec. 7: Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Dec. 14: Kay Felder, Oakland Dec. 14: Rob Edwards, Cleveland State
Dec. 21: Jordan Johnson, Milwaukee Dec. 21: Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Dec. 28: Kay Felder, Oakland Dec. 28: Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
There’s an error – Keifer Sykes has 13 Player of the Week honors in his career, not 11