HONOLULU — Zane Johnson of the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team received the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award on Monday. Johnson earned the honor for the week of Dec. 19 through 25 and
HONOLULU — Zane Johnson of the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team received the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award on Monday.
Johnson earned the honor for the week of Dec. 19 through 25 and marks his second career WAC Player of the Week award, states a UH release.
The senior guard from Phoenix, Ariz., led the Rainbow Warriors to a 2-1 record at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic last week, being named to the all-tournament team.
He opened the week with an 18-point, six-rebound performance in a 65-62 loss to Auburn before rebounding to help Hawai‘i overcome a 15-point second-half deficit to an 84-82 win over No. 14 Xavier.
Johnson scored 14 points, including a clutch three-pointer late in regulation and recorded the assist on the game-winning basket with .8 second showing in overtime. The win over Xavier marked Hawai‘i’s first win over a ranked opponent in six years.
During the game, Johnson broke a 36-year-old record by nailing 29 straight free throws made following his initial 2-for-2 showing.
He continued in the tournament, scoring a game-high 27 points in Hawai‘i’s 75-68 win over Clemson, his 27 points including a 6-for-12 showing from outside the three-point arc and 19 points coming in the second half to help Hawai‘i overcome a three-point deficit at halftime.
With the win over Clemson, the Rainbow Warriors clinched fifth place in the Classic on Christmas Day, finishing the tournament with a 2-1 record and improving to 7-5 overall with its fifth win in the last six games.
For the week, Johnson averaged 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, shooting 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the field, 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from three-point range and 90 percent (9-of-10) from the free throw line.
Johnson and the Rainbow Warriors will be on the basketball court Thursday against South Carolina State starting at 8 p.m.
