Dec. 29, 2014
UTEP sophomore forward Vince Hunter repeats as the C-USA Player of the Week and earns his fourth honor of the season. Hunter registered his league-best eighth double-double with 18 points and a career-best 16 rebounds against Kent State to claim MVP honors at the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. Rice guard Bishop Mency is also a repeat winner as C-USA Freshman of the Week this season. Mency scored a season-high 17 points against Lamar. Awards are chosen by a vote from a media panel representing the 14 member schools.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
VINCE HUNTER, UTEP
Sophomore, 6-8, F, Detroit, Michigan
Hunter registered his eighth double-double in 12 games to earn MVP honors at the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational with another dominating performance against Kent State. He scored 18 points and tied his career-high with 16 rebounds as the Miners edged the Golden Flashes, 78-75, for the tournament title. UTEP has won the event three years in a row for the first time since 1985-88. This is Hunter's fourth C-USA Player of the Week honor of the season and his career, but he won a season-best five C-USA Freshman of the Week awards last year.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
BISHOP MENCY, RICE
Freshman, 6-5, G, Chino Hills, California
Mency notched a season-high 17 points in the team's only outing of the week, an overtime setback at Lamar. He played 41 minutes before fouling out and knocked down 3-of-8 three-pointers and 4-of-5 free throws in the game to accompany six rebounds and an assist. At 9.4 points per game, Mency leads Rice's large freshman class in scoring and ranks fourth among C-USA freshmen. He averages 2.0 three-pointers per game with a 37.0 percent mark from downtown. This is Mency's second C-USA Freshman of the Week honor of the season as he received the award on Nov. 24 as well.
C-USA Players of the Week
N17: Vince Hunter, UTEP
N24: Mike Thorne Jr., Charlotte
D1: Vince Hunter, UTEP
D8: Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech
D15: Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech / T.J. Price, WKU
D22: Vince Hunter, UTEP
D29: Vince Hunter, UTEP
C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N17: Jeremy Combs, North Texas
N24: Bishop Mency, Rice
D1: Torin Dorn, Charlotte
D8: Justin Massey, Florida Atlantic
D15: Justin Johnson, WKU / Edward Simpson Jr., Middle Tennessee
D22: Keyshawn Woods, Charlotte
D29: Bishop Mency, Rice
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