NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont senior forward Jonathan Pierre led the Bruins to a big non-conference victory, earning this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honor.
Pierre, a Memphis transfer from Hallandale, Fla., has flourished with Belmont this season and put up a strong performance over defending Atlantic 10 champion Richmond as the senior posted one of the top efforts this season by a Missouri Valley Conference player.
In the victory over the Spiders, Pierre collected a career-high 28 points, including a 5-for-9 effort from beyond the arc and a 5-for-5 night at the free-throw line. He also collected seven rebounds and nine assists as he flirted with a triple-double in the victory. It was his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season.
The 6-9 forward is currently averaging 13.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: In a week that saw some amazing women’s basketball performances, the decision went to Vanderbilt sophomore forward Khamil Pierre.
Also named one of this week’s winners of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, the Phoenix, Ariz., native put together one of the best games in Vanderbilt program history as she broke the Commodores’ single-game scoring record with 42 points, surpassing the previous best of 41 set by Chantelle Anderson (Feb. 8, 2001) and Ciaja Harbison (Jan. 29, 2023).
She accomplished one of the rarest feats in basketball as she outscored Evansville by herself as the Commodores defeated the Purple Aces 106-40. The 42 points is the most scored by a Southeastern Conference player this season and the most since the 2020-21 season. Pierre was 19-for-28 from the field and 4-for-6 at the free-throw line.
She scored 20 points alone in the first quarter, setting the program record for points scored in the opening frame, as well as tied Marnelle Garraud’s record for most points scored in any quarter, set on Jan. 16, 2023, in the fourth quarter at Arkansas.
In addition to her career-high 42 points, Pierre also set a new career high in rebounds as she pulled down 18 boards, along with an assist, a block and eight steals.
Pierre extended her double-digit scoring streak to 13 games and posted her eighth double-double of the season.
2024-25 TSWA College Players of the Week
MEN’S BASKETBALL
11/12 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
11/19 | Doyel Cockrill III (Fisk)
11/26 | Russ Marr (Sewanee)
12/3 | Trey Bonham (Chattanooga)
12/10 | Jack Browder (Carson-Newman)
12/17 | Jonathan Pierre (Belmont)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
11/12 | Jennifer Sullivan (Carson-Newman)
11/19 | Ni’Kiah Chesterfield (Tusculum)
11/26 | Molly Heard (Lipscomb)
12/3 | Anastasiia Boldyreva (Middle Tennessee)
12/10 | Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
12/17 | Khamil Pierre (Vanderbilt)