Pre-Christmas Players of the Week

Big Wins and Big Performances

(St. Louis, MO) – Before conference season hits full stride this week here are the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference pre-Christmas players of the week. Bradley’s Jaquan Johnson , Tennessee Martin’s Matas Deniusas and Murray State’s Roman Domon are the players repeating previously earned honors.

Pre-Christmas Players of the Week

Johnson is emerging as a dominating force in the Missouri Valley Conference. The sophomore guard led the Braves to a 2-0 week in league play and scored 40 points in the two Bradley victories. The league’s leader in steals also collected eight assists and eight steals. Johnson earns his second ‘Player of the Week’ honor and leads the conference with an 18.5 points-per-game scoring average.

(See our feature on Jaquan Johnson)

Lindenwood’s Anias Futrell tallied a career high 36 points during the Lions’ win over Western Illinois then added 16 against Harris Stowe. Futrell is the OVC’s ‘Player of the Week’ and is league’s eighth leading scorer (15.6) and is seventh in field goal percentage.

(See our preseason interview with Futrell and coach Kyle Gerdeman)

Newcomers Making a Mark

The Missouri Valley’s leading rebounder, Fred King is the MVC ‘Newcomer of the Week’. King sparked Murray State to a pair of league wins by averaging 17.5 points and eight rebounds. His 16-point, eleven-rebound double-double was the second of the season for the Creighton transfer.

Eastern Illinois earned its first OVC victory of the season and guard Meechie White scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds, earning the league’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’ honors. White made a combined 15 of sixteen shots (field goals, triples and free throws during the Panthers’ win over SIUE.

Pre-Christmas Rookie Repeaters

Murray State’s Roman Domon scored twenty points during the Racers’ win over Valparaiso and nine while defeating Drake. Domon’s second ‘Freshman of the Week’ honor ties him with Valpo’s Rakim Chaney with two such honors.

The weekly rookie award has belonged to Tennessee Martin’s Deniusas for six of the seven weeks this season. Deniusas averaged 16.5 points, six boards and 3.5 helpers as the Skyhawks split a pair of road OVC games. His sixth ‘Freshman of the Week’ award ties him for the most ever by a player from UT Martin.

 

Editor: Cover photo of Anias Futrell, courtesy of lindenwoodlions.com.