Luke Nevill Named MWC Player Of The Week

 Nov. 24, 2008

DENVER, Colo. - University of Utah senior center Luke Nevill has been named the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, announced the league office Monday. Among his accomplishments this week, Nevill was named the MVP of the Glenn Wilkes Classic following Utah's 3-0 performance in the tournament.

"Luke is competing harder and he's taking coaching very well," said Utah head coach Jim Boylen at his weekly press conference. "He's been very coachable and has embraced his teammates more this year. He has stepped outside of himself and has played more for his team and his teammates than he did last year. He has just recommitted to playing for his teammates, while trying to learn and grow. He's let me coach him more this year and I'm proud of him for doing that."

Nevill began the week with a double-double in Utah's 79-60 home victory over Green Bay, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He also got it done on the defensive end, blocking three shots. In the Utes' next action, Nevill posted his second double-double of the week and his third in as many games, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in Utah's 83-72 neutral-court victory against Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference. He also added three assists in the contest.

Utah wrapped up the week by shutting down Morgan State, 66-37, completing a three-game Glenn Wilkes Classic sweep and being named the tournament champions. In that victory, Nevill led the Utes with 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, while recording three more blocks.

Nevill, named a Preseason All-MWC selection and a second-team All-MWC choice last year, is leading the conference in total rebounding (11.0 rpg), offensive rebounds (4.5 per game), defensive rebounds (6.5 per game) and blocked shots (2.25 bpg). He is also ranked third in scoring (18.5 ppg) and his field goal percentage (.644) is ranked ninth.

Mills' 24 points lifts Gaels over Providence

Anaheim, CA – The Saint Mary's men's basketball team held off the Providence Friars in the final game of the 76 Classic, posting an 81-75 win on Sunday from the Anaheim Convention Center. SMC had four players score in double figures, as Patrick Mills led the way with 24 points.

The Gaels held a 20-point lead at halftime, and led by as much as 21 points in the second half before Providence cut the SMC lead to six points late in the game. Four of the five starters for SMC scored in double figures, and accounted for 75 of the 81 points

SMC's leading scorer, Mills, was 8-for-15 from the floor and connected on 3-of-7 3-pointers. His biggest three came with just under four minutes remaining, giving the Gaels some breathing room and a 9-point (75-66) lead.

Diamon Simpson had a season-high 18 points against a very tough and physical Big East opponent. Simpson was 5-of-07 from the floor, and had a big game from the free throw line, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the stripe. He had just five rebounds, but tied his career-high with four assists and added three steals. His final steal prevented the Friars from cutting the SMC lead to four, and resulted in the Mills three to give SMC a nine-point lead.

Ian O'Leary had his best game of the season, as he scored a season-high 13 points and added a team-high eight rebounds. He was 4-for-5 from the floor, had threes assists, one block and one steal in 22 minutes. Omar Samhan scored in double figures once again, adding 16 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 34 minutes.

Saint Mary's got off to a quick start, opening the game with a 10-0 run following threes by O'Leary and Hughes, a dunk by Simpson, and a pull-up jumper by Mills. After the Friars cut the SMC lead to three (21-18) at the 10:28 mark, the Gaels used a 6-0 burst over the next 1:28 to extend the lead back to nine.

With the Gaels leading 30-24 at the 6:46 mark, SMC went on an 18-4 run to close the half to take a 20-point (48-28) lead at the break. The run was highlighted by 10 points from Mills, which included two threes. Saint Mary's also got four points from O'Leary and two from Simpson and Ben Allen.

Mills finished the half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Simpson and O'Leary added 11 and nine respectively. The Gaels shot 57.1 percent from the floor, the best first half percentage of the young season, while shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point land, which was also the best first half 3-point shooting performance of the season.  SMC forced 13 Providence turnovers with five first half steals.

With 15:10 remaining in the game, the Gaels held a 60-39 advantage following a basket by Samhan. Following the Samhan bucket, the Gaels went cold from the floor for the next four minutes, allowing the Friars to use a 10-0 run to cut the SMC lead to 11 points with 11:53 left on the clock. The scoring drought for SMC ended when Mills hit an 18-foot jumper with 11 minutes left on the clock.

After the Mills basket, Providence continued to chip away at the Saint Mary's lead. With 9:32 left to play, the Friars cut the deficit to single digits, when Marshon Brooks hit 2-of-3 free throws. Providence cut the lead to six (70-64) following a pair of made free throws by Jonathan Kale at the 5:58 mark.

With SMC leading 72-66, Simpson made a big steal under the basket which was followed by a transition three from the right corner by Mills, giving the Gaels a nine-point advantage with four minutes remaining.

Saint Mary's will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 4 with a road game at Kent State. The game between the Gaels and the Golden Flashes will tip-off at 4 p.m. Pacific Time from the 6,327-seat MAC Center on the Kent State campus (Friday 11am AEDT) .

 

 

Ogilvy Tourney MVP

CANCUN - Vanderbilt sophomore A.J. Ogilvy scored 25 points to lead four Commodore players in double figures in route to a 71-66 win over VCU in the finals of the Cancun Challenge at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico. Ogilvy was named the tournament's MVP, and junior guard Jermaine Beal was named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament team.

Sunday's win marked the second consecutive Thanksgiving tournament title for the Commodores. Vanderbilt captured the South Padre Island Invitational in 2007 with wins over Utah State and Bradley.

The Commodores led for most of the contest, but VCU made the game interesting in the second half behind their frenzied defense and clutch shooting Ram guard Eric Maynor, who ended the game with 31 points, 23 of those in the second half. Vanderbilt, who saw its lead balloon to as many as 18 early in the second half, struggled with the quickness of the VCU guards in the period, and had its lead cut to one, 48-47, with 11:11 to play in the game. VU responded and pushed its lead back up to seven, but once again VCU came back, this time cutting the deficit to two points with 1:19 to play in regulation.

Free throw shooting, a strong point for the Commodores in the tournament, came through again in the waning moments, as Beal knocked down two shots and sophomore forward Darshawn McClellan made one-of-two with 30 seconds remaining to give VU the winning margin of 71-66. On the night, Vanderbilt was 26-for-30 from the charity stripe (86.7%).

Ogilvy ended the night with 25 points and seven rebounds, and included in his total were two three-point shots from the top of the key. Ogilvy played 30 minutes and was 11-for-16 from the floor overall. Beal scored 14 points and added six assists, while freshman Brad Tinsley continued his double-digit streak with 13 points in 37 minutes of action. Freshman forward Jeffery Taylor also added double figures with 10 points.

VCU's Maynor led all scorers with 31 points. Ram forward Larry Sanders was the only other VCU scorer in double figures with 10.

Vanderbilt returns home for a game with the UIC Flames Wednesday night at Memorial Gym. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.  (Thurs 11am AEDT).