SJU's Ponds Tabbed DI; STAC's Reyes, Old Westbury's Stanley Share DII-DIII Weeklys
MBWA Players of the Week (12-5 to 12-11) 2016-17 / Week 2
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ponds, Reyes, Stanley Named MBB Players of the Week
NEW YORK (Dec. 13, 2016) ---
Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s in Division I, and
Justin Reyes of St. Thomas Aquinas and
Jamail Stanley of Old Westbury as co-winners in Divisions II-III, have been named Men’s Players of the Week, respectively, by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The designations, for games played Dec. 5-11, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 6-1 guard from Brooklyn, NY, Ponds --- who also was named the Big East Conference freshman player of the week --- averaged 23.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in a 2-1 week for the Red Storm 5-6. He shot 53.2% (25-47 FG) from the field and 53.8% (14-26) from 3-point territory.
Ponds started the week with a 25-point, five assist effort in a 76-70 win over Cal State Northridge, hitting 10-of-18 field goal attempts. His marquee performance came in a 90-62 victory over city-rival Fordham, setting career-highs with 26 points, nine assists, four steals and seven rebounds. He also nailed seven 3-pointers, which tied for second-most in a single game in program history.
To close the week, he posted double-figures for the 10th straight game, finishing with 18 points and four 3-pointers in a 74-73 loss to LIU Brooklyn at the Barclays Center.
A 6-4 junior guard/forward from Haverhill, MA, Reyes --- who also was named the East Coast Conference player of the week --- averaged 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals for the undefeated Spartans (9-0) in a 75-64 road victory at LIU Post and a 107-88 homecourt win over NYIT.
Reyes scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting (62.4%) from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line in the win over Post. He pulled down 16 rebounds to blend with 21 points on 8-of-13 (61.5%) shooting against NYIT.
A 6-3 senior guard from Syracuse, NY, Stanley --- who also was named the Skyline Conference player of the week --- produced his fifth straight double-double by registering game-highs of 30 points (12-of-14 FG), 17 rebounds and three blocks in just 24 minutes to lead the Panthers (2-5) to an 82-70 victory at home over York in the only game of the week for Old Westbury.
Stanley has now recorded 18 double-doubles in 31 career games at Old Westbury, while the 30-point performance was the seventh 30-plus effort in his career and fifth in his last 11 games played dating back to 2015-16.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Nigel Johnson, Rutgers; Jordan Washington, Iona.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Nick Davidson, Bloomfield; Derek Dorn, Caldwell; Jalen Harris, NJCU; Marko Kozul, Mercy; Austin Mofunanya, Pace; Jaylen Morris, Molloy.
Previous MBWA 2016-17 Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 6, Tim Coleman, NJIT, and Joseph Lopez, Sacred Heart, Div. I; Thomas Bonacum, Ramapo, Divs. II-III.