The Urban Knights went 2-0 and moved back into first place to earn Team of the Week. Hilo's Carlos Ramsey Jr. went for 36 to help the Vulcans clinch a playoff spot and HPU's 7-foot-4 center had 36 rebounds in 3 games to claim Defender of the Week.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai'i Hilo's Carlos Ramsey Jr., G, R-Jr., 6-5, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hawai'i Hilo's Carlos Ramsey Jr. wrapped up a 2-1 week for the Vulcans by putting 36 points in the scorebook at Westmont during a 83-72 UHH win. He connected on 13-of-20 shots from the field and was 8-of-10 from the free throw line as the Vulcans clinched a PacWest playoff berth. The 36 points was a career high for the Milwaukee native and is the highest scoring total for a PacWest player this season. The left-hander scored 18 of the Vulcans' final 24 points (6-6 FG, 5-5 FT) with under six minutes remaining to extend the lead back out to double digits. He also totaled 70 points for the week (23.3 ppg), which included 20 points at Fresno Pacific. Ramsey Jr. is now averaging 17.2 points per game and is shooting .534 from the field.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: HPU's Matthew Van Komen, Gr., C, 7-4, Lehi, Utah
HPU's Matthew Van Komen helped the Sharks go 2-1 last week on a critical road trip to northern and central California. The 7-foot-4 center had 36 rebounds in three games, including 16 against Azusa Pacific for an average of 12 per game. He also had six blocked shots. On the offensive end of the court, the former St. Mary's (Calif.) center scored 29 points on sizzling 14-of-17 shooting. Van Komen is now averaging 7.7 rebounds per game, third best in the conference, and has double figure rebound totals in four of his last five games.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Academy of Art Urban Knights
Academy of Art went 2-0 last week with victories over Dominican and Fresno Pacific to move back into first place in the PacWest with a 14-4 record. The Urban Knights have a one game lead over Point Loma (13-5) and are also now 19-7 overall. Coach Scott Waterman's team has won five games in a row. In ART U's 83-80 win over Dominican, Rodney Munson has 18 points and five assists, Jamal Fuller added 19 points and six rebounds and Latrell Williams had 11 rebounds and three blocks. Fuller totaled 39 points in the two wins. In the 72-49 victory over the Sunbirds, the Urban Knights held FPU to the lowest points scored this season (49), which is the fourth-lowest the Urban Knights have allowed in its program's history. With the victories, the Urban Knights clinched first or second place in the conference and a first round bye.
FINALS WEEK: The last week of the regular season is upon us. Five of the six spots have been secured for the PacWest Tournament in San Diego, with one or two regular season games to go per team. Academy of Art sits in first (14-4), Point Loma is second (13-5), followed by HPU (12-6), Biola (11-7) and Hawai'i Hilo (11-8) who have all clinched berths. Azusa Pacific (9-10) and Dominican (7-11) are the only two teams left with a chance at that last position.
THIS WEEK IN THE PACWEST: Games this week that can/will effect conference championships, seedings and qualification include Thursday's Point Loma at Dominican game, Biola at Academy of Art and Chaminade at HPU. On Saturday, the last day of the regular season, Point Loma squares off at Academy of Art for the conference championship, Biola is at Dominican, Azusa Pacific is at Fresno Pacific and HPU is at Hawai'i Hilo.
REGIONAL RANKINGS RIGHT AROUND CORNER: Last Wednesday, the first listing from the NCAA regarding regional teams under consideration for postseason play was released. It wasn't an official ranking, just a list of those teams "under consideration". This Wednesday (Feb. 28) the first actual ranking will be unveiled. In last week's list (presented in alphabetical order), the PacWest was represented by Academy of Art and Point Loma.
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Like last week, Chaminade had a big win to start the week. knocking off Fresno Pacific (89-82 OT) on Monday. Ross Reaves had 32 points, one week after putting up 31 on a Monday night. The Silverswords outscored the Sunbirds 16-9 in overtime ... Dominican stayed alive with a big win over Hawai'i Hilo last week (80-67), with Dale Currie leading five Penguins in double figures with 23 points. If Dominican wins their final two games this week and Azusa Pacific loses their last contest, both teams are 9-11 and the Penguins would win the tiebreaker between the two squads and would go to San Diego ... For the second time this season, Westmont beat a team on the top of the PacWest standings. After beating Academy of Art earlier this month, the Warriors nipped Point Loma 73-71 on Wednesday. Adrian McIntyre had 28 points for the home team, while Wynton Brown led the Sea Lions with 20 points and 14 rebounds ... Isaac Peralta had 26 points, seven rebounds and three steals in FPU's loss to Hawai'i Hilo ... Biola won big at home on Senior Night against HPU, 79-58. Tyus Parrish-Tillman had 15 points and six rebounds and Casey Cappo had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards ... Azusa Pacific eliminated Concordia from postseason contention with a 64-56 win on Saturday. George Reidy had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Cougars, who outscored the Golden Eagles 40-29 in the second half.
