Dec. 6, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State sophomore guard Brandon Heath has been named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the period ending December 5 after guiding the Aztecs to a pair of wins and a four-game winning streak.
A native of Los Angeles, Heath averaged team-highs of 23.0 points and 6.0 assists in lopsided victories over San Diego (83-63) and at UC Santa Barbara (73-55).
In the win against cross-town rival San Diego, Heath scored a game-high and season-high 26 points, added a game-high five assists, three rebounds and one steal in 34 minutes of action. He connected on 8-of-15 attempts, 3-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Heath had 18 points and four assists after intermission to help keep a comfortable lead. With SDSU up nine with 10:53 to play, Heath helped ignite a 9-2 run with a three-point field goal and lay-up to build the lead up to 16 points.
On the road at UC Santa Barbara, Heath helped the Aztecs avenge its only loss of the season by scoring 20 points (8-10 FG, 4-6 3FG), dishing out seven assists and recording two steals. His four made three-point attempts was a season-best.
For the week, Heath connected on 16 of his 25 attempts (64.0 percent) from the field and a remarkable 7-of-11 tries from three-point range (63.6 percent).
With his two consecutive 20-point performances against San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, Heath now has 11 career games with 20 or more points. In just 35 career games, he has amassed 497 career points, most among all active SDSU players. He also ranks 10th on the school's three-point field goal chart with 61.
Heath became the sixth different Aztec to win the weekly award since the 2000-01 season. In all, San Diego State players have won the MWC honor 11 times - Aerick Sanders (4), Randy Holcomb (3), Tony Bland, Evan Burns, Al Faux and Brandon Heath.
Heath is the first Aztec winner of the honor since Aerick Sanders claimed the honor on Jan. 5, 2004, following wins over Portland and Iowa State.