LSSU's Billing and Hillsdale's Gerber Chosen As GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week", Respectively

LSSU's Billing and Hillsdale's Gerber Chosen As GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week", Respectively

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Lake Superior State University sophomore guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) and Hillsdale College senior guard Tyler Gerber (Baltic, Ohio/Sugarcreek Garaway) have been chosen as the GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week", respectively.

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GLIAC North Division Player of the Week:
Derek Billing
Lake Superior State
6-2, Sophomore, Guard
Anna, Ohio

Sophomore guard Derek Billing scored a career-high 28 points to lead LSSU to a 71-66 victory over Ohio Dominican and totaled 16 points and eight assists as the Lakers beat Tiffin 76-70. Billing was 5-for-5 from behind the arc and scored 20 second-half points against ODU. Billing’s 7-of-8 performance from behind the arc for 87.5 percent against ODU is a GLIAC single-game high percentage this season and ties the season high for most single-game threes. For the week, he averaged 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

North Division Weekly Honor Roll:  Dontae Molden - FS, Breland Hogan - GV, Phil Romback - MT, Bobby Lewis - NU, Eli Redman - 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; (1/3) B. Hogan - GV; (1/9) K. Hunt - LS; (1/17) M. Schaaf - SV; (1/23) B. Lewis  - NU; (1/30) D. Billing - LS.

 

 

GLIAC South Division Player of the Week:
Tyler Gerber
Hillsdale
5-10, Senior, Guard
Baltic, Ohio/Sugarcreek/Garaway

Hillsdale College senior guard Tyler Gerber had a memorable week for the 20th-ranked Charger men’s basketball team. In Saturday’s win over North Division-leading Michigan Tech, he scored his 1,000th career point en route to a team-high 18. He also set a new career-high with 12 assists in the 91-69 win over the Huskies. In two wins last week, Gerber averaged 17 points, two rebounds, 9.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game as Hillsdale defeated its two Upper Peninsula foes by a combined 70 points.

South Division Weekly Honor Roll: Evan Yates - AU, Brad Piehl - UF, Morgan Jones - OD, Joe Graessle - TU, Ian Larkin - WS.

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; (1/23) E. Yates - AU; (1/30) T. Gerber - HC.

 

 

Ashland Eagles

The Eagles dropped a pair of games last week at GLIAC South foes Wayne State and Findlay. AU slipped to 2-6 in games away from Kates Gymnasium this season – the Eagles are 9-2 at home. The Eagles fell behind early against the Warriors and never led. AU trailed by 19 at halftime and trimmed the lead to eight points with 3:41 left in the game, but the Warriors went on another spurt to put the Eagles away, 79-71. Junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) had 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds. The Eagles traded early leads with the Oilers on Saturday, but were blitzed by Findlay’s 11 3-pointers in a 79-49 defeat. The Eagles turned the ball over a season-high 20 times. Yates had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. For the week, Yates missed just four shots (15-for-19, .789). He is the conference leader in scoring (21.0) and rebounding (11.9) and is second in field goal percentage (.606). The Eagles hit the road on Thursday to face off with Ohio Dominican. AU hosts Tiffin on Saturday.

 

Ferris State Bulldogs

FSU had four players reach double-figure scoring as the Bulldogs pulled out a 65-57 victory over archrival Grand Valley State in a showdown on Saturday (Jan. 28) at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena... The Bulldogs built an 11-point halftime advantage in the West Michigan rivalry matchup and outscored GVSU 17-3 in points off turnovers as they took over first place in the GLIAC North Division standings before a crowd of 1,763 fans... FSU, which is the defending divisional champion, improved to 11-7 overall and 8-3 in league play with the win... Ferris State received 18 points from both junior guard Kenny Brown (Farmington Hills/Harrison) and senior guard Dontae Molden (Detroit/Pershing), who connected on four three-pointers.  Meanwhile, junior forward Daniel Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance) and senior forward Jerrell Sanders (Grand Rapids/Creston) totaled 14 and 11 points, respectively, to help the Bulldog cause... Ferris State finished with only six turnovers  while the Lakers finished with 16 turnovers.

 

Findlay Oilers

The Oilers won a pair of GLIAC games at home last week to improve to 15-4 on the year.  The wins also extended their home winning streak against league foes to 74 games.  In the Oilers 80-55 win over Lake Erie, junior guard Aaron Robinson had 17 points while junior forward Brad Piehl contributed 16.  In the Oilers 79-49 win over Ashland, Piehl had 15 points while freshman forward Jake Heagen registered 14 points off the bench.  Sophomore forward Greg Kahlig was a steady performer during the week and averaged 12 points and five rebounds per contest.  On the season, senior guard Kyle Caiola is leading the team with a 13.5 points per game average.  The Oilers shot a season-high 61.9 percent from the field against the Storm.  They hit a season-high 11 three pointers against Ashland.

