North Carolina Central redshirt senior Patrick Cole was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Hampton’s Jermaine Marrow earned Rookie of the Week honors, while Jordan Butler, of Norfolk State, was named Defensive Player of the Week.
Cole averaged 22.5 points, five rebounds and four assists as North Carolina Central closed out the week with a 2-0 mark and increased its winning streak to seven games. The Newark, N.J. native was a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line and shot 50 percent from the three-point arc. Cole, who has earned the honor five times this season, began the week with a 28-point outing at Delaware State and ended on a high note with a 17-point, seven assist, seven-rebound performance in a first-place showdown at Morgan State.
Butler averaged 8.5 rebounds and three blocks as the Spartans upped their winning streak to six games. The Hartford, Conn. native blocked four shots and grabbed 11 rebounds in a nail-biter at South Carolina State and had two rejections and six rebounds versus North Carolina A&T State. Butler has won Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in four weeks.
Marrow was the fifth-leading scorer in the MEAC last week with 21.3 points per game en route to a 3-0 week. The freshman from Newport News, Va. was his team’s leading scorer in all three games while also averaging five rebounds and 3.3 assists. He was also near-perfect from the charity stripe as he finished with a 90 percent (18-of-20) clip. This marks the fourth time Marrow has won the honor this season.
Jonathan Wade (NSU, G, 6-4, 190, R-Sr., Panama City, Fla.) averaged 18 points, 8.5 rebounds in two wins at North Carolina A&T State and South Carolina State.
James “JT” Miller (HOW, G, 6-5, 180, R-Jr., Clinton, N.C.) averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds in losses to SC State and Florida A&M. Miller shot over 50 percent in the two games and blocked two shots.
Charles Williams (HOW, G/F, 6-5, Fr., Richmond, Va.) averaged 13 points and 1.5 steals in two games against SC State and Florida A&M.
Chas Brown (CSU, C, 6-8, 240, Sr., Baltimore, Md.) averaged 13 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the floor last week.
DeJuan Clayton (CSU, G, 6-2, 175, Fr., Bowie, Md.) scored 26 points in two games played along with five assists and three steals.
DeVaughn Mallory (DSU, F, 6-7, 215, So., Dover, Del.) averaged 15 points in three games last week with a high of 20 points and eight rebounds versus Bethune-Cookman.
Kyle Benton (NCCU, F, 6-7, 215, Sr., Long Beach, Calif.) led NCCU in rebounding with 6.5 per game, and was second in scoring with 14.5 points per game. Tied a career-high with 17 points at Morgan State, and was tied for the team-high with two steals. Also was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor against Delaware State.