NMSU’s Jones named top player among WAC peers
He guided Aggies to league title
New Mexico State’s Jemerrio Jones went and grabbed Player of the Year honors in the Western Athletic Conference in the same way he grabs missed shots.
Jones joins Aggies coach Chris Jans as winners of the league’s top individual honors. Jans is the Coach of the Year after guiding the Aggies to a 25-5 season and the WAC regularseason title.
Jones’ player of the year honor makes it three straight for New Mexico State. It is also the fourth time an Aggie has been named the league’s top player in five years. Through 30 games, Jones is averaging a double-double with 10.9 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game in addition to his 3.3 assists per game. The 6-foot-5 product of Memphis, Tenn., finished the regular-season with 18 double-doubles — eight of which came in conference play — as well as a triple-double.
Joining Jones on the WAC first team is senior transfer guard Zach Lofton, who is averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists this season for the Aggies. The grad transfer was also named to the WAC All-Newcomers Team in addition to his firstteam honors.
Joining Lofton on the allnewcomers team is AJ Harris, who sat out last season as a transfer from Ohio State. He was fourth on the team in scoring and averaged 9.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 assists as a redshirt sophomore.
New Mexico State heads into the WAC tournament Thursday against the No. 8 seed Chicago State at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on ESPN3. com. No. 6 GONZAGA 74, BYU 54: In Las Vegas, Killian Tillie scored 22 points and Gonzaga raced away to its sixth straight
West Coast Conference title Tuesday night.
Zach Norvell Jr. had 17 points and the Bulldogs (30-4) held BYU to 35 percent shooting to win their 17th WCC title and 17th straight conference tournament game. CHARLESTON 83, NORTHEASTERN 76 OT: In North Charleston, S.C., Joe Chealey had 32 points and the College of Charleston rallied from 17 points down in the second half to win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship and earn its first NCAA Tournament berth in 19 years.
The Cougars caught fire in the extra period. They hit their first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Marquise Pointer to take a 75-69 lead. LIU BROOKLYN 71, WAGNER 61: In New York, Joel Hernandez had 32 points and seven rebounds, and LIU Brooklyn shocked New York City rival Wagner to win the Northeast Conference tournament title
and earn its first NCAA Tournament bid in five years.
Raiquan Clark had 20 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Blackbirds (1816), who handed the top-seeded Seahawks (23-9) their first loss this season on their Staten Island campus. SOUTH DAKOTA ST. 97,
SOUTH DAKOTA 87: In Sioux Falls, S.D., David Jenkins scored 29 points, Mike Daum had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and South Dakota State won the Summit League tournament championship, clinching the Jackrabbits a third straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Reed Tellinghuisen added 18 points and 11 rebounds for SDSU (28-6), which has won 11 straight. The Jackrabbits shot 48 percent from the field, including 14-for-28 from beyond the 3-point line. WRIGHT STATE 74, CLEVELAND ST. 57: In Detroit, Grant Benzinger had 19 points and nine rebounds to help second-seeded Wright State beat eighth-seeded Cleveland State to win the Horizon League tournament title and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Raiders (25-9) will play in the NCAAs for the third time in school history and the first since 2007.