FARMINGTON, Utah – Gus Etchison has been named the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week following a historic weekend that helped lift the Idaho State Bengals men's basketball to a home sweep of the Montana schools.
Etchison becomes the first Bengal to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors since Dylan Darling captured the award on Feb. 25th last season.
The redshirt-senior guard averaged 32.5 points per game in wins over the Montana Grizzlies men's basketball and the Montana State Bobcats men's basketball inside Reed Gym. The weekend sweep snapped a nine-game losing streak and marked the first time Idaho State has swept Montana and Montana State at home in back-to-back seasons since 2007-09.
For the week, Etchison shot 61.0 percent from the field, going 25-for-41, including 7-of-15 from three-point range, 46.7 percent, and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, 80.0 percent. He added 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game while averaging 29.2 minutes.
Against Montana on Thursday, Etchison poured in a then-career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also recorded five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the victory.
He followed that performance with an even bigger outing Saturday against Montana State, resetting his career high with 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting and 3-of-8 from deep. Etchison dished out a career-best eight assists, grabbed three rebounds, and added a steal.
The 36-point performance is tied for the 34th highest single-game scoring total in program history and represents the most points scored in a game by a Bengal in more than a decade.
"It means the world to me. I'm beyond blessed and couldn't have done it without the belief and support of the coaches and my teammates," Etchison said.
The weekly honor from the Big Sky Conference adds to a national recognition week for Etchison and highlights one of the most productive two-game stretches in recent Idaho State history.
