DALLAS – Redshirt junior Dontaie Allen earned his first two collegiate starts last week for Western Kentucky University and made the most of his opportunity averaging 23.5 points and seven rebounds, earning him Conference USA Player of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon.
Along with his 20-plus points and action on the glass, Allen averaged 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals and shot a 50% clip from the general field and from beyond the arc in the two victories. His back-to-back games with 22 points or more, just the second time a Hilltopper has accomplished that feat this year.
A former Kentucky Wildcat, Allen becomes the third Hilltopper this season to be named Player of the Week, joining Dayvion McKnight (Dec. 12 & Jan. 16) and Luke Frampton (Nov. 14). This is the second season in a row that WKU has had three different players earn that title in a single season. WKU also had four players named to the honor in the 2019-20 season.
No other men’s basketball program in Conference USA has had at least three players earn the honor in a single season since 2017-18.
In the Hilltoppers' first win of the week over UTSA, Allen's first start, he scored a game-high 22 points, netting four shots from beyond the arc. He pulled down seven boards and played over 38 minutes, the most action he'd seen on the floor all year.
Against UTEP on Saturday, the Falmouth, Ky., native topped his previous performance, scoring a career-high and game-high 25 points. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 8 from the 3-point line. Allen added a perfect 4 for 4 mark from the charity stripe along with seven boards, all in 34 minutes.
WKU is back in action this week with a single game against Middle Tennessee, closing out the three-game homestand. WKU is encouraging fans to wear white for a ‘White Out’.
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