ST. LOUIS – Missouri State junior Tulio Da Silva (F, Formiga, Brazil), was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week, the league announced late Monday.
Da Silva led the Bears to a pair of road victories and into a share of first place in The Valley after averaging 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in victories at Evansville and Loyola. He also fired a 56.5 percent clip from the field for the week and capped his streak of consecutive field goals made at 16 straight from Feb. 6 to Feb. 13.
The transfer from South Florida, scored 16 points and snagged a game-high nine rebounds in Sunday’s win over Loyola to give MSU a season sweep over the Ramblers. He also blocked three shots and had two steals in that game. Earlier in the week, he had game highs 17 points and seven rebounds in MSU’s win at Evansville, going 7-for-13 from the field with a block, a steal and a 3-pointer.
This is the second time this season Da Silva has been recognized by The Valley. He also was named MVC Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 14 after helping the Bears to road wins at Indiana State and Bradley.
The Bears (15-12, 9-5 MVC), who are tied with Loyola and Drake atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings, play three of their four remaining at home. They will host Northern Iowa on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at JQH Arena.
