For the second time in three weeks, Seattle University junior guard Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) has been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, announced Monday morning by the conference office.
Over the past week, Umipig averaged 26.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from behind the three-point line, and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line as he helped the Redhawks put together one comeback victory and nearly led Seattle U to another come-from-behind win.
Last Thursday, he tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 points as Seattle U rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat Norfolk State in the ShoWare College Classic, 70-67. He hit a three-pointer with 1:13 remaining in regulation to pull the Redhawks to within one at 67-66, and then he made two free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the second half to close out Seattle U’s fifth consecutive victory.
Sunday at Nebraska Omaha, Umipig scored a career-high 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 from behind the three-point line, and 7-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. He scored 25 points and dished out four assists in the second half, making three shots from behind the three-point line during a five-minute span midway through the half to give the Redhawks a 42-40 advantage. With Seattle U down by 13 late in the game, he scored eight points during a 14-3 Redhawk run that cut the deficit to two points with 1:10 left in regulation.
For the season, Umipig leads the WAC in scoring (19.4 ppg), assists (4.58 apg), and made three-pointers per game (3.00). He is also third in the league in minutes played per game (32.83), seventh in both free throw percentage (.833) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22), and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.383). The 35-point effort against Nebraska Omaha was the most in a single game by a WAC player this season, it was his second game of the season with at least 30 points, and it surpassed his previous career high of 34 points set while at Cal State Fullerton against the University of the Redlands Nov. 11, 2011.
Umipig previously earned WAC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 9 after averaging 20.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in Redhawk victories over UC Davis, Cal State Northridge, and Cal State Fullerton.
Seattle University, currently 8-4 overall, hosts UC Santa Barbara in its final non-conference regular season game of the 2013-14 season next Monday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center.