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NM STATE'S LOFTON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State graduate student guard Zach Lofton has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 11-17. This is his second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and of his career.
The St. Paul, Minn., native averaged 26.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal while shooting on 58.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in a pair of wins last week. In the Aggies' final home game of the 2017 calendar year, Lofton finished with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting while knocking down 4-of-8 from three-point range. On Saturday, he led the Aggies to their first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2004 at the United Center with a 74-69 victory over Illinois. The grad transfer orchestrated the comeback in the second half after the Illini roared back to erase the NM State 12-point halftime lead, scoring the go-ahead bucket for the Aggies. Lofton finished with 23 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win. He currently ranks second in the WAC in scoring (19.5), seventh in three-pointers per game (2.1), eighth in field goal percentage (53.1), and ninth in both three-point percentage (38.3) and minutes per game (30.1).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Rickey Holden finished with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals in a win over Georgia Southern ... Keonta Vernon of Grand Canyon averaged 12.0 points and 8.5 rebounds as the Lopes went 1-1 on the week ... Kansas City's Xavier Bishop finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in a loss to UIW ... Jordan Hill of Seattle U averaged 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals as the Redhawks went 2-0 on the week ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Greg Bowie finished with 17 points on 66.7 percent shooting and four assists in a loss to UT Arlington ... Zach Nelson of Utah Valley averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists as the Wolverines went 1-1 last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Grand Canyon leads the WAC in scoring defense (61.6), scoring margin (10.8), field goal percentage defense (39.9), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.1), assists (16.4), turnover margin (3.7) and assist-turnover ratio (1.1), while Seattle U is tops in scoring (81.6), free throw percentage (80.1), field goal percentage (48.8), three-point field goal percentage (38.2), rebounding defense (30.5) and three-pointers per game (9.8). Utah Valley leads the league in rebounding (41.6), rebounding margin (10.3), blocks (4.4), offensive rebounds (12.6) and defensive rebounds (29.0), while UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in steals (7.8).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (21.1), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (11.6), offensive rebounds (4.1) and defensive rebounds (7.5). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (76.6), 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 (2.9), while Kansas City's Broderick Robinson leads the league in steals (1.7). Chicago State's Montana Byrd leads the WAC in three-point percentage (48.8), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in three-pointers per game (3.0) and minutes per game (33.7). Meanwhile, Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.8).
NM STATE'S JONES POSTS FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN WAC SINCE 2012
With 4:58 left to play on Dec. 12 against Eastern New Mexico, Jemerrio Jones darted a pass to a leaping Johnny McCants for his 10th assist of the game to post a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the first triple-double in the WAC since Feb. 23, 2012, when former Aggie All-American Daniel Mullings did so against Hawai‘i. It was just the 16th triple-double in WAC history and the eighth by a Division I player this season.
GRAND CANYON HAS GIVEN UP FEWEST THREE-POINTERS IN NATION
As a team, Grand Canyon has given up just 40 three-pointers this season, the fewest of any team in the country. The Lopes also fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing just 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
SEATTLE U ONLY UNBEATEN TEAM AT HOME IN WAC
Seattle U is 7-0 at home this season, the only remaining unbeaten team at home in the WAC. This is the Redhawks' longest home win streak since the 2014-15 season when the team won six straight. Seattle U's longest home win streak during its modern-day Division I era is a 13-game stretch that included a perfect 10-0 mark at home during the 2008-09 season that continued into the first three games of the of the 2009-10 season.
UTAH VALLEY BREAKS SEVERAL PROGRAM RECORDS AGAINST BETHESDA
Utah Valley had a record-breaking game against Bethesda on Dec. 14. The Wolverines set school records for field goals made (43), assists (35) and points scored at the UCCU Center (106). The 62-point victory marked the third-largest win in school history. Individually, Zach Nelson was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 1-of-1 from the free throw line to tie Mitch Bruneel for the program field goal percentage record at 100 percent.
CSUB HOLDS GEORGIA SOUTHERN 30 POINTS UNDER AVERAGE
In a 55-53 win over Georgia Southern on Dec. 16, CSU Bakersfield limited the Eagle offense, which came into the game averaging 83 points per game, to just 53 points on 32 percent shooting from the field. The Eagles were ranked No. 15 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 and had an RPI of 35. After the win, CSUB moved up to 76 in the RPI, best in the WAC.
KANSAS CITY ONE BLOCK SHY OF PROGRAM RECORD AGAINST UIW
In UMKC's 77-73 setback at Incarnate Word on Dec. 16, the Roos blocked 10 shots, including three apiece by newcomers Marco Smith and Marvin Nesbitt Jr. It was one blocked shot shy of the program record of 11 set against Nicholls State in 1991.