BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois freshman guard
Mack Smith was named the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week after helping the Panthers split a pair of weekend home games against UT Martin and Southeast Missouri.
In two games last week Smith averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field and 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from 3-point range. He opened the week with his first collegiate double-double as he scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds in a 20-point win over UT Martin. Smith hit 6-of-13 3-pointers in the win and added three assists, two steals and a block in 32 minutes. He capped the week with 17 points, six rebounds and two assists against Southeast Missouri. In that contest, he hit his first five 3-point attempts and finished the game 5-of-8 from long range. The 11 3-pointers in two games was more than he had hit in his previous 11 games played this season.
EIU returns to action this weekend as the Panthers travel to Nashville to face Belmont on Thursday night and Tennessee State on Saturday evening.
