Maldonado Named NECC Player of the Week

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) was named New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6 as announced by the league office on Monday.

Maldonado scored a season-high 30 points and connected on eight three pointers in the 20th-ranked Blazers’ 73-69 loss to Westfield State on Saturday, Elms’ first loss of the 2009-10 season. Maldonado netted 12 points to help pace the Blazers to a hard-fought 88-79 win over No. 13 Amherst on Friday night, the program’s first-ever victory over the Lord Jeffs. Prior to earning a 1-1 split at the Pioneer Valley Classic, Elms downed WNEC on Tuesday, behind Maldonado’s 22 points. Maldonado averaged 21.3 points per game during the three-game stretch, as well as 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game. He also shot 42 percent from the field (21-for-50), a sizzling 55 percent from behind the arc (15-for-27), and converted 7 of 8 from the free throw line (88 percent).