St. John's Ponds Repeats in DI, Purchase's Cann Collects DII-III Award
MBWA Players of the Week (2-5 to 2-11) 2017-18 / Week 9
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ponds, Cann Earn Met Weekly MBB Tributes
NEW YORK (Feb. 6, 2018) ---
Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s in Division I, for the second week in a row, and
Deshawn Cann of Purchase in Divisions II-III have been named Men’s Players of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The designations, for games played Feb. 5-11, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 6-1 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, NY, Ponds --- who also was named Big East player of the week for the second consecutive week --- averaged 35.0 points by shooting 55.8% from the field and 50.0% beyond the arc to help lift St. John’s to the .500 level (13-13) with conference victories over then No. 1 Villanova (79-75) and Marquette (86-78).
Ponds began the memorable week with a 26 point performance on the road against Villanova, marking the Johnnies first win over the nation’s top ranked team in 33 years. He also dished out five assists, grabbed five rebounds and swiped two steals. Then, on Saturday, Ponds set a Carnesecca Arena homecourt scoring record by pouring in 44 points on 16-of-23 shooting, including a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc, for the Red Storm’s third straight win.
A 6-3 junior guard from Queens, NY, Cann --- who also was named Skyline player of the week --- averaged 19.0 points in leading the Panthers (16-7) to three conference victories last week. Purchase defeated St. Joseph’s of Long Island 96-69 and Farmingdale State 79-70 at home, and edged New York Maritime 81-77 in overtime on the road.
Cann began his week with an all-around 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists against Farmingdale, produced a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds against Maritime, and concluded the stretch with a stellar triple-double --- 27 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists --- against St. Joseph’s. He suffered only two turnovers all week while averaging 39 minutes a game in playing time.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: E.J. Crawford, Iona; Joel Hernandez, LIU Brooklyn; Lukas Meisner, Columbia; Ivan Raut, Fordham; Dimencio Vaughn, Rider.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Gabriel Leifer, Yeshiva; Mylo Mitchell, Lehman; Terrell Spaulding, Felician; Sam Toney, NJCU; Mike Torre, Molloy.
Previous MBWA 2017-18 Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 5, Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall, Div. I; Dequawne Richards, Mercy, and Sam Toney, NJCU, co-winners Divs. II-III . . . Dec. 12, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra, Div. I; Dom Cristiano, NYU, and Terrell Spaulding, Felician, co-winners Divs. II-III . . . Dec. 19, Corey Sanders, Rutgers, Div. I; Lavrone Green, NJCU, and Jack Laffey, Adelphi, co-winners Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 9, Angel Delgado, Seton Hall, Div. I; Sam Toney, NJCU, Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 16, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra, Div. I; Sam Toney, NJCU, Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 23, JoJo Cooper, Wagner, Div. I; Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas, Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 30, Blake Francis, Wagner, Div. I; Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Luis Hernandez, Lehman, co-winners Divs. II-III . . . Feb. 6, Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s, Div. I; Preston Powell, Old Westbury, Divs. II-III.