TicketSmarter WAC Men’s Basketball Players of the Week Announced
DENVER – Abilene Christian's Cameron Steele has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week and Chicago State's Ali Abdou Dibba has been named TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week for December 27 through January 2.
Steele, a sophomore forward from Excelsior, Minn., helped the Wildcats open WAC play with a pair of wins in Utah. On Thursday, he put up 17 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals as ACU earned an 80-76 win against Utah Valley. Two days later, he followed that up with 23 points and 10 rebounds, also adding an assist, steal and block, as the Wildcats defeated Dixie State, 64-50.
Abdou Dibba, a guard from Stockholm, Sweden, had quite the collegiate debut for the Cougars on Thursday at Grand Canyon. He finished with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, also going 8-for-11 on free throws in the Cougars' 80-63 loss. In addition to his scoring, he added seven rebounds and a pair of steals for CSU.
Other nominees included: California Baptist's Tre Armstrong scored a season-high 20 points, including six three-pointers, in a 96-41win over La Verne … Chicago State's Jahsean Corbett averaged 16.5 ppg on the road, adding 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in losses at WAC-favorites Grand Canyon and NM State … Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. set a career-high with five three-pointers, finishing with 24 points, as the Lopes opened up WAC play with an 80-63 win over Chicago State … Lamar's Lincoln Smith finished with 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the short-handed Cardinals' 75-64 loss at Sam Houston … NM State's Sir'jabari Rice finished one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 15 points and bringing down nine rebounds in a 78-61 win over Chicago State … Sam Houston's Savion Flagg scored 22 points, adding five rebounds and three assists, in a 75-64 win over visiting Lamar … Tarleton's Freddy Hicks averaged 20.5 ppg on the road as the Texans earned an 83-69 win at Dixie State before falling, 77-55, at Utah Valley … Utah Valley's Blaze Nield scored a career-high 27 points, adding 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Wolverines dropped a tight one to Abilene Christian, 80-76.
Other freshman nominees included: California Baptist's Te'Jon Sawyer logged his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-41 win over La Verne … Lamar's Brock McClure scored 10 points and brought down seven rebounds as the short-handed Cardinals fell at Sam Houston, 75-64 … NM State's Marchelus Avery had another solid game for the Aggies, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and bringing down three rebounds to go with a pair of steals and a pair of assists in a 78-61 win over Chicago State … Tarleton's Noah McDavid scored 17 points in the Texans' WAC-opening win at Dixie State, shooting 5-for-12 from the field with four three-pointers made.