Courtesy of PatriotLeague.org
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Lehigh senior center Tim Kempton earned his Patriot League record-setting seventh The Rock Player of the Week honor while American freshman guard Sa’eed Nelson earned his fourth The Rock Rookie of the Week for the final week of the Patriot League men’s basketball regular-season.
Kempton averaged 23.5 points and 11.0 rebounds, to help push him to a League-high 20.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game on the season. Nelson averaged 15.0 points and 3.5 steals, as he finished the season leading all Patriot League freshman with 15.1 points per game and among the nation’s leaders with 2.4 steals per game.
Lafayette junior forward Matt Klinewski, Holy Cross senior guard Robert Champion, Boston University senior guard Eric Fanning and Bucknell junior guard Stephen Brown were all selected honorable mention in the season’s final week.
Patriot League Men’s Basketball The Rock Players of the Week are voted on the League’s men’s basketball sports information directors and one media representative from each program.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tim Kempton, Lehigh, Sr., C/F, 6-10, Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy College Prep
Kempton earns his Patriot League record seventh The Rock Player of the Week honor after averaging 23.5 points and 11.0 rebounds, while shooting .680 from the floor (17-of-25) in Lehigh’s 2-0 week. Kempton finished with 22 points, 11 rebound and a career-high six steals in the Mountain Hawks 87-69 win over Colgate on Wednesday. On Saturday, Kempton finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season and 51st of his career. The senior center shot 10-of-14 from the floor in his final regular-season home game at Stabler Arena.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK ROOKIE OF THE WEEK,
Sa’eed Nelson, American, Fr., G, 6-1, Pleasantville, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep
Nelson earns his fourth The Rock Rookie of the Week, after leading the Eagles to a pair of wins, averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals during the two games. Nelson finished with 19 points and four steals to help American defeat Navy, 74-58 on Wednesday. He finished with 11 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals to help AU defeat Loyola Maryland and clinch the No. 9 seed in the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Tournament.
WEEKLY HONORABLE MENTION
Matt Klinewski, Lafayette, Jr., F, 6-8, Vorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional
Klinewski averaged 19.0 points, shooting 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the floor, while pulling down 6.5 rebounds during a 1-1 week for the Leopards. Klinewski scored 20 points and pulled down five rebounds in a loss to Bucknell on Wednesday, before scoring 18 points and grabbing eight boards in a win over Colgate in the season-finale.
Robert Champion, Holy Cross, Sr., G, 6-6, Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic
Champion averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals during a 1-1 week for the Crusaders. In a win over Loyola Maryland, Champion finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. He paced Holy Cross’s offense with 27 points, one point shy of his career-high, in an eventual overtime loss to Boston University on Saturday for the Turnpike Trophy.
Eric Fanning, Boston University, Sr., G, 6-5, Trenton, N.J./Perkiomen (Pa.)
Fanning averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and shot 57.1 percent from the floor during a 1-1 week where the Terriers clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. Against Army, Fanning finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. He finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in a 71-68 overtime win over Holy Cross in the regular-season finale.
Stephen Brown, Bucknell, Jr., G, 5-11, Manassas, Va./Christ Chapel
Brown averaged 12.5 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range in a 2-0 week for Bucknell. Brown scored 17 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, while dishing out nine assists with no turnovers in a Wednesday night victory over Lafayette. On Saturday, Brown finished with eight points, three assists and three rebounds to help the Bison to an 82-60 win over Navy.
Leave a Reply