Valparaiso University men’s basketball freshman Javon Freeman (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week after a pair of strong performances last week, as announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.

Freeman opened the week with a 27-point effort at Illinois State, leading all scorers as he went 11-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. The rookie added five rebounds, four assists and three steals as well. He scored 20 of his points against the Redbirds in the first half, the first 20-point half by a Valpo freshman since November of 2013.

Freeman followed with a team-high 17 points against Loyola on Sunday and tallied two steals as well as he maintained his spot atop the MVC steals chart. Over the two-game stretch, Freeman averaged 22points per game on 66.7% shooting from the field. He has now paced Valpo in scoring in each of its last four games.

Freeman becomes the second Valpo player to earn weekly recognition from the MVC office this year, as teammate Ryan Fazekas earned back-to-back Newcomer of the Week awards in January.