COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., – University of Wyoming redshirt freshman Nate Barnhart was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week on Monday morning. It is the first time he has garnered the honor this season and he becomes the first Cowboy to earn the award, as well.

He averaged 8.5 points per game for the week along with for rebounds per game and one block per game. He shot 60 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the arc for the week.

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Barnhart recorded a career-high 12 points against Fresno State, as he tied a career-high with a pair of threes in the contest. Barnhart added five points at San Jose State with four rebounds. He went 2-of-3 from the field in the game.

After last Tuesday's 85-62 victory over the Bulldogs, forward Jeremiah Oden said Barnhart has taken a "huge step" in the absence of Graham Ike.

"To be able to do that type of thing midseason really speaks to his poise and his work ethic," Oden said. "Nate is special. Just some of the stuff he does out there it’s like, 'whoa,' sometimes. It’s good to see him start to come into his own, and he’s just scratching the surface of what he can be."

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Barnhart, the 7-footer from Lenexa, Kan., has appeared in 11 games this season to go along with three starts. He is averaging four points and 2.4 rebounds and is playing nearly 13 minutes a night. Barnhart has also connected on 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc over the Cowboys' last two outings.

In his first-career start back on Jan. 17, Barnhart netted 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field in an 82-74 setback at Air Force.

"He did tremendous," UW's third-year head coach Jeff Linder said postgame. "He was a guy that played 30 minutes and didn't look tired the entire time. And that's a guy that hadn't been on the floor for a lot of minutes. For him to come out and do what he did was tremendous."

Wyoming (7-15, 2-8) will host UNLV (15-8, 4-7) inside the Arena-Auditorium Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and the game will televised on FS1.

* A University of Wyoming press release contributed to this article

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