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CHICAGO STATE'S SIMMONS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chicago State senior center Deionte Simmons has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 26-March 3. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Detroit native came off the bench to finish with a team-high 20 points and game highs of 11 rebounds and two blocks in an 86-71 win over Kansas City that snapped a 24-game WAC losing skid for the Cougars that dated back to Jan. 12, 2017. Simmons shot 7-of-11 from the field as he tallied his team-leading fourth double-double of the season in the victory. It was also Chicago State's first win since Nov. 21 of this season, also a span of 24 games. Simmons nearly doubled his season scoring and rebounding averages, as he entered the game averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He currently ranks fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage (60.0) and fifth in rebounds (6.0).
Other nominees included: Justin Davis of CSU Bakersfield tallied his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to Grand Canyon ... Grand Canyon's Alessandro Lever finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in a win over CSU Bakersfield ... Jemerrio Jones of NM State tallied 18 points on 77.8 percent shooting, 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists in a win at UT Rio Grande Valley ... Conner Toolson of Utah Valley finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Seattle U.
ALL-WAC HONORS ANNOUNCED
The 2018 All-WAC teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC's eight head coaches. NM State's Jemerrio Jones headlines the awards, earning WAC Player of the Year honors, while Grand Canyon's Alessandro Lever was named WAC Freshman of the Year and NM State's Chris Jans earned Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Jones was named WAC Player of the Year after averaging 11.3 points at a 54.5 percent clip, 14.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in WAC play. Not only did he average 3.5 more rebounds than the next closest player in conference play, but his 14.14 rebounds per game is the fifth-highest average in WAC history. In his 14 WAC games, he posted eight double-doubles and had four games with 20 or more rebounds, including three in a row. In addition, his 198 boards in WAC games is tied for the 10th-most in conference history. He was named WAC Player of the Week three times.
Lever earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after scoring in double figures in eight of 14 WAC games with a season-high 30 points. In conference games only, he ranked eighth in the WAC in rebounding (5.4), ninth in free throw percentage (80.2) and 10th in field goal percentage (48.6). He was named WAC Player of the Week one time during the season.
In his first year at the helm, Jans was named WAC Coach of the Year after leading the Aggies to their third WAC regular-season title in the last four years. NM State is currently 25-5 overall and went 12-2 in WAC play. The Aggies defeated a Top 10 team this season for the first time since 1990.
First Team All-WAC
Nick Dixon, UTRGV
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Zach Lofton, NM State
Kenneth Ogbe, Utah Valley
Second Team All-WAC
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Matej Kavas, Seattle U
Aaron Menzies, Seattle U
Brandon Randolph, Utah Valley
Conner Toolson, Utah Valley
All-Defensive Team
Moataz Aly, CSU Bakersfield
Oscar Frayer, Grand Canyon
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Akolda Manyang, Utah Valley
Aaron Menzies, Seattle U
All-Newcomer Team
AJ Harris, NM State
Jordan Hill, Seattle U
Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Zach Lofton, NM State
Jake Toolson, Utah Valley
Player of the Year: Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Freshman of the Year: Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Chris Jans, NM State
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.2), scoring margin (11.8), field goal percentage defense (39.2), rebounding (41.1), rebounding margin (8.6), offensive rebounds (12.5) and defensive rebounds (28.6), while Utah Valley is tops in scoring (78.5), field goal percentage (48.6), three-point field goal percentage (38.7), rebounding defense (31.3), blocks (4.1) and assists (16.4). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.1) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2), while Seattle U is tops in free throw percentage (74.4) and three-pointers per game (9.1). Meanwhile, Kansas City leads the WAC in turnover margin (2.3) and UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in steals (7.6).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (20.5), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (12.7), offensive rebounds (3.7) and defensive rebounds (9.0). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (69.3), while teammates Jarkel Joiner and Brent Wrapp lead the league in free throw shooting (89.5) and assists (5.1), respectively. Utah Valley's Conner Toolson leads the WAC in steals (1.5), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in three-point percentage (45.9) and three-pointers per game (2.6). Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the league in blocked shots (2.3), while UTRGV's Javon Levi is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.6) and Seattle U's Jordan Hill leads the WAC in minutes per game (33.2).
In WAC games only, NM State led the league in scoring (77.7), scoring margin (15.1), field goal percentage defense (37.4), rebounding (43.3), rebounding margin (10.3), assist-turnover ratio (1.3), offensive rebounds (12.8) and defensive rebounds (30.5), while Utah Valley was tops in scoring defense (62.2), free throw percentage (74.8), field goal percentage (48.3), three-point field goal percentage (42.2), rebounding defense (31.4), blocks (3.7), assists (15.8) and three-pointers per game (8.3). Meanwhile, Chicago State led the league in steals (7.7), Grand Canyon was tops in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.3) and UTRGV led the league in and turnover margin (2.7).
Individually in WAC games, Dixon led the league in scoring (20.9), while Jones was tops in rebounding (14.1) and defensive rebounds (10.6). Aly led the WAC in field goal percentage (62.2), while Grand Canyon's Damari Milstead was tops in free throw percentage (85.7) and Toolson led the league in three-point shooting (50.0) and steals (2.0). Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph and Wrapp tied for the lead in assists (4.5), while NM State's Zach Lofton led the league in three-pointers per game (2.9). Seattle U's Aaron Menzies led the WAC in blocks (2.4) and offensive rebounds (3.7), while teammate Hill led the league in minutes per game (35.5). Levi finished WAC play tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.0).
NM STATE'S LOFTON MOVING UP SEASON THREE-POINT CHART
With his two three-pointers March 3 at UT Rio Grande Valley, NM State senior Zach Lofton now has 71 on the season. Lofton is in a three-way tie for ninth place with Eric Channing (1998-99) and Jeff McCool (1988-89) in the NM State single-season record books.
UTAH VALLEY EXTENDS HOME WIN STREAK, SETS PROGRAM RECORD
Utah Valley won its 13th-straight home game with its win over Seattle U on March 3. The Wolverines finish the year at home with the best home record in school history at 15-1. UVU now has 21 wins on the season, just one shy of tying the school record of 22 wins set during the 2006-07 season. Utah Valley is currently tied for the sixth-longest home win streak in the nation at 13 games.
UTRGV'S DIXON ENTERS SINGLE-SEASON TOP FOR SCORING, FTM, FTA
UT Rio Grande Valley senior Nick Dixon currently has 635 points on the season, good for ninth all-time in the UTRGV record books, six shy of eighth place. Meanwhile, his 208 free throws made and 264 free throws attempted rank second all-time at UTRGV. The marks also rank in the WAC Top 10. The 264 free throws attempted are fifth and the 208 free throws made are sixth.
CSUB'S ALY ONE BLOCK SHY OF RECORD
CSU Bakersfield senior Moataz Aly currently has 106 career blocks, which ranks second all-time at CSUB in the category. The school record, set by Jamal Livingston (1998-00), is 107 blocks.