IRVINE, Calif. -- Academy of Art won both of its games last week, including a win at home over Hawai`i Hilo to move within a half game in the standings of sixth place as the battle for the final two spots in the PacWest Championships continues.
The first four spots in the PacWest Championships have been secured after Concordia came from behind at home to win against Chaminade to clinch its berth, leaving two spots available in the final two weeks.
Biola is currently in fifth place with a one-game lead over Hawai`i Hilo in sixth place. The Eagles beat Hawai`i Pacific at home on Saturday to improve to 10-9 in conference play. Hawai`i Hilo went 2-2 on its trip to the Bay Area to hold onto the sixth spot in the standings.
Academy of Art is just a half game behind and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Hawai`i Hilo, but the Urban Knights have the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule in the conference with games at Azusa Pacific and Concordia this week.
Hawai`i Pacific is still in contention for a playoff spot at 1.5 games behind Hawai`i Hilo, but the Sharks will play against the Vulcans twice in the final two weeks of the season.
Azusa Pacific can clinch at least a share of the conference title this week with wins against Academy of Art and Dominican. The Cougars will also play at Holy Names in the final week of the season before a highly-anticipated regular-season finale at Concordia.
Weekly awards for the week of Feb. 10-16
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Stefan Milivojevic, Academy of Art
G, Jr., 6-3 -- Sokobanja, Serbia
Milivojevic moved up to third place in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage after making 7 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc last week to boost his percentage this season to 49.6 with 17.7 points per game. Milivojevic led the Urban Knights to wins in both games last week to move within a half game of the important sixth seed. He scored 32 points against Holy Names and then added 19 points and five rebounds with two assists, two blocks and a steal in Saturday’s win against Hawai`i Hilo.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Darius Lee, Concordia
G, Jr., 6-8 -- New Orleans
Lee made his first start of the year on Saturday against Chaminade and made a big impact by scoring 19 points with three rebounds, and he made the game-winning lay-up as Concordia erased a six-point deficit in the final minute. Lee also had 17 points and seven rebounds in the win against Hawai`i Pacific as the Eagles now own a 13-4 conference record. The junior had four blocks and three steals on the week, including three blocks against Hawai`i Pacific. Lee helped the Concordia defense force Chaminade into five turnovers in the final minute of the comeback.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Ken West, Azusa Pacific
F, Fr., 6-8 -- Bellevue, Wash.
West helped Azusa Pacific extend its winning streak to 16 in a row with wins over Fresno Pacific and Dominican to take a 2.5-game lead over Point Loma and Concordia. The freshman scored 15 points against Dominican, making 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc for his second-highest scoring total in his career. West added two assists and two rebounds in the win. He also scored eight points against Fresno Pacific.