INDIANAPOLIS – The first few games are in the books as opening weekend signaled the start of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week honors.
Findlay is ranked 23rd nationally and the preseason coaches poll favorite reeled off two regional wins against GLVC opponents Truman State and Quincy.
Hillsdale, a championship finalist in 2018, also beat two GLVC schools in Illinois Springfield and Southern Indiana.
Both Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins faced defending national champion Ferris State and reigning conference tournament champion Ohio Dominican won its season opener vs. Wayne State.
Athlete of the Week
Deng Mayot
Kentucky Wesleyan
Forward
Junior
Brisbane, Australia (St. James College/Pensacola State College)
Kentucky Wesleyan was picked last in the preseason coaches poll, a peculiar position that had an uncharacteristically tough season in 2017-18.
The Panthers did their best to turn their fortunes around in the season opener, routing Kentucky State by 22 points.
In the mix was Mayot, a 6-7 Australian product brought by first-year head coach Drew Cooper from the NJCAA Division I Panhandle Conference.
Mayot scored 29 points and had 10 rebounds for a double-double in his first game of the season, sinking 10-of-12 shots from the field. He was perfect on two-point field goal shooting
He also made 3-of-5 tries from beyond the arc, showing an inside-outside scoring ability that already has fans buzzing about the Panthers’ season outlook. Two of his 29 points in just 26 minutes on the floor came at the free throw line.