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UMKC'S STEWARD NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UMKC senior forward Kyle Steward has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of his career.
The Detroit native averaged 20.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from three-point range and 81.8 percent from the free throw line in leading UMKC to a pair of victories last week. Steward opened the week with 20 points, five rebounds and one block in a win over Ottawa. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and drained a career-best five three-pointers. At UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday, he led a furious comeback from down 16 points, recording his first double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds along with a career-best four assists. In the second half alone as the Roos outscored UTRGV 42-18, Steward scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists. He entered the week averaging 9.2 points on 39.2 percent shooting and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Brent Wrapp finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a win at Grand Canyon ... Clemmye Owens V of Chicago State finished with a WAC-best 23 points to go with two assists and one rebound in a loss at NM State ... Grand Canyon's Joshua Braun averaged 16.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range to go with 7.5 rebounds as the Lopes went 1-1 on the week ... Jermaine Haley of NM State averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds as the Aggies extended their win streak to 20 games ... Seattle U's William Powell finished with 13 points, five rebounds and one block in a win over Utah Valley ... Lew Stallworth of UT Rio Grande Valley finished with 16 points, six rebounds, one assist and one block in a loss to UMKC ... Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in a loss at Seattle U.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in scoring margin (13.4), field goal percentage (47.3), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.7), rebounding (39.8), rebounding defense (32.5), rebounding margin (7.2) and blocks (4.08), while CSU Bakersfield is tops in scoring defense (64.1), field goal percentage defense (38.9), steals (8.23) and offensive rebounds (13.27). UT Rio Grande Valley leads the league in scoring (79.6), free throw percentage (71.6) and three-pointers per game (9.12), while Seattle U is tops in assists (16.32) and assist-turnover ratio (1.12). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in turnover margin (1.92), UMKC is tops in three-point field goal percentage (36.7) and Utah Valley leads the league in defensive rebounds (29.86).
Individually, Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in scoring (22.5), assists (5.05) and minutes per game (38.48), while Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer is tops in rebounding (9.7) and defensive rebounds (6.6). NM State's Eli Chuha leads the league in field goal percentage (60.7) and offensive rebounds (3.83), while teammate Braxton Huggins is tops in three-point percentage (44.6). Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf leads the WAC in free throw percentage (86.7), while UT Rio Grande Valley's Nick Dixon leads the league in steals (1.96) and teammate Antonio Green is tops in three-pointers per game (4.0). Utah Valley's Isaac Neilson leads the WAC in blocked shots (1.91) and CSU Bakersfield's Brent Wrapp is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.88).
In WAC games only, NM State leads the WAC in scoring (78.0), scoring defense (62.5), scoring margin (15.5), three-point field goal percentage defense (25.2), rebounding (41.9), rebounding defense (29.8), rebounding margin (12.1), assists (17.0), assist-turnover ratio (1.26) and offensive rebounds (13.5), while UTRGV is tops in free throw percentage (75.1), steals (8.38) and turnover margin (2.5). CSU Bakersfield leads the WAC in field goal percentage (47.0) and three-point field goal percentage (36.2), while Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and three-pointers per game (8.71), and Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (4.43) and defensive rebounds (28.57).
Individually in WAC games, Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (22.0) and steals (2.25), while Chuha is tops in rebounding (10.6), field goal percentage (65.7) and offensive rebounds (4.63). Russell leads the WAC in assists (6.57) and minutes per game (40.57), while Chicago State's Fred Sims Jr. is tops in free throw percentage (85.3). CSUB's Dedrick Basile leads the league in three-point percentage (54.2), while Green is tops in three-pointers per game (3.13). Neilson leads the league in blocks (2.29), Wrapp is tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.75) and Palmer leads the WAC in defensive rebounds (7.63).
NM STATE'S 20-GAME WIN STREAK SECOND-LONGEST IN PROGRAM HISTORY
With a pair of victories last week, NM State extended its winning streak to 20 games, the second-longest win streak in program history behind the 1937-38 team that posted a 21-game winning streak and finished the season 22-3. The Aggies' current streak trails only that of No. 1 Gonzaga (22).
UTRGV ONE OF FIVE TEAMS WITH TWO PLAYERS AVERAGING 17 POINTS
UTRGV is one of just five teams in the nation to have two players averaging at least 17.0 points per game in junior Nick Dixon (18.5) and sophomore Antonio Green (17.7). They are averaging a combined 18.1 points per game, the fifth-highest among the duos, but rank first in total points (906). Dixon and Green represent one of just two guard duos on the list, and one of two with an underclassman on the list.
CHICAGO STATE HAS USED 14 DIFFERENT STARTING LINEUPS
Through 25 games played this season, Chicago State has utilized 14 different starting lineups. That ranks the Cougars second among Division I schools behind Evansville (15).
UMKC MATCHES LAST SEASON'S WIN TOTALS
After a pair of wins last week, UMKC is 12-13 overall and 4-4 in WAC play UMKC and has already tied its overall and conference win totals from a year ago. On Feb. 4, the Roos erased a 16-point deficit at UTRGV, outscoring the Vaqueros 42-18 in the second half to earn a 73-60 comeback victory.
SEATTLE U'S MOORE HAS CAREER NIGHT AGAINST UTRGV
Seattle U sophomore Zack Moore nearly doubled his previous career high in scoring on Jan. 28 when he poured in 33 points in a win over UT Rio Grande Valley. Moore shot 11-of-14 from the field (78.6), 8-of-10 from three-point range (80.0) and 3-of-4 (75.0) from the charity stripe. The eight triples ranks second all-time in program history. As a team, the Redhawks shot season highs of 62.5 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from downtown with a season-high 14 three-pointers made. Three players hit career scoring marks in the game, as joining Moore were Brendan Westendorf (29) and William Powell (22).
NMSU'S WEIR BOASTS BEST RECORD OF FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES
NM State head coach Paul Weir currently has a 22-2 mark (.917), the best record of all first year head coaches in NCAA Division I. His record is also the best mark of all coaches that are in their first year coaching at their current school. Weir currently has two more wins than any coach in either category.
UTRGV'S GREEN ON PACE TO BREAK PROGRAM, WAC RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS
UT Rio Grande Valley sophomore Antonio Green currently leads the nation with 100 three-pointers made this season, which ranks fourth in the UTRGV record books, 14 shy of the all-time record, and 10th in the WAC record books, 23 away from the record. With a minimum of seven games remaining this season, at his current pace of 4.0 three-pointers per game, Green would finish the season with a UTRGV and WAC record 128 treys.
GCU'S RUSSELL EXTENDS DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING STREAK TO 26 GAMES
Grand Canyon senior guard DeWayne Russell has scored in double figures in 26 straight games, dating back to last season. He has led the Lopes in scoring in 15 of his 21 games played this season. Russell currently ranks ninth in the country in scoring (22.5) and first in minutes per game (38.48).
NM STATE BOASTS 39-GAME WAC HOME WINNING STREAK
NM State is currently riding a 39-game WAC home winning streak, the second-longest conference home win streak in the country behind Stephen F. Austin. The Aggies' last WAC home loss was a 68-60 loss to Nevada on Jan. 26, 2012. NM State has also won 23-straight home games, third-most in the NCAA behind Oregon (40) and Akron (28).