Wednesday, January 16, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – The play of Saint Martin’s senior guard Luke Chavez and Western Washington junior forward Trevor Jasinsky has earned national attention as the two GNAC players have been named to the Bevo Francis Award’s Top-100 Watch List.

The annual award is presented to the player who has played the finest overall season within small college basketball. Finalists, selected by a panel of coaches and university presidents, are from the NCAA Division II and III and NAIA levels.

Chavez, the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year, has still performed at a high level despite seeing his season limited some due to injuries. The senior is averaging 12.3 points, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range. Chavez was named the GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Monday for his 40 points and nine rebounds against the Alaska schools to help to Saints improve to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in GNAC play.

Jasinsky is one of two players in the GNAC to rank in the conference’s top-10 in both scoring and rebounding, ranking second in scoring at 19.1 points per game and fourth with 7.2 rebounds per game. He enters the week ranked ninth in Division II with 92 free throws made and 26th with 103 free throws attempted while ranking fifth in the GNAC with a .893 free throw percentage (92-103). Named the GNAC Player of the Week in the opening week of the season, Jasinsky has led the Vikings to an 8-6 overall record and 3-3 conference mark.

The Bevo Francis Award will be whittled down to 50 players on Feb. 15 and 25 players on Mar. 15. The winner will be announced on April 8.