Complete Release in PDF
UTRGV'S DIXON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley senior guard Nick Dixon has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 4-10. This is his first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of his career.
The Hillside, Ill., native averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game as the Vaqueros went 2-0 on the week to extend their winning streak to three. Dixon shot 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 72 percent from the free throw line on the week. He opened the week with a team-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Dixon also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. On Saturday against UC Irvine, the Vaqueros trailed by as many as 17 points and Dixon went on a personal 9-0 run at one point, scoring a game-high 23 points. He also added five rebounds, four assists and a career-high-tying four steals. UTRGV is riding a three-game winning streak in non-conference play for the first time since joining a Division I conference in 2009. Dixon currently leads the WAC in scoring (21.6), ranks fourth in steals (1.2), fifth in free throw percentage (83.2), sixth in three-point percentage (39.2) and ninth in field goal percentage (50.0).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Brent Wrapp averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals and had a 8.0 assist-turnover ratio last week ... Glen Burns of Chicago State finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Oakland ... Kansas City's Xavier Bishop averaged 15.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals in a pair of games last week ... Jemerrio Jones of NM State averaged 11.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang averaged 20.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks as the Wolverines went 1-1 last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Grand Canyon leads the WAC in scoring defense (59.0), scoring margin (13.5), field goal percentage defense (38.1), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.4), blocks (4.3), assists (16.5), turnover margin (3.3) and assist-turnover ratio (1.1), while NM State is tops in rebounding (41.6), rebounding defense (30.4), rebounding margin (11.1), offensive rebounds (13.3) and defensive rebounds (28.2). Seattle U leads the league in scoring (80.4), free throw percentage (80.5), three-point field goal percentage (36.6) and three-pointers per game (9.5), while UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in steals (8.1) and Utah Valley leads the WAC in field goal percentage (48.7).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (21.6), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (11.6), offensive rebounds (4.2) and defensive rebounds (7.3). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (77.2), while teammate Jarkel Joiner leads the league in free throw shooting (94.1). CSUB's Brent Wrapp is tops in assists (5.3) and assist-turnover ratio (3.0), while Grand Canyon's Oscar Frayer leads the league in steals (1.9). Chicago State's Montana Byrd leads the WAC in three-point percentage (48.5), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in three-pointers per game (3.0). Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.9) and teammate Brandon Randolph is tops in minutes per game (34.4).
NM STATE COMPLETES SWEEP OF BOTH RIVALS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2003
With a win at New Mexico last Saturday, NM State secured a sweep of both UNM and UTEP for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The win in Albuquerque was the first road win for NM State there since 2013.
CSUB'S WRAPP BECOMES SECOND RUNNER WITH 500 POINTS AND 400 ASSISTS
CSU Bakersfield senior point guard Brent Wrapp scored his 500th career point in the team's win over Life Pacific on Dec. 8 to become just the second ‘Runner in CSUB history to record 500 points and 400 assists in a career. Wrapp is now ranked fourth among NCAA Division I active careers with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.63. He also ranks 14th with 436 assists, 42 shy of the WAC all-time Top 20.
GCU'S VERNON PERFECT FROM FIELD AGAINST GRAMBLING
Grand Canyon senior Keonta Vernon went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field to finish with 19 points vs. Grambling State on Dec. 9. He became the first GCU player to be perfect on eight or more attempts in the Division I era and the fourth all-time.