Date Posted: 2/18/2008

MACON, Ga. – Belmont raced out to a big lead early against ETSU on Thursday and rallied from a slow start at USC Upstate to maintain the top position in the Atlantic Sun. Shane Dansby led the Bruins for the week as he averaged close to a double-double and hit on almost 70 percent of his shots. Dansby earned his second Player of the Week award this year, the conference office announced on Monday. Dansby becomes the second A-Sun men’s basketball player to earn multiple weekly awards this year, joining ETSU’s Kevin Tiggs.

The junior swingman provided huge production in leading the Bruins to two key road victories at ETSU and USC Upstate this past week. In all, Dansby averaged 22.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the field. The 6-4 wing player tied his career-high with 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting and added eight rebounds in Belmont's victory at ETSU on Thursday. He followed that up with his fourth career double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in a come-from-behind victory at USC Upstate two days later.

Dansby, a junior exercise science major from Pegram, Tenn., has had several of his best performances against the A-Sun’s best. In six games against the other teams in the league currently at .500 or better in league play (Jacksonville, ETSU, Stetson, Gardner-Webb and Lipscomb) he has averaged 18.8 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58.4 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. In the six remaining conference games, he has averaged only 12.6 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. His field goal percentages decline too, shooting only 44.3 percent from the field and connecting on just 22.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

James Florence, MER (So. – G – Marietta, Ga. – Business) – Averaged 31.0 points last week; Scored season-high 33 points, including his 1,000th career point vs Stetson; Only second player in Mercer history to reach the 1,000 point plateau in only two seasons; vs FGCU, he scored seven of his 29 in OT.

Aaron Linn, GWU (Jr. – G – Lenexa, Kan. – Sociology) – Scored 15 of team-high 19 points in the first half of Gardner-Webb's dominant, 86-70 win over Campbell; Hit first five shots and finishing 8-of-11 from the floor (3-for-3 from deep). Linn added six assists (no turnovers), three steals and two rebounds.

Luke Payne, UPST (Sr. – G – Spartanburg, S.C. – Business) – Averaged 19 points 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 rebounds last week (20 vs Lipscomb, 18 vs Belmont); Accounted for 38 percent of Upstate's total scoring vs Lipscomb.

Jonathan Rodriguez, CAM (So. – F – Miami – Sport Management) –Became first player in Campbell senior college (since 1961) history to score 500 points in both his freshman and sophomore seasons; Extended double-figure game scoring streak to 33 by tying his career high with 34 at Gardner-Webb.

Ben Smith, JU (So. – G – Dublin, Ga. – Undeclared) – Scored a game high 25 pts on 6-14 shooting, including 4-6 3-pt FG in JU’s OT win vs UNF; Scored 13 of JU's 18 points in overtime, including back-to-back threes to erase a four-point deficit; Has scored in double figures in every game but three.

Casey Wohlleb, FGCU (Sr. – G/F – Boca Raton, Fla. – Communications) – Scored 1,000th career point and picked up his first career double last week; Became 2nd player at FGCU to score 1,000 in his career with 20 at Kennesaw State; Picked up his first career double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) at Mercer.

Related Links:
 • This Week in A-Sun Men's Basketball