Pucar named GNAC Red Lion Co-Player of the Week
February 12, 2013
Jamie Foland
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Junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Red Lion Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday morning.
"He was able to put two consistent games together, especially the way he finished the game on Saturday night," head coach Mick Durham said. "He was a big part of our offense both nights. We're getting the ball down low, we know he's a threat from the outside but he's mixing it up, which makes him tough to guard because he can score inside and outside."
Pucar, who led the Nanooks to their second GNAC road sweep of the season, scored 36 points on the week, including a season-high 21 points in Saturday's 68-67 overtime win at Saint Martin's.
During the overtime period, 6-11 Serbian center scored all of Alaska 10 points in the final 2:13 of the extra session. He also scored 15 points in Thursday's 80-77 come-from-behind victory at Western Oregon.
In the wins, he shot 59 percent (13-22) from the field and drained four three pointers to shoot 50 percent (4-8) from beyond the arc. He also contributed 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
The Nanooks went a combined 4-0 in the same season against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's for the first time since 2004-05. Saturday's win at SMU also ended a seven-game losing streak for Alaska at Marcus Pavilion.
This is Pucar's first career Player of the Week honor from the GNAC and Alaska's fourth of the season as junior guard Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communication) was given the award twice (11/19, 1/7) while senior guard Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) garnered the accolade once (1/14).
"This if our fourth one, which means we've had four good weeks," Durham said. "We talk with our team that this is a team award. Even though an individual has been honored, they couldn't do it by themselves. It means we've done some pretty good things as a team."
Pucar shared the honor with Western Washington's Richard Woodworth, whose 45 points on 16-of-26 shots helped the second-ranked Vikings remain unbeaten with road wins at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
Alaska moved into a tie for third place in the conference standings at 8-5, identical to this weekend's opponent in arch-rival Alaska Anchorage. The two will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. The game can be seen online through Stretch Internet and will also be available on the radio at KCBF 820 AM.