Nike #HLMBB Players of the Week (January 31)
INDIANAPOLIS – Youngstown State’s Michael Akuchie averaged 23.0 points and scored the most points by a YSU player in a single game in nearly two years to help the Penguins go 2-0 on the weekend to earn Nike® #HLMBB Player of the Week, while Northern Kentucky’s Sam Vinson collected his League-best sixth Nike® #HLMBB Freshman of the Week honor this season after averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals to help NKU go 3-0 and propel them to fourth in the standings as the Horizon League announced its men’s basketball weekly honors on Monday.
#HLMBB Player of the Week
Michael Akuchie | Youngstown State | Senior | Forward | Plantation, Fla.
Akuchie led the Penguins to a 2-0 week with victories over Green Bay and Milwaukee at home. He scored a career-high 33 points on 10-of-16 shooting and made career-best six 3-pointers to lead the Penguins to an 86-72 win over Milwaukee. The senior also went 7-for-8 from the line with eight rebounds against the Panthers. His 33 points are the most scored in a game by a Penguins player since Darius Quisenberry had 41 against Wright State on Feb. 20, 2020. In YSU’s 63-50 win over Green Bay, Akuchie scored 13 points with seven rebounds and made 6-of-9 shots from the floor. For the week, Akuchie averaged 23 points, tied for second in the HL, and 7.5 rebounds per game, which ranks inside the top 10. He also shot 61.5 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3-point range, good for top-5 rankings for the week among HL players.
#HLMBB Freshman of the Week
Sam Vinson | Northern Kentucky | Freshman | Guard | Fort Thomas, Ky.
Vinson averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals in NKU’s 3-0 week. Against Wright State, he unlocked a 61-61 game with a jump shot that launched a 12-2 run to ensure the victory. Vinson scored 11 points with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block in that win. He contributed 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals in NKU’s triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne. Then, in a comeback win over Cleveland State, Vinson scored 18 points – including nine in NKU’s game-changing 26-4 run – with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Norse picked up three win this week against teams that were in the top half of the HL standings, including two in the top three, and vaulted to fourth in the standings at 7-4. This is Vinson’s sixth Freshman of the Week honor of the season, tying for the seventh-most awards in HL history.
2021-22 Nike® #HLMBB Players of the Week
November 15 – Grant Basile, Wright State
November 22 – Jamal Cain, Oakland
November 29 – Jamal Cain, Oakland
December 6 – Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
December 13 – Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky & Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State
December 20 – D’Moi Hodge, Cleveland State
December 27 – Grant Basile, Wright State
January 3 – Jamal Cain, Oakland
January 10 – Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
January 17 – Kevin Johnson, UIC
January 24 – Tanner Holden, Wright State
January 31 – Michael Akuchie, Youngstown State
2021-22 Nike® #HLMBB Freshmen of the Week
November 15 – Patrick Baldwin Jr., Milwaukee
November 22 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
November 29 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
December 6 – Patrick Baldwin Jr., Milwaukee
December 13 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
December 20 – Hubie Pivorius, Northern Kentucky
December 27 – AJ Braun, Wright State
January 3 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
January 10 – Kamari McGee, Green Bay
January 17 – Kamari McGee, Green Bay
January 24 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
January 31 – Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky