MIAMI (February 5, 2018) – After leading the FIU men's basketball team to a crucial Conference USA weekend sweep, the Panthers'
Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) has been named Player of the Week by both C-USA and CollegeSportsMadness.com, for the week ending, Feb. 4, as announced this afternoon. Beard, Jr. is the first FIU men's basketball player to earn the C-USA honor since Adrian Diaz was tabbed on Jan. 4, 2015. Diaz won the award three times during the 2015-16 campaign.
Beard, Jr., a major reason that FIU won back-to-back C-USA games for the first time since the 2015-16 season, averaged 21.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals this week as FIU defeated Southern Miss, 76-70, on Feb. 1, and Louisiana Tech, 71-68 on Feb. 3. He also shot 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from the field, 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from behind the three-point arc, and 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the free-throw line in the two games.
The junior point guard scored a game-high 23 points, had seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the Panthers' win over the Golden Eagles, while shooting 50.0 percent (7-for-14) from the floor and 70.0 percent (7-for-10) from the free-throw line in the victory.
Against LA Tech, Beard, Jr. recorded his first-career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists, to go along with five steals and two rebounds. He shot 35.4 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from both three-point range (3-for-4) and free-throw line (6-for-8). Two of Beard, Jr.'s treys came in the final three seconds against the Bulldogs – accounting for the final six points of the game – to tie the contest with three seconds left, and then to win it at the buzzer.
FIU, 11-13 overall and 5-6 in C-USA, gets back to work this week with arguably its most challenging road trip of the season. The Panthers face Marshall, currently tied for fourth in the Conference USA standings, on Feb. 8, followed by WKU on Feb. 10. The Hilltoppers are tied for second in the league standings.
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