INDIANAPOLIS – The sixth selection of the season for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week honors was awarded to Ohio Dominican and announced on Monday morning.
The top of the league standings is still jammed up with four teams in the mix tied for first place. Findlay, Ohio Dominican, Hillsdale and Cedarville, are all 4-1.
The nationally-ranked Oilers survived a scare at home by staving off upset-minded Lake Erie in a 76-74 final. At 9-1 overall, UF still has lost just one game on the year and had a strong showing in exhibition action against Division I Bowling Green State on Sunday.
Defending tourney champ Ohio Dominican continued its ascent up the standings with two wins against Davis & Elkins and Alderson Broaddus. The Panthers stand 8-3 overall and are starting to find their midseason form and will look to carry the momentum into the new calendar year.
Hillsdale suffered its lone league loss at home against Walsh but bounced back with a double-digit win over LEC. Cedarville’s win streak was pushed to four straight games with a two-point win on the road at Tiffin on Friday.
Both the Chargers and Yellow Jackets share possession of the first-place tie.
Walsh, opening the conference schedule with six straight contests on the road, rode the coattails of a Darryl Straughter buzzer beater to defeat Kentucky Wesleyan. The Cavaliers were handed a loss in Nashville as first-year Trevecca head coach Omar Mance celebrated his first victory with the program.
Nine of the 13 Great Midwest teams still have a record of .500 or better.
Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week
Hasan Varence
Ohio Dominican
Forward
RS Junior
Queens, NY (Columbus Linden McKinley HS)
Varence had a historically brilliant two-game showcase to feature his athleticism and scoring ability during a pair of Panthers’ conference victories.
He was just one point shy of back-to-back 20/20 games. An extremely rare feat with just one 20/20 performance, Varence set the single-game conference record and the Ohio Dominican school record with 25 rebounds vs. D&E on Thursday.
Coincidentally, Varence broke the rebounding record of former Davis & Elkins big man Rickenjee Bellevue, who hauled in 22 boards vs. Cedarville in 2017. Eighteen of his 25 rebounds were of the defensive variety and he made 9-of-16 shots from the field, including both three-pointers attempted.
What might be the most impressive note from his performance against the Senators is the efficiency. The junior had 23 points and 25 rebounds in only 27 minutes as the Panthers were able to eventually pull away for a 30-point margin of victory.
ODU received some similar production from Varence in a close finish against Alderson Broaddus. Going head-to-head against AB’s strong rebounder Brandon Simmons, Varence showed out with a 19 point, 21-rebound game.
Varence knocked down all six of his free throws and handed out a pair of assists while shooting 6-of-11.
Varence averaged a staggering 21 points and 23 rebounds in both wins while shooting almost 56 percent from the floor. He also contributed four blocked shots.
Varence was a second team all-conference selection as a sophomore, ODU’s first season as a Great Midwest member. In nine games played, he is now the league’s leading rebounder (11.6 rpg) and ranks 16th in scoring at 14.3 points per game.