United Athletic Conference

Seattle U's Terrell Brown has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Feb. 17 through Feb. 23. 

 

Brown, a junior guard from Seattle, used a pair of big games to lead the Redhawks to a pair of home wins and etch his name in the Redhawks' record books. On Thursday against Grand Canyon, he matched his career-high with 31 points and 10 assists, including his 1,000th career point as a Redhawks, becoming just the fourth player in SU's modern-day DI era to achieve the feat. He followed that up with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 69-54 win over CSU Bakersfield on Saturday. On the season, Brown leads the WAC with a 20.3 points per game scoring average and his 6.2 rebounds per game rank fourth.

 

Other nominees included: California Baptist's Milan Acquaah scored 22 points in a road loss at Kansas City and then added another 22 points in a road win at Chicago State  … CSU Bakersfield's Cam Allen scored 25 points in a loss to Utah Valley before putting up 11 in a road loss at Seattle U … Kansas City's Jordan Giles scored 10 of the Roos first 12 points before finishing with 17 points in a win over California Baptist on Wednesday … NM State's Jabari Rice put up 20 points  with six rebounds and five assists to help the Aggies clinch their third consecutive WAC regular season title with a win over UT Rio Grande Valley  … UT Rio Grande Valley's Lesley Varner II had back-to-back 23 point, six rebound games as the Vaqueros earned a win over UT Permian Basin before falling at NM State … Utah Valley's Brandon Averette averaged 21.5 points per game to lead the Wolverines to their first back-to-back wins over the league season.

 

Just two weeks of regular season play remain with the road to #WACVegas entering its final stretch. California Baptist will host a pair of hot teams this week as Utah Valley and Seattle U head to Riverside following undefeated weekends at home. NM State, who has already secured the regular season title and top seed in the tournament, will head to two of the toughest places in the WAC to play, visiting Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield. The Lopes and 'Runners will also host UT Rio Grande Valley. The final game of the weekend matches up Chicago State traveling to Kansas City on Saturday.

 

California Baptist leads the WAC in scoring (80.7), scoring margin (+12.0), free throw percentage (.778), field goal defense (.414), three-point field goal percentage (.382), rebounding offense (41.0), defensive rebounds (29.3) and three-pointers made (10.1). League-leader NM State is also on top in scoring defense (60.8), field goal percentage (.460), rebounding defense (27.2) and rebounding margin (+7.7). Kansas City is the leader in three-point field goal defense (.296). Utah Valley is the leader in blocked shots (5.2) and UT Rio Grande Valley is the leader in assists (15.2), steals (8.4), turnover margin (+4.81) and assist/turnover ratio (+4.81). CSU Bakersfield is the top offensive rebounding team (13.0).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Terrell Brown is the scoring leader at 20.3 points per game. CBU's De'jon Davis holds the top spot in rebounding with 9.4 per game and his 2.7 offensive rebounds per game and 6.7defensive rebounds per game are also WAC bests. NM State's Ivan Aurrecoechea leads the league in field goal percentage (.582). SU's Morgan Means has the top free throw percentage (.883) and CBU's Ferron Flavors, Jr. has the top three-point shooting percentage (.442) and also leads the league in three-pointers per game (3.1). UTRGV's Javon Levi holds the top mark in assists (8.1) and steals (2.3) and his 3.0 assist/turnover ratio is a WAC-best. UVU's Emmanuel Olojakpoke is the blocked shots leader at 2.6 per contest. 

 

In WAC-only play, Seattle U is the scoring leader at 79.1 points per game and the Redhawks also hold the top spot in field goal defense (.415) and turnover margin (+5.15). NM State is the leader in scoring defense (62.2), scoring margin (+12.5), field goal percentage (.483), three-point field goal percentage (.389), rebounding defense (25.2), rebounding margin (+8.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and three-pointers made (9.4) and are tied with Utah Valley for the lead in assists (15.5). California Baptist holds the free throw percentage (.792) and the Lancers lead as well in rebounding offense (37.7) and defensive rebounds (26.3). Utah Valley's 4.5 blocks per game are a league best. Kansas City has the top three-point defense (.291) and UTRGV is also the leader in steals (7.5). CSU Bakersfield is the top offensive rebounding team at 12.2 per game.

 

Individually, SU's Brown is the scoring leader with 20.2 ppg. CBU's Davis has the rebounding lead at 9.5 per game. UTRGV's Sean Rhea boasts the top field goal percentage (.661) while CBU's Brandon Boyd has the top free throw percentage (.938) and Seattle U's Brown has the top three-point percentage (.490). UTRGV's Levi is the leader in assists (8.2) and assist/turnover ratio (2.8). SU's Brown is also the leader in steals at 2.2 per game. CBU's Flavors is the leader in three-pointers per game at 2.8 and UVU's Olojakpoke is the block shots leader at 2.5.

 

With a win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Feb. 22, the NM State Aggies clinched their third straight WAC regular season title and their fifth overall.

 

NM State used a win against UT Rio Grande Valley to push their record-setting WAC win streak to 28 straight games. The Aggies used a win over Seattle U on Jan. 18 to move past Utah, who won 19 straight from 1998-99. 

 

Seattle U's Terrell Brown became the latest member of the 1,000-point club, reaching the mark on Feb. 20 against Grand Canyon. He joins CBU's Milan Acquaah, GCU's Alessandro Lever, teammate Morgan Means and UTRGV's Lesley Varner II as active members of the 1,000-point club. 

 

Hercules Tires was named the title sponsor of the upcoming WAC Basketball Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Hercules Tires will also be the exclusive tire partner for the Conference and will have an integrated marketing presence throughout the year, allowing the brand to connect with WAC alumni, fans, students, and employees at all conference championship events.

 

Former NM State Aggie and current Toronto Raptor Pascal Siakam was named a starter for the Eastern Conference at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in Chicago. Playing for Team Giannis, he finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes on the floor as Team LeBron earned the 157-155 win.

 

Seattle U and Kansas City gave fans a little extra excitement on WAC opening night, playing three overtimes before the host Roos were able to break away and earn the 90-86 victory. It was the first triple-overtime game in the WAC since CBU lost at UAPB on Nov. 23, 2018 and the first multiple-overtime game in WAC play since Grand Canyon defeated Chicago State in double overtime on Jan. 28, 2017.

 

UT Rio Grande Valley junior Javon Levi is second in program history in career steals with 195. He is also ranked fifth in UTRGV history in career assists with 504 and is just seven back of fourth place.

 

NM State picked up its first win over an SEC program since Dec. 29, 1994 when it beat Mississippi State on Dec. 22. It was also the first victory for a WAC squad over a Power Six team this season.