AZUSA, Calif. — There is "cleaning the glass," and then there is the defensive clinic Shad Thomas put on Thursday night.

The Azusa Pacific graduate forward delivered a performance that looked more like a video game stat line than a box score, racking up 19 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Cougars to a 72-63 victory over Vanguard. The dominant display didn't just secure a win; it earned Thomas his second conference honor of the season: PacWest Defender of the Week.

Thomas, a 6-foot-7 force from Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was an unsolvable puzzle for the Lions. While his 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting provided the offensive spark, it was his relentless pursuit of the ball on the defensive end that defined the game. Of his 19 boards, 13 came on the defensive glass, effectively erasing any hope Vanguard had for second-chance opportunities.

The performance drew high praise from the sidelines, as Head Coach BJ Porter noted that Thomas' presence on the glass "changed the entire complexion of the game." Porter highlighted that for Thomas to secure 19 rebounds while remaining the team's most efficient offensive threat "shows the level of focus he has right now." According to Porter, Thomas is a "relentless competitor" who acts as the anchor of the defense, giving the Cougar guards the "confidence to play aggressive on the perimeter."

Performance Snapshot: Shad Thomas vs. Vanguard

The 19 total rebounds aren't just a personal best for the Catawba transfer; they represent a PacWest season high—clearing the previous mark by three—and the highest single-game total by an Azusa Pacific player in nearly six years. The last time a Cougar reached that height was when Selom Mawugbe pulled down 19 against Biola on March 6, 2020.