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DENVER - Chicago State sophomore guard Fred Sims Jr. has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 9-15. This is his first WAC Player of the Week honor of his career.
The Chicago native averaged a WAC-best 21.5 points to go with 6.5 rebounds per game last week. Sims averaged four three-pointers per game and shot 87.5 percent at the free throw line as the Cougars went 1-1 on the week. He opened the week with his first collegiate double-double by scoring a game-high 25 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds in addition to shooting 5-of-6 from the free throw line for the Cougars, who snapped a 17-game WAC losing skid with a road win at Utah Valley. With UVU leading 38-31 in the second half, the Cougars went on a 22-2 run with Sims Jr. scoring 11 of those points to take their first lead of the game at 53-40 with 10:53 left in the game, a lead they never relinquished. In a 65-50 loss at Seattle U on Saturday, Sims Jr. led Chicago State with 18 points to go with three rebounds. He now ranks third in the WAC in both scoring (18.6) and minutes per game (32.75), fifth in three-pointers per game (2.55) and sixth in free throw percentage (78.8).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Jaylin Airington averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists as the Roadrunners went 1-1 on the week ... DeWayne Russell of Grand Canyon finished averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds, and scored his 1,000th career points as the Lopes went 1-1 on the week ... UMKC's LaVell Boyd averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals as the Roos went 1-1 last week ... Jemerrio Jones of NM State averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week ... Seattle U's Matej Kavas averaged 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week ... Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists on the week ... Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals as the Wolverines went 1-1 last week.