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Wayne Cavadi | krikya18.com | December 30, 2020

Here's a look at the best statistical performances thus far in DII men's basketball

Washburn sinks Fort Hays State at the buzzer on DII college basketball opening night

The 2020 portion of this ever-so-weird DII men's basketball season is in the books. And although it looked a bit differently than it normally does, there were some impressive performances since the season tipped off in mid-November.

Since there were no games this past week, let's make a starting five based on the statistical leaders of the first "half" of the season. As with the weekly all-stats teams, this is crafted using the most impressive and eye-popping numbers from around the Division. Players are selected exclusively based on individual performance, regardless of team records and results. This rendition will feature only category leaders based on players that have played at least three games.

Note: All games played through Monday, Dec. 21, were taken into account. All stats taken from .

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G - Tyler Geiman, Washburn 
The Ichabods' senior guard is off to a sensational start. He paces Washburn in points (92), rebounds (38) and steals (11) on its 6-0 start to the season. It is his 6.7 assists per game, though, that earn him a spot on the team. He's tied with Drew Greene of UVa-Wise for the most assists per game in DII men's basketball among players who've played in at least three games, and his 40 total are second to none.

G - Cameron Whiteside, UVa-Wise 
This was the easiest selection on the team. The junior guard is off to a scorching hot start. He scored 42 points β€” currently the season high in the entire Division β€” in his season debut on 55 percent shooting and followed that up with a 33-point night on 60 percent shooting. His 32.3 points per game lead DII and he's been a beast on the boards as well, pulling down 8.7 rebounds per game. 

G - Bernard Lightsey, Lincoln (Pa)
We're going with a three-guard offense, and that three is what makes Lightsey stand out to us. The junior guard has played in three games this season and has yet to score below 21 points in a game, but check this out. Lightsey is averaging eight 3-point shots per game and has hit 15 of them. He's shooting 62.5 percent from downtown on the season, which edges out Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State and Tyonn Stuckey of Emmanuel (Ga) for this spot. 

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F - Josh Price, Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana is one of our sleeper teams and having Price down low is a big reason why. The senior forward has played in three games thus far and has a double-double in each of them. He's pulling down 12.7 rebounds per game which is best among big men that have played at least three games. For the season, Price is also second on the Eagles in scoring with 17.3 points per game. 

F (tie) - Jared Vitztum, Fort Hays State
Sai Witt, Lincoln (Mo)
Dylan Peeters, Truman

Okay, maybe this is cheating the system a bit, but we love double-doubles. No one has done it more this season than the three forwards that tied down the final spot. Vitztum has four double-doubles in DII play, but actually has a fifth in the exhibition upset of Kansas State when he went for 16 and 11. Witt has an 11-win team from last season sitting at 4-2 with his four double-doubles, each one coming in a victory. Peeters has double-digit rebounds in all five games he's played this season and reached double-figures in scoring four times as a key cog in Truman's surprise 5-0 start.

Honorable mention:

  • Patrick Cartier, Hillsdale β€” The sophomore forward is averaging 17.7 points per game on an absurd 80.8 percent shooting from the floor. 
  • Kaden Froebe, Missouri S&T β€” The guard has played in seven games thus far and has 22 steals, an impressive 3.14 per game. Perhaps more impressive is he's only a freshman. 
  • Michael Bradley, Mercyhurst β€” The Lakers look very impressive in their first three games. Maybe it's because their sophomore guard has a ridiculous 17-to-1 turnover-to-assist ratio thus far.
and . His work has appeared on Bleacher Report, MLB.com, AJC.com, SB Nation and FoxSports.com and in publications like The Advocate and Lindy's Sports. Follow him on Twitter at .

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