Houston native averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds in Louisiana's home sweep of Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee

LOUISIANA La. - He averaged a double-double for the week and led his team to a pair of home victories that extended the squad's winning streak to a season-high six games. On Tuesday, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball forward Brian Hamilton was recognized for his efforts by being named the Sun Belt Conference's men's basketball Player of the Week.

Hamilton had an impressive week in lifting the Ragin' Cajuns (11-7, 6-1 Sun Belt) into a tie for first in the Sun Belt West. The Houston, Texas product averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game while shooting a remarkable 71 percent from the field.

He had 18 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists in a win over Western Kentucky last Thursday. He followed with a double-double against Middle Tennessee on Saturday (16 points, 13 rebounds) - his fifth double-double of the season.

He made the key play against MT - followed up a missed layup by Dwayne Mitchell at 2:11 with a putback that extended the Cajuns lead to 46-42 and helped revive the Cajuns faithful for the home stretch.

Against WKU, Hamilton recorded his 1,000th career point in his four-year collegiate career and had an impressive stretch in which he blocked back-to-back WKU attempts on the same possession. He ended the game against the Hilltoppers with a career-best five blocked shots.

The Houston native picks up the weekly honor for the first time this season and second in his Ragin' Cajuns career. Last season, Hamilton was named player of the week on Feb. 2 after performances against Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.

This week's honor is the second of the season for head coach Robert Lee's program. Hamilton joins Tiras Wade as the Cajuns' honorees during the 2004-05 season - Wade was named Sun Belt POW on Dec. 21 after his record-setting performance at N.C. State.

The Ragin' Cajuns will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 3 in Denton, Texas, in a 7 p.m., contest with North Texas. That game will be followed with a showdown on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Denver where the Cajuns get an opportunity to avenge their only home loss of the season.

LOUISIANA SI