March 1, 2010
Center Valley, Pa. - After making history as the first Patriot League men's basketball student-athlete to earn Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, Lehigh freshman CJ McCollum put his name in the record book again by tying a League mark with his ninth Anaconda Rookie of the Week award of the season on Monday.
McCollum ties the record of nine Rookie of the Week awards set by teammate Marquis Hall (2007) and Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (2003). McCollum averaged 28.5 points, 6.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in Lehigh's wins over Bucknell and Holy Cross, and became the all-time Patriot League freshman scoring leader in the process.
The Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week award goes to American sophomore Stephen Lumpkins, who averaged 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Eagles' wins over Navy and Lafayette. The victories lifted the Eagles to a 7-7 Patriot League record and the No. 4 seed in the 2010 Patriot League Tournament. Lumpkins earns his first weekly honor.
The Patriot League men's basketball season continues with the 2010 League Tournament, which begins with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday. No. 1 seed Lehigh opens up against No. 8 Army and No. 5 Navy is at No. 4 American on one side of the bracket, while No. 6 Colgate is at No. 3 Lafayette and No. 7 Holy Cross goes to No. 2 Bucknell on the other. The Holy Cross/Bucknell contest will be on the CBS College Sports Network at 7 p.m., when the Army/Lehigh and Colgate/Lafayette games also tip. The Navy/American contest gets going at 7:30 p.m.
Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week
Stephen Lumpkins, American, So., F, 6'8, 225, Redwood City, Calif./Juniperro Serra
Lumpkins averaged a 20-10 double-double to lift American to two huge victories last week, as the Eagles beat Navy on Wednesday and Lafayette on Saturday to end up as the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and a host in the quarterfinal round. Lumpkins managed 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the two games, and was nearly perfect from the floor by shooting 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) in the contests. The Eagles would have been eliminated from their chance at a top-four seed with a loss at Navy on Wednesday, but won in double overtime, 80-77, thanks largely to Lumpkins' 21-point, 11-rebound effort. The Eagles got the win and the help they needed for the No. 4 spot with a 78-60 victory over Lafayette on Saturday. Lumpkins put up one of the best efforts in his career in the victory, scoring a career-high 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting and also pulling down 12 rebounds. He added averages of 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in the two games. Lumpkins recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the second time this season, and his total of seven is second in the Patriot League. He earns the Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week award for the first time.
Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week
CJ McCollum, Lehigh, Fr., G, 6'3, 165, Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak
On a day where he made history as the first student-athlete in League annals to earn the Player and Rookie of the Week awards in the same season, McCollum added another major accomplishment by tying a League record with his ninth Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week award of the season. He now shares the mark with teammate Marquis Hall (2006-07) and Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (2002-03). McCollum wins the Rookie of the Week award for the fourth straight time, and seventh in the past eight weeks. He had two outstanding performances to help the Mountain Hawks seal the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and their first-ever outright regular-season title. With first place on the line against Bucknell on Wednesday, McCollum scored 29 points with six rebounds and four assists in an 81-59 Lehigh victory. He became the all-time Patriot League freshman scoring leader during the game, surpassing the mark of 509 set by Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1994-95). McCollum then scored 28 points with a career-high eight assists and five rebounds to push the Mountain Hawks past Holy Cross, 91-80, on Wednesday. He averaged 28.5 points, 6.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in the two games, while shooting 54 percent from the field, 9-of-15 from three-point range and 12-of-14 from the line. McCollum finished with a League-best 23.5 points per game against Patriot League foes, and is third at 18.8 per game for the season. That mark is the top average nationally among all freshmen. McCollum has 544 points for the year, and is within two of the Lehigh freshman record held by Darren Queenan (1984-85). He has scored 25 points or more eight times, and averaged 27.8 points in the last six games. Lehigh claimed the last nine Rookie of the Week honors, the longest team stretch in League history.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Kyle Roemer, Colgate, 6'3, 214, Martinez, Calif./De La Salle
Roemer led the Raiders to a pair of wins by averaging 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds against Holy Cross and Navy.
Jordan Sugars, Navy, 6'3, 210, Winchester, Va./Millbrook
Sugars averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in Navy's two games last week, losses to American and Colgate.
