Haskell Indian Nations University men’s basketball guard/forward Duelle Gore was named the Association of Independent Institutions Athlete of the Week following his 33-point performance in a 94-83 win Dec. 12 against William Woods University in Lawrence, Kansas.

Gore, from the Brighton Reservation, hit 10 of 16 shots from the field and made 11 of 12 free throws. Gore also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.

“Duelle has worked hard all year and is a leader on the court for us,” said Haskell coach Matthew Downing on the school’s website. “He’s so deserving of the award and his performance on [Dec. 12] was amazing to watch.”

Putting up big numbers is nothing new for Gore, who leads the team in several categories. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior reached the holiday break as Haskell’s leading scorer with an average of 17.2 points per game.

Through 12 games, Gore hit double digits nine times, including a game-high 26 points against Fort Lewis College, an NCAA Division II team in Colorado. Gore sank 23 points against Colorado School of Mines and Baker University.

Gore also leads the squad in assists (41), rebounds (93), steals (18), 3-pointers (29) and is the co-leader in blocks (11).

Haskell, an NAIA Division II independent, encountered a slow start to the season with five straight losses before the Fighting Indians notched consecutive wins against McPherson and Bethel in mid-November. With 15 games left in its regular season, Haskell (3-9) will return to the court Jan. 2 to face Ottawa.

Maleah Isaac scores 12 in Belhaven victory

Duelle Gore wasn’t the only Seminole who starred on the college courts Dec. 12. Maleah Isaac came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points for the Belhaven University women’s basketball team in its 73-64 win against Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.

Isaac was 5-of-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line. She also had three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.

Through six games as of Dec. 14, Isaac averaged 4.2 points and 12 minutes.

Belhaven reached the middle of December trying to rebound from a rough start. Belhaven dropped its first four games, but responded with back-to-back wins against Centenary College and Huntingdon.

Isaac is in her first season with the Jackson, Mississippi school. She played two years for Copiah-Lincoln Community College.