WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-1 last week with a 60-42 setback at home against Santa Clara ... the ‘Runners have now dropped three straight games for the first time this season ... a 22-9 run early in the second half and strong shooting from the field helped Santa Clara erase a one-point halftime deficit to defeat CSUB ... for the first time this season Bakersfield did not have a player in double figures as Brandon Barnes led the way for Bakersfield with nine points on 3-of-8 from the field while grabbing six rebounds ... Tyrell Corbin added eight for the Roadrunners on 2-of-7 shooting ... Aly Ahmed made his CSUB debut just hours after being granted eligibility to play from the NCAA ... Ahmed scored six points on 3-of-7 shooting for the Roadrunners while pulling down three rebounds with four blocks in 12 minutes of action ... Bakersfield heads out on the road for their next five games starting Tuesday, Dec. 10 at Omaha.
Chicago State Cougars (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 1-1 last week ... the Cougars dropped a 75-56 decision at Illinois State before returning home to defeat UW-Parkside 90-81 ... at Illinois State, Quinton Pippen recorded a game-high 16 points ... Nate Duhon added 13 points and nine rebounds ... Matt Ross recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds ... four Cougars finished in double-digits to lift Chicago State over UW-Parkside ... Corey Gray led the Cougars with 18 points in the win over UWP ... Duhon added a season-high 18 points while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals ... Eddie Denard was the fourth Cougar in double figures with 11 points ... CSU’s 34 field goals against UW-Parkside on Saturday were the most in a game since the Cougars recorded 38 at DePaul on Dec. 10, 2011 ... The Cougars return to action on Sunday, Dec. 15 at DePaul ... the game will be aired live on FOX Sports 1.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon went a perfect 1-0 last week witha win over Vanguard ... Grand Canyon used a strong second half to overcome a 10-point deficit and defeat visiting Vanguard University, 82-73, last week at GCU Arena ... the win marks the fourth straight for the Antelopes ... GCU was led by Demetrius Walker’s career night, as he bested his career totals with 26 points and 17 rebounds ... Killian Larson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for his team-high sixth double-double of the season, while Justin Foreman chipped in 14 points and Jerome Garrison had 10 ... the ‘Lopes shot 46.2 percent from the field (24-for-52), the fourth time this season they have posted a field goal percentage of at least 45.0 percent ... the ‘Lopes will now hit the road for a stretch of five games, beginning with a Dec. 14 contest at Northern Arizona.
Idaho Vandals (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
Connor Hill got a good look at a would-be game-winning 3-pointer as time expired, but the shot was narrowly off the mark and Washington State escaped Moscow with a 67-66 win in Idaho’s only contest last week ... the Vandals led by as many as 10 points five minutes into the second half, but the Cougars chipped away and took their first lead of the half with just under two minutes to play at 63-62 off a pair of free throws ... the Vandals regained the lead after two free throws from Stephen Madison made it 66-65 with 31 seconds left, but after a missed layup on the other end, WSU’s D.J. Shelton was fouled and sank both free throws for the deciding score ... the Vandals had eight seconds and Hill got a good look at a corner 3-pointer off Glen Dean’s drive-and-dish, but Hill’s shot was just strong off the back iron ... Madison led Idaho with 16 points ... Idaho plays at Montana on Wednesday.
Kansas City Kangaroos (2-6, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-1 last week ... the ‘Roos dropped a 90-62 decision at No. 7 Louisville before returning home to defeat Youngstown State 88-80, a team ranked No. 21 by CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Poll ... at Louisville, the ‘Roos were paced in scoring by Martez Harrison and Nelson Kirksey with 14 points each ... Kirksey also pulled down seven boards, while the ‘Roos got nine rebounds from Trinity Hall ... Kansas City shot 46 percent from the floor, while holding Louisville to 42.9 percent ... in the win over Youngstown State, Kirksey had a career-high 24 points in the game, leading all five starters in double figures ... the ‘Roos out-rebounded YSU 36-24 in the contest, and were led in scoring by Kirksey, while Williams finished with a career-best 18 points ... Kansas City will host Indiana State Saturday in the second of three consecutive home games.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-4, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 0-2 last week ... the Aggies dropped a 79-70 decision at home against in-state rival New Mexico before falling 80-68 at nationally-ranked Gonzaga ... in the loss to New Mexico, Daniel Mullings led the Aggies finishing with a team-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and also added six rebounds ... Renaldo Dixon was right behind with a career-high 15 points ... Sim Bhullar was the only NM State player to finish with double-digit rebounds, marking 10 ... at No. 19 Gonzaga, Mullings became the 32nd Aggie in program history to score 1,000 points in a career leading the team with 17 points on the night ... Tshilidzi Nephawe added 13 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, although the Aggies were out-rebounded 45-30 with the Bulldogs scoring 22 second chance points ... the Aggies continue their road swing as they head to Tucson, Ariz. to take on No. 1 Arizona live on the PAC12 Network.
