Tuesday, December 02, 2008

MACON, Ga. - By virtue of a perfect week, Kennesaw State owns a record three games above the .500 mark for the first time since joining the Atlantic Sun and Jon-Michael Nickerson led the Owls and earned his first Player of the Week award, the conference office announced on Tuesday

Nickerson had a tremendous week for the Owls as the junior helped KSU to three wins including a last-second, game-winning jumper to lift the Owls past USC Upstate in the conference opener. The junior sports management major from Millbrook, Ala., nearly averaged a double-double for the week, averaging 9.3 ppg and 8.0 rebounds and also recorded his third double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound effort against the Spartans.

Nickerson has enjoyed a breakout start to the 2008-09 season as his three double-doubles share the conference lead with Mercer’s Danny Emerson and he ranks fourth in the A-Sun in rebounds per game at 7.9. He had not recorded in a double-double prior to this season. Nickerson has averaged 13.0 points per game after netting only 5.1 points per game in his first two seasons in Kennesaw. His five 3-point field goals match the number he made in his first two years, in only 15 attempts as compared to 40 combined tries in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Another area of improvement has been at the charity stripe where he has connected on 76.5 percent of his attempts (16-for-21) this year as opposed to hitting on just 56.4 percent (31-for-55) from the free-throw line the last two years.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

Bobby Davis, USC Upstate (Sr. - F - Aiken, S.C. - Business Management) -- Opened A-Sun play with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals at Kennesaw State. Against Duquesne, tied a career-high with 24 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Scored 20 of hi 24 points in the second half as the Spartans rallied from 15 down to get within two on two occasions.

Matthew Dotson, Belmont (Sr. - F - Centerville, Tenn. - History) -- Dotson averaged 18.5 points per game on 53 percent three-point shooting this past week as Belmont defeated Tennessee State, 91-63, and lost at then fourth-ranked Pittsburgh, 74-60. The senior forward scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed five rebounds at Tennessee State. Dotson, who entered the week among the NCAA leaders in three-point field goal percentage, went 9-for-17 from three-point range over the two games.

Daniel Emerson, Mercer (Jr. - F - St. Mary's, Ga. – Business) -- Named to the Chicago Invitational Challenge all-tournament team after averaging 15 points and 8.7 rebounds during the week. He hit two clutch free throws with 4.6 seconds on the clock to give the Bears a three-point lead as Mercer held off Texas Southern last Friday night. He was 7-of-8 from the line against the Tigers and collected a game-high eight rebounds. Emerson followed up with his third double-double of the season versus Chicago State, scoring 17 points and recording a game-high 14 rebound

Courtney Pigram, ETSU (Sr. - G - Memphis, Tenn. - Interdisciplinary Studies) -- Continued his solid play last week, eclipsing 20 points in both ETSU's games, posting 22 points in the win at Tennessee Tech and a game high 27 at Bradley; Pigram also dished out a team high with five assists in both games that week; Currently second in the league with 19.8 points per game and leads the league with 5.8 assists per game.

Jonathan Rodriguez, Campbell (Jr. - F - Miami - Sport Management) -- Scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second-straight double-double (and 31st of his career) on Saturday at Appalachian State. Rodriguez extended his school record streak for consecutive double-figure scoring games to 43.

Ben Smith, Jacksonville (Jr. - G - Dublin, Ga. - Sports Administration) -- Put up his second career 30-point effort against Ga. Tech, hitting a career-high 8 3-pointers - tied for third most in school history... scored a team-high 21 points at Baylor; Ranks 3rd in A-Sun in scoring and 10th in 3FG %...his 8 treys against Ga. Tech is the most by A-Sun player this season.