Feb. 16, 2004
RICHMOND, Va. - Jai Lewis (Aberdeen, MD/Aberdeen/Maine Central Institute), a forward on the George Mason University men's basketball team, was named the Pioneer Electronics Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 15, the league announced Monday.
The accolade is the third this season from the conference for Lewis, who also received the honor on Jan. 5 and Jan. 26. He becomes the first CAA player this season to be named CAA Player of the Week three times.
Lewis averaged 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in leading George Mason to a pair of victories over first-place CAA teams. The 6-7, sophomore forward recorded his sixth double-double of the season, and seventh of his career, with game-highs in points (19) and rebounds (11) as the Patriots edged Drexel 75-72 in overtime to snap the Dragons' six-game win streak. He scored six of Mason's 11 points in the extra session. Lewis also scored a team-high 17 points and made a career-high five steals in a 69-57 win over VCU on Wednesday. For the week, he shot 62.5% (15-of-24) from the floor. Defensively, Lewis held VCU's Troy Godwin (6 pts.) and DU's Sean Brooks (7 pts) well below their scoring averages.
A starter in 20 of George Mason's 23 games, Lewis leads the team in both scoring at 15.7 points per game and rebounding (7.5 rpg), and is third on the squad in steals (24), first in blocked shots (25) and has 28 assists. He ranks fifth overall in the league in scoring and is third in rebounding, while leading the conference in field goal percentage at 61.9 percent.
For his career, Lewis has appeared in 51 consecutive games, starting 29, and has scored in double figures 28 times, including a career-best 26 points at Delaware (1/28/04). He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds eight times, including a career-high 16 boards vs. William & Mary (1/31/04).
George Mason moved a game out of first-place in the CAA following its two wins last week. The Patriots, who are 16-7 overall and 9-5 in league play, visit Hofstra Wednesday at 7 p.m. and host Delaware Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
