GUILFORD COLLEGE’S BEN STRONG WINS MORE WEEKLY HONORS

Greensboro, N.C. — Men’s basketball senior Ben Strong (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) was selected as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 17, league officials announced Monday. He has captured the ODAC’s weekly prize on 13 occasions in his career, including five times this season. Strong also earned his 10th Guilford Student-Athlete of the Week Award, which is presented by the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Ben Strong

Strong, a 6-11, 220-pound center, averaged 32.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in the Quakers’ 3-0 week that extended Guilford’s winning streak to 11 games, the team’s longest since 1974-75. He had game highs of 32 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in Guilford’s 78-71 win at Hampden-Sydney College Feb. 13. In the win, Strong notched his league-leading 15th double-double of the year and the 38th of his career. He also moved into second place on Guilford’s career scoring list, passing former NBA star World B. Free ’76 and David Smith ’72. Strong totaled game highs of 25 points and two blocks in Guilford’s 77-69 victory over Bridgewater College Feb. 16. The following day he matched his season high with a game-best 39 points in the Quakers’ 100-93 triumph over Eastern Mennonite University. He made all eight second-half field-goal attempts in the game and shot 16-of-21 from the floor overall. Strong added a game-high seven boards and a team-best two blocks in the win. The effort marked his team-leading eighth 30-point game of the season and the 16th 30-point game of his career.

Strong, the reigning NCAA Division III Player of the Year, stands among the NCAA Division III leaders in points (fourth), rebounds (9th) and blocks (17th) per game through games of Feb. 10. He leads the ODAC in scoring (26.2 ppg.), rebounding (10.7 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.26 bpg.). Over the last 11 games, Strong has averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks. He starts the week in second place on Guilford’s career scoring (2,097 points) list and sixth with 861 career rebounds.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers (19-4, 13-2 ODAC) are ranked 15th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and third in the NCAA South Region Poll through games of Feb. 10. They have won a season-high 11 straight games and 13 of their last 15 outings. Guilford visits Washington and Lee University Wednesday (2/20) at 7:00 p.m. The Quakers close the regular season Saturday (2/23) when they hosts league-rival Emory & Henry College at 3:00 p.m. in the Quakers’ annual Family Day.

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.