Craig Captures Second A-Sun Newcomer of the Week Award
12/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A-Sun Release | Craig's Highlights
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After helping lead USC Upstate to its first ever win over ETSU, Torrey Craig (Rock Hill, S.C./Great Falls HS) has been named the Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Week, the conference office in Macon, Ga., announced today.
Behind the freshman's second straight double-double, the Spartans won their ninth consecutive home conference opener. The Spartans streak dates back to the 2002-03 season when Upstate defeated Armstrong Atlantic State, 63-62, on Jan. 11, 2003.
Against the Bucs, Craig scored 18 points, one shy of his career-high and grabbed a career best 15 rebounds to help lead Upstate to the thrilling 60-59 win over ETSU in the conference opener for both teams.
Craig leads the Spartans in scoring with 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is also the team leader in both offensive (2.5 orpg) and defensive rebounds (4.75 drpg).
Craig's 15 rebounds is the highest total in a conference game this season and is the second-most by an A-Sun player in any game this season, Adnan Hodzic (Lipscomb) had 16 rebounds vs. Austin Peay on Nov. 18.
He also became the first Spartan to grab 15 or more rebounds in a single game since Bobby Davis accomplished the feat with 16 at North Florida on Jan. 30, 2009. Craig also connected on four three-pointers in Sunday's win placing him second in conference-only games.
The Rock Hill, S.C., native finds his name atop 12 different statistical categories through the early part of the 2010-11 season. He is tied for seventh in three-point field goals made (2.00 per game), eighth in rebounding (7.3 rpg), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.75 drpg), eighth in offensive rebounds (2.50 orpg), tied for 13th in three-point field percentage (.364) and tied for 19th in scoring (11.1 ppg).
In conference only games, the freshman is first in both rebounding (15.0 rpg) and defensive rebounds (11.0 drpg), while ranking tied for first in three-point field goals made (4.00 per game). Craig is tied for third in offensive rebounds (4.00 orpg), fifth in scoring (18.0 ppg) and 15th in field goal percentage (.538).
This is the second Newcomer of the Week award for Craig this season and third consecutive for the Spartans. Craig earned the award on Nov. 23 after a strong performance at the Charleston Classic as he posted marks of 16.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg in three games. Babatunde Olumuyiwa (Athens, Ga./Clarke Central HS) won the award last week after recording a school-record nine blocks at South Carolina and nearly recording a double-double (16 points, 9 rebounds) in Upstate's 93-91 double-overtime win over UNC Asheville.
The Spartans will travel to Raleigh, N.C., this weekend to face NC State on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans and Wolfpack will battle inside historic Reynolds Coliseum with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
