• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – November 11 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, November 11
UT Martin at North Alabama, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Marshall, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, November 12
West Georgia
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Indiana State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Arkansas State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, November 13
Southern Indiana at Bellarmine, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Crowley’s Ridge College
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State vs. Howard, 6:00 p.m. (Atlanta, Ga.)
Green Bay
at Western Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, November 14
Lindenwood vs. New Orleans, 3:00 p.m. (Moon Township, Pa.)
Morehead State at Chattanooga, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, November 15
Tennessee Tech vs. VMI, 2:30 p.m. (White Sulphur Spring, W.Va.)
SIUE at Western Michigan, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Robert Morris, 6:00 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at Northwestern, 7:00 p.m. (Peacock)
Saturday, November 16
UT Martin at Longwood, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Central Arkansas
at Western Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE vs. Canisius, 2:00 p.m. (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Little Rock at UTSA, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Purdue Fort Wayne, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Alabama A&M
at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tenn. Tech vs. UTRGV/Ch. Southern, TBD (White Sulphur Spring, W.Va.)
Sunday, November 17
Lindenwood vs. Stonehill College, 12:00 p.m. (Moon Township, Pa.)
Chattanooga
at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Rodney Johnson Jr., F • 6-5, 220, Sr. • Bryan, Texas • Tennessee Tech
Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists/game while hitting 68 percent (17-of-25) from the field and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from 3-point range in two games. In his season debut at Georgia, the senior hit 5-of-8 field goals (2-of-2 3-pointers) on his way to 12 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Johnson added a career-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting (3-of-4 3-pointers) in TTU’s win over Bryan College. In that game he added three rebounds and an assist.
Others Nominated: Nakyel Shelton, Eastern Illinois; Jadis Jones, Lindenwood; Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock; BJ Ward, Southeast Missouri; Ray’Sean Taylor, SIUE; Jayland Randall, Southern Indiana; Brandon Weston, Tennessee State; Josué Grullon, UT Martin; Sean Smith, Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Josué Grullon, G • 6-5, 195, Jr. • Santo Domingo, D.R. • UT Martin
Grullon helped UT Martin to a 2-0 start to the season in averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds/game while hitting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the field and 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from 3-point range. The transfer from Daytona State College started the season with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes as the Skyhawks won 67-65 at Illinois State, a team picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley. The junior iced the win with three free throws in the final seven seconds of the game. In the team’s home opener with Kentucky Christian he nailed five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points in just 16 minutes of playing time.
Others Nominated: Artese Stapleton, Eastern Illinois; Markeith Browning II, Lindenwood; Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock; Tyler Brelsford, Morehead State; Jo Valrie, SIUE; Jayland Randall, Southern Indiana; Ronald Jessamy, Tennessee State; Jaylon Johnson, Tennessee Tech; Marko Maletic, Western Illinois.
FRESHMAN
Jadis Jones, G • 6-5, 200, Fr. • New Madrid, Mo. • Lindenwood
Jones averaged 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists/game last week in a pair of contests to open the season. The guard connected on 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the field as Lindenwood play at Oklahoma and hosted UHSP. Against the Sooners Jones had a 10-point, 10-rebound performance, the first Lindenwood player to open the season with a double-double since 2021-22. He followed that by hitting 7-of-7 from the field on his way to a team-high 14 points in a blowout of UHSP. Jones added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 24 minutes of action.
Others Nominated: Darrion Baker, SIUE; Filip Radakovic, UT Martin.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Johnathan Lawson (G, R-Jr.), Little Rock. Averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds/game while knocking down eight 3-pointers. Had 27 points and eight rebounds at Winthrop.
•
B.J. Ward (G, So.), Southeast Missouri. Had 22 points against Vanderbilt. For the week hit 9-of-12 3-pointers and averaged 19.5 points/game.
•
Jayland Randall (G, Jr.), Southern Indiana. Averaged 19.5 points and 3.0 rebounds/game, hitting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field. Had 22 points in overtime loss to DePaul.
•
Nakyel Shelton (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Averaged 15.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in a trio of contests. Scored 16 points at No. 24 Illinois and 17 points at No. 17 Indiana.
•
Ray’Sean Taylor (G, Grad.), SIUE. Scored 17 points at No. 17 Indiana and added 14 points and four assists without a turnover at No. 24 Illinois.
•
Sean Smith (G, Sr.), Western Illinois. In a pair of road games averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists/game while hitting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor. Had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in win at San Jose State.