Sophomore swingman DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain, PA) has been named the NJCU Men's Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career, and took home the first New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week award of the 2006-07 men’s basketball season, after scoring 53 points in two games and earning Most Valuable Player honors of the Sixth Annual Emmanuel College Tip-Off Tournament, while leading New Jersey City University to the tournament championship.
It is the first time in his career he has been named NJAC Player of the Week, after taking home NJAC Rookie of the Week accolades in the final two weeks of the 2005-06 season—the only two awards he received as a freshman. John is the first NJCU men’s player to earn NJAC Player of the Week honors since Samar Battle in week 15 of the 2003-04 campaign.
NJCU (2-0) has won five consecutive games and 11-of-12 dating to last season and won a season-opening tournament for the second time in three years.
John averaged 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 55.9 percent from the field (19-34), 55.6 percent from three-point range (10-18) and 83.3 percent from the line (5-6).
In NJCU’s 91-76 victory over Gwynedd-Mercy College (Pa.) on November 19 in the Emmanuel Tournament championship game, John matched his career-high with 27 points, and nailed six of eight three-pointers as he shot 10-of-15 from the field, including the six threes, with eight rebounds (seven defensive) in 34 minutes. He scored 25 of his 27 points in the first period as NJCU surged to a 53-40 lead. NJCU improved to 5-0 all-time when John reached 20 on the scoreboard.
The 27 points tied a career high (December 2, 2005 at Rowan University) and marks the most points one player has scored in consecutive games at NJCU since Samar Battle had 57 on December 30, 2003 and January 2, 2004. The six threes are the most since Charles Coles hit six in the same Rowan game.
GMC led early in the first half by as many as six, before NJCU tied the game at 11-11 at 16:26 on the third of John’s three pointers, as he scored nine of the Knights’ first 11 points. A fast-break lay-up by John gave NJCU its first lead, 20-18 at 13:09. A 12-0 run by the Knights put them in front to stay, highlighted by a John fast-break basket. A John three made it 48-36 with 3:56 left in the period, before two jumpers by John, including his sixth three, made it 53-40 at the half.
In NJCU’s opening round, 90-77 win over College of Staten Island on November 18, John poured in 26 points and connected on four three-pointers as NJCU led from start to finish. He scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half as the Knights, who won by 13, opened a 47-35 margin at the mid-way point. He added six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 4-of-10 from three-point range.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
