WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 1-1 last week with a 90-64 road win at UTSA ... the ‘Runners dropped a 79-75 overtime decision at UT Arlington ... Bakersfield snapped a five-game losing streak with the 90-64 win at UTSA ... CSUB nearly swept in Texas battling from 11 down to force overtime at UT Arlington before losing by four ... Issiah Grayson led the Roadrunners this week, scoring 31 points in the win at UTSA and 11 more at UT Arlington ... four CSUB Roadrunners set new career-highs in scoring this week including Issiah Grayson (31), Tyrell Corbin (15), Aly Ahmed (14) and Erik Kinney (20) ... CSUB was also a perfect 20-20 from the free throw line for the first time since the 2006 season and the first time at the Division I level ... Bakersfield travels to play Idaho State on Saturday.
Chicago State Cougars (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went a perfect 1-0 last week with an 81-64 win at home against SIUE ... with the win, Chicago State stays a perfect 5-0 at home this season ... CSU shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the floor as the Cougars defeated their second Ohio Valley Conference opponent of the season ... 50 of Chicago State’s 81 points against SIUE came inside the paint ... senior Eddie Denard came alive in the second half as he recorded 12 points and eight rebounds in the final frame to finish with his first double-double at CSU of 18 points and 10 rebounds ... junior Clarke Rosenberg was the high scorer for the Cougars, totaling 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting ... Monday’s victory came 24 hours after a heartbreaking overtime loss to DePaul on Sunday ... Chicago State returns to action on Monday, Dec. 23 at Cincinnati ... the game will air live online on ESPN3.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon dropped a heart-breaking 66-65 decision at Tulsa this past week ... Demetrius Walker scored all of his 20 points in the second half and keyed a GCU run that gave them their largest lead of the game at 51-42 with 9:52 remaining ... he Antelopes held a 58-56 lead with 3:27 left, heading into the final media timeout and setting up a frenetic finish ... Killian Larson, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year, sank a pair of free throws and the ‘Lopes were once again up four, 64-60 ... with GCU up 64-63, Tulsa’s Lew Evans drew a foul and sank both free throws to put the Golden Hurricane in front by two with 26 seconds left ... Walker then made one of two free throws to tie the game with 11 seconds left ... Evans was fouled on a drive to the basket and made the second of two free throws to take the 66-65 win ... GCU plays at New Mexico on Monday night.
Idaho Vandals (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 last week ... the Vandals defeated Idaho State 69-65 on a neutral floor in Boise before taking a 79-69 loss at Cal State Northridge ... Idaho wrapped up its stretch of nine out of 10 games away from Moscow at CSUN to go 4-6 in that stretch ... Stephen Madison moved into 10th place on Idaho’s all-time scoring list and a tie for ninth place on Idaho’s all-time 3-pointers made list during the week ... the Vandals shot a season-best 54.8 percent in their neutral-site win over Idaho State on Dec. 20, it was the second game in a row Idaho shot a season best from the field ... Connor Hill’s two made 3-pointers against Northridge give him 165 for his career, just one shy of a second-place tie and three shy of the Idaho all-time record, held by Orland Lightfoot since 1994 ... Idaho hosts Montana on Saturday in Moscow.
Kansas City Kangaroos (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-1 last week ... the Kangaroos defeated Miami (Ohio) 69-55 at home on Wednesday ... UMKC then dropped a 61-49 decision at Wright State on Saturday ... in the win over Miami (Ohio), Kansas City overcame an early 10-point deficit and turned that into a 26-point second half lead ... Martez Harrison led the ‘Roos with 10 points in the win ... in the loss at Wright State, Frank Williams, Trinity Hall, Harrison and Fred Chatmon led the team in scoring with eight points each ... UMKC and Wright State combined for 20 turnovers in the contest ... UMKC shot 40.7 percent, while Wright State hit 52.4 percent ... Kansas City hosts South Dakota State on Saturday ... the game will be broadcast live on KSMO-TV locally and will also be streamed live on ESPN3.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-5, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went a perfect 2-0 last week ... the Aggies picked up a 67-61 victory over in-state rival New Mexico on the road in Albuquerque ... the team then returned home to defeat Northern New Mexico 97-47 ... junior guard K.C. Ross-Miller shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, showing his composure in front of 15,411 loud Lobo fans, and senior forward Renaldo Dixon came up with a huge block on UNM star Kendal Williams with just :11 seconds remaining on the clock to help the team to victory ... six of Ross-Miller’s free throws were made at or under the :30 second mark in the second half ... junior guard Daniel Mullings posted 14 points while going 5-of-6 from the free throw line and adding five assists and four steals ... in the win over Northern New Mexico, Kevin Aronis and Matej Buovac each led the team in scoring with 18 points apiece ... NM State hosts South Alabama on Saturday.
