Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Players of the Week Release -- Dec. 8, 2014

IRVINE, Calif. — Academy of Art University freshman guard Uchenna Okeneme was named Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Week Monday for the week of Dec. 1-7 after helping ART U to a 69-63 win over Notre Dame de Namur in its PacWest opener.
 
The rookie scored 21 points in 24 minutes played off the bench and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the 3-point arc. He was also 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and added four assists, two steals and two rebounds to his season-best performance.
 
Okeneme came through in the clutch with four free throws in the final 13 seconds to hold off a late charge by NDNU. He had put the Urban Knights (3-4, 1-0 PacWest) ahead by double digits with a layup at the 10 minutes, 25 seconds mark of the second half. That lead slowly wilted away, though, in the final 10 minutes with NDNU pulling to within two at 65-63 with 1:55 to play.
 
Notre Dame de Namur got one final chance when it grabbed a rebound off an ART U miss, but Jalani Davis missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, forcing NDNU to foul Okeneme. Okeneme made good on both his attempts from the charity stripe to put ART U up 67-63, and after Davis missed another 3-pointer with 3 seconds on the clock, Okeneme iced the victory with two more free throws.
 
The honor is ART U's second straight PacWest Freshman of the Week award after freshman guard Jase Harrison earned it last week. It is the third overall weekly award for the Urban Knights in four weeks this season, joining senior guard Alexis Moore's Co-Player of the Week nod from week one.