Townsend, Hanks named NEAC Athletes of the Week

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its Athletes of the Week for the period ending December 18, naming Morrisville State College's Nijah Townsend (Bronx, NY) and Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, NY) its women's and men's basketball players of the week.



Townsend netted a collegiate best 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Mustangs' 73-63 loss to Brockport in non-conference action on Friday. She shot 50 percent from the floor and also went 4-for-6 from the free throw line while playing all 40 minutes of the contest.



Averaging 13.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, Townsend leads the Mustangs in scoring and also on the glass.



The sophomore forward is a graduate of Harry S. Truman High and is majoring in individual studies at Morrisville State. She is the daughter of Yvette and Desmond Townsend of Bronx.



Hanks earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Buffalo State College Cole Tournament this past weekend, guiding Morrisville State to a 1-1 record and a third place finish. At the tournament, he averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while hitting a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Hanks opened the tournament with an 18 point, four rebound, three assist and four steal performance in a 77-70 loss to Capital, before posting 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the 77-49 victory over Keuka on Saturday.



He currently leads the team in assists per game (3.8) and is second in points (12.4).



The sophomore guard is a graduate of Henninger High and is majoring in individual studies at Morrisville State. He is the son of Ethel and Shawn Hanks of Syracuse.