BB: Nikolov, Fransson get it done in crunch time
Duo named conference's basketball Players of the Week
VANCOUVER - Winnipeg's Spas Nikolov and Trinity Western's Nicole Fransson were named Canada West Basketball Players of the Week by the conference on Tuesday after leading their respective teams to victories in back-to-back close games on the weekend.
Spas Nikolov's scoring efficiency was a key factor in the Winnipeg Wesmen's weekend sweep of a home-and-home series with the Brandon Bobcats.
The Sofia, Bulgaria native shot a combined 73 percent from the field in a pair of four-point Wesmen victories.
Nikolov racked up a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 84-80 win on home court, shooting 9-of-14 in 23 minutes of action.
On the road in Brandon on Saturday, the fourth-year forward missed only two shots in the game, finishing 10-for-12 from the floor and hit all three free throw attempts to score 23 points to go along with eight rebounds in Winnipeg's 83-79 win.
Nikolov's 67.8 field goal percentage is good for fourth in the conference.
The Wesmen (3-3) will enjoy a weekend off before another home-and-home series with the Bobcats (0-4) starting in Brandon on December 2.
Game log:
Nov. 11 - 19 pts (9-14 FG), 11 rebs, 1 blk, 1 ast, 23 min in 84-80 W vs Brandon
Nov. 13 - 23 pts (10-12 FG), 8 rebs, 1 stl, 28 min in 83-79 W at Brandon
Third-year forward Nicole Fransson led the Spartans to a pair of tightly contested victories against the Victoria Vikes over the weekend.
The Edmonton, Alta. native scored 17 points and hauled in 16 rebounds in the Spartans' 53-52 win. Fransson was solid in the fourth quarter for Trinity Western, collecting eight rebounds in the final 10 minutes.
On Saturday, Fransson came just a rebound shy of another double-double, finishing the game with nine boards to go along with 15 points and a pair of assists in the Spartans' 68-62 winning effort.
Fransson is in the Top 15 in conference scoring this season, averaging 15.8 points per game, while sitting sixth in the conference with 9.3 rebounds a night.
Trinity Western (4-0) heads to Kamloops, B.C. this weekend to take on the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (0-6) on Friday and Saturday. Both games are available on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
Game log:
Nov. 12 - 17 pts, 16 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl in 53-52 W vs Victoria
Nov. 13 - 15 pts, 9 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl in 68-62 W vs Victoria