WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (11-14, 4-7 WAC)
Bakersfield posted back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season while winning two games in a row for the first time since late November, which was the tail-end of their season-high five-game winning streak ... Bakersfield also won its first WAC home game on Thursday night 76-67 over Idaho where both Brandon Barnes and Aly Ahmed scored 16 points for Bakersfield and posted double-doubles in the win ... Saturday night the Roadrunners also won their first WAC game at their alternate home site Rabobank Arena, beating Seattle 83-65 ... it was Bakersfield’s most lopsided win thus far in conference play ... five players scored in double figures while the Roadrunners also shot over 55 percent in the second half of both games over the weekend ... Bakersfield travels to play Kansas City and Chicago State this week.
Chicago State Cougars (10-14, 5-5 WAC)
Chicago State went 0-2 last week ... the Cougars dropped a 71-68 decision at Texas-Pan American in overtime before falling 84-55 at New Mexico State ... in the overtime loss at UTPA, Quinton Pippen’s 3-point attempt from the top of the arc at the buzzer of overtime was off the mark, which would have tied the game ... Pippen finished with 19 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals ...he was 4-of-15 from beyond the arc ... Rahjan Muhammad contributed 15 points ... Nate Duhon totaled 10 points ... at New Mexico State, Clarke Rosenberg scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting ... Matt Ross added 13 points ... the Cougars return to the court on Thursday (Feb. 20) against Utah Valley in a WAC contest at the Jones Convocation Center.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (12-11, 7-3 WAC)
Grand Canyon had last week off ... the ‘Lopes return to action on Thursday at Seattle U ... the team will also take on Idaho on Saturday in Moscow.
Idaho Vandals (10-16, 4-8 WAC)
Idaho dropped a pair of road games last week ... the Vandals dropped a 76-67 decision at Bakersfield before dropping a heart-breaking one-point decision, 89-88, at Utah Valley ... at Bakersfield, three Vandal players scored in double figures ... Stephen Madison led the effort with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and added four rebounds and two assists ... Connor Hill added 12 points on 2-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, and Sekou Wiggs chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench ... in the loss at UVU, Madison scored a career-high 42 points ... he went 16-for-21 from the field, tying for second in Idaho history for field goals made in a game, and third for points in a game ... he surpassed the 1,400 career-point plateau in the game and moved into fourth on Idaho’s career scoring list, passing former teammate Kyle Barone.
Kansas City Kangaroos (7-17, 4-7 WAC)
Kansas City went 0-2 on the road last week ... the ‘Roos dropped a 71-48 decision at New Mexico State before falling 68-59 at Texas-Pan American ... in the loss at NM State, Martez Harrison led the ‘Roos with a team-high 13 points ... Nelson Kirksey helped with 12 ... Fred Chatmon pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds ... in the loss at Texas-Pan American, Trinity Hall led the way with 12 points for Kansas City, while Chatmon recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards ... Harrison added 10 points as well ... the ‘Roos will look to end the season long five-game skid on Thursday when it hosts Bakersfield at home. UMKC will play four of its final five regular season games at home.
New Mexico State Aggies (20-8, 9-3 WAC)
New Mexico State went 2-0 at home last week to improve to an impressive 13-1 at the Pan Am center this season ... the Aggies defeated Kansas City 71-48 before taking down Chicago State 84-55 ... in the win over UMKC, Tshilidzi Nephawe marked his team-leading seventh double-double of the season, leading NM State in both points and rebounding ... Nephawe finished with 15 points and 13 boards while adding four blocked shots ... Renaldo Dixon, meanwhile, also finished with a double-double, his first of the season with 11 points and 10 boards ... versus Chicago State, Dixon led the Aggies with 20 points, while also leading the team in rebounds with nine ... DK Eldridge added 17 points, followed by Daniel Mullings with 15 ... The Aggies will be back in action on February 20 as they travel to Edinburg, Texas to face Texas-Pan American.
