Alexander Named SLC Player Of The Week
1/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2008
FRISCO, Texas - Stephen F. Austin's Josh Alexander has been named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, according to a story released Wednesday by league officials. This marks Alexander's fourth career honor and his second consecutive Player of the Week award.
The junior forward from Shreveport, La., averaged 19.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per contest in a trio of contests over the holiday break. Alexander scored 19 points in just 16 minutes of action against Huston-Tillotson, then poured in 22 points in SFA's win over Paul Quinn at the SMU Holiday Classic. In the next game, Alexander scored 17 points -- all in the second half -- to lead the Lumberjacks past SMU to win the tournament title. He did most of his damage in the opening minutes of the half, when he knocked down five straight 3-pointers to help SFA keep pace with the surging Mustangs. For his efforts, Alexander was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
In his last four games, Alexander has averaged 20 points per contest. He is shooting 53.8 percent from the floor during that stretch with a 50-percent average from 3-point range. For the season, Alexander averages 16.5 points per contest, second only to teammate Matt Kingsley in the Southland Conference. Kingsley won the SLC Player of the Week award preceding Alexander's first honor of the season, making SFA the only team in the league to have won the award three times this year.
The Lumberjacks (11-1) are riding the momentum of a nine-game winning streak into the new year. SFA was ranked No. 11 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, marking the fourth straight week for the Lumberjacks to appear in the rankings and the highest position ever attained by an SFA team. The Lumberjacks also received a vote in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll this week -- the second week in a row they've appeared in the poll.
SFA will return to action Saturday when they Lumberjacks host Wiley College. The game against the Wildcats is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA will open Southland Conference play next weekend with games at Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana.
-- SFA --
