PacWest players put up big numbers on both ends of the court in play last week. ART U's Jamal Fuller scored 32 and 33 points respectively to run away with the Player of the Week award. Concordia's Jackson Tucker had nine steals in two games for the Defender of the Week award, and Point Loma won a pair of games over good teams from the northwest to claim Team of the Week.
2023-24 Standings
2023-24 Statistics
D2SIDA West Region Poll
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Academy of Art's Jamal Fuller, F, Jr., 6-5, 215, Toronto, Canada
Academy of Art's sixth man a year ago
Jamal Fuller won't be sitting the bench any time soon. The 6-foot-5 forward totaled 65 points in two games last week, a stunning average of 32.5 points a game in a win over Stanislaus State (81-72) and a loss to St. Martin's (92-81). Against the Warriors, the Toronto native struck for a career-high 33 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had a blocked shot. He shot a sizzling 68 percent from the field. Against the No. 6 nationally ranked Saints, he put up 32 points, had four boards, two steals and a block. He hit 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line. Fuller, who averaged 11 points a game off the bench a year ago, now averages 22.5 points through five games to lead the PacWest.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Concordia's Jackson Tucker, G, So., 6-4, 185, Bakersfield, Calif.
Concordia's Jackson Tucker was a thief deluxe last week, almost leading the Golden Eagles to a pair of wins. The 6-foot-4 guard had five steals against CS Dominguez Hills while also adding 12 points on the offensive end of the court. The Bakersfield native had four steals three nights later against Cal Poly Pomona, giving the sophomore 15 thefts in six games (2.5), making him the PacWest leader. Tucker, who started for CUI last year as a freshman, has now started 29 of the 30 games in his young Concordia career.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Point Loma Sea Lions
Point Loma grabbed a pair of wins last week in Nampa, Idaho over two of the best teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Sea Lions topped Central Washington 79-75 in overtime and tipped host Northwest Nazarene 73-70. Against the Wildcats, picked to finish third in the GNAC,
Zack Paulsen potted 25 points and
Wynton Brown added 23 as PLNU outscored CWU 10-6 in overtime. Paulsen's three-pointer with three seconds left sent the contest into overtime. Against the Red Hawks, it was
Jake Lifgren's turn to shine offensively with 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting and he was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Luke Smith added 16 points and 11 rebounds against NNU, a team picked to finish second in the GNAC.
LACK OF WEST REGION LOVE: Just two teams list in this week's D2SIDA West Region poll.
Point Loma checks in tied for eighth and
Hawai`i Hilo is sixth, with
Academy of Art receiving votes. To see the complete list, click on the link at the top of the page.
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Hawaii Pacific edged Slippery Rock (76-74) on Monday night behind
Melo Sanchez's 32 points. Sanchez hit 8-of-14 shots from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the arch and he nailed 10 of 11 free throw attempts...
Chaminade took on basketball royalty last week at the AllState Maui Invitational, held this year at the University of Hawai`i. The Silverswords played No. 1 Kansas, UCLA and Syracuse. They took three losses but also won with national exposure...In addition to the defensive work of Concordia's
Jackson Tucker (see Defender of the Week), CUI's
Tim Adetukasi had another big week on the offensive end. He had 26 points and seven rebounds against Cal Poly Pomona and 12 points and nine boards against CS Dominguez Hills.
..Biola lost a heartbreaker to the Toros, 80-78.
Casey Cappo tied the contest at 78-78 with 26 seconds left but CSUDH prevailed on their next possession for the win...
Jake Kosakowski had 20 points (six treys) as
Hawai`i Hilo moved to 5-2 with a 102-65 win over NW Indian.
POST THANKSGIVING DIET: After a frenzy of games last week, the menu the week after Thanksgiving is much lighter. Just ten games are on the schedule this week, starting tonight (Monday) when
Point Loma travels across town to take on San Diego State.
Chaminade will host Slippery Rock tonight as well.
After a few other non-conference midweek games,
Westmont will head to Oahu to take on
Chaminade, Hawai`i Pacific and
Hawai`i Hilo in their first-ever PacWest games.
Fresno Pacific will begin that same trek as well, starting with
Chaminade on Saturday. To see the complete schedule,
click here.