Week Ten – MVC/OVC Weekly Winners

Scharnowski & Lawson Shine

(St. Louis, MO) – It is week ten of the season and we are roughly a third of the way through the conference schedule. The races are forming and some players seem to be ascending. Belmont’s Drew Scharnowski seems to have figured it out and Little Rock’s Johnathan Lawson has been really good for a long time.

Week Ten – Players of the Week

Scharnowski sparked an Iowa sweep as the Bruins won at Northern Iowa and at Drake. The 6’9 forward averaged 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, two assists and two steals, making 13 of 14 shots he took in the Hawkeye State. After reaching double-figures in scoring in three of the Bruins’ first seven games, this week’s ‘Player of the Week’ has now accomplished the feat in eight of the last nine contests.

Lawson is putting together his second straight spectacular season at Little Rock. The 6’7 guard helped the Trojans jump back into the OVC race, leading them to a pair of road victories. He scored 43 points during the team’s sweep of the St. Louis area teams. The OVC’s ‘Player of the Week’ averages 16.6 points per game, but has topped the twenty-point mark six times this year and in five straight contests. He has scored 790 during is one-and-a-half years in Little Rock.

First Time Newcomers

Illinois Chicago swept two State of Illinois rivals and Abdul Momoh was a big part of those victories. The 6’8 forward averaged 11.5 points and five boards, shooting .786 from the field. ‘Newcomer of the Week’ Momoh is a defensive stopper and helped UIC hold both Southern Illinois and Illinois State under 60 points.

Morehead State split a pair of games and UNC Asheville transfer Davion Cunningham came off the bench to score 35 points during a come-from-behind win over Southeast Missouri. The Eagles are one of five teams (including SEMO) with an OVC mark of 4-2 trailing Tennessee Martin by one game. This is Cunningham’s second OVC ‘Newcomer of the Week’. His 35-point explosion is the highest scoring output by an Eagle since 2013.

Week Ten Freshmen

Murray State’s Roman Doman is the odds-on favorite to be the Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Year’ and he is this week’s ‘Freshman of the Week’. The 6’9 rookie averaged 18.5 points and six rebounds as the Racers swept Valparaiso and Evansville. This Domon’s third ‘Freshman’ honor and he is the Valley’s freshman scoring leader.

Another key contributor to Morehead State’s successful week is Vince Dawson III. The 6’6 guard went five-for-five from deep and averaged nine points-per-game. Dawson becomes just the fourth OVC player to be named ‘Freshman of the Week’ due to the six-week dominance of UT Martin’s Matas Deniusas.

Tonight’s Action

Tonight, there are three games in the Missouri Valley and one in Ohio Valley Conference. UIC tries to add to its two-game win streak when they play Northern Iowa who is trying to snap a two game skid. Valparaiso visits Belmont and Evansville entertains Bradley.

Eastern Illinois puts its two-game win streak on the line against visiting Western Illinois. The Leathernecks are still looking for their first OVC win.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Drew Scharnowski, courtesy of BelmontBruins.com.