Chattanooga Mocs freshman forward Kevin Easley is the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performances in wins over Mercer and The Citadel over the weekend. It is the first such honor this season for a Moc.
"It was a good week for us and for Kevin," Coach Lamont Paris began. “He’s been consistent all season, but those were two good games back-to-back and we played well enough to win. Any individual honors stem from team success.
“Kevin was efficient as a scorer and made some really big-time, critical shots for us.
Excited for him and our team more than anything.”
Easley averaged a double-double in close wins over the Bears (73-70) and Bulldogs (73-71). The 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest included his first collegiate double-doubles posting 11 points and 10 rebounds against Mercer before a 22-points, 12-board performance vs. The Citadel.
The Indianapolis native also continued a string of key contributions late in games. He made two free throws with 10.1 seconds to go to give the Mocs a three-point cushion over the Bears. That limited offensive choices with Easley and the smothering D forcing an errant attempt to tie at the buzzer.
Against the Bulldogs, Chattanooga saw a double-digit second-half advantage turn into a deficit late. Easley’s three-pointer with 58 ticks remaining put his squad on top for good. It clinched a three-game home stand sweep including the previous Saturday’s win over Samford which also saw an Easley trey on a pivotal final-minute possession.
“When you look at the minutes he’s logged, he’s not really like a freshman anymore,” Paris added. “He’s started every game, our depth at his position has been compromised by injuries too so he’s been out there for a lot of minutes. He’s responded well to that.
“From an experience standpoint, they’re less like freshmen now than they were in November. (Kevin) does a good job of respecting the situation, but not letting it overwhelm him.”
The Mocs turn their attention to this week’s road venture into upstate South Carolina. They take on Furman Thursday night before heading to league leader Wofford on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m., airing on ESPN+ online and 96.1 FM in Chattanooga. Audio is also available on the TuneIn app as well as GoMocs.com.
2018-19 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
Nov. 13 Josh Sharkey, Samford
Nov. 20 Jordan Lyons, Furman
Nov. 27 Lew Stallworth, The Citadel
Dec. 4 Lew Stallworth, The Citadel
Dec. 11 Jeromy Rodriguez, ETSU
Dec. 18 Matt Rafferty, Furman
Dec. 24 Francis Alonso, UNCG
Dec. 31 Jeromy Rodriguez, ETSU
Jan. 8 Matt Rafferty, Furman
Jan. 15 Ross Cummings, Mercer
Jan. 22 Kevin Easley, Chattanooga
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Jan. 24 at Furman, 7 p.m.
Jan. 26 at Wofford, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 vs. Western Carolina, 8 p.m. (DH-Women vs. Western Carolina)