RRAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week
March 11, 2008

WACO, Texas – In leading their teams to Red River Athletic Conference basketball tournament victories, Langston University’s (Okla.) Phillip Brooks and Dominique Thomas were selected as the conference’s men’s and women’s players of the week.

Brooks, a senior guard from Garland, Texas, propelled fifth-seeded Langston to tournament victories over three of the conference’s top four teams for the title. In an 86-84 quarterfinal victory over Paul Quinn College (Texas), he scored 19 points with five rebounds and seven assists. He then posted 14 points and six assists as the Lions knocked off top-seeded Texas Wesleyan University, 66-49, in the semifinals.

Brooks saved his best for the title game, when he poured in 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds en route to an 86-75 defeat of second-seeded Texas College. He was 10-of-18 from the field, 5-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the game. For the tournament, he made 21-of-38 field goal attempts (55.3%). Langston, 15-12 on the season, advances to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship in Kansas City, Mo., on March 19-25.

Thomas, a senior guard from Angleton, Texas, averaged 19.7 points and 7.0 assists per game as the top-seeded Langston women completed a perfect run 2007-08 through the conference with the postseason tournament title. Thomas led the Lady Lions to a 65-51 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Texas) in the quarterfinals with 17 points and six assists. She approached a triple-double with 20 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the semifinals where Langston overwhelmed Huston-Tillotson University (Texas), 68-54.

In the championship game, Thomas had a game-high 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists. In the tournament, the LU point guard made 23-of-46 shots from the field and 7-of-17 from behind the three-point arc. Thomas established a new school record for assists in a single-season and was named the RRAC’s Defensive Player of the Year. Langston, ranked sixth in the NAIA, is now 30-1 on the season including 19-0 against RRAC opponents. The Lady Lions advance to the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship on March 19-25 in Jackson, Tenn.

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