Fortier Earns Player of the Week Honors from PacWest (Jan. 26, 2004)

BILLINGS, MT – Trae Fortier was named the PacWest Player of the Week on Monday after leading MSU Billings to three important conference wins last week.  The Yellowjackets climbed from fourth place to second place in the PacWest with the victories.

Fortier, a 6-foot-7 junior from Los Angeles, averaged 25 points and 7.7 rebounds a game for the week.  He matched his career high with 37 points in Saturday’s victory over Chaminade, shooting nearly 64 percent from the field.  He scored 37 points at Western Oregon earlier in the season and has three of the PacWest’s top four scoring performances of the year. 

On Tuesday, Fortier recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 23 points and ten rebounds.  The five double-doubles lead the PacWest.  He also leads the conference for scoring and rebounding.

Arguably the top all around player in the league, Fortier ranks in the league’s top ten in all nine of the major statistical categories.  He is first for scoring (23.1), first for rebounding (7.9), sixth for field goal percentage (53.1), tenth for assists (2.4), eighth for free throw percentage (78.6), fourth for steals (2.12), seventh for 3-point percentage (41.8), eighth for 3-pointers made (2.06), and fifth for blocked shots (.75).

MSU Billings continues PacWest action this week, playing at Western New Mexico on January 29 and 31.