Chaminade junior center Mamadou Diarra earns latest PacWest Weekly honor

Mamadou Diarra PHOENIX, AZ - Chaminade junior center Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge Prep) has been named the Pacific West Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.

The award was announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, March 7, for games contested Feb. 28-March 6.

Diarra led the Silverswords to a share of the PacWest Championship, a berth in the NCAA II Tournament, and a 2-1 record after averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.

He was outstanding from the floor, shooting 75.0% after making 18 of 24 field goal attempts.

He tied for seventh in scoring and ranked second in rebounding for the week in the PacWest.

He also tied for second in field goal percentage and ranked second in blocks per game (2.7) for the week.

Weekly Report #16

PacWest Men’s Basketball Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll

Kyle Allen Kyle Allen - Hawai‘i Pacific (So., 6-5, 230, G/F, Sacramento, CA/Muncie Central)...helped lead the Sea Warriors to a 2-0 week with victories vs. Grand Canyon and Dixie State...averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game...tied for ninth in rebounding, tied for 13th in scoring and ranked third in assist average for the week in the PacWest.

Steven Bennett - Chaminde (Sr., 5-6, 155, G, Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey)...averaged 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in helping Chaminade to a 2-1 week and a share of the PacWest title...ranked sixth in scoring for the week in the conference...shot 82.6% (19 for 23) from the line.

Tsung-Hsein (Jet) Chang - BYU-Hawaii (Jr., 6-4, 190, G, Yilan, Taiwan/Sing Rong)...averaged 21.5 points per game in a 1-1 week for the Seasiders...helped land the Seasiders a berth in the NCAA II Playoffs...led the league in scoring for the week...also averaged 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.5% (18 for 33) from the field...tied for sixth in three-point shooting (53.8%) for the week after making 7 of 13 attempts...led the conference in three’s made per game (3.5) for the week.

Keith Davis - Academy of Art (Jr., 6-4, 205, F, Long Beach, CA/Long Beach)...scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds in 73-63 loss vs. NDNU to close out the regular season...made 5 of 6 free throw attempts (83.3%)...hit 2 of 5 three-pointers (40.0%).

Xander McNally LaBrent Chappell - Hawai‘i Pacific (Jr., 5-10, 170, G, Fresno, CA/West Clovis)...helped lead the Sea Warriors to a 2-0 week with victories vs. Grand Canyon and Dixie State...averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game...ranked 10th in scoring and fifth in assist average for the week in the PacWest...also hit 13 of 14 (92.9%) free throw attempts to rank sixth in foul shooting for the week...banged home 2 of 5 (40.0%) three-point attempts.

Jason Jackson - Hawai‘i Pacific (Jr., 6-8, 220, F/C, Houston, TX/Frisco Centennial)...led the Sea Warriors to a 2-0 week with victories vs. Grand Canyon and Dixie State...topped the PacWest in rebounding for the week with a 10.5 per-game mark...also contributed 12.0 points per game...went 4 for 4 from the line.

Xander McNally - Dominican (CA) (Jr., 6-2, 175, G, San Francisco, CA/The Branson School)...scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, recorded four steals and doled out eight assists in regular-season finale vs. NDNU on March 5 - a 72-69 loss...shot 75.0% (6 for 8) from the field.

Nick Storment Nick Storment - Notre Dame de Namur (Sr., 6-8, 245, C, Turlock, CA/Turlock)...led the Argos to a 2-0 week by averaging 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game...ranked third in scoring and tied for seventh in rebounding in the PacWest for the week...shot 70.0% (14 for 20) from the floor, tying for sixth in the league during the week...hit 13 of 15 free throw attempts (86.7%)...ranked 10th in foul shooting.

Tom Whitehead - Dixie State (Sr., 6-6, 185, F, St. George, UT/Dixie)...led the Red Storm to a 2-1 week, a share of the PacWest title, and the automatic qualifier into the NCAA II Tournament by averaging 16.3 points per game...tied for seventh in the league in scoring for the week...also led the PacWest in foul shooting after going 9 for 9 from the line...hit 10 of 21 (47.6%) three-point attempts...ranked 10th in three-point shooting and second in three-pointers made (3.3) per game for the week in the league.

Marques Whippy - BYU-Hawaii (Sr., 6-5, 215, G, Bua, Fiji/Woods Cross, UT)...averaged 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game...ranked fourth in scoring and third in rebounding in the PacWest for the week...also tied for 10th in assist average and in shooting (60.0%)...conneted on 15 of 25 field goal attempts...hit 9 of 11 (81.8%) free throw attempts.