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BAY CITY, Mich. - Grand Valley State University senior guard James Thomas (Grand Rapids, Mich./G.R.C.C.) 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:
James Thomas
Grand Valley State
6-2, Senior, Guard
Grand Rapids, Mich./G.R.C.C.
Senior guard James Thomas led Grand
Valley State to two home conference wins over the weekend,
averaging 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the Lakers.
Thomas connected on 48.9 percent of his field goals and 7-of-16
three-point attempts for the week. He tallied 22 points and eight
rebounds against Cedarville, then notched 15 points and six boards
in a 19-point win over SVSU on Thursday. Thomas finished the week
with team-highs of 18 points and nine boards on Saturday in a win
against LSSU.
North Division Weekly Honor Roll: Dontae Molden - FS, Derek Billing - LS, Ali Haidar - MT, Andrew VanDierenDonck - 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;
(2/6) J. Thomas - GV.
GLIAC South Division Player
of the Week:
Ike Udanoh
Wayne State
6-8, Senior, Center
Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower
Senior center Ike Udanoh was instrumental in the Warriors taking both games on their U.P. trip. He tallied 19 points and seven rebounds in the win at Northern Michigan on Thursday. Udanoh came back with 15 points and eight rebounds in WSU’s win at Michigan Tech on Saturday. He also made 4-of-4 from the foul line in the final 20 seconds to seal the win. He shot 50 percent from the field (9-18) and 94.1 percent from the charity stripe (16-17) in the two games last week while recording a pair of blocks.
South Division Weekly Honor Roll: DaWuan Thomas - AU, Kyle Caiola - UF, Brad Guinane - HC, Jamil Dudley - LE, Aaron Gibbs- OD, Joe Graessle - 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; (1/23) E. Yates - AU; (1/30) T. Gerber - HC; (1/17) I. Udanoh - WS .
Ashland Eagles
Ashland picked up a pair of victories over GLIAC South competition last week to climb into a tie for sixth place in the GLIAC. On Thursday, AU never trailed in a 69-58 win at Ohio Dominican and rallied to beat Tiffin, 73-68, at Kates Gymnasium on Saturday. The Eagles held the Panthers to just 22.9 percent (8-for-35) shooting in the first half and led, 37-18, at halftime. Junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) had 18 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) had a career-best 13 rebounds in his first career double-double. Yates scored his 1,000th career point in the game – it came at the free throw line with 2:41 to play. He became the 22nd member of that group in AU history. On Saturday, the Eagles came from behind to beat Tiffin, led by four scorers in double figures. Redshirt-freshman guard DaWuan Thomas (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) scored eight of his 14 points in the second half and had seven rebounds and matched a career high with seven assists. The Eagles are 9-2 since Thomas entered the starting lineup on Dec. 30. He has scored in double figures in 10 of those 11 games.
Ferris State Bulldogs
Ferris State pulled out a hard-fought 64-59 triumph over Saginaw Valley State in GLIAC North Division play on Saturday (Feb. 4) at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena. It came on the heels of a 73-64 triumph over Lake Superior State at home on Thursday night...In Saturday’s game, the lead changed hands 17 times in the game and the score was tied six times before FSU tallied the final five points in the outing to remain in first place in the GLIAC North standings with six regular-season games remaining... FSU, which is the defending GLIAC North Champion, improved to 13-7 overall and 10-3 in league play. It also gave FSU a game and a half lead over Michigan Tech atop the divisional standings following the Huskies’ home setback on Saturday... Ferris State won its fourth consecutive contest behind a game-high 21 points from junior forward Daniel Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance)... Freshman guard Dietrich Lever(Detroit/Canton) added 13 points in a breakout game and made several keys down the stretch to fuel the Bulldogs.
Findlay
Oilers
The Oilers split a pair of road games last week, losing 70-56 at Michigan Tech before winning 85-76 at Northern Michigan. In the loss to Tech, the Oilers shot only 35.2 percent from the floor, a season-low. In the win over the Wildcats, sophomore forward Greg Kahlig scored 19 points while senior guard Kyle Caiola pumped in 16. Senior forward Rob Marsden came off the bench to tie his career-high with 13 points in 16 minutes. The Oilers shot 56.8 percent from the field in their win, the third time they have eclipsed 55 percent shooting in their last four games. Caiola leads the team with a 13.6 points per game average while Kahlig is scoring 13.0 points per outing.
