Rider's Okereafor (DI); Drew's Klinger, R-N's John Snow (DII-III) Get Men's Honors
MBWA Players of the Week (1-11 to 1-17) 2015-16 / Week 5
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Okereafor, Klinger, Snow Named MBB Players of the Week
NEW YORK (Jan. 19, 2016) ---
Teddy Okereafor of Rider, and
Mike Klinger of Drew and
John Snow of Rutgers-Newark, 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. 11-17, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 5-8 graduate student guard from London, England, Okereafor --- who also was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the week --- averaged 30.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in leading the Broncs (6-12) to their first two conference victories this season.
In a 102-100 double overtime win over visiting Marist, Okereafor scored a career-high 38 points, setting MAAC records in free-throws made (25) and free-throws attempted (30). In the second overtime, Okereafor scored nine of Rider’s 10 points.
Then, in a 79-75 triumph over visiting Iona, Okereafor scored a team-best 23 points. The Broncs made nine of 10 foul shots in the final 2:24 to preserve the victory, with Okereafor making five of the freebies.
A 6-1 senior guard from Franklin Park, NJ, Klinger --- who also was named Landmark Conference athlete of the week --- played every minute during a 2-0 week at home, leading the Rangers (9-8) to a 76-74 victory over previously undefeated and No. 11 ranked Susquehanna and a 76-73 win over Elizabethtown. He averaged 27 points, four rebounds and four assists while turning the ball over just once in 80 minutes of court time.
Klinger scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and added five assists, in the victory over Susquehanna. He converted a layup and free throw with just five minutes left in the game to provide Drew with its first lead in the second half.
He tied a career-high with 33 points, hitting 6-of-12 from 3-point range and 12-of-21 overall, in the win over Elizabethtown. Klinger’s basket with less than a minute to play provided Drew with a go-ahead lead it did not relinquish.
A 6-1 senior guard from Newark, NJ, Snow --- who also was named NJAC player of the week --- averaged 29.5 points and shot 63% from the field to lead Rutgers-Newark (12-4) to a 2-0 week.
Snow scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in a midweek 76-75 overtime win at home over Ramapo, then exploded for a career-high and Scarlet Raiders season’s best 42 points in a come-from-behind 93-89 victory at Rowan. Overall for the week, Snow canned 20-of-32 from the field and 16-of-21 at the foul line.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Rokas Gustys, Hofstra; Khallid Hart, Marist; Damon Lynn, NJIT; Aakim Saintil, LIU; Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Claude Blue, Bloomfield; Evan Kupferberg, NYU; Jeyvi Miavivululu, Felician; Matt O’Neill, St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn; 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... Jan. 12, A.J. English, Iona, Div. I; Evan Kupferberg, NYU, and Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas, Divs. II-III.