Courtesy of MAACSports.com
Player of the Week
Sam Cassell Jr., Iona
Gr., 6-4, G, Baltimore, MD / Connecticut / Notre Dame Prep
Graduate guard Sam Cassell Jr. led the Iona College men’s basketball team to the 2016 GCI Great Alaska Shootout championship earning MVP honors for his performance in the three games in Anchorage. Cassell averaged 17.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He played 108 minutes and had 14 assists to just two turnovers in the three contests. Cassell was named player of the game in the Gaels opening win over Drake scoring 15 points with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. He scored a team-leading 18 points in a 22-point rout on day two vs. defending Big Sky champion Weber State and earned CBS Sports Network’s Moose Hat. In the championship game vs. Nevada, Cassell helped the Maroon & Gold avenge a loss from six-days earlier with 20 points and five assists in route the MVP award. He hit two big three-pointers down the stretch, including one that broke a 59-59 tie with 5:38 remaining and another with 3:35 left to give Iona a four-point advantage.
The Gaels became the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program to win the nation’s oldest regular-season college basketball tournament, which completed its 39th edition. Cassell was the third MVP for the Gaels joining Jeff Ruland in 1979 and Steve Burtt Sr. in 1981.
Rookie of the Week
Peter Kiss, Quinnipiac
Fr., 6-5, G, New York, NY/Notre Dame (MA)
Kiss had a breakout performance at the AdvoCare Invitational, helping the Bobcats to three solid showings on their way to a 1-2 Thanksgiving weekend. He had 18 points on 8-13 shooting in a loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, and followed that up with 19 points on 7-11 shooting (4-4 on threes) in a 90-79 loss to Seton Hall. Kiss shot 5-5 in the second half as the Bobcats cut a 15-point lead down to two before the Pirates pulled away late. He capped off the weekend with 11 points in an 80-77 win over Indiana State, giving him double figures in all three games of the tournament.
Leave a Reply