Judge Alumnus Saldivar earns national recognition in collegiate men's basketball

Stallon Saldivar, currently a junior men’s basketball player for the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University, was named the Big Sky Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against Arizona State Monday. He also was named National Mid-Major Men's Basketball Player of the Week by College Sports Madness and as a candidate for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award.

Saldivar is a 2009 graduate of Judge Memorial Catholic High School and played for Jim Yerkovich, who retired in 2010 after coaching prep basketball in Utah for 44 years.

Saldivar hit a three-pointer with 0.6 left to lead Northern Arizona to the 69-68 upset of Arizona State Saturday. He finished with a career-best 24 points with nine assists and five rebounds. The Lumberjacks defeated ASU for the second consecutive time after posting an upset in the 2006-07 season over the Sun Devils.

Saldivar finished with a career-best 24 points with nine assists and five rebounds. He made 7-of-12 shots from the field including a career-high six three-pointers while playing the entire 40 minutes. He finished just one assist short of a double-double, recording nine assists in the game, the sixth time he has recorded nine or more assists in a game in his career. He also broke into the record books, moving into ninth place on the career assists list with 289 in his three-year career.

The Big Sky Conference selected Saldivar as the men’s basketball Player of the Week after leading the Lumberjacks to the upset of Arizona State.

On Sunday, College Sports Madness named Saldivar the National Mid-Major Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Also honored with Player of the Week honors were Deshaun Thomas of Ohio State, national; Andrew Smith of Butler, high major.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts announced on December 19, 2011, the candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award with Saldivar named to the list. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball, regardless of classification.

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Related Links:

The Audio of the game-winner shot: http://soundcloud.com/mitch-strohman/the-game-winner-at-asu-12-17

The Video of the game-winner shot: http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=1384166674#!/video/video.php?v=2895371228408

College Sports Madness.com Player of the Week release: http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/2857

Big Sky Conference Player of the Week release: http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2011/12/19/MBB_1219112744.aspx"> press release link

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Bob Cousy nominee’s release: http://www.hoophall.com/news/2011/12/19/basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-2012-bob-cousy-award-candi.html