 

Grand Valley State Lakers

GVSU had just one game last week; it was a 65-57 loss at Ferris State on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers outrebounded FSU 40-28, including a career-high 12 boards from junior forward Tyrone Lee (Detroit, Mich./Oakland CC)…both Laker guards Breland Hogan (Detroit, Mich./Kennedy) and James Thomas (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids CC) added 13 points and eight rebounds each. Hogan dished out four assists with a blocked shot…GVSU plays three times this week, including a non-conference game at Cedarville on Tuesday night. The Lakers return home to host Saginaw Valley State and Lake Superior State this Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Grand Valley State is 5-3 at home this season after a 5-1 start in Fieldhouse Arena.

 

Hillsdale Chargers

Hillsdale unquestionably reached a new high point in its season over the weekend, registering two big wins over Upper Peninsula teams Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech at home…The Chargers won the two games by a combined 70 points…The team set a new season-high in scoring in back-to-back games, scoring 89 vs. the Wildcats, then 91 vs. the Huskies…Hillsdale also made all 26 free throws as a team in the two wins, a very rare achievement, to shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe in back-to-back games…Senior point guard Tyler Gerber had an historic day Saturday, scoring his 1,000th career point on a free throw in the second half vs. MTU…He also dished out a career-high 12 assists…He is the second Hillsdale College player to score his 1,000th career point this month, following senior Brent Eaton…Senior Brad Guinane sits at 984 points, and is just 16 away from joining that club…In the 100-plus year history of Hillsdale College men’s basketball, no set of three teammates have ever been part of the 1,000 point club at the same time…Gerber also moved into third place on the school’s career assists list, and has 437 for his career.

 

 

Lake Erie Storm

Lake Erie (7-11, 2-9 GLIAC) faced a pair of tough road contests this week and fell at Findlay and Wayne State.  The Storm has been led offensively this season by three players averaging double figures as sophomore forward Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) leads the team with 11.9 ppg.  Austin is also averaging a team-high 6.1 rpg.  Sophomore guards Riley Thomas (Cardington, Ohio/Cardington-Lincoln) and Nate Tait (South Euclid, Ohio/Brush/Alderson-Broaddus) have made strong contributions as well, averaging 10.8 and 10.4 ppg., respectively.  The Storm has used tenacious defense to stay in many games as they are second in the GLIAC with 8.8 steals per game.  Eight players have at least 11 steals on the season, led by Tait and Thomas with 21 each.  Lake Erie will travel to GLIAC South-leading Hillsdale Wednesday before returning home to host Ohio Dominican Saturday.

 

 

Lake Superior State Lakers

Sophomore guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) scored a career-high 28 points to lead LSSU to a 71-66 victory over Ohio Dominican and totaled 16 points and a season-high tying eight assists as the Lakers beat Tiffin 76-70 last week. For the week, he averaged 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Billing’s 7-of-8 performance from behind the arc for 87.5 percent against ODU is a GLIAC single-game high percentage this season and ties the season high for most single-game threes. Freshman guard Alex Williams (Benton Harbor, Mich.) scored 21 first-half points and finished with a season-high 28 to lead Laker scorers against Tiffin. Billing and senior guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.) both set season highs in assists with eight against TU and ODU, respectively. Hunt is ranked seventh in the GLIAC in scoring at 15.8 ppg and fourth in assist at 4.3 apg, while Billing is ranked ninth in the GLIAC in scoring at 15.2 ppg and is tied for sixth in assists at 4.3 apg.

 

Michigan Tech Huskies

Michigan Tech split a pair of games last week defeating Northwood and falling at Hillsdale. The Huskies are 5-0 on Thursdays and 3-5 on Saturdays. Freshman Phil Romback scored a career-high 16 points thanks to a career-high five 3-pointers at Hillsdale. Tech is the best shooting team in the league shooting .494 from the field and .402 from behind the 3-point line. Senior Ali Haidar ranks third in the league in scoring (17.9 points per game) and fourth in rebounding (9.2 rebounds per game). Tech will host Findlay Thursday and Wayne State Saturday.

 

Northern Michigan Wildcats

The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team is now 8-11 overall and 4-8 in the GLIAC…The Wildcats fell to No. 20 Hillsdale (89-41) and Northwood (64-58) this past week…NMU was led by junior forward TJ Cameron in the loss to Hillsdale with 11 points…Freshman guard Haki Stampley tied his career-high with 20 points in the loss at Northwood...With the losses, the ‘Cats fall to 2-7 on the road this season…NMU stands in 11th place in the overall conference standings…The ‘Cats rank second in the GLIAC in field goal percentage defense at .414…NMU returns home this week, hosting Wayne State (Feb. 2) and Findlay (Feb. 4).

