News

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Phil Argento, a member of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team, has been selected as the National Christian College Athletic Association Player of the Week for his performance in games during the week of December 2-8.

Argento, a senior guard from Grafton, Ohio, led the Cougars to a 3-0 record for the week as he averaged 22.3 points and 3.0 steals per game while nailing 12 of his 30 three-point attempts (40 percent). The former Division III Player of the Year at Lutheran West High School also contributed three rebounds and five assists while shooting 52.1 percent from the field (25-of-48).

Argento began the week with a team-high 22 points, two assists, and two steals in a 95-76 non-conference victory over Kenyon College. Then, he scored 12 points to go with two assists and four steals in an 87-76 victory over Notre Dame College in the first round of the Food for the Hungry Holiday Invitational. Finally, he closed out the week with 33 points that included nine three-pointers as he earned Most Valuable Player honors in leading MVNU to a 93-61 win over the University of Michigan-Dearborn in the Food for the Hungry Holiday Invitational championship game.

On the season, Argento leads the Cougars in scoring (22.3 points per game), three-pointers made (43), and steals (18) through the team's first 10 games. He is shooting 46.1 percent from the field (82-of-178), 38.7 percent from three-point land (43-of-111), and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-22).

MVNU is off to a 10-0 start to the season that has extended the team's winning streak to a school-record 14 straight games dating back to last season. The Cougars moved up eight spots in the most recent NAIA Division II national poll as they climbed to ninth this week. The team will return to action on Saturday with an American Mideast Conference South Division game at the University of Rio Grande at 8:00 p.m.