Milwaukee's Johnson, UIC's Dixson Collect Men's Basketball Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Milwaukee junior guard Jordan Johnson (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, while UIC freshman forward Dikembe Dixson (Freeport, Ill./Mingo Central) has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week.

Johnson narrowly missed a triple-double on Wednesday night as the Panthers knocked off a Big Ten foe on the road for the second time this season. The junior guard led the Panthers with 19 rebounds, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the win over the Golden Gophers. Johnson connected on 7-of-15 field goal attempts and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Johnson has had his two best scoring performances of the season in UWM’s wins over Big Ten teams. He scored a career-high 22 points in the win at Wisconsin on Dec. 9 and then had 19 in the win over Minnesota last Wednesday.

For the season, Johnson ranks second in the country in assists per game at 8.0 and leads the Horizon League with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Milwaukee (9-4) opens Horizon League play on Saturday when it hosts Wright State.

Dixson claimed his third Freshman of the Week honor of the season after helping lead UIC to its second win of the season. The freshman forward scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half as the Flames opened a 10-point lead over Purdue Calumet. Dixson also grabbed nine rebounds in the game. It was the seventh time in 10 games this season Dixson led UIC in rebounding. He completed the night with a career-high three steals and two blocked shots. The three steals were the most by a UIC player in a single game this season.

Dixson leads all Horizon League freshmen in scoring (12.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.4 rebounds per game).

UIC closes non-conference play on Tuesday with a visit from Northern Illinois and opens Horizon League play on Saturday when it plays at preseason favorite Valparaiso.

Top Performers for the Week:
Kay Felder, Oakland (Jr., G) - Felder recorded his third-straight 30-point performance, scoring 37 points against top-ranked Michigan State on Tuesday. He added nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. It was his seventh game of the season with nine or more assists. Felder hit two free throws in the final seconds to force overtime against the Spartans.
Michael Karena, Wright State (Sr., F) - Karena scored a season-high 18 points in the Raiders’ 65-49 win over Murray State on Tuesday. He was 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Chris Jenkins, Detroit (Jr., G) - Jenkins scored 14 points on just seven field goal attempts, while also leading the Titans with eight rebounds in their game at Western Kentucky on Tuesday night. He was 4-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line.
Carrington Love, Green Bay (Sr., G) - Love scored a game-high 28 points as the Phoenix fell at Wisconsin, 83-78, despite making a furious comeback in the final 10 minutes. He was 11-of-22 from the field, knocking down five three-pointers, while also tying for game-high honors with four steals.
Cameron Morse, Youngstown State (So., G) - Morse scored a game-high 22 points in YSU’s game at Notre Dame on Monday. He was 8-of-14 from the field, while also leading the team with four assists.
Gabe Snider, UIC (Sr., G) - Snider scored a career-high 18 points in just nine minutes of play in UIC’s 91-74 win over Purdue-Calumet. He hit 6-of-8 from three-point range to score his career-high.
Tyler White, Northern Kentucky (Sr., G) - White led NKU with 18 points, while also passing out four assists and pulling down four rebounds as the Norse doubled up IU-Kokomo, 88-44. During the game, he moved into NKU’s top-10 list for career three-pointers made (157). 

Top Freshmen for the Week:
Latin Davis, Youngstown State (Fr., G) - Davis scored 11 points off the bench, while also pulling down three rebounds, passing out two assists and recording a game-high four steals.
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky (Fr., F/C) - McDonald finished one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds in just 11 minutes of action. He was 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line.
Josh McFolley, Detroit (Fr., G) - McFolley led the Titans with 15 points, connecting on four three-pointers, as UDM fell at Western Kentucky, 79-74. He added four assists, two rebounds and a steal in the game.