INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State sophomore guard Marcus Keene (San Antonio, Texas/Warren) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Valparaiso freshman guard Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec, Canada/Vanier College) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Feb. 9-15.
Keene led Youngstown State in scoring in both of its games last week to claim his first Horizon League Player of the Week honor. The sophomore guard finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc in YSU’s 63-62 loss to Green Bay on Wednesday night. Keene sparked YSU’s 10-0 run in the second half with two three-pointers, including a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired to give the Penguins a 10-point lead. On Sunday, Keene dominated the first half, shooting 7-of-9 from the floor and scoring 16 points, while also grabbing six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes to help YSU build a halftime lead over host Wright State. The Texas native had all four of his assists in the second half as YSU held on to beat the Raiders, 74-69. He finished the game with 20 points, on 8-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing eight rebounds.
For the week, Keene averaged 20.5 points per game and shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field. He connected on 57.1% percent (8-of-14) of his three-point attempts.
Keene leads the Horizon League with 85 three-pointers made on the season and ranks fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 44 percent. He needs nine more three-pointers to tie the YSU single-season record of 94 set by Blake Allen in the 2012-13 season.
Walker secured his second Freshman of the Week honor this season with two standout performances for the Crusaders. On Friday night, Walker led the Crusaders with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting as Valpo knocked off Green Bay, 63-59. It was the freshman guard’s second-best offensive output of the season. He scored the first four points of the second half to help the Crusaders open up a 10-point lead on the Phoenix and connected on a three-pointer with five minutes left to give Valpo its biggest lead of the game at 14 points. After Green Bay had scrambled back to get within two points with 20 seconds left, Walker connected on two free throws to clinch the win and seal the scoring on the evening. On Sunday, Walker scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, had four steals and passed out three assists as the Crusaders overcame a halftime deficit to win at Milwaukee. Walker got the Crusaders going in the final 20 minutes with a steal and highlight dunk as he went over a 6’10” Milwaukee player to finish the jam. Walker scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and also had three of his steals as Valpo outscored Milwaukee, 39-27, in the closing half to win, 62-55.
Walker ranks second among all freshmen in the Horizon League in scoring in League games, averaging 12.9 per contest, while his 19 steals in conference play is the most of any freshman.
Top Performers for the Week:
Kahlil Felder, Oakland (So., G) - Felder scored 7 consecutive points in a one minute stretch at the end of the Detroit game to catapult the Golden Grizzlies to the win. He finished the game with 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added eight assists. He surpassed 200 assists last week and became the first Oakland player in the DI era to surpass 200 assists in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Ahman Fells, UIC (Sr., G/F) - Fells posted his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday at Cleveland State. He was 5-of-9 from three-point range at CSU and is now shooting 17-of-27 in his last six games from three-point range. He scored 17 points in the win over Wright State on Thursday.
Trey Lewis, Cleveland State (Jr., G) - Lewis averaged 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as CSU split two games last week. He scored 23 points, his 10th 20-point game of the season, with five rebounds at Detroit. He had 18 points and five rebounds in the win over UIC on Sunday.
Alfonzo McKinnie, Green Bay (Sr., F) - McKinnie registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Youngstown State on Wednesday. He added 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots on Friday at Valparaiso.
Steve McWhorter, Milwaukee (Sr., G) - McWhorter scored in double figures in both games last week and nearly missed out on posting his fourth double-double of the season when he notched 17 points and nine assists in a victory over Oakland. For the week, the senior guard managed 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.5 apg and 3.5 spg, while shooting 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from the field. He pitched in 14 points, four assists, three boards and three steals against Valparaiso on Sunday and he has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 contests.
Top Freshmen for the Week:
Paris Bass, Detroit (Fr., G/F) - Bass erupted against Metro Series rival Oakland with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown. His 28 points were the most by a Titan freshman since Ray McCallum scored 31 against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 11, 2010. Bass took over the first half after Detroit was trailing by 16, he scored 10-straight points, forcing Oakland to call a time out. He finished with 15 points in the first half and 13 in the second, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
Grant Benzinger, Wright State (Fr., G) - Benzinger scored a career-high 23 points vs. UIC on Thursday on 9-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three-point range. He scored a game-high 22 points on Sunday vs. Youngstown State on 9-of-18 shooting and added a career-high seven rebounds.
Nick Daniels, Oakland (Fr., G) - Daniels scored 14 points in 17 minutes off-the-bench in the win over Detroit. He was 6-of-8 from the field in the win. Earlier in the week, he connected on all three of his three-point attempts as he scored 11 points at Milwaukee. He has reached double figures in scoring in three consecutive games.
Justin Jordan, Milwaukee (Fr., G) - Jordan notched nine points, hitting 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc, in the Panthers’ 84-67 victory over Oakland on Tuesday. He then snagged four boards in a 62-55 loss to Valparaiso on Sunday.
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 10: Chrishawn Hopkins, Wright State
Nov. 17: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Nov. 24: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Dec. 1: Bobby Hain, Youngstown State
Dec. 8: Jay Harris, UIC
Dec. 15: Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Dec. 22: Carrington Love, Green Bay
Dec. 29: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Jan. 5: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Jan. 12: Trey Lewis, Cleveland State
Jan. 19: Trey Lewis, Cleveland State
Jan. 26: Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Feb. 2: Corey Petros, Oakland
Feb. 9: Marcus Keene, Youngstown State
Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 10: Justin Jordan, Milwaukee
Nov. 17: Paris Bass, Detroit
Nov. 24: Paris Bass, Detroit
Dec. 1: Nick Daniels, Oakland
Dec. 8: Grant Benzinger, Wright State
Dec. 15: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 22: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Dec. 29: Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso
Jan. 5: Paris Bass, Detroit
Jan. 12: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Jan. 19: Paris Bass, Detroit
Jan. 26: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Feb. 2: Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Feb. 9: Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso
