INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State junior guard Kendrick Perry (Ocoee, Fla./Edgewater) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while UIC senior forward Josh Crittle [Bellwood, Ill./Hales Franciscan (Central Florida)] has been named the Newcomer of the Week, for the week of Jan. 1-6.
Youngstown State (9-6, 1-1 Horizon) opened the Horizon League season with a last-minute loss at UIC (10-4, 1-0 Horizon), 65-60, before bouncing back to grab a last-second win at Loyola (10-4, 1-1 Horizon), 68-66, on Saturday. The Flames started 1-0 in League play in their lone game of the week.
In the Penguins’ League-opening setback at UIC, Perry tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points, going 7-of-12 from the floor. The junior came up one rebound shy of a double-double in the loss, playing all 40 minutes. Despite the heavy work load, Perry scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half at Loyola as Youngstown State overcame a 14-point second half deficit.
Perry’s running jumper with five seconds to play broke a 66-66 tie and lifted the Penguins to a key road split. The Ocoee, Fla.-native played all 40 minutes in the game, going 5-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.
With 37 points on the week, Perry moved into 26th on the YSU career scoring list with 1,037 points. A year after leading the Horizon League in scoring, the preseason first team all-league guard is third with an average of 16.5 points per game. Perry sits fifth in the conference with 4.5 assists per game, while his 1.5 steals per game rank fourth.
Crittle was one-of-four Flames in double figures last Wednesday in their 65-60 win over Youngstown State at the Pavilion. The big man’s scoring output came on 6-of-10 shooting as he also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Crittle, who has 39 assists on the season, dished out four assists against just one turnover in the win. Crittle’s 39 assists rank second on the team, while his 9.9 ppg is fourth.
Youngstown State will host Detroit (10-5, 2-0 Horizon) in a key early League game on Thursday, Jan. 10. The Horizon League Network will have live coverage of the game, which tips at 7:05 p.m. EST. UIC will play three Horizon League games this week, beginning at Cleveland State (8-7, 0-1 Horizon) on Monday, Jan. 7. HLN will carry the game at 7 p.m. EST. The Flames will host Valparaiso (11-5, 1-1 Horizon) on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. EST on HLN before wrapping the weekend at Green Bay (6-9, 0-2 Horizon) at 4 p.m. EST on HLN.
Top Performers for the Week:
Ray McCallum, Detroit (Jr., G) - Averaged 19.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 4.0 apg, capped by a 26-point effort in Detroit’s 84-76 victory against Green Bay.
Greg Mays, Green Bay (So., F) - Posted a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds at Detroit, going 8-for-9 from the floor with five dunks.
Ben Averkamp, Loyola (Sr., F) - Led Loyola to a 63-54 win at Valparaiso with a 16-point effort, following it up with 18 in the Ramblers’ loss to YSU.
Gary Talton, UIC (Sr., G) - Scored a team-high 19 points, including the go-ahead three with 17 seconds to play in UIC’s 65-60 win over Youngstown State.
Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso (Sr., F) - Posted his third double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds versus Cleveland State, moving into fifth in Valparaiso history with 722 boards.
Reggie Arceneaux, Wright State (So., G) - Recorded consecutive 15-point efforts as WSU opened conference play 2-0, adding a career-best eight assists versus Green Bay.
Top Newcomers for the Week:
Bryn Forbes, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Came off the bench to score 12 points in both games last week against Kent State and Valparaiso.
Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit (So., G/F) - After his double-digit scoring streak came to an end, Howard, Jr. rebounded with a 16-point effort versus Green Bay.
Sultan Muhammad, Green Bay (Jr., G) - Scored 11 points at Detroit, knocking down a pair of three-pointers. Muhammad ranks in the top 10 of the League in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals per game.
Cully Payne, Loyola (Jr., G) - Averaged 12.0 ppg and 5.5 apg on the week as Loyola opened Horizon League play 1-1.
Miles Dixon, Wright State (Jr., G) - Coming off the bench, went 8-of-14 from the field over two games, averaging 9.5 ppg.
