After averaging 22.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in contests against two Big West Conference opponents last week, senior 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.
Last Tuesday against UC Davis at KeyArena, Umipig shot 11-of-21 from the field, including 7-of-15 from behind the three-point line, as he finished with a season-high 33 points in Seattle U’s 76-67 victory over the Aggies. In the first half, he scored 13 points during an 18-4 Redhawk run that gave Seattle U a 12-point lead. After halftime, he scored 12 points during a 15-4 scoring run that extended the Redhawk advantage to 63-45. Umipig also collected six assists, four rebounds, and three steals against UC Davis.
On Saturday at Cal State Fullerton, Umipig overcame a scoreless first half by scoring 11 points in the second half, including three three-pointers. That extended his double-digit scoring streak to 16 games dating back to last season, and he has reached double figures in points 41 times out of 44 games with the Redhawks.
Umipig is currently second in Division I in three-pointers made per game (4.29), third in the country in total three-point field goals made (60), and 21st in Division I in three-point field goal percentage (46.2%). He has moved into third place on Seattle U’s all-time list for made three-pointers with 166 and is just five long distance baskets away from occupying second place all by himself.
This is the first weekly honor of the 2014-15 season for Umipig and the third of his Seattle U career, as he was previously recognized by the conference office on Dec. 9, 2013, and Dec. 23, 2013. Umipig becomes the second Redhawk to receive the league’s weekly award in men’s basketball this season, as Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) was named WAC Player of the Week on Dec. 1, 2014.
Seattle University (7-7) opens Western Athletic Conference play Saturday, Jan. 10, against defending WAC regular season champion Utah Valley in Orem, Utah, starting at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific time). Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 770 AM KTTH, starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff. The Redhawks then host Texas-Pan American Thursday, Jan. 15, and New Mexico State Saturday, Jan. 17, with tickets for both games available through Ticketmaster and the KeyArena Box Office.