NAIA Independent Basketball Weekly Update :: MSU No. 1; Park Sweeps Weekly Honors

Feb. 14, 2008

MOUNTAIN STATE COUGARS STILL THE (NO.) 1
For the eighth straight week, Mountain State (W.VA.) is the No. 1 team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I Men's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll, announced today (Feb. 13). The Cougars, who received all 11 first-place votes and 330 total points, are one of two teams in Division I (as of Feb. 10) with an undefeated record. At 25-0, No. 2 Georgetown is the other undefeated and trails MSU by just 11 points in the poll.

Louisiana State University-Shreveport moves up one spot to No. 3 after No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) had its 20-0 record halted last week at then-No. 23 Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.). Concordia (Calif.) holds at No. 5 from the last poll.

A team making a strong push is No. 9 California Baptist, moving up seven spots. The Lancers have won three of their last four including triumphs over Concordia (Calif.) and Fresno Pacific (Calif.), who is receiving votes this week. No. 22 Cumberlands (Ky.) and No. 25 Mobile (Ala.) enter the Top 25 after receiving votes last time. The ninth regular season poll will be released on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

On the women's side, Brescia slipped back into the votes, earning one point as the top-rated Independent women's squad, while in the men's poll, Voorhees College made a strong push in the votes column, earning nine points as the No. 2 men's team in the Independent Region.

CLEAN SWEEP ON INDEPENDENT WEEKLY AWARDS
Park University swept both Indpendent Player of the Week Awards, as Ashley Birch took the honor on the women's side, while Jon Meriweather earned the men's weekly honor. Meriweather took it a step further two days later, as he was named NAIA National Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Meriweather also earned the NAIA's Division I men's award last month on Jan. 22. He is currently fifth in NAIA Division I Men's Basketball in overall rebounding (9.9 rpg) and field goal percentage (.610), seventh in scoring (20.5 ppg) and ninth in blocks (2.0 bpg).

On the year, Meriweather has 10 double-doubles and has scored 20 or more in 12 games. He has been in double figures in all but two of his 23 games played (all starts), and has topped the 30-point barrier twice this season.

Meriweather started the week with 20 points and eight boards last Tuesday at College of the Ozarks and followed it with a second 20-point outing against Allen University. Meriweather played in only 23 minutes against the Yellow Jackets, also grabbing 13 rebounds and hitting a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line.

His top performance of the week, however, came in a two-point loss to Voorhees College, scoring 38 points and 16 grabbing rebounds, finishing 15-of-18 from the floor in the 81-79 loss to the Tigers. Meriweather finished the week a 67.4 percent shooter on 29-of-43 from the floor, and at the foul line, he was 20-of-25, 80-percent. He also had 12 blocks on the week, an average of four per game, including five in the 86-61 win over Allen.

The second awarding of the honor to Meriweather marks the first multiple awarding in NAIA Division I Men's Basketball since the 2005-06 season, when Brandon Jennings of Reinhardt (Ga.) earned the award in January and February.

For Birch, her third Independent player of the week honor came on the heels of a pair of 20-plus point outings, averaging 20.7 on the week to go with 6.3 rebounds. She scored 22 in the first game of the week - a loss at College of the Ozarks - finishing the game 11-of-22 from the floor with seven boards and four steals.

In only 12 minutes against Allen, the senior scored 23 and had three rebounds, making her presence felt in the Yellow Jacket backcourt by grabbing seven steals on the afternoon. She was also 9-of-12 from the floor in the 109-45 win, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line.

In the final game of the Pirates' 2-1 week, Birch had 17 points and nine rebounds to go with six steals in a 65-60 win over Voorhees. She was 5-of-18 from the floor in the win and 6-of-8 at the foul line, finishing the week a 48.1 percent shooter on 25-of-52 from the floor. She was also 7-of-9 at the line, 77.8 percent, and 5-of-13 from the three.