#SWACMBB Player of the Week: March 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the final weekly award of the season, Prairie View A&M University guard Gary Blackston has been named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after posting impressive outings in road wins at Alabama A&M and Alabama State.
Blackston shot 58 percent from the field in the two games, averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. The senior scored 17 points on an efficient 4-of-8 shooting line during the Panthers’ 72-65 win. He added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the contest.
In Prairie View A&M’s nationally-televised 96-69 win over Alabama State – during which the Panthers clinched a share of the SWAC regular season title and assured themselves the top overall seed in the 2019 Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament – Blackston scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Baltimore, Md. native is the league’s third-leading scorer at 15.5 points per game.
Other Notable Performances:
- Texas Southern’s
Jeremy Combs ran his consecutive double-double streak to seven after averaging 18.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game in the Tigers’ victories over Alabama State and Alabama A&M. In a 78-68 win over the Hornets, Combs contributed 22 points, 16 rebounds and five steals while shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor.
- Alabama A&M’s
Andre Kennedy averaged 26.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, shooting 60 percent from the field. Against Texas Southern, Kennedy scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
- UAPB’s
Martaveous McKnight averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He put up 21 points and 10 assists during the Golden Lions’ 70-66 win over Grambling State.
- Grambling State’s
Dallas Polk-Hilliard averaged 21.5 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the field over the weekend. He scored a career-high 26 points during the Tigers’ 77-75 win at Mississippi Valley State.