Last Week’s Stats: 24.5 p pg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 50.0 FG%, 55.6 FG%, 88.9 FT%
Another week brought yet another barrage of buckets for the NEC’s top scorer. In Central Connecticut’s 1-1 stretch, Smith, who is averaging a league-leading 20.8 points per game, poured in 49 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field (14-of-28), 55.6 percent shooting from long range (5-of-9) and an 88.9 percent clip from the charity stripe (16-of-18) while adding 13 rebounds. The Springfield, MA native got his week going with an explosive outing on Saturday to guide the Blue Devils to a 98-90 win at Saint Francis. Draining all four of his attempts from downtown, he shot a sizzling 71.4 percent from the field to lead all scorers with 34 points, marking the second time this season the sophomore eclipsed the 30-point mark. In addition, Smith came one rebound shy of completing a double-double in the victory. His performance was so elite that it made him the only player in the nation this season to net at least 30 points on 70.0 percent shooting with four made three-pointers. On Monday, Smith led all Blue Devils with 15 points in a defeat at Mercyhurst. With that effort, he remains the only player in the league this season to score in twin figures in every game, a current 17-game rally. He enters the week ranked 17th in the nation in scoring and he owns the sixth-best scoring average among all NCAA Division I underclassmen. This is his league-leading fourth NEC Player of the Week award this season.