Western Nebraska Community College’s Francisco Cruz came up big for the Cougars last week, scoring 93 points in three games in leading the Cougars to two wins. For his efforts, Cruz has been named the NJCAA Men’s Division I basketball player of the week for games ending Jan. 31.Cruz, a 6-4 wing from Nogales, Mexico, averaged 31 points and seven rebounds a game for the Cougars last week, while ringing in 12 3-pointers and going 23 of 29 from the free throw line.
WNCC coach Russ Beck said he is deserving of the honor.
“We are very proud of Francisco. He is a hard worker and deserving of any recognition that comes his way,” he said. “We are excited for what he and the rest of the Cougars have accomplished and we are excited about where this program is heading.”
In an 89-72 win over Eastern Wyoming, Cruz scored 41 points which made him only the 10th player in school history to score over 40 points in a game. In that same game he was 14-of-19 from the field, 8-of-10 from downtown, and complimented all this with five rebounds, five assists, and one steal.
Two days later, in an 85-83 overtime loss to Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College, Cruz scored 28 points and shot 11-of-12 from the line, all in the second half.
In the 74-67 win against Otero Junior College, he scored 24 points while shooting 50 percent from the field (8-of-16). He also shot 7-of-10 from the charity stripe and had eight rebounds and two steals in a game where he never came off the floor.
For the week, Cruz averaged 31 points per game on 29-of-52 shooting, 12-of-22 from the three-point line, went 23-of-29 from the free throw line, and had 20 rebounds with six assists and three steals.
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