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BAY CITY, Mich. - Grand Valley State University senior center Nick Waddell (Chicago, Ill./New Mexico J.C.) and Wayne State University junior guard Cole Prophet (Sandusky, Ohio) have been chosen as the GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week", respectively.
GLIAC North Division Player
of the Week:
Nick Waddell
Grand Valley State
6-7, Senior, Center
Chicago, Ill./New Mexico J.C.
Senior center Nick Waddell helped GVSU to a 2-0 record by averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in home victories over Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. Waddell notched his third double-double in four games with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the 67-60 win over NMU. He was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range (he was previously 0-for-2 from beyond the arc in his career) in that victory. Waddell shot 62.5 percent from the field in the two games, made all six free throws, and all three trifectas.
North Division Weekly Honor
Roll: Daniel Sutherlin - FS, Alex Williams - LS, Ali
Hadar - MT, DeAndre Taylor - NM, Bobby Lewis - NU, Michael Fugate -
SV.
2011-12 North Division "Players of the
Week": (11/15) B. Lewis - NU; (11/21) C. Webb
- SV; (11/28) K. Brown - FS; (12/5) J. Thomas - GV; (12/12) A.
Haidar - MT; (12/20) N. Waddell - GV.
GLIAC South Division Player
of the Week:
Cole Prophet
Wayne State
5-6, Junior, Guard
Sandusky, Ohio
Junior guard Cole Prophet helped the Warriors extend their
winning streak to eight games by averaging 20.5 points, 6.5 assists
and two steals in two home court victories. Prophet tallied
15 points and five assists in Thursday’s win over Ohio
Dominican. In the Tiffin contest, he assisted on the first
three WSU buckets, then hit a triple to knot the game at 20 as part
of scoring 11 of WSU’s 17 points to erase a three-point
deficit and turn it into a three-point advantage. He
scored 15 points in the final 10 minutes of the game to seal the
win.
South Division Weekly Honor Roll: Evan Yates - AU, Greg Kahlig - UF, Brad Guinane - HC, Rich Austin - LE, Darrien Douglas - OD, Travis Spahr - TU.
2011-12 South Division "Players of the Week": (11/15) T.Spahr - TU; (11/21) K. Finley - TU; (11/28) I. Udanoh - WS; (12/5) N. Washburn - HC; (12/12) E. Yates - AU; (12/20) C. Prophet - WS.
Ashland Eagles
The Eagles dropped a heartbreaker to Hillsdale on Saturday afternoon before falling to Northwood on Monday night. AU junior guard Ronnie Steward (Columbus, Ohio/Akron) tied the game with a 3-pointer with three seconds left against HC, but the Chargers prevailed in overtime, 82-79. The Eagles led for much of the overtime period, but the Chargers nailed three free throws in the final seconds to send AU to defeat. Junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) had his seventh double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Steward had 13 points and redshirt-freshman guard Jorian Hudson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati) had all of his career high 14 points in the second half and overtime. Hudson was the Eagles’ second-leading scorer for the weekend, averaging 12.5 points per game. It was his eight-point solo run that tied the game with less than five minutes to play against the Chargers. Steward averaged 12 points and four assists per game and sophomore forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) averaged 11 points and 6.5 rebounds. The Eagles are off for Christmas break and return to the floor on Dec. 30 for nonconference action against Edinboro.
Ferris State Bulldogs
FSU split a pair of conference home
games this past weekend (Dec. 18-19) at FSU’s Jim Wink
Arena. The Bulldogs had their six-game winning streak snapped
by divisional favorite Michigan Tech in a 77-64 setback on
Sunday. FSU rebounded to post a 57-49 home win over Northern
Michigan on Monday... The Bulldogs are currently 7-4 overall and
4-1 in the GLIAC. Ferris State remains tied for first place
in the GLIAC North Division standings heading into the holiday
break following this week’s action... Junior forward Daniel
Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance) led the Bulldogs with 14 points
versus MTU while senior forward Jerrell Sanders (Grand
Rapids/Creston) netted 12 points... Junior guard Kenny Brown
tallied a game-high tying 15 points against Northern Michigan,
including 10 in the opening half. Sutherlin chipped in with
13 points and seven rebounds... Sunday’s contest was the
final one prior to the holiday break for the Bulldogs, who won for
the seventh time in their last eight contests.
