Monday, December 28, 2009

MACON, Ga. – Despite a short week of action, two performances stood out as UNF’s Brad Haugabrook and Lipscomb’s Adnan Hodzic shared the Atlantic Sun’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award, the conference announced on Monday.

Haugabrook, the junior college transfer and starting point guard played 35 minutes a game and directed UNF to three straight wins to capture the South Mississippi Christmas Classic in Gulfport, Miss. During the tournament, he averaged 8.7 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and shot 47.1 percent from the field. The communications major from Newark, N.J. also had four steals and commited just seven turnovers. He also nailed two free throws with 13 seconds left to stretch a four-point lead to six and ice UNF's win over Conference USA foe Southern Miss in the final game.

The Ospreys became only the second Atlantic Sun team in league history to win a three-game, regular-season tournament in the span of three days. From Dec. 21-23, 2000 (the same three days in December as UNF’s wins), Georgia State won the Nike Festival in Honolulu by defeating the host Hawaii, UAB and Cal-State Northridge, kick-starting a season that ended 29-5 with A-Sun regular-season and tournament titles and the most recent NCAA Tournament win for a conference member school.

Hodzic dominated the low post and delivered a career performance Monday at perennial Pac-10 powerhouse Arizona. Hodzic posted a career-high 34 points while shooting 14-of-21 from the floor. He also hit on six-of-nine from the free throw line. Hodzic grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds, one off his career mark, in 41 minutes of action. Even more impressive, Hodzic had six offensive boards which were converted to 14 second chance points. Lipscomb’s other eight offensive rebounds led to just two second chance points.

With time running out in regulation, Hodzic rebounded a 3-pointer by Jordan Burgason and kicked it out Brian Wright who drained a trey with 1.5 seconds left to tie the game at 69 and force overtime. Lipscomb lost 83-82 in overtime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Nic Wise. Hodzic also delivered a solid performance on the defensive end holding Arizona centers Kyryl Natyazhko and Alex Jacobson to a combined eight points and five rebounds.

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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
Reggie Chambers, FGCU (So. - Guard - Miramar, Fla. - Communications) – Reggie Chambers scored a game-high 20 points and recorded a game-high five assists against DePaul last week. The 5-foot-9 guard also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds, and collected a game and career-high five steals. He shot 7-15 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc.

Jonathan Rodriguez, Campbell (Sr. - Forward - Bayamon, Puerto Rico - Sport Administration) – Hit season-highs in points (25), rebounds (13), field goals (9), field goal attempts (10), field goal percentage (.900) in an 88-80 loss Tuesday at Longwood.

Ben Smith, Jacksonville (Sr. - Guard - Dublin, Ga. - Sports Administration) – 32 pts at ETSU is his second highest single game effort. Seven treys tied for 4th on JU's single-game list. Second 30-plus scoring effort of the season. Scored 25 of his 32 in the 2nd half vs. ETSU, accounting for all but 13 of JU's points in the 2nd half.

Micah Williams, ETSU (Jr. - Guard - Manchester, Tenn. - Sports Administration) – Williams scored a team high 17 points, hitting on 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the Bucs' 93-70 win over Jacksonville ... Williams also tossed in three rebounds, as he played just 26 minutes.