Grand Valley State Lakers
The Lakers notched two important
victories at home on Thursday (over Saginaw Valley State) and
Saturday (against Lake Superior State) to start their four-game
homestand. GVSU welcomes Ashland and Lake Erie to Allendale this
weekend (Feb. 9-11)…senior guard James Thomas (Grand Rapids,
Mich./Grand Rapids CC) averaged 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds for
the week, making 7-of-16 three-point tries. He tallied team-highs
of 18 points and nine rebounds against LSSU…senior center
Nick Waddell (Chicago, Ill./New Mexico JC) supplied 17.7 points per
game on 62.9 percent shooting (22-of-35) from the field in three
games last week. Against Saginaw Valley State, Waddell tallied a
career-high 26 points and added 10 rebounds for his fifth
double-double of the season. The Lakers are 5-0 this year when
Waddell records a double-double…junior point guard Breland
Hogan (Detroit, Mich./Kennedy) averaged 7.7 points per game last
week, but he also dished out 16 assists and recorded just three
turnovers in 98 minutes on the floor.
Hillsdale Chargers
The Hillsdale College men’s basketball team split a pair of games this week, winning at home before losing on the road…Saturday night’s 73-59 loss at Northwood snapped a three-game winning streak that saw the Chargers win those games by an average of 31 points each…The Chargers have lost three straight games to Northwood in Midland, with their last win there coming on Dec. 15, 2007… Hillsdale has lost two straight on the road and won 14 straight at home…The 59 points scored by the team were its second-fewest in any game this season, only being exceeded by the 52 it scored in a loss to Lewis Nov. 26…Senior forward Brad Guinane became the third player this season, and 32nd in school history, to record 1,000 points in a career with his 14-point performance in Wednesday’s win over Lake Erie College…This marks the first time in the 100-plus year history of Hillsdale College men’s basketball that three players have eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier in their careers while on the same team within the same season…Guinane joined teammates Brent Eaton and Tyler Gerber on this distinguished list.
Lake Erie Storm
Lake Erie (8-12, 3-10 GLIAC) fell at nationally-ranked Hillsdale College Wednesday before snapping a seven-game losing streak in convincing fashion over Ohio Dominican University Saturday. The Storm held #18-Hillsdale to nine points below its season average but the Chargers defense was even better in a 64-40 win. Against ODU, redshirt freshman Jamil Dudley (Massillon, Ohio/Massillon) had a breakout performance with a game- and career-high 24 points and sophomore center Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) added his second career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Dudley, whose previous career-high was 13 points, was six-for-six from the field with 16 points in the first half, scored his 24 points on eight-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes of action off the bench. The win gave the Storm the season sweep over the Panthers after defeating them in Columbus, Ohio, 71-57, on Jan. 7. Lake Erie travels to a pair of GLIAC North teams this week, facing Ferris State Thursday and Grand Valley State Saturday.
Lake Superior State Lakers
Sophomore guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) picked up where he left off the previous week and scored a career-high tying 28 points during both of LSSU’s road games. Billing shot 48 percent from the field and was 25-of-26 at the free-throw line as LSSU fell to Ferris State and Grand Valley State. Billing played all 40 minutes Saturday at GVSU due to starting guard and team scoring leader Kyle Hunt being sidelined with the flu. Billing has averaged 25.0 ppg during his last four outings. He moved up to fourth in the GLIAC in scoring at 17.0 ppg. Junior forward Derek Kinney (Romulus, Mich.) averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last week. He is ranked 10th in the GLIAC in rebounding at 6.6 rpg. Sophomore center Cameron Metz (Grand Rapids, Mich.) came off the bench and averaged 8.5 points per game. He is ranked fifth in the GLIAC in field-goal percentage at .580.
Michigan Tech Huskies
Michigan Tech split a pair of games
last week defeating Findlay 70-56 and falling to Wayne State 60-54.
The win over Findlay was the first since a 68-63 on Jan. 24, 2004.
Michigan Tech continues to lead the league in field goal percentage
(.491) and 3-point field goal percentage (.409). Junior Ali Haidar
ranks third in the league in scoring (17.6 ppg) and fourth in
rebounding (9.0 rpg). Tech has three players ranked in the top-15
in the conference in field goal percentage, sophomore Austin Armga
is sixth (.563), senior Mike Hojnacki 11th (.536) and junior Ali
Haidar is 13th (.536). Tech will play just one game at home this
week against Lake Superior State (Saturday).
Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team is now 8-13 overall and 4-10 in the GLIAC…The Wildcats fell to Wayne State (72-55) and Findlay (85-76) this past week…NMU was led by senior guard DeAndre Taylor, who netted an average of 18 points and nine rebounds per game in the two losses…Freshman guard Quinten Calloway scored a career-high 23 points in the loss to Findlay...With the weekend sweep, the ‘Cats have now dropped five straight contests…NMU stands in 11th place in the overall conference standings…The ‘Cats rank third in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage defense at .329…NMU hosts Lake Superior State (Feb. 9) this week.
Northwood Timberwolves
Northwood earned a pair of wins last week, defeating Urbana on the road 77-57 before coming home to earn a 73-59 win over No. 18 Hillsdale … the Timberwolves are now 13-7 overall, 8-5 in the GLIAC … NU has won three straight, five of six and eight of 10 overall … defense and rebounding were the keys to Northwood’s strong week – opponents shot 36.2 percent overall and 29.5 percent from 3-point range overall … the Timberwolves also out-rebounded their opponents 40.5-31.5 for the week … Northwood has out-rebounded their opponents in 10 of their last 11 games ... four Timberwolves averaged in double-figures last week, led by Andrew VanDierenDonck (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt) at 16.0 per game … Cameron Joyce (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent St. Mary’s) had 12 assists and one turnover for the week … for the season, he has 113 assists and 39 turnovers … Joyce leads the GLIAC in assists (5.7 per game) and assist to turnover ratio (2.9) … the Timberwolves will travel to Saginaw Valley State Wednesday before heading to Wayne State Saturday.
Ohio Dominican Panthers
Ohio Dominican’s offense struggled as the Panthers dropped a pair of GLIAC contests last week, falling 69-58 to Ashland and 75-54 to Lake Erie…ODU shot just 33.1 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from beyond the arc and 65.2 percent from the free throw line in the two games…The Panthers had three players average double figure scoring, led by the starting backcourt duo of junior Morgan Jones (Oberlin, Ohio) and senior Darrien Douglas (Willard, Ohio), who both scored 10.5 points per game. Jones also chipped in with 5.5 assists per game…Senior forward Aaron Gibbs (Oberlin, Ohio) averaged 10.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and senior center Zak Kapron (Malvern, Ohio) had his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Lake Erie.
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
The Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball dropped both contests last week after losses at Grand Valley on Thursday (Feb. 2), 75-56, and at Ferris State on Saturday (Feb. 4), 64-59. The Cardinals are now 10-11 overall and 6-8 in the conference. Eli Redman recorded 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 11-for-11 from the charity stripe against Grand Valley. Redman also recorded his first career double-double against Ferris State, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Webb leads SVSU in scoring at 14.0 points per game and ranks 11th in the conference. SVSU is fourth in the conference in free throw percentage at 74.9% and 31st nationally. Brett Beland leads the GLIAC and is seventh nationally in free throw percentage going 61-for-66 (92.4). Redman is ninth in the conference from the charity stripe at 83.1%. Saginaw Valley will return to action when they host Northwood University on Wednesday (Feb. 8).
Tiffin Dragons
The Dragons went 1-1 on the week…On Feb. 1, the Dragons pulled away to beat Notre Dame College 94-81 … In the second half, TU shot 69% from the floor and 72.7% from behind the arc … This is the third straight game that Tiffin shot 60% or better from the floor and on three-pointers in the second half … Joe Graessle had a complete game with 31 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals while shooting 10-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-12 on triples … Travis Spahr added 28 points … On Feb. 4, TU battled to the end in a 73-68 loss to Ashland … Karl Finley had 24 and Joe Graessle added 17 … Career, Joe Graessle is fifth with 144 3-pointers made and fifth with 384 3-point attempts.
Wayne State Warriors
Wayne State won both games last week in the U.P. to extend the GLIAC’s longest active winning streak to five games. The Warriors had four players in double figures in each contest. Senior center Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) led the Warriors with 34 points and 16 rebounds in the two contests while making 16-of-17 from the foul line, including his first 11 attempts in Thursday’s win at Northern Michigan. A win this Saturday at home against Northwood would wrap-up WSU’s fourth consecutive GLIAC tournament appearance. Wayne State went 11-of-12 from the foul line at Michigan Tech to equal the season-high in free throw percentage (WSU also went 11-of-12 at Findlay on Jan. 7). Udanoh needs 13 points to be the 27th player in school history with 900 points. Including his time at Long Island, Udanoh has 922 collegiate points. Junior forward Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) has moved into eighth place on the all-time blocks list with 70. He is also shooting 52 percent (28-of-54) on three-point tries in his career. Senior guard Dale Brundidge (Southfield, Mich./Detroit Country Day) is 10th in career steals (114) and 12th in assists (219).