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BAY CITY, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State University sophomore forward Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) and Wayne State University senior center Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) 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:
Mike Schaaf
Saginaw Valley State
6-7, Sophomore, Forward
Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill
SVSU sophomore forward Mike Schaaf led the Cardinals to a pair of GLIAC home wins over the weekend by averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 57.9 percent (11-19) from the floor and 66.7 percent (8-12) on the arc. Schaaf tallied 21 points and six rebounds in the win over Northern Michigan on Thursday. He then came back with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the win over division-leading Michigan Tech on Saturday. The 21 points scored against Northern Michigan was a career-high for Schaaf.
North Division Weekly Honor Roll: Kenny Brown - FS, Kyle Hunt - LS, Ali Haidar - MT, Andrew VanDierenDonck - NU.
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; (1/3) B. Hogan - GV; (1/9) K. Hunt - LS; (1/17) M.
Schaaf - SV.
GLIAC South Division Player
of the Week:
Ike Udanoh
Wayne State
6-8, Senior, Center
Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower
Wayne State senior Ike Udanoh nearly had back-to-back double-doubles last week but did average 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as WSU split its two home contests. Udanoh tallied game-high totals of 24 points and nine rebounds against Hillsdale. He then posted 25 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal in the win over Findlay. Udanoh currently ranks second in the GLIAC in rebounding (9.8 per game), fourth in scoring (16.8 pts. per game) and 10th in steals (1.5 per game).
South Division Weekly Honor Roll: Evan Yates - AU, Kyle Caiola - UF, Brad Guinane - HC, Nate Tait - LE, Aaron Gibbs - OD, Karl Finley - 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; (1/3) B. Guinane - HC; (1/9) R. Steward - AU; (1/17) I. Udanoh - WS .
Ashland Eagles
The Eagles extended their winning streak to five games with a pair of wins last week over Tiffin and Ohio Dominican. It is AU’s longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season when the Eagles also won five in a row. The Eagles locked in a defensive battle at Tiffin on Thursday, coming away with a 61-59 win over the Dragons. Junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore wing Jordan Berlin (Wilmington, Ohio) matched career highs with 17 points and seven rebounds. The Eagles and Panthers unleashed their offensive weaponry on Saturday and Ashland prevailed, 96-86. Sophomore forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) set a career high with 25 points (9-for-11) with the help of five 3-pointers. He is the GLIAC leader in 3-point percentage (.516). Evans also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Panthers. Yates poured in a game-high 26 points, pulled down seven boards and blocked three shots. The Eagles won the game despite allowing the Panthers to shoot 55.4 percent (31-for-56).
Ferris State Bulldogs
It took more than 40 minutes of effort, but FSUresponded from a disappointing road setback to record a thrilling 74-69 overtime victory over Northwood on Saturday (Jan. 14) afternoon in GLIAC action at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena... The Bulldogs moved into a share of first place again in the divisional standings with their second win in as many tries against the Timberwolves this season... The defending GLIAC North Division champions will next square off against Michigan Tech with sole possession of first place on the line this Thursday (Jan. 19) in Houghton... Junior guard Kenny Brown fueled the Bulldog win by scoring a game-high 25 points and it marked the second time this campaign he’s scored 25 or more against the Timberwolves after his 29-point showing in FSU’s 69-64 come from behind win over NU in Midland back in December (12/10). He added three rebounds and hit four-of-nine tries from beyond the arc...The Bulldogs also received 17 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Daniel Sutherlin.
Findlay
Oilers
The Oilers split a pair of GLIAC road games last week, winning 67-64 at Lake Erie in overtime on Thursday and losing 76-73 at Wayne State on Saturday. In the win over Lake Erie, junior forward Brad Piehl scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds. In the loss to Wayne State, senior guard Kyle Caiola poured in a season-high 21 points while sophomore guard Sean Samsel came off the bench to contribute a career-high 15 points. On the season, Caiola leads the team with a 13.7 points per game average while sophomore forward Greg Kahlig is scoring 13.3 points per contest.
