Big South play is heating up with the end of the regular season quickly approaching. Here are eight players who stood out last week in the Big South Conference.
Guards
Darryl Simmons II, Gardner-Webb, Sophomore
Gardner-Webb played one game last week, a 96-87 win over USC Upstate on the road. Simmons dropped 27 points and five assists to give the Runnin’ Bulldogs some breathing space ahead of Presbyterian in the standings. Simmons is averaging 17.7 points per game so far this season and is shooting 42% from 3.
Kezza Giffa, High Point, Senior
Giffa, the Big South Preseason Player of the Year and face of the league, had an impressive week. On ESPNU against Longwood, he scored 20 points and grabbed five boards in an 83-72 win. High Point then went on to take down Winthrop 88-66 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where Giffa only played 18 minutes. In that short amount of time, the Frenchman accounted for 16 points and five assists in a vintage Panthers display.
Jordan Marsh, UNC Asheville, Sophomore
UNC Asheville looks unstoppable in Kimmel Arena this season, and Marsh’s performances are one of the many reasons why. In their first game of the week, the Bulldogs squeaked past USC Upstate in a 92-85 win on the road. Marsh had 27 points and six rebounds and shot 12 for 14 from the free-throw line. At home against Charleston Southern on Saturday, he added 14 points and four rebounds in a narrow win. Marsh currently leads the conference in scoring in conference games at 23.7 points per game.
Forwards
Taje’ Kelly, Charleston Southern, Senior
The Buccaneers of Charleston Southern have won four of their last six games and now find themselves in the middle of the Big South after a poor start. Kelly’s production has, as expected, been stellar in this run. He played the entire game against Presbyterian and scored 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and made five assists. In their loss to Asheville on Saturday, the Atlanta native registered 21 points and eight rebounds. He was named Big South Player of the Week on Monday.
Josh Ibukunoluwa, High Point, Freshman
Really good teams have deep benches, as is the case with High Point this season. Ibukunoluwa, a freshman forward from Perth, Australia, got plenty of playing time for the Panthers in their win over Longwood. He scored 10 points and registered five rebounds, including a monster put-back dunk that sunk the Lancers in High Point’s 21st win of the season. In their commanding victory over the Winthrop Eagles, Ibukunoluwa scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He is currently the Big South Freshman of the Week.
Reserves
Karmani Gregory, USC Upstate, Sophomore
The USC Upstate Spartans lost two close, high-scoring games this past week, and in both of them, Gregory led the charge for Upstate. Gregory scored 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting in their slim loss to UNC Asheville. Their next defeat was to Gardner-Webb, where Gregory outperformed his last game, scoring 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting and making five assists.
Kobe Stewart, Presbyterian, Fifth-Year Senior
Presbyterian very nearly could be celebrating two wins this week, as it lost its first game of the week to Charleston Southern by one point. That doesn’t discredit the efforts of Stewart, who dropped 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. In an upset against Longwood on the road, Stewart scored 16 points and made six rebounds while shooting 61% from the floor in the game.
Elijah Tucker, Longwood, Junior
Injury-riddled Longwood hasn’t tasted a win in a while, but the performances from individual players like Tucker have still been very solid. On the road at High Point, Tucker scored 14 points and grabbed four boards. The Canton, Georgia, native scored 15 more points in the loss to Presbyterian where he shot 6 for 9 from the field. Longwood sits at 5-7 in the conference with a must-win game coming up against Gardner-Webb, who also sit at 5-7, on Wednesday at home.
