DALLAS – WKU junior center Charles Bassey returned to claim his second C-USA Player of the Week nod in three weeks on Monday. The Lagos, Nigeria, product averaged 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the Hilltoppers' pair of home wins over Gardner-Webb and Rhode Island. C-USA Freshman of the Week was awarded to Southern Miss guard Jaron Pierre, Jr. The newcomer muscled consecutive games in double figures and became the first Golden Eagle since 2013 to notch a double-double. C-USA weekly awards are voted on by the league's men's basketball communications directors. 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CHARLES BASSEY, WKU
JUNIOR, C, 6-11, 235, LAGOS, NIGERIA
Bassey put on a career performance in WKU's (5-2) 86-84 win versus Gardner-Webb on Thursday. The junior erupted for a career-high 29 points (13-19 FG) and earned his season's fourth double-double with 14 rebounds. He also tallied three blocks in his 33 minutes. Bassey then came a rebound short of his second double-double Sunday against Rhode Island. In 27 minutes, he collected 13 points, nine boards, five blocks and a pair of assists in the Hilltoppers' 68-65 victory. Bassey managed 58.6 percent of his shots from the floor and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe through both games.With eight stuffs on the week, Bassey continues to lead the nation in total blocks (28) and blocks per game (4.0), while also ranking first in the country with 79 total rebounds and 21 dunks. 

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
JARON PIERRE, JR., SOUTHERN MISS
FRESHMAN, G, 6-5, 185, NEW ORLEANS, LA
The newcomer anchored the Golden Eagle offense as Southern Miss' (1-3) leading scorer in both of its games last week, and his performance against South Alabama on Saturday was one for the record books. Pierre, Jr. became the program's first freshman since 2007 to drop 25 points, while also becoming the first since 2013 to record a double-double. The New Orleans product went 9-for-16 from the floor, hitting 6-of-11 3-point shots, and was responsible for 11 of the team's first 13 points that afternoon. He also added 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 38 minutes. At Tulane earlier in the week, Pierre, Jr. led his squad with 11 points off the bench and pulled down six rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
 
C-USA Players of the Week
N30        Charles Bassey, WKU
D7           Taevion Kinsey, Marshall
D14        Charles Bassey, WKU

C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N30        Dayvion McKnight, WKU
D7           Kenneth Lofton, Jr., Louisiana Tech
D14        Jaron Pierre, Jr., Southern Miss