MIAC Athletes of the Week

WINONA, Minn. — Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) has been a double-double machine this season, as the Saint Mary's University sophomore locked up his 10th such feat against Macalester last Saturday.

And Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference awarded him yet another double-double, naming Palmer for men's basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Palmer, who missed the Cardinals' game at Bethel last Wednesday due to an injury, came back in full force on Saturday, scoring 31 points and adding 11 rebounds in the Cardinals' 76-63 victory over Macalester at the SMU Gym.

More impressive than Palmer's 31 points — second-most only to his career-best 37 earlier this season — or 10th double-double of the season was the fact that he scored 21 of his 31 points from the free-throw line, where he finished 21-for-23. Palmer's 21 free throws made tied the MIAC's single-game record, originally set during the 1957 season.

The Cardinal sophomore entered Monday's conference game at Concordia leading the MIAC in scoring (19.2 ppg) and is second in rebounding (9.5 rpg). He has now scored in double figures in 11 straight games and has led the team in rebounds in 16 of the Cardinals' 18 contests.