By Jeremy Wright

2020-21 MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

SCHOOL	MSC	OVERALL	GB	STREAK
Freed-Hardeman	2-0	7-1	—	Won 1
RV Thomas More	1-0	3-0	0.5	Won 3
Martin Methodist	3-1	6-1	—	Won 1
RV Shawnee State	3-1	6-2	—	Won 2
Cumberland (TN)	3-1	3-2	—	Won 3
1 Georgetown	2-1	5-1	0.5	Won 3
15 Cumberlands (KY)	1-1	7-1	1	Won 1
Campbellsville	1-2	3-3	1.5	Lost 2
Lindsey Wilson	1-2	3-3	1.5	Lost 1
Pikeville	1-3	2-3	2	Lost 1
Life	0-2	4-2	2	Lost 2
Bethel	0-4	4-4	3	Won 1

Freed-Hardeman (Tenn) (7-1,2-0)- Following a hiatus, the Lions had a 3-game week, where they took down Blue Mountain (Miss) on Monday, fell to Florida College for their first loss of the season after starting 6-0 on Friday and responded with an impressive win over (RV) Southeastern (Fla) on Saturday. This week, the team is scheduled for a conference showdown at (1) Georgetown (Ky) on Thursday and an exhibition with NCAA D1 North Alabama. The team put their high-powered offense on full display last week, as the team averaged 87.6 points per game in their three-game slate. The team is one of the nation’s leaders in 3-point field goals made per game, as they are currently ranked sixth in the nation with 12.6 three’s per game.

(RV) Thomas More (Ky) (3-0,1-0)- Idle last week, Idle this week. The Saints are scheduled to be back in action on December 31st, when they resume conference play against Pikeville (Ky). The Saints are the lone unbeaten team in the MSC, but it will be very interesting to see how the team responds to gameplay from a schedule hiatus. With the unpredictable events of 2020, some things are out of human control, and the team last played on November 24th, so we will see what they look like after a month off from game action.

Martin Methodist (Tenn) (6-1,3-1)- After a red hot 5-0 start to the season, the Redhawks suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of conference foe (RV) Shawnee State (Ohio) in a lopsided contest. The team responded in strong fashion, with a big conference win over Campbellsville (Ky). This week the team is scheduled to visit (18) Dalton State (Ga) on Tuesday and visit NCAA DII Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. Point Guard Adarion Hudson has continued to make noise in the MSC, averaging 21.7 points per game and 5.8 assists. 

(RV) Shawnee State (Ohio) (6-2,3-1)- The Bears put together an impressive win over Martin Methodist (Tenn) in their lone game last week. The team is scheduled to host Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) on Friday. The team got good performances from James Jones, as he posted a 23-point, 6-rebound stat line and a 25-point, 10-rebound stat line from EJ Onu in the win over Martin Methodist. The Bears defense has been outstanding as the teams ranks 3rd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 21.2% shooting from beyond-the-arc along with holding their opponents to 35.2% from the field, which ranks 5th in the nation for field-goal percentage defense.

Cumberland (Tenn) (3-2,3-1)- After starting the season 0-2, the Phoenix are currently riding a three-game winning streak after taking down in-state conference rival Bethel (Tenn) on Friday.The team is scheduled to host Grace (Ind) on Monday. The team got a good performance from reigning MSC player of the week Tavon King as he posted a 23-point night in the win over Bethel. 

(1)Georgetown (Ky) (5-1,2-1)- The Tigers went 2-0 last week with wins over IU Southeast (Ind) and Pikeville (Ky). This week, the Tigers are scheduled to host Freed-Hardeman (Tenn) in a huge matchup on Thursday. The team relied heavily on Kyran Jones, who averaged 26 points in the two contests last week and Derrin Boyd, who averaged 28.5 points in last week’s contests. The Tigers defense ranks 7th in the nation in blocks per game with 5.8.

(15)Cumberlands (Ky) (7-1,1-1)- The Patriots got a win over West Virginia University Tech on Saturday in their lone contest of the week. The team is scheduled to host Campbellsville (Ky) on Tuesday. Tevin Olison gave the team a big boost on Saturday with a 29-point performance. The team remains one of the most intriguing teams in the nation, as they have an impressive resume, despite a conference loss to Martin Methodist (Tenn). It will be interesting to see where the team lands in the upcoming top-25 rankings.

Campbellsville (Ky) (3-3,1-2)-  The Tigers had a rough week going 0-2 in conference play falling to Pikeville (Ky) and Martin Methodist (Tenn). The team will continue MSC play this week as they are scheduled to visit (15) Cumberlands (Ky) on Tuesday. The team was without point guard Jacob King last week, but Taiveyhon Mason was a bright spot last week, as he posted 26 points in both games last week. 

