SAC Basketball Weekly Awards go to L-R’s McClure, MHU’s Cuthbertson, Wingate’s Harris
The SAC Basketball Player of the Week awards were announced on Tuesday, honoring a pair of conference record-breakers on the men’s side and a women’s student-athlete that averaged 20 points in a pair of victories.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The SAC Basketball Player of the Week awards were announced on Tuesday, honoring a pair of conference record-breakers on the men's side and a women's student-athlete that averaged 20 points in a pair of victories.
SAC Co-Men's Basketball Player of the Week | R.J. McClure, Lenoir-Rhyne
Despite his team dropping back-to-back games last week, McClure averaged 37 points and 4.5 rebounds for Lenoir-Rhyne, including a SAC-record 52 points on Wednesday in a double-overtime loss at Newberry.
McClure's 52 points exceeded the previous conference record of 51 set by current Carson-Newman senior Ishmael Sanders in 2011. McClure shot 17-of-27 from the field in the performance, which included a school-record 12 three-pointers.
The senior followed the 52-point effort with 22 points on Saturday in a loss at Anderson. He now ranks fourth in the conference in scoring at 20.1 points per game.
SAC Co-Men's Basketball Player of the Week | Isaiah Cuthbertson, Mars Hill
Cuthbertson led Mars Hill to its first SAC win of the season on Saturday against Catawba, finishing with 26 points and a conference-record 24 rebounds. The rebounding total – 13 defensive and 11 offensive - topped former Lion Andrew Brown's mark of 23 set in 1998.
The junior's 26 points against Catawba – which came on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 shooting from the foul line - also marked a season-high.
Earlier in the week, Cuthbertson had 11 points and five boards in a Mars Hill loss to Anderson. He currently ranks second in the SAC in rebounding, averaging 9.6 per game.
SAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Kayla Harris, Wingate
Harris averaged 20 points and 8.5 rebounds last week, leading Wingate to a pair of victories and keeping the Bulldogs just one game behind the top spot in the SAC standings.
On Wednesday against Queens, Harris finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in a 66-48 Wingate victory. She then notched her seventh double-double of the season on Saturday with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-68 win over Tusculum.
Harris shot 65.2-percent from the field in the two games, and now ranks second in the conference in rebounding at 8.9 per contest.