Junior Jaylen Bland (Saginaw, Mich./Cleveland HS) staked UC Riverside to two wins, putting his team above the .500 mark in conference play, and he earned Big West Men’s Basketball Player of the Week accolades.
Bland led the Highlanders in scoring in both games as the Highlanders improved to 7-6 in Big West action and moved into sole possession of fifth place, a half game behind third place UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State.
The 6-3 guard scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half of Thursday’s 64-62 win versus UC Santa Barbara, helping the Highlanders end a four-game slide against the Gauchos. He knocked down four three-pointers in eight attempts and seven of nine from the free throw line while adding seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
In Saturday’s 48-44 victory over Cal Poly, Bland posted 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. He provided two clutch free throws with 10 seconds remaining to ice the game, and his stellar defense helped hold the Mustangs without a point for a 10-and-a-half minute stretch in the second half.
Bland hit another four treys against Cal Poly to give him 86 for the season, placing him 15 short of the single-season school record of 100.
Others nominated: Reese Morgan (Cal Poly); Stephan Hicks (CSUN); Tyler Les (UC Davis); Will Davis II (UC Irvine); Stefan Jankovic (Hawai‘i)