United Athletic Conference

California Baptist's De'jon Davis has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 27 through Feb. 2. 

 

Davis, a senior forward from Oakland, Calif., was a monster on the glass as the Lancers earned a pair of road wins at Utah Valley and Seattle U. On Wednesday against the Wolverines, the forward scored 19 points to go with a career-high 17 rebounds and two blocks in a 65-61 win. Three days later, he broke his own record with 19 rebounds in a win over Seattle U, adding nine points in a 72-65 win. Davis leads the WAC in rebounding at 9.4 per game and his .531 shooting percentage ranks fourth in the WAC this season.

 

Other nominees included: Grand Canyon's Carlos Johnson hit double-figures in scoring for his 10th straight game in a road split at UT Rio Grande Valley and NM State … Kansas City's Rob Whitfield led the Roos to a pair of wins, averaging 17.0 points per game on 56.5-percent shooting … NM State's Ivan Aurrecoechea scored 23 points in Thursday's win over CSUB Bakersfield and 14 points in a win on Saturday against Grand Canyon … UT Rio Grande Valley's Javon Levi tied his career-high with 13 assists in a loss to Grand Canyon and scored 11 points with six assists in a win over CSU Bakersfield … Utah Valley's Isaiah White scored 15 points and brought down nine rebounds to narrowly miss a double-double in a tight loss to California Baptist.

 

The second half of WAC play begins this week across the league. UT Rio Grande Valley and league-leader NM State hit the road, traveling to Kansas City and Chicago State. California Baptist plays host to both CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon while Seattle U and Utah Valley will meet up on Saturday in Orem.

 

California Baptist leads the WAC in scoring (79.1), free throw percentage (.772), field goal defense (.406), rebounding offense (41.3), assists (14.7), defensive rebounds (30.0) and three-pointers made (9.3). League-leader NM State is also on top in scoring defense (60.2), scoring margin (+10.7) and rebounding defense (28.1). Kansas City is the leader in field goal percentage (.457), three-point field goal percentage (.376) and three-point field goal defense (.301). CSU Bakersfield holds the top rebounding margin (+7.9) and also leads the league in offensive rebounds (13.4). Utah Valley is the leader in blocked shots (5.6) and UT Rio Grande Valley is the leader in steals (8.7), turnover margin (+5.38) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Terrell Brown is the scoring leader at 19.6 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 6.7 defensive rebounds per game are also WAC bests. NM State's Ivan Aurrecoechea leads the league in field goal percentage (.600). SU's Morgan Means has the top free throw percentage (.897) and Kansas City's Rob Whitfield has the top three-point shooting percentage (.417). UTRGV's Javon Levi holds the top mark in assists (8.4) and steals (2.3) and his 3.4 assist/turnover ratio is a WAC-best. CBU's Ferron Flavors Jr. leads the league with 2.9 three-pointers per game and UVU's Emmanuel Olojakpoke is the blocked shots leader at 2.8 per contest. 

 

In WAC-only play, Seattle U is the scoring leader at 80.1 points per game and the Redhawks also hold the top spot in free throw percentage (.787) and turnover margin (+6.12). NM State is the leader in scoring defense (61.2), scoring margin (+13.5), field goal percentage (.487), three-point field goal percentage (.400), rebounding defense (26.8), rebounding margin (+6.9), assists (16.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and three-pointers made (10.0). California Baptist holds the top field goal defense (.396) as well as three-point defense (.294) and the Lancers lead as well in rebounding offense (39.6) and defensive rebounds (28.6). Utah Valley's 5.3 blocks per game are a league best, as are UT Rio Grande Valley's 8.0 steals per game. UTRGV and CSU Bakersfield are tied for the lead in offensive rebounds (12.9).

 

Individually, SU's Brown is the scoring leader with 18.1 ppg. CBU's Davis has the rebounding lead at 10.6 per game. UTRGV's Sean Rhea boasts the top field goal percentage (.658) while CBU's Brandon Boyd has the top free throw percentage (.927) and fellow Lancer Bul Kuol has the top three-point percentage (.550). UTRGV's Levi is the leader in assists (8.9) and assist/turnover ratio (3.6). CSUB's Czar Perry boasts the top steals average at 2.1 per game. KC's Whitfield is the leader in three-pointers per game at 2.9 and UVU's Olojakpoke is the block shots leader at 2.9.

 

NM State used wins over CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon to push their record-settiong WAC win streak to 23 straight games. The Aggies used a win over Seattle U on Jan. 18 to move past Utah, who won 19 straight from 1998-99. 

 

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. The 2014-15 WAC Freshman of the Year and 2015-16 WAC Player of the Year is averaging 23.5 points per game for the defending NBA Champions. He was selected by the Raptors with the 27th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.

 

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 currently ranks third in program history in career steals with 180. He is three shy of second place. He is also ranked fifth in UTRGV history in career assists with 451.

 

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.