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DENVER - NM State junior guard Ian Baker has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 18-24. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Washington, D.C., native averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as the Aggies picked up a pair of road wins, including a double overtime victory at CSU Bakersfield, a team that was previously unbeaten in WAC play and hadn't lost at home since Feb. 7, 2015. Baker opened the week with 15 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line, to go with two rebounds and two assists in a win at Seattle U. On Saturday, he grabbed his career-high 10th rebound with less than seven seconds left in the second overtime, brought it up the floor and buried a 28-foot three-pointer as the horn sounded to give the Aggies a 68-67 victory before a sold out crowd at the Icardo Center. Baker posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 boards to go along with six assists in the victory. The WAC leader and 32nd-best free throw shooter in the nation at 87.1 percent (61-of-70), Baker was 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in the week. He has made 13 straight free throws and 24 of his last 25 attempts at the line.
Other nominees included: Aly Ahmed of CSU Bakersfield averaged 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds as the Roadrunners went 1-1 on the week ... Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer averaged 13.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks over three games last week ... Joshua Braun of Grand Canyon averaged 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal as the Lopes extended their winning streak to 11 games ... Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week ... Dakota Slaughter of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal over two games last week ... Utah Valley's Konner Frey averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists to lead the Wolverines to their first conference road sweep since 2014.