Seattle U Redhawks (12-12, 4-7 WAC)
Seattle U split its road trip over the weekend, defeating WAC leader Utah Valley, 71-57, before losing to Bakersfield, 83-65 ... against Utah Valley, Seattle U controlled the boards with a 42-25 rebounding advantage, including 11 offensive boards that led to 15 second chance points ... Isiah Umipig led Seattle U with 32 points, 27 of them scored in the second half ... also, the Redhawk bench outscored the Wolverine reserves, 26-8, led by Shore Adenekan with eight points and nine rebounds ... Seattle U held Utah Valley without a field goal over the final four minutes of the game ... Saturday, it was the Redhawks who struggled offensively, and Bakersfield took advantage to complete the season sweep ... Umipig again led Seattle U with 12 points, with Emerson Murray scoring 10 points in the game ... the Redhawks open a three-game homestand this Thursday, Feb. 20, against Grand Canyon at KeyArena.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (8-19, 4-8 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went a perfect 2-0 at home last week with wins over Chicago State and Kansas City ... in a 71-68 victory over the Cougars on Thursday, four Broncs reached double-figures in scoring for the ninth time this season, led by Javorn Farrell and Shaquille Boga, who and 16 points and four assists each ... Farrell also led the Broncs with eight rebounds ... in the 68-59 win over UMKC, Javorn Farrell scored a career-high 30 points while reaching the 1,000 points plateau ... Farrell hit a career-high 13 baskets in 17 attempts, including 2-of-6 from behind the arc, plus 2-of-3 from the line, with six rebounds, four assists and two steals ... he now has 1,027 career points, 431 of which have come with UTPA after scoring 596 at UMass Amherst from 2009-10 through 2011-12 ... UTPA hosts NM State on Thursday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (15-9, 9-2 WAC)
Utah Valley split two games last week, losing for just the first time at home in WAC against Seattle U on Thursday before squeaking out an 89-88 win over Idaho ... the win over the Vandals helped the Wolverines hold onto a slim half game lead atop the WAC standings over New Mexico State ... Holton Hunsaker scored 28 against Idaho, hitting 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the 3-point line ... Zach Nelson added 21 for the Wolverines, hitting 9-of-12 from the field ... Utah Valley hits the road for the final time in the WAC regular season this week with games at Chicago State (Thursday) and Kansas City (Saturday).
WAC NOTES
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S FARRELL NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ITexas-Pan American’s Javorn Farrell has been named Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week for Feb 10-16.
Farrell, a graduate guard from Woodbridge, Va. (Baptist HS), led his team to a pair of wins over Chicago State and Kansas City. In a 71-68 victory over Chicago State, Farrell scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds with four assists and a steal. In the 68-59 win over UMKC, Farrell scored a career-high 30 points which put him over 1,000 points in his career. Farrell also tallied six rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win. He hit 13-of-17 shots against the ‘Roos, which is also a career high.
Over the two games, Farrell averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the field, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from beyond the arc and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the charity stripe.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield sophomore center Aly Ahmed averaged a double-double over two wins … Idaho senior forward Stephen Madison scored a career-high 42 points at Utah Valley … New Mexico State junior center Tshilidzi Nephawe averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of wins … Seattle U junior guard Isiah Umipig scored 32 points in a win at league-leader Utah Valley …Utah Valley senior guard Holton Hunsaker scored 28 points in a win over Idaho.
UTAH VALLEY HOLDS HALF-GAME LEAD OVER NM STATE IN WAC STANDINGS
With just three weeks remaining in WAC play, Utah Valley now holds just a half-game lead in the WAC standings. The Wolverines sit atop the league’s standings with a 9-2 mark after splitting a pair of home games last week. Five of Utah Valley’s nine wins have been on the road. New Mexico is in second place, just a half game behind the Wolverines. NM State went a perfect 2-0 last week with wins over Kansas City and Chicago State, the same two teams that NM State dropped road games to. New Mexico State and Utah Valley meet on Feb. 27 in Orem. Grand Canyon is all alone in third place with a 7-3 mark. The ‘Lopes had last week off and return to action Thursday at Seattle U.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKED NO. 11 IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL, UTAH VALLEY AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
After sweeping a pair of home games last week, New Mexico State jumps up two spots to No. 11 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 423 points and are sandwiched between Delaware at No. 10 and Georgia State at No. 12. Utah Valley is receiving one point in the poll.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 35-15 record in non-conference games played at home this season, an 70.0 winning percentage at home. Grand Canyon went undefeated at home this season in non-league play with a 3-0 mark. Chicago State went 5-1 in its friendly confines. New Mexico State, Seattle U and Utah Valley each went 6-1 at home, while Bakersfield was impressive at 4-1. The road was not so nice to the WAC as the league’s teams hold a 13-47 non-league mark away from home.