Both IUP and Seton Hill started off 2014 in the right direction, picking up two wins each.
In terms of conference standings, No. 6 IUP sits atop the PSAC West with a 3-0 conference record and a 12-0 record overall. Mercyhurst, despite being 6-6 overall, is 3-0 in the conference, also. From there it’s Slippery Rock (11-4, 3-1), Seton Hill (10-3, 2-2), Pitt-Johnstown (9-4, 2-2), Gannon (6-7, 2-2), Cal U (5-8, 1-3), Edinboro (6-6, 0-3) and Clarion (2-8, 0-3).
Let’s take a look at how the PSAC West teams entered the new year.
As mentioned, No. 6 IUP went 2-0 with wins over Mansfield and Lock Haven, both on the road. Marcel Souberbielle led the way in each game, scoring 18 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in a 61-56 win over Mansfield and scoring 26 points to go with 9 rebounds in a 70-64 win over Lock Haven.
Mercyhurst went 1-1 on the road this week, losing to West Chester, 80-72 and beating Cheyney, 54-44 . In the loss, Jonathan Ouegenin scored 18 points. Andy Hoyin scored 11 points to go with 9 rebounds off the bench in the win.
Slippery Rock went 1-1 on the road, as well, losing to Millersville, 87-78, and beating Shippensburg, 78-65. Mauric Lewis-Briggs posted a double-double of 29 points and 15 rebounds in the loss and then scored 16 points to go with 8 rebounds in the loss.
Seton Hill picked up two wins over Kutztown and Mansfield. Malachi Leonard posted two solid performances, scoring 20 points while grabbing 15 boards in the team’s first game. He followed that up with a 28-point, 11-rebound performance in the team’s last game of the week.
Pitt-Johnstown went 1-1 last week, losing to Lock Haven, 81-76, in overtime, and beating Bloomsburg, 71-69, in another close game. Andrew Cressler scored 20 points in the team’s loss, including three free throws in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. Ian Vescovi scored 16 in the team’s win.
Gannon dropped both of its games, one to East Stroudsburg and one to West Chester. Adam Blazek had 17 points in the team’s first loss and 16 in the second.
Cal U went 1-1 with a loss to Shippensburg and a win over Kutztown. Tynell Fortune had 25 points for the Vulcans off the bench in the loss and Jake Jacubec had 21 in the win.
Edinboro went 1-1 over the past week, losing to Millersville and beating Cheyney. Bryan Theriot had 21 points in the team’s loss and 25 points in the win. He also had 9 rebounds in each game.
Clarion dropped both of its games over the past week, losing to Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg. Mike Kromka had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first game and 11 points and 11 rebounds in the second.
Looking at the stats, Leonard (Seton Hill) is the only player in the conference to average a double-double with 18.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game so far this season. DeMarius Miller of Clarion, though, leads the PSAC West in scoring with 19.2 points per game. Leonard leads the conference in rebounding but Kromka (Clarion) is right behind him, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. Vescovi (Pitt-Johnstown) has the conference’s best shooting mark, shooting 64.6 percent from the field for the season. Theriot (Edinboro) is a close second, shooting 61.4 percent from the floor. Johnny Marsh (Edinboro) leads the PSAC in shooting the long ball, as he’s shooting 50 percent from three. He’s made 34 of 68 from deep. Devante Chance (IUP) leads the PSAC West in assists per game, averaging 4.3 per contest. Nate Snodgrass (Pitt-Johnstown) leads the PSAC West in assist/turnover ratio with a ratio of 2.0. Vescovi also leads the West in blocks, averaging 2.3 per game. Blazek (Gannon) is averaging a PSAC West-best 2.2 steals per game and also leads the conference in playing time, averaging 37.6 minutes per game.
Photo CreditL IUP Athletics
