WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (7-7, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield enters conference play having won two of their last three games on the road and completing a month-long road trip in the process with its 61-57 win at Idaho State last week ... Bakersfield enjoyed a balanced attack Saturday night with Javonte Maynor leading the team with 17 points while Brandon Barnes added 12; two other okeyers Aly Ahmed and Issiah Grayson each added eight points for the ‘Runners in the win ... Bakersfield shot over 56 percent in the second half and were 5-for-8 from three-point range while also converting 10-of-21 from beyond the arc in the game ... Zach Lamb also returned from injury that kept him out of most of the last five games to score five points and dish out two assists while dealing with Idaho State’s pressure zone defense ... Bakersfield hosts Utah Valley Saturday in its first-ever WAC league game.
Chicago State Cougars (5-8, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 0-2 on the road last week ... the Cougars dropped a 102-62 decision at Cincinnati before falling 90-58 at Creighton ... senior Quinton Pippen scored 20 points at Cincinnati ... Pippen finished with five 3-pointers and his effort moved him into ninth all-time in career 3-pointers at Chicago State with 95 ... Pippen also added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal to his stat line ... junior Clarke Rosenberg added 17 points for the Cougars ... at Creighton, Rosenberg finished with a Chicago State-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting ... Pippen added 13 points and four assists ... senior Matt Ross scored 11 points ... Pippen passed 500 career points in the game ... ge now owns 507 points as a Chicago State Cougar.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (5-8, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon went 0-3 in its final three non-league games ... the ‘Lopes wrap up non-conference play with a 5-8 record ... GCU dropped an 80-68 decision at New Mexico ... the team then dropped a 69-64 decision at Tennessee Chattanooga before falling 79-56 to Middle Tennessee State ... at the Pit in New Mexico, Daniel Alexander led GCU with a career best 18 points ... in the loss at Chattanooga, Killian Larson collect his ninth double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds ... Daniel Alexander also picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... against Middle Tennessee State, the ‘Lopes were led by Killian Larson’s 10th double-double of the season as he led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds ... Grand Canyon plays its first-ever WAC league game on Thursday night when the team hosts Texas-Pan American.
Idaho Vandals (6-8, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho did nearly everything right against Montana on Saturday afternoon, but a poor performance at the free throw line cost Idaho the victory, falling 72-71 to the Grizzlies in the teams lone game of the week ... the Vandals led by as many as 15 points just before halftime and took a 12-point, 35-23, lead into the break ... after a Montana run to take the lead, Idaho pulled back ahead by as many as six points with 1:22 to play, but the Vandals missed three free throws in the final 82 seconds, allowing Montana to hang around ... with four seconds to play, the Vandals led by one point at 71-70, but a costly turnover on an attempted inbounds play followed by a foul gave Montana’s Kareem Jamar two free throws and chance at Montana’s first lead of the game ... Jamar sunk both shots and a deep 3-pointer from Idaho’s Mike Scott at the buzzer didn’t fall, giving the Griz the 72-71 win.
Kansas City Kangaroos (3-9, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City had the ball with nine seconds left and were down one point to South Dakota State on Saturday night, but it failed to convert and couldn’t overcome costly mistakes, falling 65-60 in the team only contest of the week ... Nelson Kirksey finished with 16 points to pace the ‘Roos, while Hall was the only other in double figures. Harrison and Frank Williams each tallied nine points ... UMKC played without senior Fred Chatmon as well in the contest ... the ‘Roos begin WAC play on Thursday with a trip to Idaho, followed by a contest at Seattle on Saturday.
New Mexico State Aggies (11-5, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State extended its winning streak to four games with an 82-64 win over South Alabama last week ... four Aggies were in double digits, as Daniel Mullings led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting ... D.K. Eldridge had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while K.C. Ross-Miller also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists ... Tshilidzi Nephawe added 12 points for NM State ... Sim Bhullar extended his streak of 20 straight games with at least one block, recording one swat to go along with his nine points and four boards ... Mullings also surpassed former Aggie great Randy Brown on the career steals list, recording two on the evening ... NM State opens the 2014 WAC season taking on Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz., Saturday, Jan. 4.
