MW Men
1. Mike Moser, F, So., UNLV - Moser continued to hold the inside track to Player of the Year honors this week, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-63 win over New Mexico on Saturday before scoring 18 points and collecting 21 rebounds (most in the MW this season) in Wednesday's 77-72 overtime win at Boise State. Moser has posted a double-double in five of his last six games and three straight.
2. Jamaal Franklin, G, So., San Diego State - After posting his fourth double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds) in the Aztecs' win over Air Force on Saturday, Franklin picked up his fifth double-double in his last seven games with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance in a 52-42 victory Tuesday at Wyoming.
3. Drew Gordon, F, Sr., New Mexico - Helped the Lobos snap a two-game skid by finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in Wednesday's 85-52 win over Colorado State. Gordon, who also drew three charges in the game, posted his 11th double-double of the season. He had 11 rebounds in 16 minutes in the second half.
4. Hank Thorns, G, Sr., TCU - After scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in a 15-point comeback win over Boise State, Thorns scored a career-high 22 points in Wednesday's victory over Air Force. Thorns, who led TCU in scoring for a team-leading ninth time this season, shot 75.0 percent from the field (9-of-12) against the Falcons, the second-best performance by a Mountain West player this season with at least 10 field-goal attempts in a game. He also matched a career-high with four 3-pointers on only five attempts.
5. Chase Tapley, G, Jr., San Diego State - Tapley, who had a game-high tying 12 points in SDSU's win at Wyoming on Tuesday, has scored in double figures a career-high 14 straight games. He has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in a career-long 19 consecutive games and has multiple 3s in 12 of his last 14 contests.
6. Leonard Washington, F, Jr., Wyoming - After almost single-handedly leading the Cowboys to a win over Colorado State with 32 points and 14 rebounds, Washington had a team-high 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks against San Diego State. He has scored in double figures in six straight games.
7. Taylor Broekhuis, C, Jr., Air Force - A mainstay for the Falcons this season, Broekhuis, who had a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds on Wednesday against TCU, is averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 62.2 percent over his last six games. During that stretch, the 6-foot-10 Broekhuis has hit 6-of-13 attempts from three-point range.
8. Derrick Marks, G, Fr., Boise State - Marks, who earlier this season scored the most points (20) by a Boise State freshman in 22 years, tallied a career- and game-high 21 points to go with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in Wednesday's overtime loss to UNLV. Marks made his second straight start in a Bronco lineup that has seen 10 variations this season.
9. Chace Stanback, Sr., G/F, UNLV - Stanback, who continues to lead the Runnin' Rebels in both field-goal percentage (.498) and three-point field-goal percentage (.479), scored in double figures for the seventh time in nine games by finishing with 15 points in Wednesday's overtime win against Boise State. Stanback had 13 points in the Rebels' win over New Mexico on Saturday.
10. Thomas Bropleh, So., F, Boise State - Bropleh, who had not played more than 16 minutes in a league game this season, logged 38 minutes off the bench against UNLV, posting his first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Broleph entered the contest averaging 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 19.4 minutes per game.
MW Women
1. Courtney Clements, Jr., G, San Diego State - Clements, who recorded her first career double-double with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds against Air Force, notched her seventh 20-point game of the season and her third in the last four games with 21 points on Tuesday against Wyoming. Clements, who has played a key role in the Aztecs' 11-game win streak, had 16 of the team's 30 first-half points on Tuesday.
2. Kelli Thompson, G, Jr., UNLV - Thompson, the team's leading scorer, finished with 24 points in Wednesday's win over Boise State as the Lady Rebels (16-5, 4-1) clinched their first winning season in six years. It was the third time this season that Thompson has exceeded the 20-point mark.
3. Kim Mestdagh, G/F, Sr., Colorado State - Mestdagh scored 19 points to go along with three steals and three assists in Wednesday's win over New Mexico as the Rams moved to 4-1 in league play for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Mestdagh, who has cracked the 20-point mark in two of her last three games, scored 21 points in Saturday's win over Wyoming when she finished 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-6 beyond the arc. She also collected five rebounds.
4. Natalie Ventress, G, Fr., TCU - Ventress, who tied for team honors with 18 points in Saturday's win over Boise State, finished with a game-high 21 in Wednesday's victory over Air Force. It marked the third time in four games that Ventress has scored 20-plus points. She has led TCU in scoring nine out of the last 11 games.
5. Chelsea Hopkins, G, Jr., San Diego State - Hopkins, who had 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals in a win over Air Force, helped the Aztecs remain unbeaten in league play when she produced another all-around effort with nine assists, nine rebounds and seven points in Tuesday's victory over Wyoming.
Mick McGrane has covered the Mountain West since the league's inception in 1999. He spent 12 years at the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he served as the beat writer for San Diego State football and men's basketball. He currently represents the MW as a member of the Football Writers Association of America All-America Committee and is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. McGrane serves as senior writer to the Mountain West, providing readers with exclusive, in-depth information about the Conference by highlighting its 10 member institutions and contributing feature stories on student-athletes that participate in the league's 18 sponsored sports.
Mark Knudson is a Colorado State journalism school graduate and a 12-year veteran of professional baseball. During his playing career, Mark pitched for three major league teams, including the Colorado Rockies, where he was the first Colorado native to play for the hometown team. He recorded wins over three of the four legendary pitchers who make up the 4,000 strikeout club: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. His win over Ryan came for the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day in 1991.
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