Elijah Duval was named Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Newcomer of the Week on March 9 following a strong showing in the final two regular-season games for Southern Utah University.
The recognition highlights Duval’s impact as a true freshman, especially as he delivered a career-high 30 points in the season finale. His consistent performances have contributed to Southern Utah winning six of the last seven WAC Newcomer of the Week awards, with Duval himself earning four of those honors in the past six weeks.
In a matchup against top-ranked Utah Valley, Duval scored 20 points while shooting 8-for-12 from the field and adding four rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He followed this with his standout game against California Baptist, where he faced preseason WAC Player of the Year Dominique Daniels Jr. and scored 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting. In that game, he also recorded four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Over these two games, Duval averaged 25 points, four rebounds, four assists, and 2.5 steals per contest. His shooting percentages were reported at 66 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range, and 64 percent from the free-throw line. Throughout the season, he has maintained an average of 15.2 points per game on 47 percent shooting overall and leads his team with 37 steals.
Looking ahead, Southern Utah is set to compete as the No. 5 seed in the upcoming WAC postseason basketball tournament. The Thunderbirds will face No. 4-seeded UT Arlington Mavericks in Las Vegas at Orleans Arena on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.
