Ricky Harris, shooting guard, men’s basketball

Massachusetts men’s basketball guard Ricky Harris had been mired in a rather long shooting slump – but the sophomore picked a good time for the Minutemen to break out of it.

Harris hit seven 3-pointers in the two games for UMass this past week, helping the Minutemen defeat St. Bonaventure and Richmond in key Atlantic 10 Conference games.

Now the Maroon and White are in a four-way tie with Saint Joseph’s, Richmond and La Salle for third place in the A-10. UMass has two games remaining in the regular season; Wednesday at home against the Explorers and on the road this weekend against George Washington. Wins in both would give UMass a bye in the first round of the A-10 Tournament.

Harris scored a game-high 24 points in the victory over the Spiders this past Saturday, connecting on 5-of-7 from 3-point territory. Harris was particularly strong in the first half, scoring 18 of his 24 points before halftime.

In a 23-point win over the Bonnies, Harris scored 14 points, tying him with Matt Glass for second-most on the team. He hit 5-of-11 from the field, although he struggled a bit from 3-point range, going 2-of-7.

Harris has scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games so far for UMass (19-9, 8-6 A-10), and is averaging 17.9 points per game – trailing only Gary Forbes for the team-lead. Harris leads the Minutemen with 72 made 3-point field goals on 204 attempts, good for a 35.3 percentage. He also leads the team in steals with 44 and in free-throw percentage (75 percent).

Harris has scored 20 or more points 13 times this season. His 24 points against Richmond marked the first time over 20 for him since he scored 21 against Duquesne on Jan. 30.

The sophomore guard was named Co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for his performances, sharing the award with Richmond’s Dan Geriot.

Runner up: Cory Quirk, junior forward, ice hockey

Cory Quirk helped UMass defeat Boston University on Saturday, 5-1, with two goals and an assist. He scored the first goal of the game 3 minutes, 21 seconds into the first period against the Terriers, notching a power play goal off a pass from P.J. Fenton and Mike Kostka.

His second goal of the contest extended UMass’s lead to 3-1 late in the second period. That goal was also on the power play and was assisted by Alex Berry. The two goals by Quirk gave him 10 on the season.

Quirk returned the favor to Berry in the final period, assisting on Berry’s goal that gave UMass a 4-1 lead. The Minutemen would tack on a fifth goal en route to defeating the Terriers.

Quirk now ranks second on the team in both assists (15) and points, with 25. Only Fenton (109) has taken more shots than Quirk, who has attempted 107 this season.