LSC BASKETBALL
Lone Star Conference teams are set for Rivalry Week, during they will play each other twice in home-and-home contests.
Midwestern State leads the men’s standings, while there is a three-way tie between Abilene Christian, MSU and Tarleton State on the women’s side.
On the men’s side, the top four teams - MSU and Cameron along with Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville - will face each other as part of Rivalry Week.
The competition on the women’s side matches teams from the top and bottom of the standings.
The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by conference games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship. The top eight teams in the final conference standings qualify for the postseason tournament set for March 6-9 in Allen, Texas.
The LSC men have a 89-68 overall record so far this season. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 14-15 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 3-1 opposed to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The LSC women are 83-87 overall. The women’s squads are currently 15-11 combined versus Heartland teams, and 5-1 against the RMAC, which are the other conferences in the NCAA South Central Region.
NCAA BASKETBALL STATISTICS (through games 01/17)
Men: West Texas A&M is second in the nation in scoring defense (55.4).
Men: Texas A&M-Kingsville is third in field-goal percentage defense (37.8).
Men: WT’s Donald Sims is second in field-goal percentage (67.7).
Women: Tarleton State is first in field-goal percentage (47.8).
Women: Abilene Christian is fifth in three-point field goals per game (9.1).
Women: Abilene Christian is third in three-point field-goal defense (22.8).
Women: Tarleton’s Kiara Wright is third in field-goal percentage (61.6), fourth in rebounds per game (12.6) and fifth in double-doubles (10).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Bryan Hammond, Angelo State University, JR, Guard, New Orleans, La., St. Augustine HS
Hammond continued his offensive surge last week with a pair of great performances against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Incarnate Word. Hammond scored 17 points in an 81-67 win over the Javelinas on Wednesday before pouring in a career-high 26 points in a loss to Incarnate Word on Saturday in San Antonio. The junior guard is averaging 9.8 points per game for the season and has led the Rams in scoring the past four games. His mentality to attack the basket has translated into getting to the free-throw line where he has shined. He made 13 free throws against the Javelinas and 10 against the Cardinals.
MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Jon Cathey-Macklin, Tarleton State University, JR, Forward, Milwaukee, Wis., Washington HS
Cathey-Macklin averaged 6.0 boards a game this week and was a huge part in the Texans allowing opposing teams to less than 55 points a contest and just 39.0 percent shooting from the field. The junior forward dominated opposing team’s post players to a combined 20 points. ENMU’s big men scored just four points in the contest and Cathey-Macklin helped limit WT’s Donald Sims to just 10 points in Tarleton’s 65-50 win over the Buffs.
WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Renata Marquez, Abilene Christian University, JR, Forward, Conroe, Texas, Willis HS
Marquez led ACU to a pair of conference comeback wins this week over Incarnate Word and Kingsville, averaging 19.5 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and eight steals. She also made 61.9 percent of her shots from the floor, including 4-7 from beyond the arc, and was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. In addition to scoring 18 points vs. the Cardinals, Marquez also established a new single-game career high with seven steals. She then dropped 21 points on Kingsville in addition to blocking a career high two shots.
WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Devin Griffin, West Texas A&M University, JR, Forward, Lubbock, Texas, Coronado HS
Griffin continued her impressive start to 2013 as she tallied her fifth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the 70-60 upset win at league-leading Tarleton State Saturday. She was 8 of 19 from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end, along with four assists, one block and two steals. Griffin helped lead the Lady Buff “D” to hold the TexAnns to just 38.5 percent shooting from the field and .182 from beyond the arc. The TexAnns became the ninth-straight team WT has held under 40 percent from the field. In the 72-51 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday, Griffin had 22 points and six rebounds and tallied a career-high five blocks against the Lions. She led the team in minutes played averaging 39.5 for the week. Griffin and the Lady Buffs held their opponents to just 55.5 points in the two games and have allowed over 60 points just one time since Dec. 17 - a span of seven games and a 6-1 record since then. In addition, Griffin has helped lead the Lady Buffs to under 31 percent from beyond the arc in the past five games and under 20 percent in the last three for a .288 average for the season.