LANCASTER, Pa. - The Atlantic East Conference announced the Men’s Basketball weekly award winners on Monday, as Marywood’s Brendan Franko and Marymount’s Marcus Stubbs won Player and Defensive Player of the Week honors respectively.
Player of the Week:
Name: Brendan Franko
School: Marywood
Class: Senior
Position: Guard
Hometown: Wantage, N.J.
High School: High Point Regional
Brief Outlook of Week: Franko was named the Electric City Invitational Tournament Most Valuable Player following a three-week win for the Pacers. Franko averaged 17.3 points per game and a .586 shooting percentage. He scored a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds in a 74-66 win over Washington College. He opened the invitational with a 17-point effort in a victory over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn). In a battle between Electric City Invitational co-winners, Franko led the Pacers to a 91-67 win over Keystone with 15 points.
Defensive Player of the Week:
Name: Marcus Stubbs
School: Marymount (Va.)
Class: Fifth-year
Position: Guard
Hometown: Boyds, Md.
High School: Northwest
Brief Outlook of Week: Getting it done on both sides of the court, fifth-year guard Marcus Stubbs helped the Saints to a 2-0 weekend, winning their hosting Pablo Coto Tournament. Grabbing 11 total defensive boards, he nabbed three steals and swatted away three blocks on the defensive front.
Weekly Honor Roll:
Naire Preston (So., Centenary): Naire Preston, has been dominant for the Cyclones so far this season in his role as the sixth man. Last week Preston recorded 40 points off the bench for the Clones and was a key component in the team going 2-0 on the week. Preston also added 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Aquil Stewart (Sr., Gwynedd Mercy): Gwynedd Mercy University (3-0) continued their early-season success with Tuesday night's 94-86 victory over Delaware Valley University (2-2). The Griffins played well off the tip, taking a 54-33 halftime lead on a 20-of-34 (.588) shooting performance that included eight threes (8-of-15, .533). Afterwards, the Griffins preserved their perch with a 15-of-22 (.682) free throw effort. The win was due large in part to a 32-point performance from senior guard Aquil Stewart. Later in the week, he partnered nine points with two rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in a 92-47 win over Penn State Brandywine.
Domenic Vacchiano (Fr., Immaculata): Domenic Vacchiano scored 15 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field, with a pair of three-pointers, two rebounds, and two steals in helping lead the Immaculata men's basketball team to an 82-55 win over Penn State Abington in their home opener on Saturday. Vacchiano scored eight points, with nine rebounds, and one steal at Haverford on November 19th.
Isaac Harris (Jr., Marymount): Isaac Harris had yet another standout week for the Saints, helping the squad go 2-0 across the weekend and securing the Pablo Coto Tournament hardware. Averaging 15 points a game across the pair of contests, the junior guard posted a career-high 19 points against Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. He added 11 total rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocks to his line throughout the tournament.
Michael Salvatore (Jr., Centenary): Michael Salvatore had a great week on the defensive side of the ball for the Cyclones posting six steals across two games. The junior guard, added six rebounds and one block to his stat line to go with his dominant offensive performance.
Shawn Summers Jr., (Gr., Gwynedd Mercy): Gwynedd Mercy University held Penn State Brandywine to just a dozen (12) first-half points in Saturday's 92-47 matinee final at the Griffin Complex. Summers sparked the Red and Gold's impressive first half performance with all 20 of his points coming in the opening frame; he surpassed 1,000 career points with his second basket of the contest (8-0, 17:15 1ST) and teamed with Stewart to front Gwynedd Mercy University's defensive efforts. in addition to his points, Summers recorded five rebounds, two assists, a block, and two steals in just 18 minutes. Earlier in the week, he also recorded 20 points, two rebounds, and an assist in a 94-86 win over Delaware Valley University.
John Flood (Sr., Immaculata): John Flood had a combined 13 rebounds, including nine defensive rebounds and three steals over two games for Immaculata. Flood had eight rebounds and two steals vs Haverford on November 19th, five rebounds, and one steal in Immaculata's win over Penn State Abington on November 23rd.
Gary Francis (Sr., Neumann): Gary Francis averaged 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-2 week for Neumann. In an 84-70 win at Valley Forge, the senior netted 22 points and seven rebounds. He followed with 14 points in an 87-73 loss to Widener. To wrap up the week, Francis netted eight points in a 72-71 buzzer loss to Manhattanville.
Cameron Windt (So., Pratt) - Sophomore Cameron Windt scored a game-high 24 points, draining six three-pointers, in a losing effort to Sarah Lawrence College on Tuesday. Windt averaged 14.0 points over a two-game stretch for the Cannoneers.
Previous Weekly Award Winners:
(11/11) - Player of the Week: Trevor Seitz, Marywood; Defensive Player of the Week: Shawn Summers, Gwynedd Mercy
(11/18) – Player of the Week: Isaac Harris, Marymount; Defensive Player of the Week: Miles Phillips, Marymount