Brits in College – NCAA D1 Week 6 Recap

We take a look at how Brits are getting on in NCAA Division 1 in the latest week of action around the festive period in the college basketball season.

Player of the Week

Luke Nelson | UC Irvine | Junior | Guard

Luke Nelson was named as the tournament MVP as UC Irvine lifted the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational title as part of three wins in the latest week.

The junior guard starred with 16 points in a 63-53 win over Sam Houston, before scoring 17 points as the Anteaters defeated Norfolk State 80-62 in the Championship game.

UCI head into Christmas with some silverware and their 10-4 record is the best start to a season for the school since the 2002-03 campaign.

Yup, we're taking the 🏆 back to Irvine! #TogetherWeZot pic.twitter.com/HEDHjaRx3x

— UCI M Basketball (@UCImbb) December 23, 2015

Best of the Rest

Alex Young had six points, five rebounds and four assists in the first victory in Texas, El Paso, for UCI before grabbing five rebounds and dishing out six assists in the ensuing win to take the title.

Teddy Okereafor helped Rider put in a battling performance against #14 ranked Providence after finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a 73-65 loss on the road. The senior guard then contributed six points and five assists in a 71-49 win over Morgan State as Rider improved to 3-9.

Freshman Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye had 17 points for Bradley on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in a 90-70 defeat at Bloise State, before scoring five in a 49-53 loss at home to TCU as the Braves dropped to 2-11 on the season.

Ben Lawson scored eight points and had three blocks in a 78-56 defeat at the 9-1 Louisville, prior to contributing 10 points, four rebounds and five blocks as WKU improved to 7-5 with a 79-74 success at home to Detroit.

Senior centre Jack Crook pulled down 10 rebounds in a narrow 67-64 win for Seattle on Sunday, while Aaron Menzies came off the bench with 10 points and five rebounds in a following 79-68 loss at Washington with the Redhawks 5-7 heading into Christmas.

Meanwhile, Jesse Chuku shot 50% from the field on his way to 11 points, whilst adding five rebounds in a 62-75 loss against Stony Brook after Lehigh had defeated Mount St. Mary’s 76-73 in their previous game.

Ryan Martin netted 6-of-7 inside the arc in a 16-point haul in a 77-64 win for Tennessee Tech over Miami (Ohio) as well as adding eight rebounds. The senior forward then had five points in a contrasting shooting night as the Golden Eagles were beaten 85-63 by Iowa.

Also, Jamie Batish scored his nine points from downtown in a 72-67 defeat for Western Illinois at Loyola, while Grant Fiorentinos collected 10 rebounds to go with six points from the bench, although SIU Edwardsville suffered a heavy 70-51 loss to drop to 3-8.