Colorado State University Athletics
CSU's Avila named Mountain West Player of the Week
1/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State men's basketball senior forward J.J. Avila has been selected as the Mountain West Player of the Week. The conference made the announcement Monday morning. It is Avila's first-career weekly honor from the MW.
A senior from McAllen, Texas, Avila led Colorado State to a key 79-73 home win over defending MW Champion San Diego State on Saturday night in the Rams' annual "White Out" of Moby Arena. The win vaulted the Rams (18-2, 5-2 MW) into a three-way tie with the Aztecs and Fresno State for second place in the MW, one game behind league-leading Wyoming.
The 6-8, 250-pound forward, scored a season-high 29 points in the wire-to-wire victory, leading the Rams to the largest scoring output allowed in a regulation game this season by the Aztecs, who came in with the No. 3-rated scoring defense in the country.
Avila was lights out from all over the court, shooting 12-for-16 (.750) overall, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, and hitting 3-of-4 attempts from the free-throw line. He hit both three-pointers (a season-high) in the first 4 minutes of the game as the Rams jumped out to 14-6 lead that eventually grew to 27-10 just more than 9 minutes into the contest.
Avila's biggest hoop of the night came with 18 seconds left in the game as he drove the from the elbow across the lane and finished over SDSU's JJ O'Brien and a late double-team from Malik Pope. The score pushed the Rams' lead to 77-73, setting the stage for Joe De Ciman to finish off the win from the free-throw line after two missed three-point attempts from the Aztecs' Aqeel Quinn.
A candidate for Mountain West Player of the Year, Avila is the only player to rank in the top 10 in the conference this season in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg), assists (3.1 apg), steals (1.9 spg) and field-goal percentage (.565).
The Rams travel to Boise, Idaho, for a Tuesday night matchup with the Boise State Broncos (14-6, 4-3 MW). Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
CSU then returns home to Moby Arena on Saturday to host Fresno State at 4 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network. Tickets, including a mini-plan covering the Rams' final five games, are available at CSURams.com/tickets, by calling 1-800-491-RAMS, or in person at the McGraw Athletic Center box office.
