WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-2 on the road last week ... the team dropped a 93-88 decision at Omaha before falling 63-59 at USC ... Bakersfield has now lost five straight after winning five in a row ... the team is in the middle of a five-game road trip ... Bakersfield battled back from 17 down at Omaha to pull within three points with less than 30 seconds to play ... the ‘Runners also led USC for much of the second half before the Trojans managed an 11-3 run to end the game on Sunday, mostly from the free-throw line ... Issiah Grayson set three new career-highs at Omaha with his 29 points, he also set a career high for field goals attempted with 16 and field goals made with 10 ... Grayson fought through a stomach virus this week thus did not start at USC but came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points including a perfect 4-4 from three-point range ... Bakersfield travels to play UTSA and UT Arlington this week.
Chicago State Cougars (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 1-1 over the past week ... the Cougars dropped a 77-70 overtime decision at DePaul before defeating SIU-Edwardsville 81-64 on Monday night ... at DePaul, Senior Nate Duhon scored 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting off the bench. Pippen also added 18 points with three assists and two steals. Junior Clarke Rosenberg finished with 17 points. Melvin led the Blue Demons with 18 points and 11 rebounds ... in the win over SIUE, senior Eddie Denard recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds ... Rosenberg was the high scorer for CSU with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting ... Duhon had 19 points ... senior point guard Corey Gray recorded 10 points, with four assists and no turnovers ... Chicago State returns to action on Monday, Dec. 23 at Cincinnati. The game will air online on ESPN3.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon went 0-1 last week with a 63-61 setback at Northern Arizona ... NAU’s Max Jacobson drained a jumper with 18 seconds on the clock to put an end to Grand Canyon’s four-game win streak ... the game saw 12 lead changes and four tied scores, including two changes in the lead and three tied scores over the final eight minutes ... after sitting out for the past year due to his transfer from Texas A&M, Daniel Alexander made his presence felt for the ‘Lopes, scoring 14 points, aided by a team single-game high of four three-pointer ... the 14 points marked a career high for Alexander ... Killian Larson led the squad with 16 points, while Demetrius Walker and Jerome Garrison each added 15 ... Larson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double in nine games for the ‘Lopes ... the ‘Lopes will continue their five-game road swing at Tulsa on Wednesday.
Idaho Vandals (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 last week ... the Vandals dropped a 69-58 decision at Montana before picking up a 76-75 win at Portland State ... Connor Hill led Idaho’s second-half charge at Montana, scoring 19 of his 24 points after the break and giving Idaho the lead on three separate occasions in the second half ... Bira Seck led Idaho with a career-high 13 rebounds ... Idaho won at Portland State behind 26 points from Glen Dean and 21 from Hill on Saturday night ... Dean and Hill each had five assists in the game, a career-high for Hill who also had a team-high five rebounds, and Stephen Madison added three to go with 14 points and three boards ... Hill’s five 3-pointers give him 163 in his career, just five shy of tying and six shy of breaking Idaho’s all-time record of 168 held by Orlando Lightfoot since 1994 ... Idaho returns to action against Idaho State in Boise’s CenturyLink Arena on Dec. 20.
Kansas City Kangaroos (2-7, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 0-1 last week with a 74-63 loss at home against Indiana State ... UMKC took a lead into the halftime break against Indiana State on Saturday, but an early second period run proved to be the difference in a road win for the Sycamores ... Martez Harrison led the ‘Roos with 20 points, his ninth straight game in double digits and fourth 20-plus point contest ... Trinity Hall finished with 16 points, while Nelson Kirksey was the other player in double figures with 11. Fred Chatmon led the way with eight rebounds ... Kansas City finishes a three-game home stand on Wednesday night when Miami University (Ohio) comes to town ... tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. (CT) from Municipal Auditorium.
New Mexico State Aggies (8-5, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-1 last week ... the Aggies dropped a 74-48 decision at No.1-ranked Arizona before taking an 81-69 road win at Drake ... the Aggies played well and hung in there with the top team in the country during the first half and the beginning of the second half, but did not have enough to keep pace with the No. 1 Wildcats ... NM State was led by junior guard Daniel Mullings who finished with a game-high 18 points ... Mullings was the only Aggie to finish with double-digit points ... sophomore center Sim Bhullar led the way on the boards with seven total rebounds ... at Drake, Bhullar tallied his third double-double of the year and junior guard K.C. Ross-Miller hit all eight of his free throw attempts to lead NMSU to the overtime win ... Bhullar scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds ... NM State wraps up its four-game road trip at New Mexico on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN3.
