Tuesday, January 9, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of outstanding scoring performances by Simon Fraser senior guard Kedar Salam has earned national attention with his selection as the United States Basketball Writers Association’s (USBWA) Division II Men’s National Player of the Week.

Salam, who was named Monday as the GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, averaged 33.5 points and six rebounds per game in a pair of home contests. Salam went off for 40 points in Thursday’s 91-78 win over Central Washington, becoming just the third player in SFU’s NCAA era to score 40 or more points. He connected on 11 of 19 from the field, 6 of 9 from three-point range and was a perfect 12 of 12 from the free throw line. In Saturday’s 82-81 loss to Northwest Nazarene, Salam again led SFU with 27 points on 11 of 22 from the field to go along with six rebounds and five assists.

Salam finished the week shooting 53.7 percent from the field. After entering the week shooting just 59 percent from the free throw line, Salam proceeded to go 15 of 15 in the two games. He is the first Simon Fraser men’s basketball player to be selected as a national player of the week.

Salam, a native of Toronto, Ont., and a transfer from the Univ. of British Columbia, has helped lead a resurgence for the Simon Fraser men’s basketball program. The Clan enters the week with an 8-6 overall record and a 2-4 conference mark. The eight wins are more than the program had in the last two seasons combined as SFU marches towards its GNAC-era best of 11 wins from the 2014-15 season.

Wright is the second GNAC player to be selected as the USBWA Division II Men’s Player of the Week. Western Washington’s Trey Dreschel earned the honor on December 5.

Simon Fraser will host league-leading Western Washington on Tuesday before traveling to Montana State Billings on Thursday.