Southeast Missourian Player of the Week: Oak Ridge's Ryan Below

Oak Ridge basketball player Ryan Below is the Southeast Missourian Player of the Week.

The 6-foot-3 freshman post player played a pivotal role in each of his team's last three games, all wins for the Blue Jays.

First, it was Below's basket and subsequent free throw with 35 seconds to go at Oran on Wednesday that gave Oak Ridge the lead in an eventual 51-49 victory. Below finished with 11 points against the Eagles.

Then, at Scott City's homecoming on Friday, Below helped secure a 68-63 win by getting a steal with eight seconds to go and his team up by just one point.

"I just got the steal off the pass and tripped on the ground or something and the guy was on my back was the next thing I knew," Below, who finished with 21 points against the Rams, told the Missourian. "As soon as I got that ball, I wasn't going to let it go."

Next up for Below was a double-double performance in his team's opening round victory over the Meadow Heights Panthers at the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament Monday. He scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in Oak Ridge's 57-45 win.