Jan. 3, 2001
Bowling Green, Ky. - Mike Wells, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Guthrie, Ky. (Todd County Central High School), has been selected as the Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Week for his efforts in Western Kentucky's last four games.
Wells, less than halfway through his first season of intercollegiate competition, came off the bench and provided Coach Dennis Felton's Hilltoppers with a vital spark in all four contests -- three of those Hilltopper victories, including wins in Western's first two Sun Belt games of the year (both on the road).
In the conference opener at New Orleans (Dec. 28), he accounted for nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 28 minutes of action. That included 4-4 shooting at the free throw line in the final 36 seconds of the game, putting that 68-63 win on ice for the Toppers.
Then, three days later (Dec. 31) at Denver, Wells tallied a career-high 16 points (on 7-9 shooting from the floor, 2-3 on three-pointers) in his 20 minutes on the floor. Seven of his 10 first half points in that one were Western's final counters of the period, powering a Topper rally that sent WKU into the lockerroom at the intermission with a 39-32 lead en route to that 80-61 triumph. He also accounted for five rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal in that one.
Wells recorded all three of his collegiate double-figure games in this four-game stretch (from Dec. 18 through Dec. 31). He scored 15 points and had a pair of blocked shots in the Hilltoppers' 103-60 win over Savannah State (Dec. 18), and, he had 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and a block in Western's 74-68 loss to highly regarded St. Joseph's (Pa.) (Dec. 21).
Wells' selection makes Western Kentucky the first Sun Belt school this season to have two athletes win its weekly award. Chris Marcus, a 7-1 junior center from Charlotte, N.C., was similarly honored on Dec. 11.
