VU’s Echols on watch list for Bevo Francis Award

Vanguard University senior Jaamon Echols is among 100 players named to the watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, presented annually to the top player in men’s small college basketball.

The 5-foot-11 guard, in his first season at Vanguard after transferring from Western Washington, is averaging 21.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.2 rebounds for the Lions (12-5, 1-4 in the Golden State Athletic Conference), heading into Saturday’s conference game at Arizona Christian.

The award recognizes the top player competing at levels including NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III. It is named for Bevo Francis, who averaged 50.1 points per game at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in the early 1950s. Francis scored 116 points in a game against Ashland College of Kentucky.

— From staff reports