McNeese State senior forward Patrick Richard has been named the Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Richard averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in leading the Cowboys to a pair of wins last week over UTSA and Southeast Missouri State that extended the team’s win streak to a conference-best eight games.
The native of Carencro, La., (Carencro H.S.), recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 58-54 win over UTSA last Saturday and followed with 27 points and five rebounds in the Cowboys’ 74-61 non-conference win over Southeast Missouri State in the Sears BracketBusters event on Saturday.
With 43 points last week, Richard is now ranked 15th on the school’s career scoring list. McNeese State returns to the court Wednesday to play host to UT Arlington, which has a two-game lead over the Cowboys for the No. 1 seed in the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, which begins March 7.
Richard is the second Cowboy to earn a conference player of the week honor this season. Earlier in the year Rudy Turner was recognized.
Honorable mention this week goes to Northwestern State junior guard Shamir Davis, Southeastern Louisiana junior forward Roosevelt Johnson and Texas State junior forward Matt Staff. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland men’s basketball sports information directors.
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his own player.