Grand Valley State Lakers
The Lakers fell at home to Northwood on Wednesday and to #18 Hillsdale on Saturday, after leading the Chargers 30-28 at halftime. GVSU was just the third team this season to hold a halftime advantage over Hillsdale…senior center Nick Waddell (Chicago, Ill./New Mexico JC) averaged 9.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game – in just 18.0 minutes per contest – as he battled foul trouble in both games. Waddell’s 3.1 offensive rebounds per game is fifth-best in the GLIAC…junior point guard Breland Hogan (Detroit, Mich./Kennedy) led the Lakers in scoring at 10.5 points per game, while turning the ball over just twice in 71 minutes. Hogan’s 10.8 points per game is second-best on the team, while his assist/turnover ratio of 1.9 (43 assists, 22 turnovers) is the third-best figure in the GLIAC.
Hillsdale Chargers
Hillsdale College has won 11 games in a row after two signature wins on the road last week…The Chargers finished a season sweep of Wayne State with a 78-72 win Thursday…Saturday, the Chargers won in Allendale for the first time since the 1994-95 season with a 60-50 win over Grand Valley State…Hillsdale overcame deficits of five and nine points in the two games on the road…The Chargers entered the national rankings for the first time this season, rising up from unranked to 18th in last week’s NABC Division II Top 25 poll…Hillsdale held GVSU to 20 second-half points and had two 15-2 runs on the Lakers during the game…Senior Brent Eaton scored his 1,000th career point with the Chargers in Thursday’s win over Wayne State… Senior Brad Guinane scored a total of 36 points in the two games, and had seven assists against the Warriors and seven rebounds against the Lakers…This week Hillsdale will attempt to end another long losing streak at a tough venue in the GLIAC when it takes on the University of Findlay…The Chargers haven’t won at Findlay since Jan. 24, 2002.
Lake Erie Storm
Lake Erie (7-7, 2-5 GLIAC) had a pair of near misses in GLIAC play, falling to Findlay, 67-64 in overtime Thursday and 71-66 vs. Tiffin Saturday. Against Findlay, Lake Erie was led by a career night from sophomore guard Nate Tait (South Euclid, Ohio/Brush/Alderson-Broaddus). Tait scored a career-high 28 points on nine-of-17 shooting going eight-of-nine from the line including the pair with 26 seconds left in regulation which sent the game to overtime. He also added a career-high five steals... A 17-2 advantage in points off turnovers is what kept Lake Erie in the game as the Storm forced 21 turnovers... Against Tiffin, the Storm led 41-32 at halftime but shot just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) in the second half, missing seven of their last eight shots down the stretch... Senior guard Brandon Smith (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford/Tri-C) led Lake Erie with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. He also helped out with four assists. Sophomore Tom Parker (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) scored 11 and sophomore center Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) finished with 10.
Lake Superior State Lakers
Senior guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.) reached the 1,000-point career scoring milestone during last Saturday’s 63-55 loss to Northern Michigan. He averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the week. Hunt is ranked sixth in the GLIAC in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game, and has 1,013 career points. Redshirt freshman center Lucas Holt (Spring Lake, Mich.), who averages 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, came off the bench and totaled a season-high 14 points and five rebounds against NMU. Hunt and sophomore guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) are tied for sixth in the GLIAC in assists, averaging 3.6 apg. Billing is ranked second (2.6) and freshman guard Alex Williams (Benton Harbor, Mich.) is sixth (2.1) in average three-point field goals per game.
Michigan Tech Huskies
Michigan Tech split a pair of games
last week. Tech defeated Lake Superior State 78-70 and lost at
Saginaw Valley State 77-71. Junior Ali Haidar became the 25th
player in school history to score 1,000 points after scoring a
career-high 36 points against Saginaw Valley. Tech’s win at
LSSU was the first this season when trailing at half. Sophomore
Alex Culy scored a season-high 20 points against the Lakers thanks
to a season-high six 3-pointers. Freshman Ben Stelzer also had a
career-night against LSSU tallying career-highs in rebounds (six),
assists (five) and 3-pointers (six). Tech’s six losses this
season have come by an average of 4.57 points, with its worse loss
a nine point decision to St. Josephs (87-78). Tech will play a pair
of crucial GLIAC games this season. Tech will host fellow North
Division leader Ferris State Thursday and third place team Grand
Valley State Saturday.
Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team is now 7-8 overall and 3-5 in the GLIAC…The Wildcats split a pair of conference games, falling 67-60 to Saginaw Valley State and defeating Lake Superior State 63-55…Sophomore forward Matthew Craggs led NMU over the weekend with 32 points, 13 rebounds and five assists…Craggs scored a career high 22 points in the loss to SVSU…NMU also defeated Northland International University 75-64 on Jan. 9 in its final non-conference game of the season…The ‘Cats finished their non-conference schedule with a 4-3 record…NMU returns home this week, hosting divisional rivals Grand Valley State (Jan. 19) and Ferris State (Jan. 21).
