IRVINE, Calif. -- The battles for a spot in the PacWest Championships and the West Region along with the battle for the PacWest title all tightened following last week’s results.
In the West Region, three CCAA teams have stood above the rest all year, but the remaining five spots in the regional tournament are still wide open, and any team with a winning record right now will be in contention for a regional ranking when they are announced by the NCAA next month.
The race for the PacWest Championships berths got more interesting with the tournament being expanded to eight teams. The PacWest has eight teams that are .500 or better in conference play and Holy Names is right on the bubble after winning at Dominican on Friday. At approximately the halfway point in the conference season, no berth has been clinched yet.
In the battle for the PacWest title, Hawai`i Hilo remains in the lead despite dropping its road contest against Azusa Pacific. There are now five teams with six conference wins this season, and Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific also have winning records in conference play. For now, only 2.5 games separate the top-9 teams.
This week, Hawai`i Hilo continues its trip through Southern California. The Vulcans will play at Concordia on Monday, Point Loma on Thursday and Biola on Saturday. Chaminade will be at Concordia on Thursday and Point Loma on Saturday in a rematch after Chaminade won a thriller in San Diego last week. Holy Names will play at Fresno Pacific on Friday and host Dominican on Sunday.
Weekly awards for the week of Jan. 17-23
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jelani Watson-Gayle, Fresno Pacific
G, Gr., 6-1 -- London, England
Watson-Gayle averaged 26 points per game last week as he led Fresno Pacific to a pair of conference victories, moving the Sunbirds to sixth place in the PacWest standings with a 4-3 conference record. Watson-Gayle scored 32 points in Fresno Pacific’s win at Academy of Art, getting 15 of those points at the free-throw line without a single miss. That ties Watson-Gayle for the third-most free throws made without a miss in a single game in PacWest history. He also had for rebounds, two steals and two assists in the road win. Earlier in the week, the second-leading scorer in the PacWest recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds against Concordia. He now has five-consecutive games with at least 20 points and has scored at least 13 points in every game this season for an average of 20.4 points per game.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Klay Brown, Academy of Art
G, Jr., 6-4 -- South Jamaica, New York
Make it three in a row for Brown, who continues to collect steals at a remarkable pace. The junior out of New York has tallied multiple steals in eight-consecutive games for the Urban Knights. Academy of Art wrapped up its trip to Hawai`i at Chaminade on Monday, where Brown tallied three steals and four defensive rebounds. Then on Saturday against Fresno Pacific, Brown equaled his season high of five steals. He also had one block and two defensive rebounds. Academy of Art continues to lead the PacWest in steals with a total of 196. Brown has collected 45 of those steals. He now ranks 11th nationally and second in the region in steals per game this season. As a team, Academy of Art ranks fourth in the nation and first in the West Region in total steals. Academy of Art will be on the road this week for a pair of games at Biola on Thursday and then at Azusa Pacific on Saturday. The Urban Knights are looking for their first win against Azusa Pacific since 2013.