HCAC Names Johnson as Player of the Week

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Defiance College’s C.J. Johnson has been selected as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points and 2.0 steals in DC’s two games. Johnson also shot 58.6 percent from the floor and connected on six-of-11 from long distance.

Johnson started the week by cracking double figures in the scoring column for the third-straight time to start the season, netting 10 points on Tuesday against Heidelberg. The senior guard then exploded for a career high 37 points and became the 41st player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau for his career, as he led the Jackets to a 79-69 win at Kalamazoo on Sunday.

Johnson connected on 13-of-19 shots from the floor against the Hornets and drained four-of-six attempts from beyond the arc as he led a blistering DC shooting performance. The Toledo, Ohio, native shot 68.4 percent on the night and the Jackets posted a 54.5-percent clip as a team.

Along with leading all scorers, Johnson also swiped a game-high three steals and turned away multiple threats from Kalamazoo in the closing minutes by scoring 16 of DC’s final 23 points.

Johnson is now averaging 20.5 points a game for the season to lead all players in the HCAC and is shooting over 50 percent from three-point range.

Johnson will lead Defiance against Ohio Wesleyan and Anderson this week in a pair of home contests. DC will host OWU on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm before opening its HCAC slate against the Ravens on Saturday at 3:00 pm.