The Mid-American Conference announced Wednesday that three men’s basketball players have been named second-team All-Mid-American Conference, with one being named the conference’s top defender.
Junior forward Josh Mballa, a major contributor to the Bulls’ last-season resurgence, was crowned MAC Defensive Player of the Year. This is the fourth time in the last five seasons a UB player has won this award.
Mballa led the MAC in rebounding with 9.9 boards per game, including a career-high 19 rebound performance in a Jan. 9 win over Ball State.
The French national is the second-leading scorer on the team, at 15.1 points per contest.
Mballa also received the nod for the All-MAC second team, where he was joined by teammates Jayvon Graves and Jeenathan Williams.
Graves, a senior guard, won the final MAC Player of the Week award, after nearly averaging a triple-double for the Bulls. Graves averaged 15 points last week, 9.5 rebounds and 9 assists per game, leading UB to victories over Akron and Kent State.
The Malvern, OH native became just the third player in school history to notch a triple-double when he recorded 13 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to propel the team to an 80-78 victory over Akron on March 2. Graves is averaging 14.6 points per game this season and recently became the 10th leading scorer in school history.
Williams, a junior forward, has been UB’s most consistent scorer all season. Williams leads the Bulls in scoring at 17.3 points per game and has grabbed seven rebounds per contest.
Williams scored in double digits in 19 of his 21 games this season, including a career-high 28 points against Towson at the Bubbleville tournament in November. The 6’5” forward has had four double-doubles this season, including a dominant 25 point, 14 rebound performance at Western Michigan in January.
The Bulls will play in the MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, where they will face No. 7 Miami (OH) Thursday at 4 p.m.
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