Heidegger earns First Team All-Big West
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara senior guard Max Heidegger was named First Team All-Big West Conference, sophomore forward Amadou Sow was a second team selection and junior guard JaQuori McLaughlin was honorable mention, the league announced Monday.
"We believe that with team success comes individual accolades," said head coach Joe Pasternack. "I'm happy for Max, Amadou and JaQuori, but it all comes back to the team."
Heidegger, who was also a first team selection following his sophomore season in 2017-18, leads UCSB in scoring at 16.0 points per game, but his average in 12 league games was 17.0 per game. In 10 games prior to injuring his left ankle in a Feb. 27 win at UC Riverside, he averaged 19.9 points per game and had five games with 20 points or more, including 31 on Feb. 13 at UC Davis, 30 on Jan. 30 at CSUN and 27 on Feb. 20 at Cal State Fullerton. Despite missing 13 games, Heidegger also ranks third on the team with 32 three-point baskets, including a team-leading 25 in conference play while making 41.0% from outside the arc. In additiion, the native of Malibu is averaging 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. In a Feb. 1 win at Long Beach State, he set a career-high with 11 assists and came within a rebound of becoming the second Gaucho ever to record a triple-double as he also had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Sow was named Second Team All-Big West for the second consecutive year. He will enter postseason play averaging 14.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game while shooting 54.7% overall, 38.1% from three-point range and 73.9% from the free throw line. He has recorded five double-doubles on the season, including a 21 point, 10 rebound perfomance in a Feb. 8 win over the league's regular season champion UC Irvine. One game earlier, Sow scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Hawai'i and overall he has scored 20 or more points seven times. The native of Mali is the only player to start all 31 games for UCSB this season and, among other things, he added three-point shooting to his arsenal this season, making 16.
McLaughlin is averaging 13.4 points, a team-leading 4.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He is second on the team with 44 three-point baskets and leads the team by shooting 40.7% from outside the arc. Overall, McLaughlin is shooting 44.4% and he is also making 79.9% of his free throws. He has scored in double-figures 19 times in his 30 games, all starts, and he's tallied 20 or more six times, including a career-high 24 on Dec. 20 vs. Southerrn University. He also scored 22 on Feb. 27 at UC Riverside in a comeback win after Heidegger injured his left ankle. The Tacoma, Wash., native has a better than 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio and he has had five or more assists 12 times, going for a career-high eight on two occasions. The all-league recognition is the first for McLaughlin.
UCSB will play UC Riverside in the first round of the Big West Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Honda Center in Anaheim.
Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics
