St. John Fisher College has named #Matt Newman# of the men’s basketball team as the College’s Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending January 18, 2009.
In a 3-0 week that saw the Cardinals win the 43rd annual JPMorgan Chase Scholarship Tournament, the junior guard averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and made two steals en route to Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Newman shot 50% from the floor (13-of-26) and 80% from the free throw line (16-of-20) in the three Tournament wins.
He saved his best performance for the Tournament’s finals, ending the game with a team-high 17 points (nine in the second half), while collecting six rebounds and dishing out five assists with no turnovers. Although the Cardinals led seventh-seeded Nazareth by as many as 13 points in the second half, the Golden Flyers surged back down the stretch to tie the contest three times in the final four minutes. During that span, Newman connected on all three of his free throw attempts to help preserve the win.
Newman began the Chase Tournament with a 16 point, seven rebound performance, leading the Cardinals on the glass against No. 5 seed Roberts Wesleyan College. With the win, No. 4 Fisher advanced to take on top-seeded University of Rochester. Newman shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor and went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to finish with nine points in the 71-66 upset win over the Yellowjackets.
For the season, Newman is tied for the team lead with 10.6 points per game and ranks second on the squad with 5.2 rebounds per game. As Fisher’s primary ball handler, Newman has 50 assists (3.6 apg), while leading the team’s defensive efforts with 21 steals.
Fisher (12-2 overall, 4-1 Empire 8) will resume its Empire 8 Conference schedule with an 8 p.m. tip off against Alfred University on Friday, before facing off against Nazareth College for the second time on Saturday.
