HAYS — Former Barton Community College and current Fort Hays State University standout Dwayne Brunson was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday, Feb. 18.
Brunson, a native of Queens, N.Y. and a junior power forward, leads the Tigers in scoring, currently at 15.7 points per game.
Brunson averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocked shots, and 2.0 steals per game during the previous week , a pair of road wins at Northwest Missouri State and Nebraska-Kearney.
Brunson scored a career-high 35 points at Nebraska-Kearney, shooting an efficient 14-of-16 from the field, also recording seven rebounds and five blocked shots in the game. He was also a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. The 35 points was the most scored in a game by a FHSU player since the 1998 season, when Chris Danner had 36 against Nebraska-Kearney.
It marked the most points scored by a Tigers player under head coach Mark Johnson, as the previous high was 34 by Dominique Jones against Midwestern State during the 2010-11 season. Brunson also reached double figures in scoring in the win at Northwest Missouri State with 10 points and six rebounds. Brunson has scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games for the Tigers this year.
Fort Hays State, tied for the MIAA lead with Central Missouri at 11-4, played Washburn in Topeka on Saturday night. Both the Tigers and Ichabods entered the game at 17-6 overall. Wasbhurn sat in third place in the conference at 10-5.
Brunson averaged a double-double with 17.4 points and 10 rebounds for Barton in 2011-12. The Cougars which posted a 26-7 record last season, falling to Cowley County in the semifinals of the NJCAA Region VI playoffs last March.
An explosive leaper, always active around the basket, Brunson had 16 double-doubles during his sophomore campgain at Barton, accumulating 301 rebounds and 87 blocked shots — both team highs — while pouring in 522 points, second on the team.

               — Mack McClure