Nov. 12, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State junior forward Kyle Spain has been named Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week, the league announced Monday morning. The award is the second of his career and first since 2005.
Spain, from Newark, Calif., helped the Aztecs win the World Vision Classic championship by averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in three netural/road games in as many days. He also shot 48 percent from the field and 82.6 percent from the free throw line. At the conclusion of SDSU's win over previously undefeated Fresno State in the Classic finale, the tournament board named Spain the event's most valuable player.
In the Aztecs' season-opening game vs. Liberty, the junior led the team in scoring with 14 points and was perfect from the charity stripe, going 6-for-6 in a game where SDSU went a combined 13-for-14 from the line. Spain also had four rebounds and connected on two three-point field goals in San Diego State's 62-50 victory.
In game two of the event, Spain went 5-for-10 from the field and added a career-best 10 free throws en route to scoring a career-high tying and game-high 22 points in just 27 minutes against Portland. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in the Aztecs' 78-64 win.
In the championship game against an unbeaten Fresno State squad on its home court, Spain spearheaded an Aztec defensive effort with a season- and game-best three steals. In addition to his prowess on the defensive side of the ball, Spain connected on 50 percent from the field (4-8) and scored 12 points as he was one of six SDSU players to score in double figures in the 89-72 victory over the Bulldogs. Spain was also one of five Aztecs to have at least five rebounds as he finished the contest with six.
The junior, who has 21 career double-digit scoring efforts, scored in double figures in all three games, marking the first time he has accomplished the feat since his freshman season when he did it from Dec. 17-Dec. 27, 2005. As a sophomore, Spain did not record back-to-back games with 10 or more points at any point.
Spain's effort helped San Diego State finish its season-opening weekend with a 3-0 record for a second consecutive season and for just the eighth time in SDSU's Division I history. The last time the Aztecs started a season with a 3-0 mark in consecutive seasons was in 1968-69 and 1969-70. The perfect weekend also marked the second year in a row and the first time in the school's Division I era that SDSU won a multiple-game in-season event in back-to-back campaigns.
Nationally, San Diego State is joined by (22/20) Pittsburgh, (23/21) Stanford and Northern Iowa as the only 3-0 teams in America.
Spain, who shares the conference weekly award with Air Force's Tim Anderson, last won this award during his freshman season on Dec. 19, 2005.