PORTLAND, Ore. -- On Monday, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference named senior Travante Williams as its Men's Basketball Player of the Week. Williams averaged an impressive 23.5 points in two games to help the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team go 2-0 in their season-opening weekend.
The GNAC Player of the Week honor adds to Williams' already impressive debut weekend, as the Anchorage native also earned the GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover most valuable player award after helping the Nanooks win the inaugural GNAC/PacWest Crossover. The senior averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the two-game Crossover and shot an impressive 56 percent from the floor. Williams was even better from better the arc, as he hit a blistering 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the two games.
Williams, who is playing in first season with Alaska after transferring from Adams State, began his career with a 22-point outing in the 96-77 win over Hawai'i Pacific. The senior followed that performance up with a career-high 25 points and hitting a team-best five 3-point field goals in the come-from-behind win over Chaminade. In Saturday's 112-102 win over the Silverswords, Williams had 18 first-half points and hit a three-point buzzer beater at half to help Alaska erase an early 17-point deficit and give the Nanooks a 53-52 advantage going into the break.
"Travante had an outstanding weekend and it cumulated into two wins for us," said head coach Mick Durham. "We are excited about the progress Travante has made since joining our program. We talk about these weekly honors as team awards, because no one player can do it by themselves. When you win games and sweep your weekend you have a good chance to have a player earn an award like this."
The Nanooks men's basketball team returns to action this Friday, as they'll make the trek to Anchorage, Alaska to participate in the AT&T Jamboree at the Alaska Airlines Center. Alaska opens the two-game weekend on Friday with a contest against California State Dominguez Hills, before taking on Life Pacific College on Saturday. Friday's tip is set for 5:15 p.m., while Saturday's contest will be 1 p.m. start.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
