Courtesy of PatriotLeague.org
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Bucknell senior forward Zach Thomas was selected Patriot League Men’s Basketball The Rock Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, while Colgate freshman guard Jack Ferguson received his first The Rock Rookie of the Week honor when weekly awards were announced by the League office on Tuesday.
Thomas – the 2017 Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player – averaged 21.5 points and 9.0 rebounds to help Bucknell defeat a pair of Atlantic 10 opponents last week. Thomas did his damage in the second half in the two wins, averaging 18.0 points after halftime in wins over Richmond and La Salle. Ferguson becomes the seventh different Patriot League freshman and second Raider to claim The Rock Rookie of the Week, after scoring a team-high 19 points in a win over Pittsburgh-Bradford.
Loyola Maryland placed two on the weekly honorable mention list, including sophomore guard Chuck Champion and freshman guard Isaiah Hart. Champion led the Greyhounds in scoring in both of last week’s games, averaging 18.5 points, including 21 points in a win over Drexel. Hart averaged 11.0 points per game during the team’s 1-1 week. Lehigh sophomore forward Pat Andree also captures a spot on the honorable mention list after scoring a team-high 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds against Saint Francis (Pa.).
The Patriot League Men’s Basketball The Rock Player and Rookie of the Week awards are selected in a vote by League media members and each school’s sports information director, who are not eligible to vote for their own student-athletes.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F, 6-7, Ijamsville, Md./Oakdale
Thomas scored 21.5 points and pulled down 9.0 rebounds per game in victories over Richmond and LaSalle. The four-time player of the week averaged 18.0 points in the second half of Bison’s two wins. He scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half of a comeback win over the Spiders on December 19. The senior forward finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds to help Bucknell defeat La Salle on December 22.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL THE ROCK ROOKIE OF THE WEEK,
Jack Ferguson, Colgate, Fr., G, 6-3, Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead
Ferguson scored a team-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 15 minutes off the bench to help Colgate defeat Pittsburgh-Bradford, 103-52 on December 22. The freshman guard shot 6-for-9 from the floor to help the Raiders’ to their largest margin of victory since the 1946-47 season. Colgate’s 103 points was the program’s best single-game total in 20 years, while the victory helped them move to 5-0 at home for the first time in 17 years.
WEEKLY HONORABLE MENTION
Chuck Champion, Loyola Maryland, So., G, 6-3, Philadelphia, Pa./Friends Central
Champion averaged a team-leading 18.5 points in Loyola Maryland’s 1-1 week. The sophomore guard scored 21 points, shooting 4-of-4 from 3-point range, to lead the Greyhounds past Drexel on December 21. He finished with a team-high 16 points in his team’s loss to Memphis on December 23 to close non-League play.
Pat Andree, Lehigh, So., F, 6-8, Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy
Andree scored a team-high 18 points and added eight rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in Lehigh’s loss to Saint Francis (Pa.) on December 21. The sophomore forward connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field
Isaiah Hart, Loyola Maryland, Fr. G, 5-11, Morrow, Ga./Whitefield Academy
Hart turned in a pair of double-digit scoring performances during Loyola Maryland’s 1-1 week. The freshman guard scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the Greyhounds’ victory over Drexel on December 21. Hart finished with 12 points and three steals in Loyola Maryland’s non-League finale at Memphis on December 23.
Previous Patriot League Men’s Basketball Weekly Award Winners
12.18.17
Player: Nana Foulland, Bucknell, Sr. C
Rookie: Alex King, Army West Point, Fr. F
12.11.17
Player: Kahron Ross, Lehigh, Sr., G
Rookie: Austin Butler, Holy Cross, Fr. G
12.4.17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Justin Jaworski, Lafayette, Fr. G
11.27.17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Jimmy Sotos, Bucknell, Fr., G
11.20 17
Player: Jordan Fox, Army West Point, Jr., G
Rookie: Jordan Burns, Colgate, Fr., G
11.13 17
Player: Zach Thomas, Bucknell, Sr., F
Rookie: Caleb Green, Holy Cross, Fr., G
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