NEW ORLEANS – James Madison men’s basketball forward Mezie Offurum took the Sun Belt Conference’s top weekly honor on Tuesday afternoon, earning SBC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week accolades from the league.

The Player of the Week nod is JMU’s first of the year and makes Offurum the first men’s basketball Duke to earn the weekly award in the SBC.

He proved vital in a pair of key JMU victories over Old Dominion and Louisiana. Against the Monarchs, Offurum scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished a season-high five assists as the Dukes completed a sweep of its cross-state rival. He hit 12 of 14 free throws Thursday evening, marking the most free throws a JMU player has made in a game this season.

In Saturday’s win over Louisiana, he added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed another seven rebounds, while anchoring the Dukes’ defensive presence in the post. The performance marked his eighth game of 2022-23 with at least seven boards, including each of the last three contests.

In total, Offurum averaged 15.5 points in just 28 minutes per game had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.5. He also assisted on defense with two steals per game for the week.

The graduate transfer leads the Dukes with 5.5 rebounds per game and is second on the roster in both field goal percentage (59.9%) and field goals made (103).

Offurum’s efforts have helped JMU win seven of its last eight. JMU’s 11-5 conference record entering the week has clinched a top-four seed and double-bye in the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, which is set to begin Feb. 28.

The Dukes will finish the regular season schedule with home games against Marshall on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and Georgia State on Friday, Feb. 24. JMU will look to complete the regular-season sweep of both opponents and would move into second place in the league standings with a win on Wednesday.

— JMU Athletics —