Casper Ware's play on both ends of the court helped Long Beach State to two solid road victories and a commanding lead in the conference standings, as well as the third Big West Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor this season for the senior.

Ware put on a blistering offensive display on the first leg of the trip to the Central Coast, scoring a career-high 30 points in a 78-69 win against Cal Poly.  The 5-10 guard scored 22 of those points in the second half as the 49ers rebounded from a halftime deficit.  Ware made 9 of 12 floor shots, including 5 of 6 from three-point range.  He added three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals in the winning effort.

In a battle between the Big West’s top two squads, Ware was solid offensively but it was his work on the defensive end that factored heavily in the 71-48 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.  He guarded UCSB’s James Nunnally for a majority of the game and limited the conference’s fifth-leading scorer to just five points, well below his season average of 16.1 points per game.  Nunnally also shot just 1 of 7 from the field.

Ware contributed 14 points amid a balanced 49er attack, hitting four three-pointers in the game.  He also had five assists against only one turnover in 29 minutes.

For the week, Ware shot 63.6% (14 of 22) from the field and an even better 69.2% (9 of 13) from three-point range.
 
Others nominated:  Kwame Vaughn (Cal State Fullerton); Ross Rivera (Pacific)