Sabatino and Mills Earn Empire 8 Men's Basketball Weekly Honors
Stevens Institute of Technology sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino and Nazareth freshman Maurice Mills have been named the Empire 8 Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Sabatino started the week with a 13-point, six-rebound performance as the Ducks downed Kean University in a non-conference showdown in Union, N.J. last Monday. The sophomore followed that solid night with 18 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes of action in a 72-48 rout of Alfred University at the Canavan Arena Friday night. His best game of the week came against St. John Fisher College on Saturday when the Westfield, N.J. native tallied a career-high 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals.
For the week, Sabatino averaged 19 points, 7.3 rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 28 minutes. He shot 74.2 percent (23-for-31) from the field and 83.3 percent (10-for-12) at the line.
In the two E8 victories, Sabatino averaged 22 points and shot 78.3 percent from the field. He was 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) at the line, had four blocks, two steals and averaged eight rebounds in 52 total minutes.
The Ducks, who are on a five-game winning streak, are 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Empire 8. They are tied atop the Empire 8 standings with Ithaca College. Stevens will return to action on Tuesday evening, Jan. 15, when it hosts the United States Merchant Marine Academy at 7 p.m.
A native of Utica, N.Y. and a graduate of Thomas Proctor High School, Mills helped the Golden Flyers to pair of conference wins over the weekend as he amassed 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in wins over Elmira and Utica. A 6-foot-5 forward, Mills had 11 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 89-81 home-court win over Utica. In the two victories, he went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Mills has started 13 of 14 games for the Golden Flyers, who enter Tuesday's game at St. John Fisher with an overall record of 10-4, including 3-1 in conference play. He is averaging 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and has a team-best 10 blocks.
Nazareth also is on the road this weekend for conference games at Stevens Friday at 8 p.m. and at Hartwick Saturday at 7 p.m.
All the action will be webcast live at
www.Empire8.TV.