Dixie State's Tom Whitehead claims weekly honor

Dixie State's Tom Whitehead named PacWest Player of the Week

PHOENIX, AZ - Dixie State junior forward Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) has been selected the Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.

The honor was announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, Jan. 11, for games contested Jan. 4-10.

Whitehead led the Red Storm to back-to-back victories over BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade last week by averaging 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.

He ranked second in scoring, third in rebounding, and tied for sixth in assist average for the week in the conference. He also averaged 1.5 steals per game, made four three-pointers, and connected on 18 of 23 (78.3%) free throw attempts.

Men's Basketball Weekly Report (pdf)

PacWest Men's Basketball Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll

Steven Bennett (right) - Chaminade (Jr., 5-6, 155, G, Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey)...led the PacWest in scoring for the week after averaging 25.0 points per game...averaged 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest...helped Chaminade to a 1-1 week on the Mainland...ranked fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).

Mike Helton - Hawai‘i Pacific (Sr., 6-6, 187, G/F, El Paso, TX/Montwood)...ranked third in the PacWest in scoring average for the week (20.3 points per game)...ranked fourth in assists per game (3.7)...led the Sea Warriors to a 3-0 conference start in the Bay Area...hit 11 of 13 (84.6%) free throw attempts...ranked second in steals per game for the week in the conference (3.0)...tied for fourth in three-pointers made per game (2.0) for the week...connected on 6 of 18...ranked fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4).

C.J. Jackson (left) - Hawai‘i Pacific (Sr., 6-8, 265, F, Buena Vista, GA/Tri-County)...led the Sea Warriors to a 3-0 week in the Bay Area...averaged 15.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots per game...led the PacWest in rebounding and blocked shots for the week...ranked ninth in scoring and fifth in shooting for the week...connected on 19 of 30 field goal attempts (63.3%)...was 8 for 10 (80.0%) from the line, good enough to stand 10th for the week...ranked fourth in steals per game for the week (2.3).

Bryan Ngo - Hawai‘i Hilo (Sr., 5-10, 175, G, San Jose, CA/Santa Clara)...led the Vulcans to a 3-0 week in the greater San Francisco area...ranked fourth in scoring average (19.3) for the week in the PacWest...shot 48.7% from the field (19 for 39)...averaged 4.7 rebounds per contest...connected on 17 of 19 free throw attempts (89.5%)...ranked sixth in foul shooting for the week.

Donovan Plunkett - Dixie State (Jr., 5-11, 160, G, Oroville, CA/Las Plumas)...helped the Red Storm to a 2-0 week with victories over BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade...ranked fifth in scoring average in the league after posting 18.5 points per game...shot 57.1% (12 for 21) from the floor...tied for seventh in shooting for the week...made 50.0% (4 for 8) of his three-point attempts...tied for fifth in three-point shooting...tied for fourth in three's made per game for the week (2.0).

Phillip Samuel - Academy of Art (Jr., 6-3, 185, G, Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces)...averaged 18.0 points over two losses during the week for the Urban Knights...ranked sixth in scoring for the week in the PacWest...hit 50.0% (5 for 10) of his three-point attempts...tied for fifth in three-point shooting and tied for first in three-pointers made per game.

Justin Smith (right) - Hawai‘i Hilo (Sr., 6-6, 205, F, Los Angeles, CA/Reseda)...averaged 16.0 points per game over three contests as the Vulcans posted a 3-0 mark...ranked eighth in scoring average for the week...connected on 56.4% (22 for 39) of his shots from the field...ranked fifth in rebounding average (8.0).

Alex Ward - Dominican (CA) (Sr., 6-5, 225, F, Redding, CA/Shasta)...averaged 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Penguins despite a 0-2 week...tied for eighth in rebounding and tied for 11th in scoring for the week in the PacWest...ranked third in shooting (65.0%) after making 13 of 20 field goal attempts...ranked third in steals per game (2.5) and first in three-point shooting (1.000) after going 2 for 2.

Justin Wesolowski - Grand Canyon (So., 6-7, N/A, F, Mesa, AZ/Mountain View)...averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game during the week for the Antelopes...ranked sixth in rebounding and first in shooting (72.7%)...made 8 of 11 shots from the field.

Marques Whippy - BYU-Hawaii (Jr., 6-5, 215, G, Bua, Fiji/LDS)...averaged 11.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6% from the field for the week...made 10 of 19 shots to rank 11th in the league in shooting for the week...ranked fourth in rebounding...averaged 2.0 steals per game.