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DENVER - Grand Canyon sophomore guard Joshua Braun has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 4-10. This is his first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of his career.
The Anthem, Ariz., native averaged 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds as he led the Antelopes to a 2-0 record on the week and extended their win streak to eight games, their largest winning streak since transitioning to Division I. Braun shot 50 percent from the field and 82.4 percent from the free throw line on the week. In the WAC opener against UT Rio Grande Valley, he hit a career-best six three-pointers on 12 attempts, scoring 20 points to go with four rebounds. In Grand Canyon's first-ever win over defending WAC champion NM State on Saturday night, Braun scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 12 seconds to seal the victory for the Lopes. Braun currently leads the WAC in free throw percentage (86.4) and three-point field goal percentage (46.5) and ranks second in scoring (15.9). He was also named to the mid-season watch list for the Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball.
Other nominees included: Aly Ahmed of CSU Bakersfield finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in a road win at Missouri-Kansas City ... Missouri-Kansas City's Martez Harrison averaged 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals as the ‘Roos went 1-1 last week ... Pascal Siakam of NM State averaged 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocks as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week ... Dan Kimasa of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over two games last week ... Utah Valley's Jaden Jackson averaged 22.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists and set the school record with nine three-pointers in a win over UTRGV last week.