Monday, December 17, 2007

Following his record-breaking game against Chicago State on Saturday, Crusader sophomore guard Samuel Haanpää (Kerava, Finland/Cornerstone [Texas] Christian) has been named the Horizon League men’s basketball Player of the Week.  Haanpää also was honored on a national level by the Mid-Majority as its Baller of the Week.

Haanpää broke Crusader associate head coach Bryce Drew’s record for three-pointers in a game against the Cougars on Saturday, drilling 10 triples on just 12 attempts.  The sophomore poured in a Valpo season-best 32 points on the game, becoming the first Crusader to break the 30-point barrier since Dan Oppland scored 35 at Western Illinois on January 14, 2006.  Haanpää also added four rebounds, three assists and two steals versus the Cougars.

In Valpo’s first win of the week, a 75-67 triumph over Evansville, Haanpää led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a 3-of-4 effort from behind the arc.  For the week, he averaged 26 PPG on 81% shooting (17-of-21) and knocked down 81.3% (13-of-16) of his shots from the 3-point line.

Haanpää becomes the first Crusader men’s basketball player to earn Horizon League weekly honors.  The Mid-Majority (www.midmajority.com) is a website devoted to coverage of mid-major basketball, developed and run by Kyle Whelliston, a regular contributor to ESPN.com and the national mid-major reporter for Basketball Times.