INDIANAPOLIS – After two weeks of #HLMBB play, four teams remain unbeaten with Wright State and Cleveland State each with perfect 4-0 records, while HL newcomers RMU and Purdue Fort Wayne each picked up their first-ever HL wins. In addition, IUPUI looks to start its League season this season hosting the Vikings.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Wright State is 4-0 to start the Horizon League season for the second year in a row and comes in at No. 15 in the CollegeInsider.com Top-25 poll. The Raiders are the top scoring offense in the HL and rank fifth in the NCAA in defensive rebounding. Five WSU are averaging in double figures led by Loudon Love with 15.7 points. Love also is fifth in the country in rebounding at 12.0 boards per contest and ninth in the NCAA with four double-doubles.
• Cleveland State is also 4-0 in Horizon League play and off to its best start in 10 years. The Vikings are getting it done with an efficient offense (2nd in the HL play in field-goal percentage) and by causing turnovers (1st in HL play in steals and turnover margin).
• Jarred Godfrey of Purdue Fort Wayne is on a tear in his first four games in Horizon League play as he is second during #HLMBB play in scoring at 23.3 points per game. He is the only Horizon League player to record 20-point performances in each of his first four League games. In the Mastodons first-ever Horizon League win over the weekend, the junior finished with 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and registered five assists and five steals.
• Another newcomer to the Horizon League that is turning heads is RMU’s AJ Bramah. In the Colonials first HL game, Bramah led the way with 28 points and eight boards to help RMU secure its first-ever Horizon League win. In #HLMBB play, the senior is tops in scoring averaging 25.5 points and he is also grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game.
• #HLMBB boasts three of the top five rebounders in the country led by IUPUI’s Elyjah Goss who is tops in the nation with 16.0 boards per game. WSU’s Love and Northern Kentucky’s Adrian Nelson are tied for fifth averaging12.0 rebounds per game. Nelson is also tops in the nation averaging just under 5.3 offensive boards per contest.
• The Horizon League has some of the top passers in the NCAA as four HL players rank in the top-30 in assists led by UIC’s Teyvion Kirk who is third in the country with 8.9. IUPUI’s Mike DePersia is sixth with 8.0 followed by Oakland’s Jalen Moore ranking 21st with 6.5 and Te’Jon Lucas of Milwaukee coming in 26th with 6.0.
• The Golden Grizzlies earned its first two victories of the season at the hands of its Metro Series rival with both games coming down to the wire. Freshman Micah Parrish put in a layup with four seconds in overtime for the win on Saturday and Sunday’s win was clinched by a corner 3-pointer by Rashad Williams with less than two seconds remaining in regulation.
• Green Bay’s Amari Davis continues to impress coming off his Freshman of the Year campaign as scored a career-best 35 points against Wright State on Sunday. The Sophomore is third in scoring during HL play averaging 21.8 points and is shooting 53.1 percent from the field.
• Oakland’s Daniel Oladapo has been a force since the start of League play averaging the most rebounds per game with 14.0 and chipping in 14.0 points as well. He has recorded a double-double in three of four HL games this season.
RESULTS
| Date | Game | |
| Saturday, Dec. 26 | Cleveland State 87, Youngstown State 69 | |
| Oakland 77, Detroit Mercy 75 (OT) | ||
| Wright State 67, Green Bay 53 | ||
| RMU 102, Purdue Fort Wayne 88 | ||
| Sunday, Dec. 27 | Cleveland State 81, Youngstown State 74 | |
| Wright State 90, Green Bay 77 | ||
| Oakland 83, Detroit Mercy 80 | ||
| Purdue Fort Wayne 87, RMU 82 |
#HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
#HLMBB Player of the Week
Tanner Holden | Wright State | Sophomore | Guard | Wheelersburg, Ohio
Holden shot 67 percent for the weekend as he recorded games of 18 and 19 points in Wright State’s two wins over Green Bay. Holden recorded his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday before tying his season high with 19 points on Sunday, adding eight rebounds in the victory. He finished the weekend with 75 minutes played, averaging 18.5 points on 14-of-21 shooting, and was 9-of-10 from the free-throw stripe, while pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game, adding four assists, three steals and a block. For the week, the sophomore was top-5 in the HL in scoring rebounds and field goal percentage and also top-15 in steals and blocks. Holden has scored in double figures in six of Wright State’s seven contests, including the last five – with three 19 point games in that stretch.
#HLMBB Freshman of the Week
Micah Parrish | Oakland | Freshman | Forward | Ypsilanti, Mich.
Parrish averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of Metro Series wins over Detroit Mercy, including Saturday’s game-winning bucket with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime. Parrish scored a career-best 18 points to lead the Golden Grizzlies, going 70 percent (7-10) from the floor. The freshman also added eight rebounds and three steals in Saturday’s win. In Sunday’s win, the Ypsilanti, Mich. native added seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Oakland’s two wins marks the ninth-straight win over the Titans and the seventh-straight victory in Calihan Hall.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live Stream |
| Friday, Jan. 1 | Milwaukee at RMU | 1 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Cleveland State at IUPUI | 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Detroit Mercy at UIC | 4 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Green Bay at Youngstown State | 4 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Purdue Fort Wayne at Northern Kentucky | 6 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Wright State at Oakland | 7 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Saturday, Jan. 2 | Milwaukee at RMU | 12 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Cleveland State at IUPUI | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Detroit Mercy at UIC | 4 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Green Bay at Youngstown State | 4 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Wright State at Oakland | 5 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Purdue Fort Wayne at Northern Kentucky | 6 p.m. | ESPN3 |
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