DALLAS – WKU’s Don McHenry and Liberty’s Ben Southerland earned Conference USA Men’s Basketball weekly honors. The 2023-24 CUSA Players of the Week awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear and are voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
 
McHenry picked up Player of the Week recognition after posting back-to-back game-high point totals to help the Hilltoppers (9-3) extend their winning streak to five games. He averaged 23 points on 51 percent shooting and pulled down 4.5 rebounds per game in the two contests.
 
Southerland garnered his first Freshman of the Week title after averaging 3.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the Flames’ (9-3) home wins over Tennessee State and St. Andrews this past week.
 
Player of the Week – Don McHenry, WKU – Junior – Guard – Milwaukee, Wis.
McHenry charted a career-high 30 points on 12-20 shooting in the Tops' 91-84 win over Wright State on the road on Tuesday. He also tallied three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal. He followed it up with 16 points in a 65-64 victory over Austin Peay on Saturday. McHenry added a game-high six rebounds – including three on the offensive end – to go with three assists and a steal as the Hilltoppers claimed their fifth-straight victory. His layup with 2:27 remaining wound up being the game-deciding basket as WKU leaned on its defense the rest of the way to come out with the win.
 
Freshman of the Week – Ben Southerland, Liberty – Freshman – Forward – Cincinnati, Ohio
Southerland recorded career highs in points (seven), rebounds (seven), assists (six) and steals (two) in 23 minutes of action during Liberty’s 99-26 victory over St. Andrews. He tallied five points and three assists in the opening half to help the Flames run out to a 52-12 advantage. Southerland did most of his damage on the glass in the second half with six boards in the second period to lead Liberty to a dominant margin (56-25). He saw limited action in the win over Tennessee State earlier in the week, grabbing a rebound and finishing +4.
 
2023-24 CUSA Players of the Week
N13      Kyle Rode, Liberty
N20     Kyle Rode, Liberty
N27      Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston
D4       Arturo Dean, FIU
D11       Elias King, MTSU
D18      Don McHenry, WKU
 
2023-24 CUSA Freshmen of the Week
N13      Elijah Jones, UTEP
N20     Ellijah Jones, UTEP
N27      Elijah Jones, UTEP
D4       Chris Loofe, MTSU
D11       Chris Loofe, MTSU
D18      Ben Southerland, Liberty