Guilford's Ben Strong Wins Fifth ODAC Player of the Week Award

Greensboro, N.C. (2/19/07) -- Guilford College's Ben Strong earned the Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), league officials announced Monday. Strong, who also won Guilford's Student-Athlete of the Week Award from Guilford's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), captured the ODAC prize for the school-record fifth time this year and for the eighth time in his career.

Strong, a 6-11, 220-pound center, helped Guilford to a 2-0 week in ODAC action by averaging 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He shot 65.5 percent from the floor and 75% from the free-throw line. Strong notched his 15th double-double of the year with 29 points and 12 rebounds (both game highs) in the Quakers’ Feb. 17 win at Emory & Henry. He made 12-of-15 shots from the floor and scored 19 second-half points in the 108-107 victory. Strong scored 18 points and added seven rebounds and three blocks in the Quakers’ Feb. 14 win over Washington and Lee. He has led Guilford's scorers in 16 of 24 games.

With his productive week, Strong raised his career scoring total to 1,333, the 16th-highest total in school history, tops among Guilford’s NCAA Division III students (since 1991-92). He leads the ODAC in scoring (24.0 ppg.), rebounding (11.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.5 bpg.). Strong ranked sixth among NCAA Division III men's basketball scoring and rebounding leaders through games of Feb. 11.

Coach Tom Palombo's Quakers (21-3, 15-3 ODAC) clinched the number-two seed for the ODAC Tournament Feb. 22-25 in Salem, Va. and open tourney play versus seventh-seeded Bridgewater Thursday (2/22) at 6:00 p.m. Guilford was ranked 17th in the Feb. 12 D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and third in the NCAA Division III South Region Rankings through games of Feb. 11. The club's 21 wins mark its most since 1977-78 and its 21-3 record is the best 24-game standard since 1974-75.

Guilford's SAAC is comprised of representatives from each of the school's 16 varsity teams. The group meets regularly to discuss the state of Guilford Athletics and seeks to build community among student-athletes and non-student-athletes on the campus. Recent Guilford SAAC activities include a canned-food drive to benefit local charities and dodgeball competitions among representatives from Guilford's administration and athletic teams.