Niagara Knights men's basketball player Van Hutchinson Jr. (Nassau, Bahamas) has been named a CCAA Athlete of the Week.
Over the course of a two-game weekend road-trip to Sarnia and Windsor to take on the Lambton Lions and the St. Clair Saints, Hutchinson Jr. had two incredible performances.
In the first matchup against the Lions, Hutchinson Jr. recorded his second straight double-double with 25 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. He came up just one shy of recording back-to-back triple-doubles.
Against the Saints in the second game of the weekend, the third-year forward put on a show, scoring a career-high 56 points, 20 more than his previous record of 36. On top of his 56 points, he recorded 13 rebounds, five steals and four assists.
"Tonight we witnessed an amazing performance by the most dynamic player in the league," said Head Coach Phil Mosley immediately following Saturday's contest. "I know he would have traded those personal stats for a win, but he was a warrior and should be commended on his performance."
In total over the two games last week, Hutchinson Jr. scored 81 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, dished out 14 assists and stole the ball nine times. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Hutchinson Jr. played a combined 79 out of 80 minutes throughout the two games that occurred less than 24 hours apart.
Hutchinson Jr.'s performance only improved his individual statistics in a season where he is dominating the OCAA's leaderboards. He currently finds himself in fifth-place in the OCAA in points per game (24.6), first-place in rebounds per game (11.6) and first-place in assists per game (7.1). Through seven-games, he has recorded six double-doubles including a triple-double performance on November 8th against the University of Toronto Mississauga Eagles.
His stellar season has helped the Knights to a 5-2 start to the season, a record that currently has them bolstering the second-place position in the OCAA West division.
This marks the first time a Niagara Knight has been named a CCAA Athlete of the Week since last season, when both men's soccer player Jordi Amores and former men's basketball player Levi Mukuna were named the award winners on September 20th, 2017 and November 8th, 2017 respectively.
Hutchinson Jr. and the Niagara Knights men's basketball program will continue their season when they play a double-header against the Sault Cougars on the road this upcoming Saturday and Sunday.
