Jan. 16, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State junior guard Brandon Heath has been named co-Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the period ending January 15 after guiding the Aztecs to a pair of conference wins. Heath, who is being honored for the third time in his career, shares the award with Wyoming's Brandon Ewing.
A native of Los Angeles, Heath averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists, 2.0 steals, all team-highs, and added 5.0 rebounds per game in victories at Utah (72-67) and against UNLV (83-67).
In last Wednesday's win over the Utes, Heath scored a game-high 21 points (8-17 FGs; 4-9 3FGs) and added a game-high and season-high eight assists to go along with a season-high six rebounds and three steals. His effort was key in the Aztecs' comeback as he posted 15 points, five assists and three rebounds in the second half.
With the Aztecs down seven, Heath scored 13 of SDSU's next 16 points as San Diego State went on a 16-6 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. During the run, Heath personally outscored the Utes 13-6, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts. He shot 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range after intermission. The game marked the 30th time Heath scored at least 20 points in a contest and was a career high fifth consecutive game in which he hit the 20-point plateau.
The victory allowed the Aztecs to snap a 22-game losing streak at Utah and a 23-game losing streak to the Utes in Salt Lake City. It also marked just the second time in school history (2-26) that SDSU had won on Utah's home court and snapped a six-game overall losing streak to the Utes.
In the win over UNLV, Heath posted another big second half as SDSU rallied from a halftime deficit for the second straight game. The junior guard finished the game with 17 points, a game-high five assists, four rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes.
SDSU overcame a six-point halftime deficit thanks in part to Heath's 14 points, three assists and two rebounds after the break, helping SDSU outscore the Rebels 51-29 after intermission. He had nine points during a game-changing 21-7 run to open the second half when the Aztecs took control of the game.
Heath becomes the third Aztec to win MWC Player of the Week honors this season, joining Marcus Slaughter and Kyle Spain.