North Panhandle Times

John Korte Powers His Way to MEC Player of the Week

It was a big weekend on campus for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team as they took down West Liberty in front of a packed alumni game crowd. The Cardinals were rewarded for their big win on Monday as they were represented on this week's Mountain East Conference (MEC) Player of the Week list, presented by The Healthplan. Senior Men's Basketball player John Korte earned the MEC Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award coming off what was the best offensive week of his collegiate career. 

Korte helped lead the Cardinals to a 1-1 record this past week, falling to Notre Dame College on Wednesday before coming back with the big victory on Saturday in "The Battle for Wheeling." Korte played a big role in both of those games, combining to score 69 points across the two games while pulling in 14 rebounds. His biggest effort of the week came against West Liberty where he put up a career-high 40 points to help lead his team to a 114-107 win over the #15 ranked Hilltoppers. Korte finished eight points away from breaking the program record for points scored in a single game, set by former Cardinal Bryant Houston against Bluffton College during the 1986-1987 season. Of those 40 points, 24 came in the second half as he helped the Cardinals seal their first win against West Liberty since February 24th, 2018. 

In his other game against Notre Dame College, Korte added a 29-point effort and picked up his team-high fifth double double of the season. With these two games, Korte has now scored 27 or more points in each of the last five games. During that time, he has raised his scoring average to 20.2 points per game and continues to climb the conference scoring ladder. As he enters play on Wednesday, Korte sits third in the conference, averaging 20.2 points per game, and fifth in field goal percentage, sitting at .552. With 10 games remaining on the 2022-23 schedule, the race is on for the MEC Tournament, and Korte will play a big part as the Cardinals try to grab one of the top ten spots and then make a run at WesBanco Arena. 

For John Korte, it was the first time in his career that he was named an MEC Player of the Week. He is also the first Men's Basketball player this season to earn a Player of the Week Award as the team continues to improve as the season goes on. For the Wheeling Athletic Department, Korte is the 17th different student-athlete to be recognized by the conference as the winter sports hit their stride towards the postseason. 

John Korte and the rest of the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team return to action on Wednesday, January 25th, when they take on West Virginia Wesleyan with tip-off at 7:30 PM. 

Original source can be found here