Tuesday, January 11, 2011

MACON, Ga. – ETSU’s Mike Smith tallied the program’s first 20-point, 20-rebound performance in more than 50 years and earned his second Player of the Week award. At Belmont, freshman Blake Jenkins helped the Bruins remain perfect in league play to win his first Newcomer of the Week award, the conference announced on Tuesday.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mike Smith, ETSU (Guard – Sr. – Vandalia, Mo. – Business)
• Second A-Sun Player of the Week award.
• Became the first player at ETSU since 1959 to post a 20-point, 20-rebound game in the Bucs' win against FGCU.
• Became only the third player in the nation to have a 20-20 performance this season.
• Notched the first 20-20 game in the A-Sun since Adnan Hodzic vs Kennesaw State on Feb. 25, 2010.
• Averaged a double-double in the Bucs' three games this past week, averaging 23 points, 11 rebounds and two assists per game.
• Shot 55 percent from the field as ETSU scored three victories.

OTHER NOMINEES:
• Kerron Johnson (So., Belmont) –Averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 rebounds as Belmont earned three league wins. He tied his career-high with 15 points against Jacksonville.
• Lorne Merthie (Jr., Campbell) –Scored a career-high 27 points, including nine in overtime, to lead Campbell to an 80-74 win against Mercer on Monday.
• Brian Mills (Sr., Mercer) – Averaged 22.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, highlighted by a 30-point effort against USC Upstate. He reached the 800-point and 500-rebound milestones.
• Josh Slater (Sr., Lipscomb) – Averaged 22.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three games. Scored 30 points to lead the Bisons to a come-from-behind victory against UNF.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: Blake Jenkins, Belmont (Forward – Fr. – Knoxville, Tenn. – Business)
• First A-Sun Newcomer of the Week award.
• Averaged 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game as Belmont defeated Stetson, UNF and Jacksonville to remain unbeaten in conference play.
• Recorded a career-high with 10 points against UNF.
• Added nine points and three rebounds against Jacksonville.
• Totaled nine points, three rebounds and three assists at Stetson.
• Belmont improved to 6-0 in A-Sun play for the second time in school history (2006-07).

OTHER NOMINEES:
• Aaron Anderson (So., Kennesaw State) – Averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds in a pair of A-Sun games. Recorded his second double-double of the season, 18 points and 15 rebounds at Campbell.
• Torrey Craig (Fr., USC Upstate) - Scored 24 points against Stetson; shot 9-for-15. He tied a career best with his five triples. At Mercer, he finished with 12 points and nine rebounds
• Eric Griffin (Jr., Campbell) – Collected his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds in OT win against Mercer. Scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards in defeat of Kennesaw State.

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