DALLAS – Charlotte’s Aly Khalifa and Rice’s Mekhi Mason earned Conference USA Men’s Basketball weekly honors. The 2022-23 C-USA Players of the Week awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear and are voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
 
Khalifa grabs his first Player of the Week honor after leading Charlotte (16-11, 7-9 C-USA) to a pair of wins last week. He averaged 23 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field (18-34) and 50 percent from three-point range (10-20).
 
Mason picks up his fourth Freshman of the Week award after averaging 17 points and five rebounds per game in a 1-1 week for the Owls (17-10, 8-8 C-USA). On the week, he shot 58 percent from the field (11-19) and 71 percent from three-point range (5-7).
 
Player of the Week – Aly Khalifa, Charlotte – Center – Alexandria, Egypt
In Thursday's win over WKU, Khalifa posted career-highs in points (24) and three-pointers (six), including a pair in overtime to lift Charlotte past the Hilltoppers. On Saturday against LA Tech, Khalifa scored 22 points, marking the first time he's ever scored 20 in back-to-back games in his entire playing career at any level. He ended the afternoon 9-13 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range, including nine points in the final 10 minutes of the day to help seal the victory.
 
Freshman of the Week – Mekhi Mason, Rice – Guard – Gilbert, Ariz.
Mason began the week scoring a game-high 20 points – his second 20-point game of the year – and grabbing seven rebounds against UTSA. He was 7-13 from the floor, 2-4 from three and 4-5 from the free-throw line. Mason also added two assists, a pair of steals and a block to his stat line. He then scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds in an 83-77 victory over WKU. The Gilbert, Ariz., native was 4-6 from the floor and hit all three of his three-point attempts.
 
2022-23 C-USA Players of the Week
N14     Luke Frampton, WKU
N21     Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic
N28     Jordan Walker, UAB
D5       Quincy Olivari, Rice
D12     Dayvion McKnight, WKU
D19     Quincy Olivari, Rice
D26     Abou Ousmane, North Texas
J2        Brice Williams, Charlotte
J9        Denver Jones, FIU
J16      Dayvion McKnight, WKU
J23      Max Fiedler, Rice
J30      KJ Buffen, UAB
F6        Dontaie Allen, WKU
F13      Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic
F20      Aly Khalifa, Charlotte
 
2022-23 C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N14     Jordan Crawford, LA Tech
N21     Dashon Gittens, FIU
N28     Mekhi Mason, Rice
D5       Nick Boyd, Florida Atlantic
D12     DJ Richards, UTSA
D19     DJ Richards, UTSA
D26     Jordan Crawford, LA Tech
J2        Mekhi Mason, Rice
J9        Arturo Dean, FIU
J16      Arturo Dean, FIU
J23      Dashon Gittens, FIU
J30      Arturo Dean, FIU
F6        Mekhi Mason, Rice
F13      Arturo Dean, FIU
F20      Mekhi Mason, Rice