Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
English, Kupferberg, Reyes Named MBB Players of the Week
 
NEW YORK (Jan. 12, 2016) --- A.J. English of Iona, for the second time this season, and Evan Kupferberg of NYU and Justin Reyes of St. Thomas Aquinas, as co-winners, have been named Men’s Division I and Divisions II-III Players of the Week, respectively, by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
 
The designations, for games played Jan. 4-10, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
 
A 6-4 senior guard from Wilmington, DE, English --- who also was named Metro Atlantic player of the week --- averaged 23 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds to lead Iona (9-6) to three homecourt wins over conference opponents. The MAAC-leading Gaels improved to 6-0 in league play for the second time in history and the first time in 21 seasons while extending their winning streak at the Hynes Center to 26 games.
 
English, who returned last week after missing five games with a hand injury, was 22-of-45 from the field with seven 3-pointers while shooting 18-of-20 from the foul line.
 
He started the week with 21-points in a 65-52 win over Niagara, then posted 24 points in each of Iona’s wins over Rider (67-58) and Marist (90-80), along with recording seven and eight assists, respectively.
 
Against Marist, English posted his first 20+ point, 5+ rebound, 5+ assist game of the season after several flirtations in his first nine appearances. He is the only returning player in the NCAA to average those numbers and was just one of two last season along with former Ohio State and current Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell.
 
A 6-6 senior forward from Boca Raton, FL, Kupferberg helped lead the undefeated and Division III 14th-ranked Violets (11-0) to a 2-0 record last week with a pair of double-double performances.
 
He began with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, with 11 rebounds and two steals, in NYU’s 89-67 win over Wells. Then, in the Violets' UAA opener against Brandeis, Kupferberg posted game highs with points (18) and rebounds (13) --- shooting 8-of-10 at the free throw line --- during an electrifying 69-67 win.
 
A 6-4 sophomore guard-forward from Haverhill, MA, Reyes --- who also was named East Coast Conference player of the week --- amassed 52 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists in 61 minutes played during a 2-0 week on the road for the Spartans (10-4).
 
He posted 25 points and 13 rebounds in 31 minutes of play en route to an 85-66 Spartan victory at Daemen, shooting 11-of-16 (68.7%) from the field. Reyes registered 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists over 30 minutes in a 90-68 victory at Roberts Wesleyan College, canning 12-of-16 (75%) from the field.
 
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Rokas Gustys, Hofstra; Earl Potts Jr., Fairleigh Dickinson; Jameel Warney, Stony Brook.
 
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Chima Ekekeugbor, Baruch; Jamir Ferebee, Mount Saint Vincent; James Frazier, NJCU; Andy Laurent, St. Joseph’s-LI; Ryan Peterson, Pace; Jamail Stanley, Old Westbury.

Previous MBWA 2015-16 Men's Players of the Week: Dec. 8, A.J. English, Iona, Div. I; Egzon Gjonbalaj, Brooklyn, Divs. II-III . . . Dec. 15, Luke Petrasek, Columbia. Divs. II-III; Chinwe Wosu, New Jersey City University, Div. I . . . .Dec. 22, Jameel Warney, Stony Brook and Damon Lynn, NJIT, Div. I; Anthony Maestre, Manhattanville, Divs. II-III.