After averaging over 20 points per game in helping the Seattle University men’s basketball team to three victories during the first week of December, redshirt junior guard Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) has been named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, announced Monday morning by the conference office.
Later in the day, CollegeInsider.com announced that Umipig has been named the Lou Henson Award National Mid-Major Player of the Week. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years and encompassed 779 victories. Umipig's play was one of the notes in Angela Lento's weekly mid-major notebook found here on CollegeInsider.com.
Last Monday, Umipig scored a season-high 30 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 from behind the three-point line, and 8-of-9 from the free throw line as the Redhawks defeated the UC Davis Aggies, 77-53. It was the first 30-point performance by a Redhawk player in a single game since February 2012.
At Cal State Northridge Thursday night, Umipig collected 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists in Seattle U’s 58-53 victory. With just 1:29 left in regulation, the Redhawks ahead by just one point, and the shot clock quickly winding down, Umipig launched a three-point shot attempt that rattled in, giving Seattle U a cushion to play with the rest of the way. He also made two free throws in the final minute to help solidify the team’s first road win of the season.
Two nights later in a rematch with his former team, Umipig went 6-for-11 from the field, hitting four three-pointers in the first half, and then he made four free throws late in the second half as the Redhawks defeated the Cal State Fullerton Titans, 74-65. He also pulled down three rebounds and dished out four assists to help Seattle U win back-to-back road games for the first time since February 2011.
For the week, Umipig averaged 20.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. So far this season, he continues to lead the WAC with 18.9 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.89 made three-pointers per game. He is also second in the league in minutes per game (33.67 mpg), tied for sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50), and eighth in free throw percentage (.824).
The Seattle University men’s basketball team, currently 6-3, is taking fall quarter finals this week and will not return to competition until Sunday, Dec. 15, against Pacific Lutheran at KeyArena at Seattle Center starting at 2 p.m. Tickets for all remaining Seattle U home basketball games at KeyArena are available at GoSeattleU.com, through Ticketmaster, and at the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours.