Weekly Winners: Sanders (Rutgers/DI), Green (NJCU/DII-DIII) and Laffey (Adelphi/DII-DIII)
MBWA Players of the Week (12-11 to 12-17) 2017-18 / Week 3
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sanders, Green, Laffey Revel in MBB Weekly Honors
NEW YORK (Dec. 19, 2017) ---
Corey Sanders of Rutgers in Division I, and
Lavrone Green of NJCU and
Jack Laffey of Adelphi as co-winners in Divisions II-III, have been named Men’s Players of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The designations, for games played Dec. 11-17, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 6-2 junior guard from Lakeland, FL, Sanders was an all-around standout with 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists per game in a 2-0 homecourt week for the Scarlet Knights (10-3) that comprised a 71-65 victory over No. 15 in-state rival Seton Hall and a 75-63 win over Fordham. The victory over the Pirates was the first triumph over a ranked opponent for Rutgers since topping No. 4 Wisconsin on Jan. 11, 2015, and it came in front of a sold-out RAC,RU’s largest home crowd since 2002.
Sanders surpassed the 1,000-point plateau by posting 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting against Fordham, then earned the game MVP trophy with 22 points, four rebounds and four steals against Seton Hall.
A 6-2 guard from Teaneck, NJ, Green --- who also was named NJAC player of the week --- was the game hero in unbeaten and now 17th ranked NJCU’s (9-0) only contest of the week, scoring a Gothic Knight career high 34 points, including a running one-handed 3-pointer at the buzzer to secure an 81-80 road victory over Albertus Magnus.
Green nailed 12-of-24 field goals, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range to bolster 26 points in the second half, as NJCU overcame a 20-point deficit. His 34 points overall matched the most he has scored in any collegiate game going back to 2014-15 when he played at Montclair State.
A 6-5 junior forward-guard from Red Bank, NJ, Laffey averaged 34.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week on the road for the Panthers (4-8). He shot 57.9% (22-of-38) from the field, including 54.9% (17-of-31) from beyond the arc, as Adelphi defeated Felician 99-90 and lost to Goldey-Beacom 113-111.
He first registered 23 points and six rebounds in the victory over Felician, then erupted for 42 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including 11-of-17 from 3-point range, to go with five rebounds, four assists and three steals against Goldey-Beacom. The 11 treys set a single-game school record, eclipsing the nine 3s recorded last season by Michael Coffey.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: JoJo Cooper, Wagner; E.J. Crawford, Iona; Angel Delgado, Seton Hall; Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s; Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Brandon Jacobs, Pace; Marko Kozul, Mercy; David Washington, USMMA.
Previous MBWA 2016-17 Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 5, Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall, Div. I; Dequawne Richards, Mercy, and Sam Toney, NJCU, co-winners Divs. II-III . . . Dec. 12, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra, Div. I; Dom Cristiano, NYU, and Terrell Spaulding, Felician, co-winners Divs. II-III.