Seattle U Redhawks (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U put together a three-game winning streak over the past week, defeating Big West schools UC Davis (77-53), Cal State Northridge (58-53), and Cal State Fullerton (74-65) ... against UC Davis, Isiah Umipig collected 30 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Shore Adenekan contributed 16 points, five rebounds, and five blocked shots ... thursday night, the Redhawks picked up their first road win of the season thanks in part to a 23-point performance from Jarell Flora that included five three-pointers ... Umipig contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists, including five key points down the stretch ... two nights later, Seattle U enjoyed its best field goal shooting night in four seasons, hitting 61.9 percent of its shots from the floor to sweep the season series over Cal State Fullerton, 74-65 ... Umipig scored 20 points ... Seattle U hosts Pacific Lutheran on Dec. 15.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American dropped a 72-65 decision at home to UTSA in the team’s lone contest last week ... Javorn Farrell led the Broncs in scoring for the seventh time this season with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal ... Shaquille Hines scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting ... the Broncs finished with a season-series split with the Roadrunners after a 72-65 loss ... at 2-3, the Broncs are off to their best start on the road since the 1989-90 season, when the Broncs were also 2-3 en route to a 7-6 overall road record ... that year, the Broncs also lost their first road game (Colorado State) before winning the next two (Texas A&M and Texas State), and then losing the fourth (UT Arlington) and fifth (Tulane) ... UTPA travels to play TCu on Sunday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (3-5, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley snapped a five-game skid with it’s largest win in nearly 10 years, defeating St. Katherine 89-37 on Saturday night in the team’s lone contest of the week ... it was the first home game since Nov. 11 and moved the Wolverines to 3-0 at home ... Ben Aird led four players in double figures with 16 points with Hayes Garrity scoring 14, Zach Nelson 13 and Holton Hunsaker 11 ... Mitch Bruneel had a game-high 10 rebounds and chipped in eight points, Keawe Enos had nine and Brenden Evans finished with eight points and seven rebounds ... Aird also blocked four shots and finished with seven boards on a night the Wolverines out-rebounded the Firebirds 49-34 ... Hunsaker grabbed six rebounds and he and Enos each had five assists. UVU finished with 21 assists on 29 makes ... UVU plays two in-state games this week, first hosting Weber State on Wednesday before traveling to play Utah State Saturday.
WAC NOTES
SEATTLE U’S UMIPIG NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U’s Isiah Umipig has been named Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 2-8.
Umipig, a junior guard from Federal Way, Wash. (CSU Fullerton), led the Redhawks to a 3-0 record last week. Monday night, Umipig scored a season-high 30 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 6-of-11 mark from behind the three-point line, and 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. He also collected five rebounds, four assists and two steals as Seattle U defeated UC Davis 77-53.
Thursday, night, Umipig hit a key three-pointer as the shot clock wound down late in the second half, and then made two free throws to help the Redhawks hold off Cal State Northridge 58-53 for SU’s first road win of the season. Two nights later, Umipig made four three-pointers in the first half and drained four free throws down the stretch to extend Seattle U’s winning streak to three games with a 74-65 win at Cal State Fullerton.
For the week, Umipig averaged 20.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 43.9 percent (18-of-41) from the field, 52.2 percent (12-of-23) and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included: Chicago State senior guard Nate Duhon averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds as CSU went 1-1 last week … Grand Canyon senior guard Demetrius Walker scored 26 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in a win over Vanguard … Kansas City senior forward Nelson Kirksey scored a career-high 24 points in a win over Youngstown State … New Mexico State junior guard Daniel Mullings averaged 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in a pair of games … Texas-Pan American junior guard Shaquille Boga scored 11 points and dished out seven assists in a loss to UTSA.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKS 13TH IN MID-MAJOR POLL, SEATTLE U AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies are now ranked No. 13 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 352 points and are sandwiched between Green Bay at No. 12 and Pacific at No. 14. Seattle U is receiving seven votes in this week’s poll.
WAC RPI CHECKS IN AT 19
As of Dec. 10, the WAC’s RPI is 19 according to WarrenNolan.com, which updates the RPI on a realtime basis. The WAC is currently sandwiched between the Sun Belt at No. 18 and the Big South at No. 20. New Mexico State holds the WAC’s highest team RPI at 96.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS THE NATION AT FREE THROW LINE, BHULLAR 3RD IN BLOCKS
New Mexico State ranks first in the nation with 348 free throw attempts this season. The Aggies also rank second in the nation with 242 made free throws. NM State is shooting 69.5 percent from the free throw line. New Mexico State also ranks sixth nationally with 66 team blocks. Individually, NM State’s Sim Bhullar holds the highest individual national ranking in the WAC as he ranks third nationally with 37 blocks.
KANSAS CITY OWNS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULES IN THE NATION
As of Dec. 10, Kansas City owns the nation’s 15th toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN.com. UMKC has played at Creighton, at Iowa State and at Louisville this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 26-8 record in games played at home this season, an 76.5 winning percentage at home. Four of the WAC’s nine teams are undefeated at home this season. Chicago State and Seattle U are a perfect 4-0 in its friendly confines, while Grand Canyon and Utah Valley are 3-0. Bakersfield and New Mexico State are each 4-1 at home.
UVU’S HUNSAKER NAMED ONE OF 30 CANDIDATES FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD®
Utah Valley University senior Holton Hunsaker has been named one of 30 candidates for the men’s basketball Senior CLASS Award® for the 2013-14 season.To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Hunsaker is coming off of a season in which he was named the Great West Conference’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, to the I-AAA Athletic Director’s All-Academic Team, to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, to the Great West All-Academic Team and first-team All-Great West Conference. He is the only male athlete from the WAC to be a named a candidate. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four®.