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DENVER - Utah Valley redshirt junior forward Isaac Neilson has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 21-27. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Mission Viejo, Calif., native averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last week and led Utah Valley to a 2-0 record with a come-from-behind road win at Denver and the team's first-ever win over Brigham Young. Neilson shot a blistering 80.0 percent (12-of-15) from the field, went a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and knocked down 5-of-7 free throws (71.4 percent). He opened the week by pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds, scoring five points and blocking two shots to help UVU erase a 27-point deficit, the largest in school history, to defeat Denver 88-85 in the Mile High City last Wednesday. In a historic 114-101 win at BYU, Neilson scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked two shots, dished out one assist and nabbed one steal against his former team as the Wolverines scored the most points ever at the Marriott Center (114).
Other nominees included: Jaylin Airington of CSU Bakersfield averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Roadrunners went 2-2 last week ... Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer averaged 24.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals as the Cougars went 1-1 last week ... DeWayne Russell of Grand Canyon finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal in a rout of Coppin State ... UMKC's LaVell Boyd averaged 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as the Roos went 1-1 on the week ... Jemerrio Jones of NM State averaged 19.0 points on 68 percent shooting, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week ... Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals as the Redhawks went 0-2 on the week ... Lew Stallworth of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 17.7 points, 6.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game as the Vaqueros went 2-1 last week.