Byrne Named OVC Player Of The Week
3/3/2008 3:02:22 PM
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Coming off two of the best performances of his four-year Eastern Illinois career, senior forward Jake Byrne was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the final week of the regular-season.
Byrne helped carry the Panthers to two wins to close out the 2008 campaign as the Elsberry, Mo., native averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds in wins over Jacksonville State and Samford. Byrne scored a career-high 30 points against JSU on Thursday and followed up with 16 against Samford on Saturday. He pulled down 10 rebounds in both games for his second and third career double-doubles.
He shot 64 percent from the field in the two wins to finish the season shooting 54.3 percent. For his career Byrne shot 54.5 percent to rank fifth on the EIU career field goal percentage list. He ended the season averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.