Cunningham Named Big West Player of the Week
2/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UC Riverside junior Larry Cunningham's incredible second half performance that led the Highlanders to their first conference win over a first place Cal State Fullerton squad earned him Big West Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors on Monday, February 5th.
After taking just one shot in three minutes of play in the first half, Cunningham was relegated to the bench after getting tagged with a pair of offensive fouls. But the second half was an entirely different story. Cunningham exploded for a career-high 34 points in the final 20 minutes, hitting 13-of-19 from the field and sinking 8-of-9 from the line as UCR pulled off the 82-76 triumph. He also had two assists and two steals, and played the entire second half while collecting just one foul.
The 34 points is the most for a Highlander since Rickey Porter tallied 40 against Pacific on January 7, 2006. It ties him for sixth on UCR's all-time single game high list.
The Downey native's previous career high was 33, recorded against UC Davis on March 4, 2006.
The Player of the Week recognition is the first in Cunningham's career and the fourth in school history. Former UCR guard Rickey Porter received the honor twice, in 2005 and 2006, while former forward Steve Williams won it in 2006.
