SAN DIEGO – San Diego State sophomore Miles Byrd and freshman Pharaoh Compton have earned Mountain West Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards for the week ending November 30. The announcement was made at the league’s office in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday morning.
In three games at the inaugural Players Era Festival at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Byrd averaged 14.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks and had a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio to lead the Aztecs to a pair of victories against top 25 teams: No. 6 Houston and No. 21 Creighton. The win on Saturday against Houston earned San Diego State, 2-1 in its three contests in Las Vegas, a third-place finish in the event.
Byrd was named to the all-tournament team after shooting 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc, and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) at the free throw line. The 6-7 guard scored in double figures in all three games, including a team-high 18 points in the squad’s 73-70 overtime win over the No. 6-ranked Cougars.
In the three games, six of his seven defensive boards resulted in one-shot attempts possessions for the opponent. His three offensive rebounds led directly to six Aztec points and SDSU totaled six points on three of his five steals while his three assists accounted for six points for the Scarlet and Black.
The Stockton, Calif., native’s most critical points came in the Aztecs’ most critical moments. With 13 seconds left in regulation, his two free throws against Houston tied the game 65-65 and sent it to overtime. Then his Jordan-esque up and under, back hand layup in overtime pushed SDSU’s lead to 70-67 and the Aztecs did not relinquish it in the overtime win.
In Compton’s three appearances in Las Vegas, where he graduated from Arbor View High School last year, he averaged 9.0 points on 65.0 percent (13-of-20), 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.7 assists and 0.3 blocks per game.
The Chicago native scored a career-high 13 points against Houston on 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from the field, after posting a combined 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the floor in the first two games at the event.
Individually he also matched career bests in steals (2 vs. Oregon) and blocks (1 vs. Oregon), while setting a new career-best in field goals (6 vs. Houston).
This is the first Player of the Week award for Byrd this year and in his career and it is the first Freshman of the Week honor for Compton and the second for an Aztec this season.
San Diego State opens Mountain West play on Wednesday evening against Fresno State at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. The game will be broadcast on FS1 and the radio simulcast will be carried on San Diego Sports 760.