INDIANAPOLIS – A familiar name was selected for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors from nationally-ranked Hillsdale as announced on Tuesday morning.
 
A total of four men’s games were completed around the league as teams attempt to get on the court in the latter half of the regular season.
 
In the past week, No. 11-ranked Findlay, Kentucky Wesleyan and No. 23-ranked Hillsdale, emerged as winners in the conference standings while Malone carved out a non-conference win against Clarion.
 
The Oilers (7-1, 6-1) successfully bounced back from their first loss of the year and handled Tiffin (2-5, 2-5) at home while shooting 68 percent from the floor as a team. Sophomore big man Nathan Bruns was near perfect, missing just one shot of nine attempts, to score a team best 18 points.
 
KWC is also putting together a win streak of its own under the radar, claiming its third straight while defeating Ohio Valley (1-5, 1-5) on the road. The Panthers (5-2, 4-2) won by 35 and 12 different players scored. Zach Hopewell and Wyatt Battaile each had 15 points.
 
Hillsdale (7-1, 7-1) put the clamps down on Tiffin defensively, holding the Dragons to an uncharacteristic 21 first-half points. Only two players scored double-digits for Hillsdale, but held its opponent to just over 35 percent shooting in this one. The Dragons still remain in the top tier of the league in scoring at 76.4 ppg.
 
Malone’s (1-4, 0-4) first win of the season came on Friday night as the Pioneers flirted with the century mark over PSAC opponent Clarion. MU was guided by a double-double from standout forward Marcus Ernst, who scored 18 and pulled down 11 boards.
 
From the start of the season, a 20-game double round robin conference schedule was attempting to be completed between the league’s 11 programs. During the first week of February, the conference will start publishing official Point Rating System (PRS) totals that will be updated following the completion of each contest.
 
 
Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Patrick Cartier
Hillsdale
Forward
Sophomore
Brookfield, WI (East HS)
 
Cartier and the Chargers remain the hunted at the top of the updated conference standings with a 7-1 record. Hillsdale extended its win streak to four straight following a double-digit victory against Tiffin, the program’s lone contest.
 
Cartier shined once again as he produced a game-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting while grabbing five rebounds in 35 minutes of play.
 
Hillsdale is currently ranked No. 23 in the most recent NABC Division II Poll and the team’s lone loss in the schedule was a top-25 matchup vs. Findlay earlier this month.
 
Cartier has really ramped up his scoring pace the past few games and is now ranked fifth in the Great Midwest at 16.5 ppg. He already was one of the most efficient scorers in the country and while his FG% may have dipped slightly during this recent stretch, he still connecting at almost a 59 percent clip.
 
It was his second conference player of the week honor for the 2020-21 season and the fourth of his still young career.