INDIANAPOLIS – Ohio Dominican sophomore forward Hasan Varence (Queens, NY/Columbus Linden McKinley HS) was named the final Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday.
 
Varence helped ODU sustain a remarkable run through the eight-team conference tournament bracket. The Panthers were the No. 5 seed as they beat No. 4 Malone, No. 1 Findlay and No. 3 Hillsdale, en route to the Great Midwest Championship trophy.
 
The Panthers (20-10 overall) have won eight straight and 12 of their last 13 games as they get ready for the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional as the No. 8 against No. 1 seed Ferris State on Saturday.
 
He shot 50 percent from the field, made a couple of three-pointers and converted seven shots at the charity stripe.
 
Varence, a second-team all-conference selection for the 2017-18 season, had lots of dunks to electrify the crowd as he averaged a double-double during the conference tournament with 15 points and 10.3 rebounds.
 
His consistency and athleticism helped Ohio Dominican control the paint as the Panthers earned the automatic qualifying bid to the national tournament. In the quarterfinal round, Varence produced 18 points and 11 rebounds vs. Malone.
 
Varence had one of the highlights of the tournament early on against the Pioneers as he soared for a Statue of Liberty dunk off the lob.
 
In the next round when the Panthers toppled host Findlay in Croy Gymnasium, he had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He stepped into a three with a minute left in regulation that pulled ODU to within two, a huge shot that would set the stage for a Ronnie Williams game-tying triple and the game-winning sequence pulled off by Ryan Hoyng/Michael Scott with 0.2 seconds left on the clock.
 
Varence then was active in the championship game against Hillsdale, posting 16 points and nine rebounds, capping the tournament experience with a two-handed alley-oop slam in the open court.
 
In 30 games, Varence has recorded a team-leading 14.1 points per game and 9.8 rebounds. His season shooting percentage is pushing 50 percent at 49.6 and also averages almost a block per contest.

This is his second conference weekly honor of the 2017-18 campaign.