DENVER UTEP guard Filiberto Rivera has been named the Western Athletic Conference mens basketball player of the week for February 23-29.
Rivera, a junior from Carolina, Puerto Rice (Southeastern [Iowa] CC), averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals as UTEP won three games last week. Rivera opened the week with 14 points, seven assists and three steals against Hawaii in El Paso. In a road sweep, he had 13 points and six assists versus Louisiana Tech and added 14 points, seven assists and three steals versus SMU. It was the first time UTEP swept two WAC road opponents since January of 2001. For the week, Rivera was 12-of-23 (.522) from the field, 5-of-12 (.417) from three-point range and 12-of-15 (.800) from the charity stripe. It is Riveras first WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Miner this year.
The other nominations were senior guard/forward Bryan Defares, Boise State; junior forward/center Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Fresno State; sophomore forward Julian Sensley, Hawaii; junior guard Corey Dean, Louisiana Tech; and senior guard Todd Okeson, Nevada.
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