Lindsey Wilson (Ky) (3-3,1-2)- Idle last week, idle this week. The Blue Raiders are scheduled to be back in action on December 31st at (1) Georgetown (Ky). A key component of this season with the background of 2020, is how teams will respond to pauses in their program. Gaps between games have been a storyline, and it is important that teams remain in sync coming out of a pause. It will be interesting to see how the team looks after pause, jumping right into conference play.

Pikeville (Ky) (2-3,1-3)- The Bears split their two-game conference slate last week, as they took down Campbellsville (Ky) for their first MSC win, and fell to (1) Georgetown (Ky). The team is scheduled to host Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Monday and Rio Grande (Ohio) on Thursday. The team got balanced play last week, as five players posted double figures in the win over Campbellsville and three double figure scores vs Georgetown.

Life (Ga) (4-2,0-2)– Idle last week. The Runnin’ Eagles are scheduled to take on (15) Cumberlands (Ky) on Saturday after nearly a month off from game action. As I mentioned, it will be interesting to see how teams respond from pauses in play, as nearly every MSC team has had a pause. The team was without Isaiah Hart, who is the team’s leading scorer due to injury prior to the pause.

Bethel (Tenn) (4-4,0-4)– The Wildcats had a three-game slate last week as they took down Oakland City (Ind) and Crowley’s Ridge (Ark) and fell to Cumberland (Tenn) in MSC play. The team is scheduled to be back in action on December 31st vs Life (Ga) is MSC play.

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Wright’s Wonder Rankings

1. (15) Cumberlands (Ky)
2. (1) Georgetown (Ky)

3. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn)

4. (RV) Shawnee State (Ohio)

5. Martin Methodist (Tenn)

6. Cumberland (Tenn)

7. (RV) Thomas More (Ky)

8. Campbellsville (Ky)

9. Pikeville (Ky)

10. Lindsey Wilson (Ky)

11. Life (Ga)

12. Bethel (Tenn)

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MSC  Player Of The Year watch

Players of the week

October 26th- Tevin Olison (Cumberlands)

November 2nd- Isaiah Hart (Life)

November 9th- Jordan Perry (Pikeville)

November 16th- James Jones (Shawnee State)

November 23rd- James Jones (Shawnee State)

November 30th- Colen Gaynor (Lindsey Wilson)

December 7th- Tavon King (Cumberland)

December 14th (Projection)- Derrin Boyd (Georgetown)

Boyd averaged 28.5 points last week, as he led (1) Georgetown (Ky) to a 2-0 week with two key conference wins.

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League Leaders (Minimum two conference games played)

Points

-Adarian Hudson (Martin Methodist) 24 PPG

-Taiveyhon Mason (Campbellsville) 23.3 PPG

-Tavon King (Cumberland) 22.7 PPG

-Tevin Olison (Cumberlands) 22.5 PPG

Rebounds

-Kyran Jones (Georgetown) 12 RPG

-Isaac Stephens (Cumberland) 10 RPG

-EJ Onu (Shawnee State) 9 RPG

-Daylon Tanksley (Life) 9 RPG

-John Musselwhite (Freed-Hardeman) 9 RPG

Assists

-Kortland Martin (Freed-Hardeman) 5 APG

-Taiveyhon Mason (Campbellsville) 4.7 APG

-Adarion Hudson (Martin Methodist) 4.3 APG

-Tevin Olison (Cumberlands) 4 APG

-Jaquay Wales (Georgetown) 3.6 APG

Steals

-Adarian Hudson (Martin Methodist) 3.3 SPG

-John Musselwhite (Freed-Hardeman) 2.5 SPG

-TJ Stargell (Cumberland) 2.5 SPG

-Taiveyhon Mason (Campbellsville) 2.3 SPG

-Darrin Jenkins (Martin Methodist) 2.3 RPG

Blocks

-EJ Onu (Shawnee State) 6.7 BPG

-Brodricks Jones (Georgetown) 1.7 BPG

-Jon Moore (Freed Hardeman) 1.5 BPG

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Upcoming Schedule

Monday,December 14th

Pikeville (Ky) vs Campbellsville-Harrodsburg

Cumberland (Tenn) vs Grace (Ind)

Tuesday, December 15th

Martin Methodist (Tenn) @ Dalton State (Ga)

Campbellsville (Ky) @ (15) Cumberlands (Ky)

Thursday, December 17th

Freed-Hardeman (Tenn) @ (1) Georgetown (Ky)

Pikeville (Ky) vs Rio Grande (Ohio)

Saturday, December 19th

Cumberlands (Ky) @ Life (Ga)