ECAC Upstate Player of the Week*

February 21, 2005
Joe Zera (Buffalo/Canisius)
The SUNYAC's leading scorer at 23.1 points per game, Zera nearly matched his average with 66 points in three Geneseo wins last week. His high game of the three was 27 points Feb. 18 vs, Fredonia State on 8 of 12 shooting. He followed that with a 26-point effort Feb. 19 vs. Brockport. For the week, Zera shot 55 percent from the field (21 of 38), including 6 of 13 from three-point range.
Brian Kirchhoff (Webster/Webster)
A three-point specialist, Kirchhoff averaged 15.7 points per game in three Cortland wins. His highwater game was 21 points Feb. 15 vs. league-leading Potsdam, including 5 of 9 three-pointers. On Feb. 19 at Fredonia State, Kirchhoff had a team-high 18 points - with four more treys - as the Red Dragons closed on the regular season on a six-game winning streak and the No. 2 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament.

February 14, 2005
Nick Grimmer (New Hartford/New Hartford) averaged 21.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games last week. His output included a 31-point, 14-rebound effort in the Wildcats' 80-74 victory over Fredonia State. He also had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists vs. Potsdam. Grimmer averaged 5.0 assists in the three games and hit on 48.9 percent of his shots from the field (23 of 47). This is Grimmer's second SUNYAC Player of the Week honor this winter. His first came on Jan. 10.

February 7, 2005
In three games last week, Frank Ranieri (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) averaged almost twice what he was averaging in points at the start of the week. He came off the bench to score 17 points in an 81-73 win over New Paltz on Feb. 1. Still in a reserve role, he had 18 points in a 67-64 loss to league-leading Potsdam on Feb. 4. He earned a starting assignment Feb. 5 vs. second-place Plattsburgh and responded with 15 points and six rebounds in a 61-57 Cortland win. For the week, he averaged 16.7 points and 4.0 rebounds and shot 58 percent from the field (21 of 36).

January 31, 2005
Joe Zera (Buffalo/Canisius) the leading scorer in the SUNYAC, Zera is the SUNYAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He averaged 27 points in three games last week and improved his season-scoring average to 22.8 points per game. A week after surpassing the 1,000-point barrier, Zera was back it with games of 33, 26, and 22 points. He shot 60.4 percent from the field (32 of 53), including 10 of 20 from beyond the arc. He was also 7 of 7 from the line and averaged 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the three games.

January 24, 2005
Zera (Buffalo/Canisius), the leading scorer in the SUNYAC, averaged 26.3 points in three games - all wins - during the week. He hit for a career-high 37 points Jan. 18 in an 86-74 road win at Fredonia State. His 30 points in that game set a Geneseo school record for most points in a half. In the same game, Zera scored his 1,000th point as a collegian. He followed that effort with 14 points Jan. 21 in a 72-67 win over Cortland and 28 points Jan. 22 in a 90-78 victory vs. New Paltz. In the three games, he connected on 25 of 44 shots (56.8%) and was 24 of 29 (82.8%) from the foul line.

January 17, 2005
Ben Bellucci (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) averaged 22.3 points to lead all players in scoring during the eight-team J.P. Morgan Classic Tournament. He was named to the all-tournament team as the Golden Eagles won two of the three games. He shot 51 percent from the field (23 of 45) and averaged 7.0 rebounds. Bellucci has led his team in scoring in all 11 games this season, with seven games of 20 points or more (including all three games last week). This is the second time this season he has shared the weekly SUNYAC honor.
Edane Barton (Spring Valley/Colgate University) led the Bears to an unbeaten week in conference play with his scoring and rebounding. He averaged 13.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in SUNYAC wins over SUNYIT, New Paltz, and Oneonta. He also was credited 10 assists, eight steals, and three blocked shots. At 7.0 rebounds per game, Barton leads his team in the department and is second in scoring at 11.2 ppg. The Bears lead SUNYAC with a 5-0 league mark. They are 13-0 overall and ranked No. 14 in last week's D3Hoops.com men's poll. A new poll will be released Jan. 18.

January 10, 2005
Nick Grimmer (New Hartford/New Hartford) averaged 25.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in three games. He had a high game of 28 points vs. Palm Beach Atlantic and a 12-rebound performance vs. Johnson & Wales. Both games were part of the Beachball Classic at Palm Beach, Fla. For the week, Grimmer shot 59 percent from the field (29 of 49), including 56 percent from three-point range (10 of 18). He had 10 assists and seven steals during the week. Grimmer leads the Wildcats (3-7) in scoring (17.9 ppg.) and total steals (23).

January 3, 2005
Maurice Douglas (Pacific/Brooklyn) averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Hawks at the Monterey Bay Classic in Monterey, Calif. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds in an 83-75 win over Ursinus on Dec. 30. In an 82-58 loss to NCAA D-II North Dakota on Dec. 31, Douglas led the Hawks (4-5) with 17 points. He shot 61 percent from the field in the two games, including an 8 of 12 effort vs. Ursinus.

December 13, 2004
Dave Ponza (Solvay/Solvay) was a consistent performer in three Oswego wins last week. He averaged 15.7 points and 7.6 rebounds and was named most valuable player of the Joe King Tournament at Nazareth College following Oswego's 68-64 championship-game victory over Rochester Institute of Technology. Ponza shot 55.8 percent from the floor during the week as the Lakers improved to 8-0 through the first semester.