McGill (Iona/DI), Graham (Farmingdale/DII-III), Harris (Baruch/DII-DII) Snare Last Weekly Nods
MBWA Players of the Week (2-18 to 2-24) 2018-19 / Week 11
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
McGill, Graham, Harris Earn Final Men's Weekly Honors of Season
NEW YORK (Feb. 26, 2019) ---
Rickey McGill of Iona in Division I, and
Matthew Graham of Farmingdale and
Andre Harris of Baruch as co-winners in Divisions II-III, have been named Men’s Players of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The MBWA designations, for games played Feb. 18-24, are unique in that they encompass players from 73 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
This is the third such weekly MBWA honor for Harris, who previously was selected on Dec. 11 and Jan. 8.
A 6-1 senior guard from Spring Valley, NY, McGill --- who also was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the week --- averaged 21.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in leading Iona (13-15) to two of its three victories last week on the road and into first place in the MAAC. He shot 47.7% from the floor, 50% from beyond the arc and 90.9% at the free throw line in providing the spark for the Gaels during their current six-game winning streak.
McGill began his week by scoring 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, including hitting 4-of-7 from 3-point range, in an 81-77 road victory at Quinnipiac. Next, in a relatively low-scoring slugfest at Manhattan, he posted 13 points along with four assists and two steals, and canned a pair of significant 3-pointers in the second half, as Iona prevailed 66-52.
McGill closed his week at home with first place on the line on Senior Recognition Day by producing 30 points on 8-of-16 shooting, along with four assists and four steals, to lead the Gaels to an 87-80 triumph. He nailed five 3-pointers in the game along with notching his 200th career steal to become just the sixth player in Iona history to reach that level.
A 6-0 senior guard from Valley Stream, NY, Graham --- who was named the Most Outstanding Player last week in the Skyline Conference playoffs --- averaged 23 points on 66.7% shooting (18-of 27) from the field, along with 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, as the Rams (20-7) cruised to a slot in the NCAA Division III tournament with Skyline semifinal and final homecourt triumphs.
Graham notched 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting in a 104-68 semifinal win over Purchase, then led the way with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, along with seven rebounds and five assists, in an 81-75 championship game triumph over Yeshiva.
A 6-6 senior forward from Melville, NY, Harris --- who was named the MVP in last week’s CUNY Athletic Conference tournament --- averaged 23.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in leading the Bearcats (22-5) to their third conference title and fifth NCAA Division III tournament berth via a 73-59 semifinal win over Brooklyn and a dramatic 76-74 championship game triumph over Staten Island.
Harris registered 19 points and 12 rebounds in the homecourt win over Brooklyn and followed with 28 points and six rebounds in the neutral site victory over Staten Island.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Etube Etube, Manhattan; Myles Powell, Seton Hall; Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Justin Alleyne-Washington, Old Westbury; Ian Gardener, Dominican; Bryan Griffin, Mercy; Keith Washington, Bloomfield.
Previous MBWA 2018-19 Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 4, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra, Div. I; Elijah Lott, Purchase, Divs. II-III ... Dec. 11, Myles Powell, Seton Hall, Div. I; Andre Harris, Baruch, and Sean Smith Jr., Manhattanville, Divs. II-III ... Dec. 18, Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (Div. I); Kendall Francis, Mount Saint Mary, and Curtis Jenkins, Molloy (Divs. II-III) ... Jan. 8, Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (Div. I); Enike Anyia, Sarah Lawrence, and Andre Harris, Baruch (Divs. II-III) ... Jan. 15, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra (Div. I);
Conor McGuinness, Adelphi (Divs. II-III) ... Jan. 22, Eli Pemberton, Hofstra (Div. I); Enike Anyia, Sarah Lawrence (Divs. II-III) ... Jan. 29, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra (Div. I); Bryan Griffin, Mercy (Divs. II-III) ... Feb. 5, Myles Powell, Seton Hall, Div. I; Brandon Jacobs, Pace, and Alan McDonald, Old Westbury (Divs. II-III) ... Feb. 13, Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra (Div. I); Rich Chapman, Bloomfield, and Gabriel Leifer, Yeshiva (Divs. II-III) ... Feb. 19, Mustapha Heron, St. John's (Div. I); Pedro Marquez, Old Westbury, and Keith Washington, Bloomfield (Divs. II-III).