Monday, January 27, 2003

Raitis Grafs was named Mid-Continent Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performances in two wins last week. The senior from Riga, Latvia helped the Crusaders become the first Mid-Con squad in six years to open conference play with five straight wins.

Grafs averaged 20.0 points in road wins over IUPUI (72-62) and Oakland (72-70). Against IUPUI, he scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, and added seven rebounds and two blocks. Grafs followed that effort by scoring a team-best 22 points in a comeback win over the Golden Grizzlies. He made nine of 12 shots against Oakland.

For the week, Grafs shot 67 percent (16 of 24) and grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game. Valpo (10-7, 5-0 Mid-Con) owns a five-game win streak.

The Mid-Con weekly award was the second this season for the 6'11" center as he was also selected Dec. 16.