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Shannon Evans Named MAC East Player Of The Week & Big 4 Player Of The Week
12/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, OH – University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's basketball sophomore Shannon Evans has been named the MAC East Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon. Evans becomes the second different UB player to win the award this season, following Justin Moss, who won it following the first weekend of play. For Evans, this is the first time he has been named the conference's Player of the Week in his career.
Also on Monday, it was announced that Evans had been named the Big 4 Player of the Week as joined UB's Alexus Malone in a clean sweep for the Bulls. Beginning this season, the Big 4 schools – UB, Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure - will name one student-athlete each week during the basketball season as men's and women's basketball Player of the Week. At the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, the All-Big 4 teams will be chosen.
Evans led the Bulls to a pair of victories this past week as he averaged 13.5 points and 8.0 assists per game. Evans became the first UB player since Jarod Oldham during the 2011-12 season to record at least eight assists in back-to-back games. In the win over Drexel, Evans had a total all-around contest as he finished with five rebounds and seven points in addition to his eight assists. He joined teammate Lamonte Bearden, who also dished out eight dimes in the game. Against Big 4 rival Niagara, Evans had eight more assists, but this time added 20 points, doing most of his damage from the free throw line, where he was 12-of-13. Overall, Evans finished the week with 16 assists, while recording just five turnovers combined over the two games.
Through the first nine games this season, Evans has recorded at least six assists in six of those, including three straight games. Evans is currently second on the Bulls in scoring at 14.8 points per game, the sixth highest total in the league, and his 5.2 assists per game are currently second in the MAC. Evans leads the MAC in minutes played, averaging just over 34 minutes per game.
The Bulls are currently off from action for the Christmas break, but will begin a two-game road trip on Sunday at #6 Wisconsin. The game will tip off at 8:00 pm EST and it will air live on the Big Ten Network.
