February 13, 2012
San Antonio – For the fourth time this season, St. Mary’s big man Kevin Kotzur has been named the Heartland Conference Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Kotzur (Jr., La Vernia, Texas) averaged 21 points and 5.5 rebounds over two games last week, including scoring 20 in 21 minutes to lead the Rattlers (15-7, 8-3 in Heartland Conference) to a blowout win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
His big week helped move St. Mary’s back into contention to win the Heartland Conference regular-season championship and earn the right to host the tournament, as the Rattlers now trail Texas A&M International by just a single game. The two teams will meet up in the regular-season finale in Laredo, Texas on Feb. 25.
Kotzur leads the Heartland Conference in rebounding (8.8 per game) and field-goal percentage (64 percent), and ranks second in scoring (17.5 points per game).
With a full season left in his career, Kotzur already ranks sixth all-time in St. Mary’s history with over 666 career rebounds and is 25 points away from cracking the top-10 all-time scoring list with 1,343 career points. His 65.9-percent career shooting percentage ranks No. 1 in the modern era.