TicketSmarter WAC Men’s Basketball Players of the Week Announced
DENVER – Utah Valley's Fardaws Aimaq has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week and California Baptist's Taran Armstrong was named TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week for November 29 through December 5.
Aimaq, a redshirt sophomore center from Vancouver, B.C., Canada, makes it three awards in a row after leading the Wolverines to an overtime win over rival and 12th-ranked BYU. Playing 44 of 45 possible minutes, he finished with 24 points, 22 rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocks as the Wolverines earned the 72-65 win over the visiting Cougars. On the season, Aimaq leads the WAC with 20.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per game.
Armstrong, a freshman from Burnie, Tasmania, Australia, nearly earned his second triple-double of the season, putting up 11 points with nine rebounds and 11 assists in the Lancers' 64-55 win over Cal Poly. On the season, he is averaging 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
Other nominees included: Abilene Christian's Tobias Cameron shot .750 from the field and averaged 11.7 points per game as the Wildcats earned three home wins to improve to 5-2 on the season … California Baptist's Daniel Akin finished with a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds as the Lancers earned a 64-55 win over visiting Cal Poly on Thursday … Dixie State's Hunter Schofield averaged 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as the Trailblazers picked up a pair of wins over Bethesda (Calif.) as well as a victory over St. Katherine (Calif.) …Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. averaged 18.7 points per game and added 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game as the Lopes earned a trio of wins on the week … Lamar's C.J. Roberts was one of three players to lead the WAC with a 24.0 ppg scoring average on the week as the Cardinals dropped a close one at Mississippi State before rebounding with a home win over Our Lady of the Lake … NM State's Sir'jabari Rice hit the game-winning shot to give the Aggies a 72-69 win at UTEP and averaged 20.0 points per game to go with 5.5 assists per game on the week … Sam Houston's Demarkus Lampley started the week with 11 points against Texas and then added 21 points in a win over Schreiner to finish with a 16.0 ppg score average on the week … Seattle U's Cameron Tyson averaged 21.5 points per game and shot .500 from three-point range as the Redhawks split a pair of games with McNeese and VMI … Stephen F. Austin's Roti Ware averaged 17.0 ppg on .550 shooting as the 'Jacks earned home wins over Lincoln (Calif.) and Wiley … Tarleton's Tahj Small scored 25 points and added seven rebounds to go with a pair of steals and a block as the Texans put a scare in third-ranked Gonzaga before falling 64-55 in Spokane … UT Rio Grande Valley's Justin Johnson put up 33 points with eight rebounds and four assists in a loss to rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Other freshman nominees included: Chicago State's Jahsean Corbett helped the Cougars pick up a win over Tennessee State, scoring a team-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds in a 59-49 win … Dixie State's Trevon Allfrey averaged 9.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game as the Trailblazers earned a trio of wins at home against Bethesda (Calif.) and St. Katherine (Calif.) … Stephen F. Austin's Sadaidriene Hall averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in home wins over Lincoln (Calif.) and Wiley … UT Rio Grande Valley's Rayquan Taylor had a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds in UTRGV's loss to seventh-ranked Texas on Friday night.