Complete Release in PDF
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 Jan. 8-14. This is his fourth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and of his career.
The St. Paul, Minn., native averaged 28.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals to keep NM State undefeated in league play with a pair of road wins. In the first game against a record-setting crowd at Grand Canyon, Lofton finished with 29 points on 8-of-15 shooting - including a perfect 10-of-10 performance from the free-throw line - to help NM State avenge its loss at GCU last season. He added five rebounds and two assists in the 11-point victory. Two nights later at defending WAC champion CSU Bakersfield, Lofton finished with 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, as he helped power NM State past the ‘Runners, 66-53. He had another perfect night at the charity stripe, going 8-of-8, and also nabbed two steals. Lofton currently ranks second in the WAC in scoring (19.9), sixth in field goal percentage (50.6), seventh in three-pointers per game (2.2), ninth in three-point field goal percentage (39.2) and 12th in rebounding (5.1).
Other nominees included: Fred Sims Jr. of Chicago State averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals ... Grand Canyon's Keonta Vernon posted a pair of double-doubles and averaged 12.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists as the Lopes went 1-1 on the week ... Matej Kavas of Seattle U averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Redhawks went 2-0 on the week ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Nick Dixon averaged 24.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Vaqueros went 1-1 on the week ... Conner Toolson of Utah Valley averaged 15.5 points on 92.9 percent shooting from the field and 83.3 percent shooting from three-point range, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of wins.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Utah Valley leads the WAC in scoring (81.7), scoring margin (12.9), field goal percentage (49.4), rebounding (39.9), rebounding defense (30.6), rebounding margin (9.3), blocks (4.4), assists (17.6), assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and defensive rebounds (28.2), while Grand Canyon is tops in scoring defense (62.1), field goal percentage defense (38.9), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.4) and turnover margin (2.7). Seattle U leads the league in free throw percentage (78.2), three-point field goal percentage (38.7) and three-pointers per game (9.9), while NM State is tops in offensive rebounds (12.2) and UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in steals (7.8).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (20.8), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (11.4), offensive rebounds (3.8) and defensive rebounds (7.6). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (74.7), while teammates Jarkel Joiner and Brent Wrapp lead the league in free throw shooting (94.3) and assists (5.4), respectively. Kansas City's Broderick Robinson leads the WAC in steals (1.6), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in both three-point percentage (47.5) and three-pointers per game (3.1). Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the league in blocked shots (2.6), while UTRGV's Lew Stallworth is tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.0) and CSUB's Rickey Holden leads the WAC in minutes per game (33.2).
In WAC games only, Utah Valley leads the league in scoring (84.3), scoring defense (53.0), scoring margin (31.3), field goal percentage (52.6), three-point field goal percentage (43.5), rebounding defense (26.7), blocks (4.7), assists (21.0), assist-turnover ratio (1.7) and three-pointers per game (10.0), and is tied with UTRGV in turnover margin (4.0). NM State leads the WAC in field goal percentage defense (34.8),
three-point field goal percentage defense (22.0), rebounding margin (12.3) and defensive rebounds (31.7), and is tied with Seattle U in rebounding (42.7). The Redhawks also lead the league in offensive rebounds (14.3), while UTRGV is tops in free throw percentage (79.1) and Chicago State leads the WAC in steals (8.7).
Individually in WAC games, NM State's Zach Lofton leads the league in scoring (24.7) and three-pointers per game (3.0), while teammate Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (13.0) and defensive rebounds (9.7). The Aggies' Eli Chuha leads the league in field goal percentage (71.4), while teammate AJ Harris is tops in assists (5.3) and assist-turnover ratio (16.0). Two players - CSUB's Joiner and Kansas City's Xavier Bishop - lead the WAC in free throw percentage (100.0), while NM State's Gabe Hadley is tops in three-point field goal percentage (1.000). Chicago State's Glen Burns is tops in steals (3.0) and minutes per game (37.3), while teammate Cameron Bowles leads the WAC in blocks (2.3) and Seattle U's Aaron Menzies is tops in offensive rebounds (4.7).
UTRGV'S DIXON SCORES 1,000TH POINT
UT Rio Grande Valley senior Nick Dixon scored his 1,000th career point at Grand Canyon on Jan. 13 to become the third active 1000-point scorer in the WAC. Dixon has reached double-digit scoring in 21 straight games dating back to Feb. 25, 2017 against Utah Valley, when he finished with eight points. Dixon, who has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, now has 1,008 career points.
GCU'S VERNON POSTS BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR THIRD TIME
Grand Canyon senior Keonta Vernon recorded consecutive double-doubles for the third time in his career last week. He finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds on Jan. 11 vs. NM State and 13 points and a career-high-tying 15 rebounds vs. UTRGV on Jan. 13.
UTRGV SCORES MOST POINTS BY WAC OPPONENT AT CSUB'S ICARDO CENTER SINCE 2013-14
When it defeated CSU Bakersfield 87-74 on Jan. 11, UT Rio Grande Valley scored the most points by a WAC opponent at the Icardo Center since CSUB joined the WAC in 2013-14. UTRGV shot a season-high 52.8 percent, the team's highest shooting percentage since Dec. 16, 2016 at Lamar (58.7) and UTRGV's highest shooting percentage against a WAC opponent since Jan. 24, 2015 against Grand Canyon (55.2).
SEATTLE U'S KAVAS HITS FOUR THREES FOR NINTH TIME
In his team's thrilling 77-75 win over Kansas City on Jan. 13, Seattle U sophomore Matej Kavas made four three-pointers. It was the ninth time this season he has tallied four or more threes in a game. Kavas currently leads the WAC in three-point percentage and three-pointers per game.
CHICAGO STATE'S SIMS MOVES INTO SEVENTH PLACE IN CAREER SCORING
Chicago State junior Fred Sims Jr., who became the 18th member of Chicago State's 1,000-Point Club on Nov. 21, continues to move up the program Division I career scoring list. He ranks seventh with 1,211 career points, 30 shy of sixth place. The second active player in the WAC with 1,000 or more career points, Sims is 1,120 points away from the all-time record of 2,331 held by David Holston (2005-09).