IRVINE, Calif. -- The PacWest got its first chance to see teams from two different pods within the conference face each other on Tuesday, and Fresno Pacific won the encounter at home, 94-84, against Azusa Pacific to extend the Sunbirds’ winning streak to four.
Spencer Heimerdinger came off the bench to lead the Sunbirds in scoring making 7 of 9 shots and all 10 free-throw attempts for 25 points in just 23 minutes.
Aamondae Coleman added 22 points and six rebounds in the victory.
In the Hawai`i Pod, Chaminade won two of three games against Hawai`i Pacific.
Sawyer Storms led the Silverswords 113-point performance by scoring 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting. The following day, the Sharks got their first win of the season as
David Rowlands concluded a big week with 55 points and 16 rebounds in the three games.
Point Loma continued its winning streak, which is now at 12 in a row with two more wins against Concordia.
Luke Haupt made 12 of 18 shots in the two wins and averaged seven rebounds per game for the Sea Lions.
Biola swept Azusa Pacific to reach four wins in a row and become the second team in the PacWest with five conference wins this season.
Michael Bagatourian led the team with 44 points in the two wins. Biola and Point Loma will face each other twice this weekend in a key battle in determining the PacWest SoCal Pod Champions.
Weekly awards for the week of Feb. 8-14
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alex Wright, Biola
G, Jr., 6-5 -- Riverside, Calif.
Wright led Biola to its second sweep in a row and earned his second PacWest weekly award in a row as the Eagles improved to 5-1 in conference play this season. Wright scored 15 points in the Eagles’ first win of the week and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. The following day, Wright recorded a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double with four assists, one block and one steal as he made 9 of 15 shots in the win for Biola.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Hill, Academy of Art
F, Sr., 6-5 -- Mobile, Ala.
Hill has dominated the glass this season and last week was no different as he recorded his fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season. In the first game against Dominican, Hill finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds, which was the fourth time this season he tallied at least 16 rebounds in a game. On Saturday, Hill finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds while making 7 of 12 shots from the field. In the two games, he had three steals and two blocks for the Urban Knights which are now 2-5 in conference play.
HAWAI`I PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jessiya Villa, Chaminade
G, Fr., 6-0 -- Martinsburg, W. Va.
Villa led Chaminade to wins in two of three games against Hawai`i Pacific to remain in the hunt for the Hawai`i Pod Championship. Villa recorded a conference-best 17 assists last week, while scoring at least 16 points in each of the three games. He scored a career-high 19 points on Friday, making 8 of 13 shots with seven assists and one steal. He is now averaging 15.8 points and 4.4 assists per game while making 52.7 percent of shots from the field. He has helped Chaminade to a 3-2 record to start his collegiate career.