PITMAN --- The New Jersey Athletic Conference has announced its men's basketball weekly award winners for the week ending Jan. 11.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MATTHEW SOLOMON • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Forward • Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan
Solomon claimed NJAC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after delivering a pair of dominant double-doubles in TCNJ's two conference victories. The senior forward averaged 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds while shooting 64.0 percent from the field (16-for-25). He unleashed a 20-point,17-rebound performance in Wednesday's 81-70 win at Rowan, then followed with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Rutgers-Newark on Saturday—a game in which he became the 27th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. Solomon, who leads all active Division III players with 846 career rebounds, also contributed three assists and one steal for the week. He is the only player averaging a double-double in conference play, as he leads the NJAC in rebounding (11.4 rpg) and is in the top 10 in scoring (15.0 ppg). He also ranks second in conference-only field goal percentage (56.0%).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BAKHI ROGERS-ROBINSON • New Jersey City University
Senior • Guard • Orange, NJ/West Caldwell Tech
Rogers-Robinson earned NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording eight steals across two conference games while leading the Gothic Knights with 18.5 points per game. The senior guard tallied five steals to go with 18 points, two rebounds and four assists in Tuesday's loss to No. 10 Montclair State. He followed with three more steals along with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists in Friday's 75-58 victory over William Paterson. For the week, Rogers-Robinson shot 45.5 percent from the field (15-for-33) while averaging 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals, and 3.5 assists per game. His defensive pressure and all-around production helped NJCU secure its conference win while keeping the Gothic Knights competitive against the 10th-ranked team in the nation. He currently ranks fourth in the NJAC with 2.3 steals per game.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
MALACHI JEFFERS-VIERA • Kean University
Freshman • Forward • Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro North
Jeffers-Viera was named NJAC Rookie of the Week for the second time this year after averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field in Kean's two conference wins. The freshman forward posted a stellar 22-point, five-rebound effort in Tuesday's 73-62 victory over William Paterson, connecting on 8-of-14 shots and 6-of-8 free throws. He followed with eight points and five rebounds in Saturday's 77-64 win against Rutgers-Camden. Jeffers-Viera added three assists, two steals and one block for the week as the Cougars improved to 2-0 in conference play. He currently ranks third in the NJAC in conference-only free throw percentage (88.9%) and seventh in conference-only blocks (1.3 bpg). He also adds 13.1 points and 1.4 steals per game.