Cardell Butler Named USU Athlete of the Week for Fourth Time This Year

Cardell Butler Named USU Athlete of the Week for Fourth Time This Year

Aggie senior basketball player scored career high 31 in home finale

For the fourth time this year, basketball player Cardell Butlerhas been named the Utah State Athlete of the Week it was announced Monday (Feb. 23). Butler previously won the award three straight times Dec. 15 through Jan. 5, with no honoree being named Dec. 29.

Butler closed out the home portion of the season in style as he averaged 22.5 points while shooting 57.1 percent from the field (16-28) and 57.1 percent from three-point range (8-14) in two Utah State wins. Against UC Riverside he scored 14 points, including four of Utah State's final five points in overtime. Against Cal State Fullerton, he had a career-high 31 points while hitting eight of 10 three-pointers, just one three short of the school record.

The 6-4, senior, guard from San Francisco, Calif., is seventh in the Big West Conference in scoring at 14.1 points per game, while ranking among the top five in all three shooting categories. He is second in free throw (86.4 percent) and three-point (44.2 percent) percentages and fifth in field goal percentage (49.6 percent).

In addition, he leads the team in steals with 26, while starting all 24 games this season.

Utah State, 22-2 overall and 14-1 in the Big West Conference, will play at Long Beach State on Thursday (Feb. 26) and at UC Irvine on Saturday (Feb. 28). The UC Irvine game will be televised on ESPN 2 at 9:05 p.m. Mountain time.