UCSB senior Jaime Serna
Jaimé Serna, who led UCSB to road wins at UC Davis and Pacific over the weekend, has been named Big West Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Serna had two of the best games of his four-year Gaucho career in the victories.
In Thursday night’s 86-59 win over UC Davis, the senior from Laguna Beach, had 18 points, five rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot. Most impressively, however, he made 9-of-10 shots from the field, a career-best, and the best mark by a UCSB player since Mike Vukovich was a perfect 12-for-12 in a win at Pacific during the 2000-01 season.
Saturday at Pacific, Serna led Santa Barbara to a 56-53 win. He finished with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. He made 4-of-7 shots from the floor, and a career-best 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Serna scored 13 of his points and had seven of his rebounds in the second half of the game.
“Jaimé really stepped-up this weekend,” said head coach Bob Williams. “He played with great energy and focus and the honor is well-deserved.”
Serna is averaging 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game overall. He is leading the team in field goal percentage at 67.4% and is third in blocked shots with 19.
Following its weekend sweep, UCSB is 11-7 overall and 6-2 in the Big West. The Gauchos are alone in second-place and have won four of their last five games. They travel to Cal State Northridge on Thursday, Feb. 2 for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Matadors. On Saturday, Feb. 4, they play at Cal State Fullerton in a 6:00 p.m. game that will be televised on ESPNU.
