NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference has named Richmond junior Jacob Gilyard and VCU junior Marcus Santos-Silva as its Co-Players of the Week. Massachusetts freshman Sean East was named A-10 Rookie of the Week. The awards were announced Monday and are for games played Nov. 11-17.
 
A guard from Kansas City, Gilyard totaled 44 points, 11 assists, eight steals, and five rebounds in a pair of Spiders wins. He shot 15-23 (.652) from the field and 8-13 (.615) from 3-point range, and scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime in the overtime win against Vanderbilt. Gilyard tied game with 25 seconds left in overtime on a reverse layup, and then stole the ball on Vanderbilt's final possession and flipped it ahead to Andre Gustavson. Gustavson was fouled and subsequently sank the game-winning free throw for the Spiders.
 
Santos-Silva scored 17 points and hauled in 11 rebounds in VCU's 84-82 win over 23rd-ranked LSU. He also had one of his four steals in the final minute against the Tigers, and then recorded a key block and a crucial rebound in the 10 seconds to seal the win. The forward from Taunton, Mass., averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in two wins and shot .619 from the field. He scored 10 points and had seven rebounds and a pair of assists in a decisive win over Jacksonville State Sunday.
 
East scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-9 (.667) shooting from the field and seven assists in UMass’ win over Northeastern. This included a 75-foot buzzer beater with 0.6 seconds left in the first half that was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays. The guard from Louisville, Ky., then finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 (.600) shooting, with six assists and three steals in the Central Connecticut State win.  He ranks in the top 25 nationally in assists statistics and in the top 10 in those same categories for freshmen.
 
 
HONOR ROLL

Dayton’s Obi Toppin had a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double at the Flyers cruised to a win over Charleston Southern … Michael Hughes of Duquesne registered a pair of double-doubles with 17 points and 10 rebounds versus Lamar and 10 points and 10 rebounds against Lipscomb while shooting 9-for-11 (.818) from the field for the week … Jordan Miller scored 25 points with five rebounds on 10-of-18 (.556) shooting for George Mason versus LIU, while also collecting two blocks and two steals … Mason freshman Xavier Johnson averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds with three assists and two steals in the Patriots 2-0 week …  Fatts Russell drove Rhode Island to a win over Alabama Friday, with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Rams’ only game of the week … Rhody freshman Jacob Toppin scored 11 points and three rebounds, drilling 3-of-4 from 3-point range versus Alabama … St. Bonaventure’s Kyle Lofton averaged 15.5 points and a whopping 7.5 assist per game for the Bonnies last week, including a neutral-site win over Rutgers … St. Bona freshman Justin Winston averaged 14.5 points, including scoring 19 in the win over Rutgers on 4-of-5 (.800) made 3-pointers and 6-of-11 (.545) shooting overall … Ryan Daly scored 30 points in Saint Joseph’s win over UConn and then posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double at Loyola-Chicago  … SJU freshman Rahmir Moore, scored 22 points versus UConn, swishing 6-of-8 (.750) from the field, with a 3-pointer and nine free throws made  … Hasahn French averaged 16.5 points per game while helping Saint Louis to a 1-1 week … SLU freshman Yuri Collins averaged 8.0 assists per game last week. He is tied for seventh in assists nationally, and is first among freshman …  VCU freshman Nah’Shon Hyland score 12 points, and had five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Rams’ win over Jacksonville State.