Seattle U Redhawks (8-5, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U endured a rough shooting night, and UC Santa Barbara took advantage both from the field and at the free throw line as the Gauchos defeated the Redhawks, 86-70, Monday night at KeyArena at Seattle Center in Seattle U’s final non-conference game of the season ... Isiah Umipig led the Redhawks with 24 points, while Emerson Murray collected a season-high 20 points as each player made five three-pointers during the night ... however, Seattle U shot just 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field, including 13-of-37 from behind the three-point line, and 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the free throw line ... Seattle University opens WAC play this Saturday, Jan. 4, against the Kansas City Kangaroos starting at 7 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (4-10, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American dropped an 88-69 decision at home to Duquesne last week ... Shaquille Hines scored a career-high 27 points while hitting a career-best 12 field goals in a career-high 22 attempts ... he notched his first-career multi-three-pointer day with a career-high three in a career-high six attempts ... he also had four rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist ... the 27 points are the most by a Bronc in a single game this season ... the 12 baskets are the most by any WAC player in a single game this season while the 22 attempts are the second most ... it was the 10th time in 14 games he reached double-figures in scoring and the second time he led the Broncs in scoring ... The Broncs open up their first season in the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday at 8 p.m. when they visit Grand Canyon University.
Utah Valley Wolverines (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley went 1-1 last week, coming up just short against Summit League favorite North Dakota State on Monday, 74-70, before defeating Tennessee Tech on Saturday, 75-66 … Holton Hunsaker led the way in both games, scoring 22 points in each contest … in the win over TTU, Hunsaker moved into third on the all-time scoring list at UVU, passing Orlando Magic guard Ronnie Price … Hunsaker now trails only Ryan Toolson and current teammate Ben Aird … he currently leads UVU in scoring with 12.0 ppg with Hayes Garrity coming off the bench to score 12.0 points … freshman Zach Nelson is averaging 11.1 points ... Utah Valley opens its first-ever WAC season on Saturday at Bakersfield.
WAC NOTES
IDAHO’S MADISON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Idaho’s Stephen Madison has been named Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 23-29.
Madison, a senior forward from Portland, Ore. (Jefferson HS), scored a career-high 35 points and added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season in Idaho’s narrow 72-71 loss to Montana. Madison connected on 11-of-15 shots from the field, shooting 73.3 percent in the game. He was also impressive at the charity stripe, knocking down 12-of-18 free throws. Three of his 10 rebounds were on the offensive end. The senior also had two assists in the game. Madison now has 1,184 points in his career, just 11 shy of moving into ninth place on Idaho’s career scoring list.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield junior guard Javonte Maynor scored 17 points in a win at Idaho State … Grand Canyon senior center Killian Larson recorded his ninth double-double of the season … Kansas City senior forward Nelson Kirksey scored 16 points against South Dakota State … New Mexico State junior guard Daniel Mullings scored 18 points in a win over South Alabama … Texas-Pan American sophomore forward Shaquille Hines scored 27 points against Duquesne … Utah Valley senior guard Holton Hunsaker averaged 22 points over two games.
WAC TEAMS HEAD INTO CONFERENCE PLAY THIS WEEK
With the majority of non-conference action all wrapped up, WAC teams head into conference play this week. Six of the WAC’s nine teams will play their first-ever WAC league games this week. New Mexico State finished non-league play at the top of the WAC’s non-conference standings with an 11-5 record, followed by Seattle U at 8-5. WAC play begins Thursday night with Idaho hosting Kansas City and Grand Canyon welcoming Texas-Pan American.
NEW MEXICO STATE MOVES UP FOUR SPOTS TO NO. 12 IN MID-MAJOR POLL, SEATTLE U AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies moved up four spots to No. 12 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 417 points and are sandwiched between North Dakota State at No. 11 and Drexel at No. 13. Seattle U is receiving nine 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 464 free throw attempts this season. The Aggies also rank first in the nation with 322 made free throws. NM State is shooting 69.4 percent from the free throw line. New Mexico State also ranks fourth nationally with 94 team blocks. Individually, NM State’s Sim Bhullar holds the highest individual national ranking in the WAC as he ranks third nationally with 53 blocks.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 35-14 record in non-conference games played at home this season, an 78.6 winning percentage at home. Two of the WAC’s nine teams are undefeated at home this season. Chicago State is a perfect 5-0 in its friendly confines, while Grand Canyon is a perfect 3-0. New Mexico State, Seattle U and Utah Valley each hold 6-1 marks at home, while Bakersfield is an impressive 4-1. The road has not been so nice to the WAC as the league’s teams hold a 13-47 non-league mark away from 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®.