NEW YORK (Jan. 10, 2023) ---
James "JJ" Chestnut of Staten Island and
Yassine Sakhi of CCNY have been named Divisions II/III Men’s Co-Players of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
The designation, for games played Jan. 2-8, is unique in that it encompasses players from 45 Met area schools across Divisions II and III.
A 6-2 freshman guard from Watervliet, NY, Chestnut --- who also was named the Division II East Coast Conference player and rookie of the week --- averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists as the Dolphins (4-10) split a pair of homecourt contests last week.
For the two games, playing 40 and then 36 minutes, respectively, he connected on 19-of-27 (70.4%) shots from the field, including 7-of-9 (77.8%) from 3-point range, along with nailing 3-of-4 shots at the free throw line.
Chestnut registered a career-high 27 points along with seven rebounds and four assists in Friday’s 79-75 loss to Daemen. On Sunday, he posted 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists in a 92-70 victory over D’Youville.
A 6-2 junior guard from Harlem, NY, Sakhi --- who also was named the Division III CUNY Athletic Conference player of the week --- averaged 20.5 points as the Beavers (8-6) defeated Lehman at home 75-61 on Tuesday and toppled Baruch 70-62 on the road on Friday.
The CUNYAC scoring leader this season at 18.9 points per game, Sakhi netted a game-high 22 points against Lehman to go with three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
In the win over Baruch, he posted a game-high 19 points along with four rebounds and two assists.
Players receiving MBWA Divisions II/III Honorable Mention for the week: D’Angelo Blackmond, St. Elizabeth; Steven Breeman, Montclair State; Anthony Corbo, Ramapo; Darnell Evans, Caldwell; Darren Fergus, Molloy; Terrell Fullerton, York; Isaac Holmes, John Jay; Nick Hurowitz, Farmingdale State; Spencer Malloy, St. Joseph’s-Long Island; Patrick O’Gorman, Pratt; James Patterson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Dayshaun Walton, Adelphi.
Previous MBWA 2022-23 Divisions II/III Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 6,
Jack Spellman, Stevens; Dec. 13,
Messiah Mallory, Staten Island; Dec. 20,
Griffin Barker, Kean.
--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---