OCCAC Honors Four Student-Athletes With D-II, D-III POTW Recognition

By Nicholas Huenefeld/OCCAC Sports Information

Springfield, Ohio---Four student-athletes have earned player of the week recognition in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) for the period of Dec. 19 through Jan. 1. The OCCAC chooses a D-II and D-III player of the week in each sport in order to garner more chances at national player of the week.

Prior to the holiday break, three OCCAC players earned national player of the week recognition - Devon Robinson of Cuyahoga Community College, Carli Codner-Pinto of Columbus State Community College and Mario Young of Columbus State Community College.

Here's the player of the week recipients for the Dec. 19 through Jan. 1 period:

NJCAA Division II OCCAC WBB Player of the Week
Ariel Bethea, Owens C.C.

Bethea, a sophomore guard for Owens Community College, has picked up her second OCCAC player of the week award since Dec. 4. She was the busiest of the four recipients this week as she led her team to four wins over the break.

Over those four games, Bethea averaged 15.3 points, 5.5 steals, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocks. She had 19 points each in the team's 103-31 win over Kellogg and the 134-35 win over Oakland on Dec. 20-21. She then had 11 points in a 78-45 win over Oakland and 12 points in a 84-54 win over Jackson. On top of that, she had six steals in three of the four games and four in the other. She had nine rebounds in the win over Kellogg and five assists in the win over Oakland. She had two blocks apiece in the wins over Kellogg and Jackson.

Bethea is now averaging a team-high 13.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 steals, 3.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Her team is ranked third in the nation with a 14-0 record.

NJCAA Division III OCCAC WBB Player of the Week
Carli Codner-Pinto, Columbus State C.C.

For the second consecutive week, Columbus State Community College's leading scorer has been named the league's top Division III player. She produced 24 points and nine assists on 9-for-13 shooting (4-for-6 from 3-point range) in her team's 108-43 win over Lorain County Community College on Dec. 21. It was her team's lone game during the two-week stretch.

Overall this year, Codner-Pinto is averaging 25.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game through 11 contests. Her team is 4-8 overall and 1-2 in OCCAC play.

NJCAA Division II MBB Player of the Week
Derrik Jamerson Jr., Owens C.C.

Jamerson Jr., a sophomore guard from Owens Community College, earned his second career OCCAC player of the week award. He averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and 1.5 steals over two games last week.

In a 91-61 win over Kellogg on Dec. 20, Jamerson Jr. had 16 points, 11 rebounds (three offensive), one assist and three steals. Then, in an 83-72 loss to Jackson, he produced 12 points and seven rebounds (two offensive). In those two games, he finished 10-for-24 from the field, including a 7-for-16 finish from 3-point range.

Jamerson Jr., who also won the award on Dec. 6 of last season, is now averaging 14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game this year. His team is 9-5 overall and 1-1 in OCCAC play.

NJCAA Division III MBB Player of the Week
Mario Young, Columbus State C.C. 

Similar to Codner-Pinto, Young was named his sport's top Division III player for the second consecutive week. In 36 minutes, the freshman forward produced 32 points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive), three assists, one steal and one block in a 97-81 win over Lorain County Community College on Dec. 21. He finished 12-for-18 from the field and 8-for-9 from the foul line in his team's lone game during the holiday break.

Young is now averaging 20.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game for Columbus State. His team is now 3-8 overall and 2-2 in OCCAC play.