Seattle U Redhawks (8-4, 0-0 WAC)
At the third annual ShoWare College Classic in Kent, Wash., last Thursday, the Redhawks held Norfolk State scoreless over the final three minutes of the game, erasing a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat the Spartans, 70-67 ... Isiah Umipig and Deshaun Sunderhaus each scored 18 points to lead the Redhawks, with Clarence Trent scoring 17 points ... D’Vonne Pickett Jr. scored the go-ahead basket with 20 seconds remaining in regulation, and Sunderhaus picked up a key blocked shot on Norfolk State’s final offensive possession to seal the victory ... Sunday, Umipig scored a career-high 35 points, but 24 Redhawk turnovers led to 29 Nebraska Omaha points as the Mavericks held on for a 76-69 victory ... that loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Redhawks, their longest since winning 10 in 8-09 ... Seattle U hosts UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 30 at KeyArena.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (4-9, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 0-1 last week with an 82-56 loss at SMU ... Javorn Farrell tied a season-high with 23 points to lead all scorers in the loss at SMU ... Farrell, who also grabbed nine rebounds, was one of two Broncs to finish in double figures as Shaquille Boga scored 12 points and dished out four assists ... freshman Alex Majewski added eight points ... Boga gave the Broncs an early 5-2 lead with a three-pointer at the 18:07 mark in the first half ... late in the first half Farrell knocked down a jumper to make it 32-24 Mustangs ... in the second half, the Broncs cut the Mustangs’ lead to 43-38 after a pair of free throws from Farrell. Keith Frazier added to the SMU lead with a layup making it 57-43 as the Mustangs put the game out of reach taking the 82-56 victory ... the Broncs are back in action on December 29 when they host Duquesne University at the UTPA Fieldhouse at 2 p.m.
Utah Valley Wolverines (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley wraps up its pre-Christmas schedule on Monday night against Summit League favorite North Dakota State on Monday night ... the Wolverines host Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Dec. 28 in their final non-conference game ... the contest versus Tennessee Tech is a rematch of a Nov. 30 contest in Cookeville, Tenn., a 74-71 loss for UVU ... UVU wrapped up finals week with a 103-64 win over Haskell on Dec. 20 ... six players reached double figures vs. Haskell in UVU’s highest offensive output since the 2011 season ... Hayes Garrity joined all five starters with double digits, adding 19 points off the bench. Zach Nelson finished with 16, Keawe Enos scored 14 and Mitch Bruneel finished with 12 points and nine rebounds ... Holton Hunsaker scored 11 points and dished out a season-high eight assists.
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. 16-22.
Umipig, a junior guard from Federal Way, Wash. (Cal State Fullerton), helped Seattle U pull off one comeback victory and nearly led the Redhawks on another comeback over the past week. Umipig tied for the team lead with 18 points as Seattle U rallied for a 70-67 win over Norfolk State. His three-pointer with 1:13 remaining in regulation closed the Redhawk deficit to one at 67-66, and then he secured the win by making two free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the game.
At Nebraska-Omaha, Umipig scored a career-high 35 points in a 76-69 loss. He caught fire in the second half against the Mavericks, scoring 25 points and dishing out four assists after halftime. He hit three shots from beyond the arc over a five-minute span midway through the second half to give the Redhawks a 42-40 lead. Late in the game, he contributed eight points during a 14-3 Seattle U run that closed the Redhawks’ deficit from 13 points to two points.
For the week, Umipig averaged 26.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from the three-point line, and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield senior guard Issiah Grayson scored a career-high 31 points in a win at UTSA … Chicago State junior guard Clarke Rosenberg scored 20 points in a win over SIUE … Grand Canyon junior forward Daniel Alexander scored 15 points at Tulsa … Idaho senior forward Stephen Madison averaged 17.0 points over two games … New Mexico State sophomore center Sim Bhullar tallied 10 blocks over two wins … Texas-Pan American senior guard Javorn Farrell scored 23 points at SMU.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKS 16TH IN MID-MAJOR POLL, SEATTLE U AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies moved up three spots to No. 16 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 285 points and are sandwiched between Missouri State at No. 15 and North Dakota State at No. 17. Seattle U is receiving 13 votes in this week’s poll.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS THE NATION AT FREE THROW LINE, BHULLAR FOURTH IN BLOCKS
New Mexico State ranks first in the nation with 444 free throw attempts this season. The Aggies also rank first in the nation with 309 made free throws. NM State is shooting 69.6 percent from the free throw line. New Mexico State also ranks second nationally with 90 team blocks. Individually, NM State’s Sim Bhullar holds the highest individual national ranking in the WAC as he ranks fourth nationally with 52 blocks.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 33-9 record in games played at home this season, an 78.6 winning percentage at home. Four of the WAC’s nine teams are undefeated at home this season. Seattle U is a perfect 6-0 in its friendly confines, while Chicago State and Utah Valley are each a perfect 5-0. Grand Canyon is 3-0, while New Mexico State (5-1), Bakersfield (4-1) and Idaho (2-1) each only have one loss at home this season.
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®.