Findlay
Oilers
The Oilers won a pair of home games
over GLIAC opponents last week, defeating Tiffin by a score of
84-65 and Ohio Dominican by an 85-67 margin. The wins
extended the Oilers home winning streak against league opponents to
70 games. Sophomore forward Greg Kahlig led the charge by
averaging 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per
game in the two victories. He scored 25 points in the Oilers
win over the Panthers, recording his second double-double of the
season with ten rebounds as well. Junior forward Brad Piehl
hit 9-of-10 shots in the win over Ohio Dominican en route to a
career-high 20 points. As a team, the Oilers racked up 23
offensive rebounds in the two wins and out-rebounded their
opponents by an 80-62 margin. Kahlig leads the team with
averages of 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Grand Valley State Lakers
Grand Valley State pushed its record to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in GLIAC play with back-to-back home victories over Northern Michigan (Sunday) and Michigan Tech (Monday). The win over MTU was a 70-68 overtime thriller won on a three-pointer from James Thomas (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with 14 seconds left in OT. GVSU has won three straight overtime games dating back to last year…senior center Nick Waddell (Chicago, Ill./New Mexico JC) totaled his third double-double in the last four games with 21 points and 10 boards in GVSU’s seven-point win over Northern Michigan. Waddell was 3-of-3 from three-point range on Sunday. He was 0-for-2 in his career from beyond the arc before making all three trifectas in the win…true freshman Ryan Sabin (Byron Center, Mich.) notched career-highs of 12 points and four steals in the victory over NMU. The four steals are the most by a Laker this season…junior point guard Breland Hogan (Detroit, Mich./Kennedy) averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in the two victories.
Hillsdale Chargers
The Hillsdale College men’s
basketball team has won five straight games, and stands at 5-0 in
the GLIAC after Saturday’s overtime home win over
Ashland…Senior Brent Eaton has 955 career points at
Hillsdale, standing just 45 shy of the coveted 1,000 point barrier,
and he’s done it in less than three full
seasons…Senior Brad Guinane came very close to the
program’s first triple-double in many years Saturday,
finishing with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists…His 44
minutes played in the game were a career-high, as were his 10
assists…Over a season’s first 10 games the past two
years, the Chargers have a combined record of 19-1…Hillsdale
is off until it participates in the Quincy Tournament Dec.
30-31.
Lake Erie Storm
Sophomore Nate Tait hit a jumper with one-second left to give the Storm a 62-60 win at Northwood Saturday night, snapping LEC’s three-game losing streak and evening the team’s overall record at 4-4 on the year… the win was the Storm’s first in conference play this season… Rich Austin scored a career-high 22 points in the win, matching his personal best with three three-pointers. He was the only Storm player in double figures. It was his sixth game this season in double figures and second with 20 or more points… Lake Erie forced a season-high 19 turnovers against the Timberwolves. Their 15 assists tied a season-high. Tom Parker had five and Riley Thomas four assists for LEC.
Lake Superior State Lakers
LSSU snapped a four-game losing
skid with Saturday’s 68-63 home victory over Saginaw Valley
State. The Lakers also avenged an overtime loss to the Cardinals on
Dec. 1. They played at home for the first time since Nov. 15,
ending a stretch of seven straight road games. Their next four
games are at home beginning Jan. 5 against Ferris State. Freshman
guard Alex Williams (Benton Harbor, Mich.) made 5-of-7 attempts
from behind the arc and scored a season-high 15 points to lead the
Lakers. Junior forward Derek Kinney (Romulus, Mich.) contributed 13
points and 11 rebounds for his four double double of the season,
and sophomore guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) totaled 10 points
and a season-high eight assists. Against GLIAC opponents, senior
guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.) is ranked sixth in scoring (15.8),
while Kinney is ninth in rebounding (7.5) and field-goal percentage
(.581). Williams is tied for second in average three-point field
goals per game (2.8). LSSU gave up less than 70 points for the
first time in five games and moved up from 14th to 11th in scoring
defense (75.8 points per game).
Michigan Tech Huskies
Michigan Tech split a pair of
conference road games defeating Ferris State 77-64 on Sunday (Dec.
18) and falling to Grand Valley State 70-68 in overtime Monday
(Dec. 19). The Huskies shot a season-high 71%, including 83% in the
second half in the win over the Bulldogs. Junior Ali Haidar
recorded a double-double in both games and has posted a
double-double in his last seven games. He is averaging 16.6 points
per game, third most in the league, and is fourth in the league in
rebounding (9.3 per game). The overtime game was the first for the
Huskies since a 93-82 win over Hillsdale on Jan. 29, 2011. Tech
ranks second in the league in both field goal percentage (.503) and
3-point field goal percentage (.418). Tech ranks first in the
league in defensive rebounds (26.9) but ranks last in offensive
rebounds (6.8). Tech will play its final non-conference game of the
season Dec. 30 at home against St. Joseph’s.
Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Northern
Michigan men’s basketball team is now 4-6, 2-3 on the season
following a 67-60 loss to Grand Valley State (Dec. 18) and a 57-49
loss to Ferris State (Dec. 19)…Senior guard DeAndre Taylor
led the Wildcats over the weekend, averaging 13 points and six
rebounds while shooting .466 percent from the field…NMU
ranks seventh in the conference in offensive output with 71.4
points per game…The ‘Cats rank third in free throw
percentage with a .741 average..The ‘Cats rank sixth in field
goal percentage at .458 percent…NMU ranks first in 3-point
field goal percentage defense allowing only 38 total and an average
of .302 percent…Haki Stampley ranks fourth in scoring
averaging 16.7 points per contest and fifth in 3-point field goal
percentage with .444 percent…NMU is off for the holiday
break until Dec. 29 when they host Finlandia University in a
non-conference matchup.
Northwood Timberwolves
Northwood went 1-1 last week, falling to Lake Erie 62-60 before earning a 77-64 win over Ashland … the Timberwolves are now 6-5 overall, 3-3 in the GLIAC … Bobby Lewis (Saginaw, Mich.) continued his consistent play for the Timberwolves, averaging 17.0 points per game … Lewis has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season … Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper), who registered Northwood’s first double-double of the season … he matched his career-high with 20 points while grabbing a personal-best 10 rebounds … Robertas Grabauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) netted a career-high 17 points for Northwood against Lake Erie, going 7-9 from the floor … Northwood returns to action January 5 against Grace Bible.
Ohio Dominican Panthers
Ohio Dominican dropped two road contests last week, falling 73-51 at Wayne State and 85-67 at No. 19 Findlay…The Panthers held a second half lead on the Oilers at 49-46 before a 7:17 scoreless drought plagued them in the setback…ODU shot 43.9 percent (47-of-107) from the field on the week and limited Wayne State and Findlay to just 17.2 percent (5-of-29) from beyond the arc, but was outrebounded 81-59 and committed 35 turnovers to just 15 for its opponents…Darrien Douglas scored in double figures in both contests and averaged 12.5 points per game on 58.8 percent shooting (10-of-17) and Morgan Jones averaged 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game…Bobby Stauffer continued his strong rookie campaign as he averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 rebounds off the bench, notching his first double-double with 14 points and 11 boards at Wayne State.
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
The Saginaw Valley State University
men’s basketball team dropped to Lake Superior State 68-63 on
Saturday to fall to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Junior Michael Fugate led the way against Lake Superior with 21
points, including 9-of-12 from the foul line and 2-of-3 from behind
the arc. Greg Foster posted his second consecutive double-double
with 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Chris Webb dropped
in 12 points, while Jay Thames added seven points and eight
rebounds. Webb leads SVSU in scoring at 15.9 points per game, while
Foster is averaging 15.0 ppg to rank second. Through ten games, the
Cardinals are shooting .416 from the floor and .744 from the
charity stripe. SVSU currently ranks second in the GLIAC in
team free throw percentage. Brett Beland leads the GLIAC in free
throw percentage at 92.6,on 25-of-27 shooting from the line.
Saginaw Valley will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 5 when they
host rival Grand Valley State for at 8:00 PM.
Tiffin Dragons
Travis Spahr had his third
double-double of the season (15 pts, 13 reb) in a 84-65 loss to #19
Findlay…Karl Finley and Joe Graessle combined for 45 points
and nine 3-pointers in a 82-70 loss to Wayne State…Joe
Graessle has hit 110 triples, seventh best in TU history.
Wayne State Warriors
Wayne State’s eight-game winning streak surpasses last season’s seven-game streak following a setback at Bellarmine, while this year’s lone defeat was the season opener to the Knights. The last nine-game winning streak started on Dec. 19, 1998, with a 80-62 win over Minnesota-Duluth and concluded with a 92-79 victory over Gannon on Jan. 23, 1999, when WSU was known as the Tartars. Junior guard Cole Prophet (Sandusky, Ohio) averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 assists and two steals in the two home court wins last week. He had just one turnover in 73 minutes and scored 15 points in the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s win over Tiffin as the Warriors turned a one-point deficit (53-52) into a 12-point triumph (82-70). Senior center Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) contributed 30 points and 20 rebounds in the two contests, while junior forward Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) added 25 points and 14 rebounds. Senior guard Stacey Waters (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance), playing for the injured Mike Hollingsworth, had 33 points and nine rebounds including 24 points against Tiffin where he made four triples. WSU will play its next four games on the road including its final two non-conference contests.
