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2012-13 Men's Basketball Players of the Week

FEB 4-10
Kenny Sydness (Principia)
Principia College's Kenny Sydness, a junior from Wellesley Hills, Mass. (Wellesley), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 4-10.

Sydness, a forward, scored 36 points on 13-of-24 (.542) shooting from the field, including 2-of-6 (.444) from three-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 (1.000) from the charity stripe as Principia suffered an 88-77 loss to MacMurray College last week. He also added nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in the effort.

JAN 28-FEB 3
Joe Prophet (Westminster (Mo.))
Westminster College's Joe Prophet, a senior from St. Louis, Mo. (Cardinal Ritter), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 28-February 3.

Prophet, a guard, averaged 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in two SLIAC victories last week. He also dished out a total of seven assists and shot 17-of-37 (.459) from the field and 4-of-9 (.444) from behind the arc. Prophet scored 20 points and had seven rebounds and two assists in a 67-60 win over Webster University. He then recorded a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Blue Jays defeated Eureka College 67-63. Prophet also tallied five assists, two steals and finished 3-of-7 (.429) from three-point range.

JAN 21-27
Mark Lessen (Eureka)
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a senior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 21-27. This marks the third consecutive week that he has earned the honor.

Lessen, a center, averaged a double-double with 30.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in two SLIAC games last week. He shot 71.4 percent from the field, while adding six blocked shots. Lessen's 31-point effort at Blackburn College pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau for his career. He finished 13-of-18 (.722) from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and tallied four blocks as the Red Devils defeated Blackburn 75-64. Lessen added 30 points on 12-of-17 (.706) shooting and had 15 rebounds and two blocks in a 75-68 loss to Webster University.

JAN 14-20
Mark Lessen (Eureka)
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a senior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 14-20. This marks the second consecutive week that he has earned the honor.

Lessen, a center, averaged 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of SLIAC victories last week. He shot 52.0 percent from the field, while adding five assists, four blocks and two steals. Lessen scored 10 points on 4-of-7 (.571) shooting from the field in Eureka's 88-43 victory over Principia College. He also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. In the Red Devils' 64-60 win against Spalding University, Lessen played the full 40 minutes for the first time in his career, posting 20 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and one steal. His 20-point performance brought him one point shy of his 1,000th career point.

The two victories extended Eureka's win streak to seven games, marking the program's longest stretch without a defeat since the 1996-97 season.

JAN 7-13
Mark Lessen (Eureka)
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a senior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of January 7-13.

Lessen, a center, averaged 21.3 points and 8.7 rebounds as the Red Devils recorded three SLIAC victories last week. He was also 60.5 percent from the field (26-of-43) and 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line, while tallying six blocks and five assists. Lessen started the week with 18 points and eight rebounds in a 67-62 win on the road at Fontbonne University. He then scored 23 points, including a layup with 1.0 second remaining against Westminster College to give Eureka the 75-74 victory. He recorded a double-double for the game with 12 rebounds in addition to his 23 points and added five assists and three blocks, while shooting 11-of-18 (.615) from the field.

Lessen finished the week with another 23-point performance on 8-of-13 (.615) shooting from the field and 7-of-9 (.778) from the charity stripe to help lead Eureka to a 77-76 victory overGreenville College. He also had six rebounds and two blocks in the win.

DEC 31-JAN 6
Dustin Fritsch (Eureka)
Eureka College's Dustin Fritsch, a senior from Sterling, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 31-January 6.

Fritsch, a forward, led the Red Devils with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists in their 72-64 victory over Webster University. He shot 8-of-18 (.444) from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 (1.000) from the free throw line, while playing the entire 40 minutes.

DEC 17-30
Jared Greenlee (Fontbonne)
Fontbonne University's Jared Greenlee, a freshman from Strafford, Mo. (Marshfield), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the weeks of December 17-30.

Greenlee, a forward, averaged a double-double with 14.0 points and 10.0 points per game in two games played over the holiday break. He scored 15 points on 6-of-10 (.600) shooting from the field and added 11 rebounds in a 79-73 victory versus Mount St. Vincent. Greenlee then added 13 points on 6-of-9 (.667) shooting, nine rebounds and one steal in a 64-60 win over Oglethorpe. Greenlee was also named to the Daytona Beach Shootout All-Tournament Team for his two performances.

DEC 10-16
Aaron Griffin (Webster)
Webster University's Aaron Griffin, a sophomore from Farm Haven, Miss. (Velma Jackson), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 10-16.

Griffin, a center, tallied 20 points and 21 rebounds as the Gorloks lost a 97-89 overtime decision on the road at RustCollege. His 21 rebounds is the most in a game since the 1986 season for the Gorloks. Griffin finished with six offensive and 15 defensive boards, while shooting 8-of-11 (.727) from the field and recording two assists, one steal and one block.

DEC 3-9
Todd Albertson (Greenville)
Greenville College's Todd Albertson, a sophomore from Pekin, Ind. (Eastern), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 3-9.

Albertson, a forward, came of the bench to average 9.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals in three games played last week, while only averaging 20.3 minutes per game. He was 3-of-4 (.750) from the field for six points, had four rebounds and two steals in an 111-40 victory versus St. Louis Christian College. He then recorded back-to-back double-doubles with 11 points and 16 rebounds and 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Panthers dropped two games to Mid-Continent (105-80) and Missouri Baptist University (80-76). Albertson's 16 rebounds against Mid-Continent tied the school record for rebounds in a single game, a feat he accomplished in only 25 minutes on the court. He also added four steals in each game and dished out a total of two assists.

NOV 26-DEC 2
Thomas Blakemore (Spalding)
Spalding University's Thomas Blakemore, a junior from Louisville, Ky., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 26-December 2.

Blakemore, a guard, scored 17 points in only nine minutes on the court in Spalding's 95-51 victory versus Eureka College. He shot 7-of-9 (.778) from the field and was 2-of-3 (.667) from the free throw line. Blakemore also added four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist.

NOV 19-25
Dewhon McAfee (Spalding)
Spalding University's Dewhon McAfee, a senior from Louisville, Ky. (Butler), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 19-25.

McAfee, a guard, averaged 24.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three games played last week. He had 18 points, sinking six three-pointers, in a 62-61 loss to Transylvania. McAfee then recorded 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in an 86-85 loss to Asbury. He ended the week with a 32-point explosion on 12-of-21 (.571) shooting from the field and 5-of-6 (.833) from the charity stripe as the Golden Eagles defeated Cincinnati Christian College, 89-75.

NOV 15-18
Dietrick Sooter (Webster)
Webster University's Dietrick Sooter, a senior from St. Louis, Mo. (Pierce City), has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of November 15-18.

Sooter, a guard, averaged 18.0 points and 4.0 assists in the Gorloks first two games of the season. He had 11 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals in Webster's season-opening loss, 78-68, to Sewanee. Sooter then recorded 25 points, four assists and three rebounds in an 100-84 victory versus Rust College. He also shot 6-of-9 (.667) from the field, 5-of-8 (.625) from behind the arc and 8-of-9 (.889) from the free throw line for the game and was later named to the 2012 Cavallo All-Classic Team.