PORTLAND, Ore. – After topping 20 points in both games last week, including a season-high 25 against Western Washington last Thursday, Montana State University Billings junior Momir Gataric has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball co-Player of the Week announced by the conference office Monday.
 
"Momir has been our most consistent player all year," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "As a transfer, it usually takes a semester to get all the way adjusted. I think Momir is close to going out every week and providing the kind of production we saw last week. This is a great honor for him."
 
Gataric shot 10-for-14 from the field on Thursday, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range en route to his highest point total of the season. The junior transfer from West Valley College also picked up three rebounds against the Vikings.
 
On Saturday, Gataric scored 20 points in MSUB's first conference win of the season, a 111-104 triumph over Simon Fraser. Gataric had five rebounds and four assists, and made 6 of 8 shots from the field to contribute to MSUB's fourth-best single-game shooting percentage in program history of 69.5 percent.
 
On the weekend Gataric was 8-for-9 from the free-throw line and totaled five 3-pointers while playing upwards of 30 minutes in both contests. Gataric is the first MSUB men's basketball GNAC Player of the Week honoree this season.
 
Gataric, a Sunnyvale, Calif., native is averaging 12.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in his first season with the 'Jackets, and is shooting 53.7 percent from the field. His 31 assists rank second on the squad, as do his 30.9 minutes per game.
 
Andy Avgi of Western Oregon University was named co-Player of the Week along with Gataric.
 
The Yellowjackets have a 3-game homestand coming up, with games against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks this week at Alterowitz Gym. MSUB will host UAF on Thursday and UAA on Saturday, with both games being the second half of a doubleheader with the MSUB women's team and starting at 7:30 p.m.