By Rowan Shiell
If there was one word to summarise the 2012-’13 season it would be unpredictable. From Duke losing to Virginia to No.1 ranked Indiana losing to Minnesota over the week nothing is a given. This also attributes to the British born players in college. At this point you would think that the top performer of the week would be a foregone conclusion or you can at least chose three candidates likely to make it, until a little used player is given big minutes in a game with a lot on the line and he steps up big time.
This is week 16.
Mike Orchereobia | Western Illinois | Junior | Centre
Western Illinois got 14 points from an unlikely source in a win, over UMKC, which kept them in contest for the regular season conference championship. They have one game left which they need to win and providing South Dakota loses their last game; Western Illinois will be the regular season champions of the Summit league.
Going into that game, Mike Orchereobia, a 6’8” centre from Hackney, was averaging three points on the season. He made all five of his field goal attempts and was four of six from the free throw line in a three point victory.
When his team needed him Orchereobia answered the call. They were down by 18 points at the half and held UMKC to 11 points in the second half. Western Illinois is now 20-7 on the season and the last time they won 20 games was the 1994-1995 season according to their website.
Ben Mockford | St Francis (NY) | Junior | Guard | @BenMockford
Thursday, he scored 13 points against Quinnipiac in another loss.
Keith Rendleman | North Carolina-Wilmington | Senior | Forward
Keith Rendleman seems to be in a zone at the moment, putting up national player of the year numbers, too bad North Carolina –Wilmington does not qualify for any post season tournaments due to some academic issues. That doesn’t stop Rendleman from putting his best effort forward.
Rendleman had another stellar week scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with two blocks as he fouled out in a one point loss to Delaware.
Next game, which would be his second of last game in his college career, Rendleman had 24 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and four blocks, in another one point loss to William and Mary. The 6’8” forward even connected on a three pointer with nine seconds on the clock. A team mate would later tie the score with a three pointer of his own. A regrettable foul would send William & Mary to the free throw line to ice the game.
Rendleman is now tied for first in double doubles for the year, with 19, in division one men’s basketball.
Andrew Lawrence | College of Charleston | Senior | Guard | @andrewcofc04.
With one more game to play in conference, Charleston is set to be placed second in their division of the Southern conference. They had two games over the week which resulted in a win and a loss.
They lost a non conference game, on Saturday, against Gardner-Webb by a mere three points. Lawrence scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.
On Thursday, on Lawrence’s Senior Night, he had 10 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Charleston to their ninth victory in eleven games (highlights above). They beat Wofford by five in the penultimate conference game.This should give them a high seed in the Southern conference tournament which takes place From March eight to the eleventh.
Ashley Hamilton | Loyola Marymount | Senior | Forward | @thekingash
Hamilton hit the boards hard over the week, capturing ten rebounds in both Loyola Marymount’s games. He scored seven points against Cal-Poly, on Saturday, and followed that by scoring eight points against Santa Clara, on Thursday. Both games were losses. Loyola Marymount is currently 1-14 in conference with one more game to play in the regular season.
Fahro Alihodzic | University Alabama at Birmingham | Junior | Center
UAB is making a strong finish, in conference, winning four of their last five games. They won both their games, on the road, at Tulane and Marshall. Alihodzic scored a total of 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in both games.
Alasdair Fraser | Maine | Junior | Forward | @bigali15
Fraser scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds to go with three blocks in Maine’s only game of the week, against Stony Brook. With this loss Maine is now 11-17 on the season and should get a lower seed in the America East tournament which starts on the ninth of March.
Will Neighbour | Arkansas Little Rock | Junior | Forward
On Saturday, UALR had their fourth loss in a row against Florida Atlantic. Will Neighbour scored eight points to go with five rebounds.
On Thursday he came back strong with 17 points and 11 rebounds to stop the bleeding. This victory gave UALR a 9-9 record in the Sun Belt conference. With one more regular season conference game they look set to finish second in the West Division of the conference. The tournament starts on March eight.
Thoughts? Anyone missing?
Image Credit: Western Illinois
0 comments