Jan. 21, 2008

Rome, Ga. - Shorter College's Tomas Pranciliauskas, a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Vilnius, Lithuania, has been named the Southern States Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week (Jan. 13-19).

Pranciliauskas, a transfer from Pepperdine University (Calif.), helped the Hawks to a SSAC 87-64 victory over Reinhardt College and was outstanding in Shorter's 79-72 defeat to No. 5-ranked Lee University on Saturday.

Pranciliauskas poured in 26 points against the Flames (one of the top defensive teams in the NAIA), and also had three assists and four steals in the loss. Maybe the most impressive, was his 8-for-8 stat from the free throw line.

For the week, the Hawks were 1-1 and improved to 12-5 overall. Pranciliauskas finished the week with 39 points and made 11-of-11 free throws. He also made 6-of-11 shots from behind the arc.