Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa and Sam Waardenburg head the Lowdown Team Of The Week as they both came within a basket of making career best scores.
Cantabrian Jackson Stent makes the cut for the first time this season after a double figure outing for Houston Baptist.
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa, senior at Sacramento State University Hornets
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa finished one point shy of his career high in making 22 points on 6 from 8 from the field including 5 from 6 from beyond the arc. The former Tall Black also had a couple of steals and 3 rebounds as the Hornets lost 70-66 at Weber State.
The Wellingtonian followed that with 11 points and 5 rebounds as Sacramento had a bounce back win against Idaho State two days later.
Sam Waardenburg, junior at University of Miami Hurricanes
Despite Sam Waardenburg equalling his career best with 15 points on a perfect 4 from 4 from the field and six out of six from the charity stripe Miami were defeated 99-81 at No 8 ranked Florida State in the ACC Conference..
Callum McRae, sophomore at University of California Riverside Highlanders
Callum McRae led the UC Riverside scoring with 10 points but the Highlanders were no match for Cal State Fullerton going down 61-48. The Manawatu big man filled the stats line with 5 rebounds a brace of blocked shots, 2 steals and an assist.
Jackson Stent, senior guard at Houston Baptist University Huskies
Starting just his second game of the season Jackson Stent scored 11 points (3/4 3PG) as Houston Baptist secured their third Southland Conference victory with a 79-76 win at Southeastern Louisiana.
The Cantabrian wing also matched his career high with 6 rebounds as well as snatching a steal.
Matt Freeman, senior forward at University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos
Having lost three straight games to finish January the Gauchos have now won three on the bounce to start February after a 64-61 victory against UC Irvine.
In the 76-66 win against Hawaii Matt Freeman posted 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists a block and a steal and followed that with 9 points against Irvine.
Bubbling Under
Dan Fotu scored 9 points (3/3FG) as St Mary’s Gaels got a 66-60 road win at San Diego. St Mary’s found #2 ranked Gonzaga too hot to handle on Sunday hammered 90-60 – 8 points in that one for the Tall Black
Tobias Cameron came off the bench to make 5 points and add 3 rebounds as Abilene Christian cruised to an 84-49 win against Lamar. Abilene moving nicely in the Southland Conference with an 8-4 record.
In a non-conference game South Dakota overwhelmed Peru State 106-45 with Kruz Perrott-Hunt making 5 points, 3 assists and a steal for the Coyotes.
Other News
Rotorua native Logan Elers, a senior at NCAA Division II South Dakota School of Mines, has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
LACEY LOWDOWN 