KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced a new Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, presented by Southern Bank. Roland McCoy was crowned Week 15’s MIAA Athlete of the Week for Arkansas-Fort Smith’s first honor of the season.
 
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Roland McCoy, Arkansas-Fort Smith
Roland McCoy picked up Arkansas-Fort Smith’s first-ever men’s basketball Athlete of the Week honor after leading the Lions in an 80-87 overtime victory over Washburn – the top-ranked team in Division II. The senior guard led all scorers with 26 points against the Ichabods. McCoy hit .563 percent from the floor (9-of-16), which included an 8-of-14 (.571 percent) performance from the three-point range, as the Lions handed Washburn its first loss of the season. He also had a team-high three steals in the contest. McCoy added six points and four rebounds in Fort Smith’s loss to Central Missouri later in the week.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Ja’Bryant Hill, Nebraska Kearney       
Ja’Bryant Hill went 9-of-10 from behind the arc to average 21.5 points per game last week as Nebraska Kearney collected wins over Newman and Emporia State. The redshirt junior guard shot 55 percent from the field overall while adding six assists, two boards and a league-high nine steals on the week. Hill now has eight 20-point games this season.
 
Josh Nwankwo, Central Missouri
Josh Nwankwo led the Mules to a 2-0 record this past week with road victories over Northeastern State (65-56) and Arkansas-Fort Smith (67-63). The junior forward scored 43 total points while shooting 59 percent from the field, including 70 percent from beyond the arc, and added 13 rebounds for good measure. Against the RiverHawks, Nwankwo had a season-high 24 points, going 8-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and collected a team-best eight rebounds and two steals. Nwankwo followed up his performance at NSU with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting, connecting on 4-of-6 from three-point range, and added five rebounds against the RiverHawks. 
 
Zane Nelson, Missouri Western
Zane Nelson averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game last week as Missouri Western hosted Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern. Nelson recorded a double-double in Missouri Western’s 79-67 win over the Lions with 18 points and 10 assists. He added four assists against the Gorillas to lead the league with 14 assists on the week.

ALSO NOMINATED:
Andrew Mason [Rogers State], Trey Phipps [Northeastern State], Jordan Frison [Pittsburg State], Lewis Arhman [Emporia State], Kaleb Hammeke [Fort Hays State], Jaden Taylor [Missouri Southern] Ja’Vion Byers [Northwest Missouri]

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2024-25 MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
WEEK ONE: Andrew Orr, Washburn
WEEK TWO: Trey Phipps, Northeastern State
WEEK THREE: Jacob Hanna, Washburn
WEEK FOUR: Kofi Hamilton, Rogers State
WEEK FIVE: Brayden Shorter, Washburn
WEEK EIGHT: Kaleb Hammeke, Fort Hays State
WEEK NINE: Ja’Bryant Hill, Nebraska Kearney
WEEK TEN: Ethan Blackmon, Northeastern State
WEEK ELEVEN: Kaleb Hammeke, Fort Hays State
WEEK TWELVE: Sam Somerhalder, Newman
WEEK THIRTEEN: Trey Phipps, Northeastern State
WEEK FOURTEEN: Jordan Frison, Pittsburg State
WEEK FIFTEEN: Roland McCoy, Arkansas-Fort Smith