ST. LOUIS – Using a scoring average of 30.5 – the second-highest scoring average in NCAA Division I this season – Illinois State junior guard Antonio Reeves has been named the first MVC Player of the Week for the 2021-22 season.
During the week the Chicago native made 19 of his 38 shots from the field (50%), 9-of-17 (52.9%) from long range and 14-of-16 (.875) from the charity stripe. He also has seven rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and two steals on the season.
In his season opener against UNCW he scored a then-career-high 29 points, making 9-of-15 shots from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Reeves also added six rebounds against the Seahawks, to go with three assists and three blocked shots, and made 6-of-8 shots from the charity stripe in the team's five-point victory, helping the team overcome a 15-point first-half deficit. His 29-point season-opening scoring total is tied for the fourth-most in a season-opener in school history, and the was the first person to score that many in a season-opener since Mike VandeGarde scored the same total to open the 1993-94 season, and was tied for the eighth-largest scoring outing in the NCAA on the opening day of the season, while his stat line of 29 points, five three-point baskets, and three blocked shots made him one of just 38 total players since 2010-11 to record those numbers in a single game.
He followed up his career-high with another career-high of 32 points in ISU's double-overtime loss to Eastern Michigan. Against the Eagles he made 10-of-23 of his shots from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, and all eight of his free throw tries. With his back-to-back 20-point games to start the season, he became one of just 11 student-athletes in program history to open a season with at least two consecutive 20+ scoring efforts, and his season total of 61 points through two games is tied for the most over the opening pair of games in program history, behind only the 67 scored by George Terry to open the 1967-68 season, and tied with Doug Collins, who also opened the 1971-72 season with 61 points over his first two games.
The Redbirds return to action on Tuesday, December 16 when ISU hosts the Murray State Racers in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Redbird Arena.
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