March 3, 2003
LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior guard Marcus Banks and San Diego State freshman forward Evan Burns were named Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball co-Players of the Week after leading their respective teams to 2-0 records last week, the conference announced Monday.
In two games last week, Banks shot 67 percent (22-of-33) from the field and 83 percent (15-of-18) from the free throw line. He also averaged four rebounds, four assists and 3.5 steals.
In UNLV's 74-70 win over Air Force last Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center, Banks scored a game-high 31 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 11-of-14 from the free throw line. He also had three assists, three rebounds, three steals and only two turnovers as he played all 40 minutes.
In the Runnin' Rebels 73-67 win at Colorado State Saturday, Banks posted a game-high 31 points on 13-of-20 field goals and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He added five assists, five rebounds and four steals with only two turnovers as he played 39 of the 40 minutes.
It marked the second game in a row that Banks scored 31 points and he has now scored 30 or more points six times this season, including three of the last four games.
Burns had his best week as a collegiate player, leading the Aztecs in points (21.5 ppg) and rebounds (8.5), while connecting on 72.0 percent (18-of-25) of his field goal attempts and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) of his three-point field goal attempts.
Burns registered his second career double-double after coming off the bench and recording career-highs with 31 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in an 89-73 win over New Mexico. The 31 points are the most by an Aztec player this season and the second highest total ever by an SDSU player in a Mountain West Conference game.
In SDSU's 86-73 victory at Wyoming, Burns scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked three shots and had two steals in 31 minutes of action.
This is Banks' third player of the week honor this season and fifth for his career. The award marks the first for Burns.
