MAC Announces Men's Basketball Players of the Week

MAC Men's Basketball East Division Player of the Week

Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens, Akron , Guard
Sophomore, Chillicothe, Ohio (Chillicothe)
Hitchens averaged 12.3 points and 3.0 assists, to go with a 41.9 percent (13-of-31) showing from the field and a 52.9 percent (9-of-17) performance from 3-point range, to lead Akron to a 2-1 record over the weekend at the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. Highlighting his play over the three games was a season-high 17 points (all in the second half) in the Zips' 63-59 win over Drake on Saturday. In that contest, he hit one of his four 3-pointers of the day with two minutes to play and gave UA the lead for good at 60-58. He also assisted on a jumper by Darryl Roberts in the final minute to seal the win. The sophomore guard was named to the all-tournament team. He posted 10 points in each of UA's other games over the weekend, versus North Carolina State on Friday and Howard on Sunday.

MAC Men's Basketball West Division Player of the Week

Martelle McLemore, Western Michigan, Guard/Forward
Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Consortium Prep)
Martelle McLemore was instrumental in Western Michigan overcoming a 17-point first half deficit to defeat Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major No. 8 VCU by 16 points, 83-67. McLemore set new career highs with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists. McLemore converted on 9-of-13 from the field, including 8-of-9 inside the arc, and 3-of-3 free throw shooting. McLemore had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in the second half alone.

Other Nominees

Jarrod Jones, Ball State, Forward
Sophomore, Michigan City, Ind. (Michigan City)
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones continued his strong start to the 2009-10 season as he scored 19 points for the second straight game to lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 start with a victory over SIU Edwardsville. Jones shot 70 percent (seven-of-10) from the field in the victory and is shooting 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the field this season. He fell just shy of a double-double against SIUE as he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. On the year, he is averaging 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

John Boyer, Buffalo, Guard
Senior, Hollidaysburg, PA (Hollidaysburg)
John Boyer averaged 8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7 assists in Buffalo's two road wins over Navy and Towson. In the Bulls' win over Navy, Boyer had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He was 7-of-8 from the free throw line to help seal the win. Against Towson, the senior point guard had six points, a career-high eight rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. His jumper in overtime gave the Bulls the lead for good. His 12 assists tied for the 10th-most in a single game in school history.

Robbie Harman, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Traverse City, Mich. (Traverse City Central)
Harman put up his second 20-point scoring effort of the season and averaged 16.5 points in two games in a 1-1 week for the Chippewas. Harman finished 6-of-13, with all six of his makes coming from beyond the arc, to score 20 points and added three assists and three rebounds against UIC at Rose Center. In CMU's first road game of 2009-10, Harman connected for 13 points, six assists and four rebounds against Farleigh Dickinson. On the week, Harman averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 boards, 4.5 assists and 4.5 made three-pointers in two games.

Brandon Bowdry, Eastern Michigan, Forward
Junior, St. Louis, Mo.
Scored in double figures in three games at the Hispanic Fund Classic, Nov. 20-22. Named to the All-Tournament Team after scoring 43 points with 28 rebounds in the three games. Scored 14-14-15 with 9-8-11 rebounds. Turned in the ninth double-double of his career with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Missouri State. Made 14-of-28 field goals (50 percent) and 15-of-21 free throws (71.4 percent) in the tournament. Also had five steals and two blocks in the three games

Rodriquez Sherman, Kent State, Guard
Junior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Ben Davis)
Sherman had another stat stuffing week as he led the Golden Flashes to a 2-0 record and their fourth 4-1 start of the decade. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in wins at Youngstown State on Wednesday and vs Rochester College on Sunday. In the YSU game, Sherman compiled 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. He rounded out the week vs Rochester with another 15 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Nick Winbush, Miami, Forward
Junior, Shaker Heights, Ohio (Shaker Heights)
Winbush averaged 16.0 ppg over four games last week, nailing 58.3 percent of his field goals (21-of-36), 56.0 percent of his 3-point attempts (14-of-25) and going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He was named to the World Vision Classic All-Tournament Team. Winbush propelled Miami to a program record 15 3-point field goals at No. 4/5 Kentucky, drilling 8-of-10 treys. His eight 3-pointers tied for third on Miami's single-game charts and tied a then-Rupp Arena record for 3-pointers by and opponent. Winbush tallied a career-high 26 points against the Wildcats, while hauling in a career-high six rebounds and playing a career-most 37 minutes. Winbush recorded his second 20-point performance of his career, scoring 25 points at New Mexico in the final game of the World Vision Classic to lead all scorers ... he was 9-of-13 against the Lobos, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Darion "Jake" Anderson, Northern Illinois, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Carver Military Academy)
Despite battling the flu, Anderson averaged a double-double (12.0 points/12.0 rebounds) with two career-high rebounding marks in NIU's three games last week. The Huskies took on No. 23/25 Illinois in Champaign (Nov. 17), and hosted Ohio Valley Conference foes Tennessee State (Nov. 20) and Southeast Missouri (Nov. 22). In Tuesday's 80-61 loss to the Illini, Anderson scored just four points, but pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes, the first of three-straight double-digit rebounding outputs on the week. In Friday's 85-57 win over Tennessee State, Anderson chipped in nine points, and tore down a career-high 13 rebounds, including four offensive boards. He also dished out a team-best six assists in 26 minutes. Anderson battled through flu-like symptoms throughout the entire game versus SEMO on Sunday, but still scored a season-high 23 points on seven field goals, and again corralled a career-best tying 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards. He was also 7-of-10 from the free throw line, and dished out five assists against zero turnovers in 41 minutes of action during the 70-64 overtime loss.

Jay Kinney, Ohio, Guard
Freshman, Champaign, Ill.
Ohio freshman guard Jay Kinney torched the Aggies of N.C. A&T with 23 points and five assists on 7-12 shooting (5-9 3FG) in just 28 minutes of play in the Bobcats' 93-82 win Tuesday evening. The Champaign, Ill. native made all four of his free throws and had one steal as well.

Stephen Albrecht, Toledo, Guard
Freshman, Crown Point, Ind.
Scored a team-high 19.5 points per game and shot a blistering 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from three-point range in the Rockets' contests at Cincinnati and No. 2 Michigan State. Albrecht began the week against the Bearcats with a 19-point showing on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-9 from three-point range. He then tallied a season-best 20 points against the No. 2-ranked Spartans. Albrecht also grabbed four rebounds vs. MSU and was 5-of-10 from behind the arc.