Tuesday, January 06, 2009

MACON, Ga. - ETSU’s Courtney Pigram put on the nation’s best scoring display last week, spanning three games, as the conference’s active leading scorer picked up his fourth Player of the Week award, the conference office announced on Tuesday.

Pigram, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., treated the ETSU fans to one of the most impressive individual performances in Buccaneer basketball history on Saturday against Jacksonville. His 39-point effort in ETSU’s 84-82 victory tied for ninth on the program’s all-time single-game scoring list, while coming up just three points shy of the Memorial Center’s all-time single-game scoring mark of 42 points (set by Dimeco Childress against Western Carolina on Feb. 14, 2002). Pigram then capped off the week's efforts with a game-high 24 points against UNF on Monday. In three games -- which included 23 points against Morehead State on Dec. 30 -- Pigram scored 86 points, more than any player in the country for the week. He hit on 56 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range.

The performance moved Pigram into the top 10 in Atlantic Sun history in scoring as the interdisciplinary studies major increased his career total to 1,736 points. In just the last week, he moved up from 14th on the list, passing Samford’s Joey Davenport (1,651 points from 1992-96), Centenary’s Patrick Greer (1,673 points from 1987-91), Stetson’s E.J. Gordon (1,691 points from 2002-06) and UALR’s James Scott (1,731 points from 1987-91). This week, he has the potential to move into eighth place passing Mercer’s Scott Emerson and Belmont’s Justin Hare with 26 points.

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

Reed Baker, FGCU (So. - G - Naples, Fla. - Business) -- In FGCU's 70-61 win over Army, Reed Baker led all scorers with 26 points, along with a game-high 9 rebounds. In FGCU's 82-76 loss at Lipscomb, Baker led the Eagles with 23 points and five rebounds. Baker shot 7-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. In the Eagles 79-67 loss at Belmont, Baker finished with a team-high 20 points.

Garfield Blair, Stetson (Sr. - F - Orlando, Fla. - E Business Technology) -- Led Hatters to Road win over Lipscomb. First Hatters win at Lipscomb since 2004-05 season. Led team in points (22) assists (three) and steals (two).

Bobby Davis, USC Upstate (Sr. - F - Aiken, S.C. - Business Management) -- Recorded his fourth-straight double-double of the season by finishing with 24 points and 16 rebounds, both career-highs, in leading Upstate to its first A-Sun win of the season Saturday against North Florida. Made 14-of-16 free throw attempts in the game. Added a solid 11 rebounds and six assists with seven points against Jacksonville Monday. Scored five points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out three assists in the second half alone to help lead Upstate's comeback from a 17-point deficit to cut the lead to five.

Daniel Emerson, Mercer (Jr. - G - St. Mary's, Ga. - Business) -- Pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds, including 14 defensive boards, at Campbell - The effort was the highest tally in the league and 14th highest in the NCAA this season. The forward averaged 13.5 rebounds in two games last week and narrowly missed his seventh double-double of the season versus the Camels with his 20 rebounds and nine points.

Alex Renfroe, Belmont (Sr. - G - Hermitage, Tenn. - Exercise Science) -- Led Belmont to solid home victories against Stetson and FGCU. Averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in the return to conference play. The point guard scored 16 points with seven assists and six rebounds in only 20 minutes of play against Stetson in the convincing win. Two days later, Renfroe flirted with a triple-double against FGCU with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Over the two games, The 6-2 guard shot a staggering 77 percent from the floor (10-for-13) and was 4-for-6 from three-point territory. Renfroe is among the conference leaders in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, scoring and offensive rebounding.

Jonathan Rodriguez, Campbell (Jr. - F - Bayamon, P.R. - Sport Management) -- Led the Camels to consecutive wins over A-Sun opponents for the first time this year. He had 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 72-57 win over Mercer, then added 22 points and 7 boards in a 77-67 win over Kennesaw State. He started the week with an 18-point, 9-rebound outing vs. Penn (Dec. 30). He ranks 3rd among A-Sun leaders in scoring and rebounding, while also rating among league leaders in FG Pct and FT Pct.