Greensboro, N.C. — Men’s basketball senior Ben Strong (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) received his ninth Guilford Student-Athlete of the Week Award Monday. The weekly prize is presented by the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Strong, a 6-11, 220-pound center, averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in the Quakers’ 2-0 week. He had game highs of 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in Guilford’s 64-60 win over Washington and Lee University Feb. 6. Four days later, Strong had game highs of 30 points and 11 rebounds in Guilford’s 103-53 victory over Lynchburg College. He notched his team-leading 15th double-double of the year and the 38th of his career in the Quakers’ triumph. Strong also eclipsed the 2,000 career points mark in the win and moved into fourth place among Guilford’s career scoring leaders with 2,001 points. Strong is averaging 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game over the Quakers’ last eight games, all victories.
Strong, the reigning NCAA Division III Player of the Year, stands among the NCAA Division III leaders in points (fourth), rebounds (12th) and blocks (13th) per game through games of Feb. 3. He leads the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) in scoring (25.4 ppg.), rebounding (11.1 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.3 bpg.). Strong needs six points to pass World B. Free ’76 for third place on Guilford’s career scoring list and 22 points to pass David Smith ’72 for second place. He stands sixth in school history with 836 career rebounds.
Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers (16-4, 11-2 ODAC) have won a season-high eight straight games and 12 of their last 14 outings. Guilford visits Hampden-Sydney College Wednesday (2/13) at 7:00 p.m. The Quakers host league-rivals Bridgewater College Saturday (2/16) at 3:00 p.m. and Eastern Mennonite University Sunday (2/17) at 3:00 p.m.
The Student-Athlete of the Week Award is presented by Guilford’s SAAC, which 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 the school’s student-athletes and non-student-athletes. Recent Guilford SAAC activities include canned-food drives, volunteer assistance with the North Carolina Special Olympics and tutoring at New Garden Friends School.