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UNC’s Brice Johnson named ACC player of the week

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acc basketballNorth Carolina senior Brice Johnson has been recognized as the final Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Player of the Week of the 2015-16 season, while Florida State’s Malik Beasley earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors.

ACC weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel. Johnson was selected as ACC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, while Beasley was voted Freshman of the Week for the third time.

Johnson had his ACC-leading 18th and 19th double-doubles in wins over Syracuse and Duke that clinched the ACC regular-season championship for North Carolina. He had 17 offensive rebounds in the two wins.

The Orangeburg, South Carolina, native had 18 points and 21 rebounds in the 76-72 win at Duke. He finished with 12 offensive rebounds, tying the highest number for any game in Roy Williams’ 13 years at UNC. His 12 offensive rebounds were four more than Duke’s entire team. Johnson went 6-for-6 from the foul line and added two assists, two steals and a block.

Johnson also led Carolina in scoring and rebounding against Syracuse. The All-ACC first-teamer had 14 points and 10 boards against the Orange. His offensive rebound and basket with 1:09 to play gave UNC a five-point lead in the eventual 75-70 win.

Beasley was the difference maker as he led the Seminoles with 20 points (including 18 in the decisive second half) to go along with six rebounds, two assists and one steal as Florida State rallied to defeat Syracuse in the final game of the regular season last Saturday.  Beasley led the Seminoles with seven made field goal and three 3-point field goals in 25 minutes of play.

Named to the All-ACC Freshman Team by both the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) and the league’s head coaches, Beasley enters the 2016 New York Life ACC Tournament having made a Florida State freshman-record 50 shots from 3-point range.  The Alpharetta, Georgia, native has scored 471 points and is only six points from establishing a new Seminole record for freshman for points in a season. Beasley is currently averaging 15.7 points per game.

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