Whitehead (Seton Hall/DI), Lee (Medgar Evers/DII-III) Win Weekly Awards
MBWA Players of the Week (1-25 to 1-31) 2015-16 / Week 7
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Whitehead, Lee Earn Men's Player of the Week Accolades
NEW YORK (Feb. 2, 2016) ---
Isaiah Whitehead of Seton Hall and
Matthew Lee of Medgar Evers 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. 25-31, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 6-4 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, NY, Whitehead --- who also was named Big East Conference player of the week --- averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 50% percent from the field in a 2-0 conference week for Seton Hall (15-6
Whitehead scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half in a 75-65 victory at Creighton, including nailing seven consecutive points to jumpstart a 14-3 Pirates run. He was 9-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and also dished out a game-high six assists. It was his sixth 20-point game of the season and ninth time he’s had at least 15 points and five assists.
Whitehead registered 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, along with a season-high seven rebounds, three assists and a block, in a 79-60 win over visiting St. John’s. His acrobatic block of Durand Johnson on the break sparked the Pirates to a first-half ending 15-4 run that featured a pair of Whitehead three-pointers.
A 6-3 senior guard from Bloomfield, NJ, Lee --- who also was named CUNYAC player of the week --- played just one game for the Cougars (8-12) last week but it was a standout. The No. 2 scorer in the nation and No. 1 in CUNY with 29.9 ppg, Lee erupted for a career-high 50 points in a 98-83 conference victory at Baruch. Lee canned 17-of-22 field goals, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and sank 11-of-12 foul shots to help snap Evers’ four game losing streak. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists in topping his previous high of 44 points posted earlier in the season. This is the ninth time he has scored 30 points or more.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Darian Anderson, FDU; Michael Carey, Wagner; Rokas Gustys, Hofstra; Martin Hermannsson, LIU; Alex Rosenberg, Columbia; Jameel Warney, Stony Brook.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Thomas Bonacum, Ramapo; Khalif Chaplin, NYIT; Jalen Harris, NJCU; Shelton Mickell, Pace; Chris Millender, Dowling; Stephen Milhaven, Concordia; Joel Neri, Purchase; Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas; Frank Schettino, Staten Island; David Smith, U.S. Merchant Marine; 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, Div. I; Chinwe Wosu, New Jersey City, Divs. II-III. . . .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... Jan. 19, Teddy Okereafor, Rider, Div. I; Mike Klinger, Drew and John Snow, Rutgers-Newark, Divs. II-III. . . Jan. 26, Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall, Div. I; Matthew Lee, Medgar Evers, Divs. II-III.