Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A-10 names 2 Players of the Week

The Atlantic 10 men’s basketball division named its two Players of the Week yesterday. Sophomore Andrew Nicholson and junior Shamari Spears received the awards after stunning performances from their respective games.

Nicholson earned the award after he scored 22 points and nabbed 13 rebounds for St. Bonaventure, which won its first two games at the Basketball Travelers classic, hosted by Illinois State.

Part of Nicholson’s award-winning showcase came during the Bonnies’ 67-44 rout over Southeast Missouri State. In his 26 minutes of play, Nicholson got a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

On Nov. 28, St. Bonaventure (4-2) claimed a 98-71 rout over Norfolk State. During the game, Nicholson had his moment with career highs in points (29) and rebounds (14). This was also his fifth career game where he scored at least 20 points.

Nicholson’s field goal percentage (70 percent) leads the A-10 as the hottest shooter in the conference.

In the two games Charlotte had this weekend, Spears was the most valuable of players. He averaged 27 points and five rebounds in the 49ers’ (4-1) pair of victories.

When Charlotte took down Yale, 88-74, on Nov. 23, Spears had 28 points and shot 13-of-15 from the field. On Nov. 24, Spears came up with 26 points and a pair of blocks when the 49ers held off Hofstra, 80-72.

Similar to Nicholson, Spears also had four games with at least 20 points, and leads the A-10 in scoring (24.4 points per game).

Lone Ram

Freshman Akeem Richmond was the only first-year player to receive the Rookie of the Week award yesterday, as he contributed largely to Rhode Island’s three-game sweep this past week.

In each of the three games, Richmond scored in double digits. In the first game for the Rams (4-0), Richmond scored 10 points in 15 minutes, leading to a 92-75 victory over Holy Cross. Richmond shot 50 percent from the field during the game.

The second win for Rhode Island came on Nov. 24 against Stony Brook, 75-58. During the game, Richmond once again scored 10 points, followed up with four rebounds.

The freshman saved the best for last on Nov. 28 when he scored 11 points in Rhode Islands’ 75-65 win over Davidson. Richmond drained three 3-pointers, the most by any Rams’ freshman since 2006.

Jimmy Baron previously held the record against Temple.

Double trouble is no help for La Salle

While junior Jerrell Williams and freshman Aaric Murray recorded double-doubles for La Salle in its Nov. 28 match against No. 4 Villanova, it was not enough to earn them a victory.

The Wildcats (5-0) took down the Explorers (3-2), 81-63. This was the first time that two La Salle players earned a double-double in the same game since Feb. 25, 2004, when the Explorers lost 74-70 in overtime.

Williams’ 16 rebounds (12 offensive) was the most by a La Salle player since present NBA player Rasual Butler grabbed 20 rebounds back on Nov. 18, 2002.

In Murray’s first career Big Five Tournament, he had 14 rebounds.  Both Williams and Murray scored 15 points, nearly half of the Explorers’ points in the contest.

Herb Scribner can be reached at [email protected].

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