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SEATTLE U'S MENZIES NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U redshirt junior center Aaron Menzies has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Manchester, England, native posted his fourth consecutive double-double, and his 10th of the season, finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high six blocks and three assists to lead Seattle U to a huge 55-54 win over Utah Valley in its only game last week. The 7-3 center shot 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to lead the Redhawks in scoring and rebounding for the third straight game. Menzies did most of his damage in the first half, going 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe for 14 points. He also swatted away four shots and pulled down six boards, four on the offensive end, as the Redhawks led by as many as 15 before taking a 36-24 lead into the break. His defensive presence in the second half continued to be key, including blocking his sixth shot just inside three minutes to play that would lead to a Morgan Means bucket. He added two huge defensive boards late as Seattle U clinched its 16th win of the season.
Other nominees included: Jarkel Joiner of CSU Bakersfield averaged 17.5 points on 61.9 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals ... Grand Canyon's Keonta Vernon averaged 14.0 points on 73.3 percent shooting and 6.5 rebounds as the Lopes went 2-0 on the week ... Broderick Robinson of Kansas City averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals on the week ... NM State's Jemerrio Jones averaged 12.0 points, 18.0 rebounds 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks in a pair of wins ... Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 17.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals as the Vaqueros went 1-1 on the week ... Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph finished with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in the loss to Seattle U..
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in scoring defense (62.1), scoring margin (12.7), rebounding (40.0), rebounding defense (31.8) and rebounding margin (8.2), while Utah Valley is tops in scoring (79.0), field goal percentage (47.7), blocks (4.2), assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and defensive rebounds (27.7). Grand Canyon leads the league in field goal percentage defense (39.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (27.3), assists (16.9) and offensive rebounds (12.6), while Seattle U is tops in free throw percentage (76.8), three-point field goal percentage (37.7) and three-pointers per game (9.4). Kansas City leads the WAC in turnover margin (2.6) and UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in steals (7.8).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (21.0), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (12.0), offensive rebounds (3.8) and defensive rebounds (8.3). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (73.4), while teammates Jarkel Joiner and Brent Wrapp lead the league in free throw shooting (91.0) and assists (5.2), respectively. Kansas City's Broderick Robinson leads the WAC in steals (1.7), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in three-point percentage (46.5), three-pointers per game (2.9) and minutes per game (33.0). Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the league in blocked shots (2.4), while UTRGV's Javon Levi is tops in in assist-turnover ratio (2.6).
In WAC games only, NM State leads the league in scoring (79.6), scoring defense (58.3), scoring margin (21.3), field goal percentage (48.3), field goal percentage defense (36.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (24.8), rebounding (41.9), rebounding margin (10.4), defensive rebounds (29.1) and three-pointers per game (9.0), while Utah Valley is tops in free throw percentage (75.2), three-point field goal percentage (41.0), assists (16.4) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4), and is tied with Seattle U for the lead in blocks (3.9). UTRGV leads the WAC in steals (7.3) and turnover margin (3.1), while CSUB is tops in rebounding defense (29.1) and Grand Canyon leads the league in offensive rebounds (13.4).
Individually in WAC games, NM State's Zach Lofton leads the league in scoring (23.7) and three-pointers per game (4.1), while Jones is tops in rebounding (13.6) and defensive rebounds (9.7). Aly leads the WAC in field goal percentage (67.4), while teammate Rickey Holden is tops in free throw percentage (95.0). Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph leads the league in assists (5.0), while teammate Conner Toolson is tops in steals (2.6). Kansas City's Brandon McKissic leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (62.5), while Seattle U's Aaron Menzies is tops in blocks (2.4) and offensive rebounds (4.3). NM State's AJ Harris leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (3.6), while Seattle U's Jordan Hill is tops in minutes per game (36.1).
GRAND CANYON LEADS NATION IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
As a team, Grand Canyon has given up just 105 three-pointers this season, the second-fewest of any team in the country. The Lopes currently lead the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing just 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.
SEATTLE U SETS SEVERAL BEST MARKS SINCE JOINING WAC
The Redhawks are 5-2 through the first half of WAC play for the first time since joining the conference in 2012-13. The program record for WAC wins is seven, done in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. Seattle U has hit 16 wins for the first time since 2014-15, while its 14 home wins is the most during the modern-day Division I era.