Northwood Timberwolves
Northwood went 1-1 last week, earning a 63-59 win at Grand Valley State Wednesday night before dropping a hard-fought 74-69 game at Ferris State Saturday … the Timberwolves are now 8-6 overall, 4-4 in the GLIAC … Northwood earned a season sweep over GVSU for the first time since the 2003-04 season … the Timberwolves entered the season having lost 14 straight to the Lakers … Andrew VanDierenDonck (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt) led the way for Northwood for the week, averaging 16.0 points per game … he scored a season-high 19 points at Ferris State … Bobby Lewis (Saginaw, Mich.) had his first double-double of the season against GVSU, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds … NU travels to Ohio Dominican and Tiffin this week.
Ohio Dominican Panthers
The Panthers dropped a pair of road contests last week, falling in non-conference action to Salem International 80-72 and to GLIAC South Division foe Ashland 96-86…The 86 points and 55.4 percent shooting against Ashland were season-highs for the Panthers…Senior forward Aaron Gibbs had a superlative week, matching a season-high with 22 points in both games while also chipping in with 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game on 58.6 percent shooting…Senior guard Darrien Douglas added 15.5 points per game and ranks second in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage, while junior guard Morgan Jones, who leads the conference in steals, scored 14.0 points per game…Douglas has scored in double figures in seven straight games, averaging 14.4 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting.
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
SVSU gained some momentum last week by defeating Northern Michigan on Thursday (Jan. 12), 67-60 and Michigan Tech on Saturday (Jan. 14), 77-71. The Cardinals are now 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference. Mike Schaaf went 8-for-14 from the field including 5-for-7 from three-point range leading the Cardinals over the Wildcats with a career-high 21 points. Mike also was 3-for-5 from the arc in the win over Michigan Tech on Saturday where he finished with 10 points. The Cardinals were led to victory over the Huskies by Eli Redman who posted 14 points and nine rebounds. Chris Webb leads SVSU in scoring at 15.2 points per game and ranks 8th in the conference. Greg Foster ranks third in the GLIAC in assists (4.1), 7th in steals (1.6), 13th in points (14.1) and 15th in rebounds (6.0). SVSU leads the conference in free throw percentage at 75.1% and are in the top 40 nationally. Brett Beland ranks second in the GLIAC and 13th nationally in free throw percentage at 91.7, on 44-of-48 shooting from the line. Chris Webb is 8th in the conference from the charity stripe at 84.9%.
Tiffin Dragons
The Dragons went 1-1 on the week …On Jan.12, TU suffered a tough 61-59 loss to Ashland… The Dragons had a shot to tie the game with 1.3 second left … Keenan Barlow grabbed a missed free throw and put up a shot. The ball hit the rim and bounced away as the buzzer sounded.… Karl Finley had 21 points and six assists while Travis Spahr had 19 points and 10 rebounds and blocked three shots … On Jan. 14, TU used a strong second half to knock off Lake Erie, 71-66 … The Dragons trailed 41-32 at halftime, then outscored the Storm, 39-25 to take the win … Finley had 20 points and seven assists while Spahr had 14 points and seven rebounds … Joe Graessle is seventh in school history with 119 3-pointers made and 337 3-pointers attempted.
Wayne State Warriors
The Warriors snapped their five-game losing streak with a wild finish against Findlay on Jan. 14. The teams combined for 101 points in the first 37 minutes, then proceeded to score 48 points (UF 27-21) in the final three minutes. Senior center Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) averaged 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games, while making 17-of-20 foul shots in the Oiler contest alone. The 17 made is the fourth-most in school history, while the 20 attempts are tied for second-most. The last WSU player to attempt 20 free throws was Will Paige, who made 18-of-20 at Grand Valley on Feb. 13, 1993, in a game which Wayne State tied the NCAA record for free throws made in a contest (64 in 79 attempts). The Tartars won that game against the Lakers 105-82. Udanoh needs four points to become the 34th player in school history with 800 points. He moved from 30th to 21st on the all-time list in free throws made last week by sinking 25 of 30 foul shots. Udanoh is 15th in blocked shots (52) and 19th in rebounds (473), while ranking eighth in field goal percentage (100 made) at 55.4 percent.
