BATON ROUGE, La. - After accomplishing career feats in both contests this past weekend against Southwestern and Texas Lutheran, senior forward James Sapp received Louisiana Sport's Writers Association (LSWA) Men's Basketball Player of the Week recognition on Monday, January 23.
This is the second time in three weeks Sapp received this honor by the LSWA. He was named Men's Basketball Player of the Week on January 9.
Against Southwestern Friday, January 20, Sapp etched his name in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference record books when he set the new career rebounding record. He set the mark at the 10:19 minute of the second half with his sixth rebound of the game and 861st of his career.
On Sunday, January 22 against Texas Lutheran, he scored a career best 43 points on 15 field goals. His three-pointer with 13 seconds left tied the game at 95 after Centenary trailed by 23 just 13 minutes earlier. He added 14 boards for his 10th double-double of the season.
"James got locked in during our Sunday game and did what he could to give us a shot," explained head coach Adam Walsh. "He led, and was able to bring Travion along for one of the best 13-14 minute stretches I have seen in college basketball. If we're in that situation again, I expect a better team outcome."
With the 43-point outburst, Sapp improved his season scoring average by more than a full point to 21.4 points per game (29th in the nation). He also leads the conference and sits 36th in the nation with 10.3 rebounds per game. If he finishes the season leading both categories in the conference, he will become the first player in nine seasons to accomplish that feat in the SCAC.
Sapp also ranks fifth in the nation with 146 field goals made.
Centenary (8-10, 2-5 SCAC) returns to action Friday night, January 27, at Southwestern. Tip in Georgetown, Texas, is slated for 7:30 p.m.