Seattle U Redhawks (7-3, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U went 1-0 last week ... Seattle U extended its winning streak to four and maintained a perfect home record so far in 2013-14 with a 66-38 victory over Pacific Lutheran Sunday afternoon at KeyArena ... Isiah Umipig and Emerson Murray, playing his first game since the season opener at Washington, led the Redhawks with 10 points each, while Deshaun Sunderhaus and William Powell each finished with eight points and nine rebounds ... Seattle U held Pacific Lutheran to 23.4 percent field goal shooting and forced 20 Lute turnovers ... the win moved Seattle U’s record to 7-3, the best 10-game start for the squad as a Division I program since the 1971-72 season ... the Redhawks will play a game in Kent, Wash., against Norfolk State Thursday, Dec. 19, before hitting the road for the final time in the non-conference season, facing Nebraska Omaha Sunday, Dec. 22.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (4-8, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 0-1 last week with a 57-48 road loss at TCU ... the game featured 10 lead changes and 12 ties ... the game was always within one possession from the 14:12 mark of the first half to the 12:05 mark of the second half ... the first lead of greater than four points game when the Broncs went up 43-38 with 8:02 remaining ... the Horned Frogs had three leads of more than one possession, including twice in the first five minutes and not again until the final 2:19 ... senior Justin Leathers reached double-figures in scoring for the fifth time this season with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-6 from behind the arc ... the Broncs visit SMU on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT
Utah Valley Wolverines (4-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley went 1-1 in a pair of in-state battles last week ... Utah Valley defeated Weber State in the first of the two games last week, 62-59, behind 14 points from Holton Hunsaker ... it was UVU’s first win over Weber State after three straight losses in the series and the first time the teams have met since in Orem since the 2004-05 season ... UVU played its second in-state game of the week on Saturday, falling to Utah State behind a fast start by the Aggies ... Hunsaker scored 21 to lead all scorers in the game ... senior Ben Aird moved into second place on the school’s all-time scoring list in the loss at Utah State, surpassing Orlando Magic guard Ronnie Price ... UVU hosts Haskell University on Friday before closing out the pre-Christmas schedule against North Dakota State on Dec. 23 in the UCCU Center.
WAC NOTES
IDAHO’S HILL NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Idaho’s Connor Hill has been named Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 9-15.
Hill, a junior guard from Post Falls, Idaho (Post Falls HS), had back-to-back 20-plus point performances as Idaho went 1-1 in two road games at Montana and Portland State. In a 69-58 loss at Montana, Hill scored 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. Hill gave the Vandals the lead twice in the second half and tied the game on two more occasions in the second half at Montana. He had 21 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists in Idaho’s 76-75 win at Portland State. Hill hit 6-of-10 shots from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc at PSU.
For the week, Hill averaged 22.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.5 steals per game. He shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-of-19) and 60 percent (6-of-10) from the free throw line. His nine three-point field goals on the week give him 163 for his career, just six shy from breaking Idaho’s career record of 168 held by Orland Lightfoot since 1994.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield senior guard Issiah Grayson scored a career-high 29 points at Omaha … Chicago State senior guard Nate Duhon scored 18 points in an overtime contest at DePaul … Grand Canyon senior center Killian Larson recorded his seventh double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in a 63-61 loss at Northern Arizona … Kansas City freshman guard Martez Harrison scored 20 points against Indiana State … New Mexico State sophomore center Sim Bhullar averaged 12.5 points and shot 59 percent at the Aggies went 1-1 … Texas-Pan American sophomore forward Shaquille Hines scored 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting at TCU … Utah Valley senior guard Holton Hunsaker averaged 17.5 points as the Wolverines went 1-1 with a win over Weber State.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKS 19TH IN MID-MAJOR POLL, SEATTLE U AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies are now ranked No. 19 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 201 points and are sandwiched between Ohio at No. 18 and North Dakota State at No. 20. Seattle U is receiving 10 votes in this week’s poll.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS THE NATION AT FREE THROW LINE, BHULLAR SIXTH IN BLOCKS
New Mexico State ranks first in the nation with 402 free throw attempts this season. The Aggies also rank first in the nation with 274 made free throws. NM State is shooting 68.2 percent from the free throw line. New Mexico State also ranks eighth nationally with 73 team blocks. Individually, NM State’s Sim Bhullar holds the highest individual national ranking in the WAC as he ranks sixth nationally with 42 blocks.
KANSAS CITY OWNS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULES IN THE NATION
As of Dec. 17, Kansas City owns the nation’s 16th toughest schedule in the nation, according to WarrenNolan.com. UMKC has played at Creighton, at Iowa State and at Louisville this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 29-9 record in games played at home this season, an 76.3 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 5-0 in its friendly confines, while Grand Canyon and Utah Valley are 3-0 and 4-0, respectively. 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®.