 

 

Northwood Timberwolves

Northwood went 1-1 last week, dropping a 66-62 game to Michigan Tech before earning a 64-58 victory over Northern Michigan … the Timberwolves are now 11-7 overall, 7-5 in the GLIAC … Northwood currently sits alone in third place in the GLIAC North Division, one game behind Michigan Tech for second place … leading the way for Northwood was senior forward Bobby Lewis (Saginaw, Mich./Mott CC) … he averaged 15.0 points per game, shooting 47.8 percent from the floor (11-23) and 40.0 percent from 3-point range (4-10) … Bobby Gibson (Harper Woods, Mich.) scored in double figures in both games last week, netting 13 points against MTU and 11 against Northern Michigan … he had reached double-figures in points once on the season entering the week … the Timberwolves have two games this week, traveling to Urbana Wednesday before hosting Hillsdale Saturday.

 

 

Ohio Dominican Panthers

Ohio Dominican fell in a pair of road contests last week, dropping a 71-66 decision at Lake Superior and a 102-64 decision at Saginaw Valley…The Lakers and Cardinals combined to shoot 58.0 percent last week, while ODU hit just 43.0 percent from the field…Junior guard Morgan Jones (Oberlin, Ohio) paced the Panthers with 17.5 points per game and senior forward Aaron Gibbs (Oberlin, Ohio) scored 13.0 points per game and had a team-best 6.0 rebounds…Gibbs has now scored 954 points in his career…Jones leads the GLIAC with 2.2 steals per game. He registered four against SVSU…Senior guard Darrien Douglas (Willard, Ohio) ranks sixth in three-point field goal percentage (44.4 percent).

 

 

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

SVSU finished 1-1 last week after a loss to Tiffin on Thursday (Jan. 26) and a win over Ohio Dominican on Saturday (Jan. 28). The Cardinals are now 10-9 overall and 6-6 in the conference. Redman finished with a career-high 35 points against Ohio Dominican on 14-of-16 shooting from the floor, including 7-for-7 from the free throw line. George Goodman recorded a career-high 23 points off the bench in the loss to Tiffin, while Chris Webb poured in 20 points. Webb leads SVSU in scoring at 14.8 points per game and ranks 11th in the conference. Greg Foster ranks third in the GLIAC in assists (4.7), 7th in minutes played (33.1), 7th in steals (1.5), and 11th in rebounds (6.1) and 14th in points (13.5). SVSU is third in the conference in free throw percentage at 74.4% and 26th nationally. Brett Beland ranks second in the GLIAC in free throw percentage on 55-of-60 shooting from the line. Chris Webb is 13th in the conference from the charity stripe at 81.1%. Saginaw Valley will return to action when they travel to Grand Valley on Thursday (Feb. 2) and Ferris State on Saturday (Feb. 4).


   

Tiffin Dragons

The Dragons went 1-1 on the week…On Jan.26, all five starters scored in double figures as Tiffin beat Saginaw Valley 84-77 … Travis Spahr, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds, hit three free throws down the stretch to preserve the win … Joining Spahr in double figures was Karl Finley (20), Iman Johnson (18), Keenan Barlow (16) and Joe Graessle (10)… On Jan. 28, TU took a tough 76-70 loss to Lake Superior State … Joe Graessle scored a career-high 38 points on pinpoint shooting everywhere … He was 11-of-18 from the floor (61.1%), 7-of-10 from behind the arc (70%) and 9-of-9 at the line (1.000) … His seven triples was one shy of tying the school record … Career, Joe Graessle is fifth with 136 3-pointers made and fifth with 362 3-point attempts … Travis Spahr has recorded double-doubles in his last two games.

 

 

Wayne State Warriors

Wayne State extended its winning streak to three games with a pair of homecourt victories last week.  WSU never trailed in either game.  The Warriors completed their fifth regular-season series sweep of Ashland in David Greer’s tenure with an eight-point win last Thursday.  Five players scored in double figures led by sophomore forward Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup), who had a team-high 17 points including tying his career-best with four triples.  WSU scored the first 16 points in Saturday’s triumph over Lake Erie.  Two Detroit Renaissance products, senior guard Stacey Waters (20 points including four triples) and junior forward Ian Larkin (10 of 12 FG and 22 points) combined for 42 points and five assists.  Senior center Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Storm.  All three of Wayne State’s remaining road games are in the Upper Peninsula beginning with this Thursday’s contest at Northern Michigan.  WSU visits Michigan Tech on Saturday and concludes the regular season at Lake Superior on Feb. 23.

Football Academic Teams
November 17, 2011 Football Academic Teams