Keon Johnson wins Big South player of the week

Winthrop senior guard Keon Johnson has been named the Big South Conference men’s basketball player of the week, while Charleston Southern freshman guard Christian Keeling has been selected the Come Ready Nutrition freshman of the week for games played from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5.

Johnson averaged 31 points, four rebounds and three assists in leading Winthrop to two wins last week. He opened with 23 points, four three-pointers, three boards and three helpers in the Eagles’ road win at Radford. Johnson then tallied a career-high 39 points against Campbell as he was 14 of 20 from the field and had five rebounds. He scored 24 in the second half alone, after scoring 15 in the final eight minutes of the opening stanza. For the week, Johnson was 19 of 33 from the floor, made 9 of 17 three-point attempts and buried 15 of 16 free throws.

Monday’s award was the fourth this season for Johnson, the conference’s preseason player of the year. He’s within 17 points of setting a new Winthrop career scoring record.

Keeling averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, 1.5 assists and was 11 of 11 from the charity stripe in two games for the Buccaneers. He tied for the team-lead with 14 points plus seven boards and two blocks at UNC Asheville last Wednesday. Keeling then led the Bucs to a 71-65 overtime win over Presbyterian as he scored a game-high 22 points in addition to nine rebounds.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Keon Johnson wins Big South player of the week."