Another MWC award for Cougars' Plaisted

BYU junior forward/center Trent Plaisted and New Mexico senior guard J.R. Giddens have been named the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week.

This is the fourth weekly award of the season for Giddens and the third for Plaisted.

Plaisted, from San Antonio, Texas, recorded back-to-back 20-point games last week to lead first-place BYU to a road win at Colorado State (79-65) and a home victory over UNLV (74-48). He went a perfect 9-for-9 from the field while totaling 21 points in the Cougars' win over Colorado State. Plaisted added five rebounds and one steal in his 22 minutes on the court.

The 6-foot-11 junior followed that performance with a game-high 22 points vs. UNLV. He made 8-of-17 field goals and went 6-for-8 from the foul line while adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Plaisted scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, connecting on 6-of-10 shots, to help BYU maintain its conference lead.

For the week, Plaisted averaged 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game. He shot 65.4 percent (17-for-26) from the field and 60.0 (9-for-15) percent from the free-throw line.

Giddens, an Oklahoma City, Okla., native, helped the Lobos to league wins at San Diego State (73-63) and at home against TCU (64-48) last week. He averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per game, converting 17-of-26 field goals (65.4 percent) and 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range.

At San Diego State, Giddens notched his second-straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 7-for-8 from the floor, including a season-high three three3-pointers, while adding four assists, two steals and a career-high four blocked shots.

Against TCU, Giddens had game-highs of 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He also contributed two steals and a blocked shot.