Brand New Names are Emerging

Last Weekly Awards Before Conference Play

(St. Louis, MO) – Brand new names are emerging in this week’s Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences’ weekly award winners. For the first time this season, UT Martin’s Matas Deniusas is not the OVC ‘Freshman of the Week‘ and for the sixth straight week, there are no repeaters in the MVC’s ‘Player’ or ‘Newcomer’ categories.

Those races are wide open as we prepare for full out conference play,.

Brand New Names – Player of the Week

During Western Illinois’ only game last week Karyiek Dixon recorded a 17-point, eighteen rebound double-double. The Leathernecks earned their first road win of the season in overtime fashion at North Dakota. That 18-rebound performance is the OVC’s best this year and Dixon becomes the fifth different ‘Player of the Week’ during the first six weeks of OVC action.

Leon Bond III exploded for 26 points during Northern Iowa’s win over Oakland. The Valley’s ‘Player of the Week’ collected seven rebounds and made nine of 13 shot attempts. LB3 is the Valley’s sixth different player to earn this weekly award.

Newcomer’s Emerging

Western Illinois’ Karyiek is the OVC’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’. The Emporia State transfer is the OVC’s eighth leading rebounder (sixth in offensive caroms) and is a London, England native. He is again, the fifth different newcomer to win this weekly award.

Layne Taylor came to Murray State with big expectations and last week those expectations were met and exceeded. The Central Arkansas transfer scored 23 points and added eight assists during the Racers’ 115-100 win over Akron. This week’s Valley ‘Player of the Week’ leads the MVC in assist-to-turnover ratio and is third in assists.

Brand New Freshmen

Deniusas’ stranglehold on the OVC’s weekly rookie award is finally broken. Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s Iwo Baganc is the ‘Freshman of the Week’. The Polish native scored ten points and added three rebounds in SIUE’s dominating win over Eureka College. Deniusas had won every other weekly notification.

Belmont’s Jack Smiley has scored 58 points in his last six games and is becoming a growing part of the Bruins’ attack. The Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ scored all eleven of his points during the second half of Belmont’s win over UIC. Five different Valley freshmen have claimed a weekly award. Only Valparaiso’s Rakim Chaney has earned this award twice.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Leon Bond III, courtesy of unipanthers.com.