INDIANAPOLIS – The first league games are in the books as the first Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week award for the 2020-21 season was announced on Monday afternoon.
Findlay (1-0, 1-0), Hillsdale (1-0, 1-0) and Tiffin (1-0, 1-0), all carved out their first wins in the standings of the conference schedule. After tying for the conference regular-season title a year ago, the Oilers and Chargers each beat Trevecca Nazarene (0-2, 0-1) in their season debuts.
TNU gave conference preseason coaches poll favorite Findlay all it could handle in the first half, leading at halftime as Chris Rogers had a game-high 23 points, including five three-point baskets. UF's Joey Edmonds had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, to help lead four different Oilers in double figures.
The Trojans were the only team to play two conference games in the week, later facing Hillsdale. This time, the Chargers started the game on a 21-4 run and sank 21 threes as a team, the second most in single-game conference history.
Ohio Dominican (0-2, 0-1) is replacing many faces from a year ago, including program standouts Hasan Varence, Sam Hickey and Michael Scott. The Panthers had their home opener against Salem University (originally supposed to be Cedarville); the Tigers lost by just three points later in the week against Division I Delaware. Sean Marks averaged 20 points per game for the Panthers.
Tiffin was ODU's second opponent of the week and the Dragons surged in the second half as newcomer Jaeden King blew up for 28 points. The Dragons were +17 in the second half in their home opener.
The regular season was kicked off by Kentucky Wesleyan a week prior with a non-conference victory against Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.
The dates and times for the conference composite schedule are subject to change. A number of Great Midwest men's basketball games have already been postponed and rescheduled as member institutions continue to work together through approved protocol at the administrative level.
Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Austen Yarian
Hillsdale
Forward
Senior
Cleveland, OH (St. Ignatius HS)
At 6-8, 215, Yarian stretches the defense with his inside-outside ability after already crushing his former career-high point total to start the new campaign for Hillsdale. After earning all-conference honors a year ago, it looks like the senior is picking up right where he left off.
Yarian scored a game-high 28 points in as many minutes on Saturday, going 10-for-17 from the field with six of those makes from beyond the arc.
Yarian's previous career-high scoring total was 23 points against Malone as a junior. He was second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding last season.
He pulled down six rebounds in Hillsdale's 95-53 win over Trevecca Nazarene and made both free throw shots. Yarian also blocked one shot.
Hillsdale shot nearly 50 percent from the field as a team vs. TNU. Every player was able to log minutes. The Chargers made a total of 21 three-point field goals, second only to Walsh (vs. Wright State-Lake) in the conference record books for a single game.
The Chargers were picked third in the preseason coaches poll after earning the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in 2019-20. Their next game is a road visit to Ohio Dominican on Thursday.
This is Yarian's first career conference player of the week honor.