Jan. 29, 2008

Junior guard Brandon Johnson was selected as this week's West Coast Conference Player of the Week after guiding the Toreros to wins over Santa Clara and No. 20 Saint Mary's. The weekly conference honor is the second for Johnson this season. He also earned the award on Dec. 31, 2007 for his 27 point/8 rebound performance in the Toreros' 81-72 win at Kentucky.

Over the past two home wins, Johnson averaged 22.0 points per game to go along with 3.0 assists per game and 2.0 steals per contest. The Houston, TX native shot a solid 50.0 percent from the field (16-for-32) in the two wins. Johnson started the week by scoring a game-high 19 points in the Toreros' 53-51 win over Santa Clara. He converted two free throws with 13 seconds remaining that gave USD a 52-51 lead, and the Toreros held on for a 53-51 win.

Monday night, Johnson scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in second half as San Diego (11-11) knocked off No. 20 Saint Mary's, 63-55. He connected on 9-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also swiped three steals and dished out three assists. The win was just San Diego's third over a top-25 program, and its first in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The two wins also improved the Toreros' conference record to 4-1, putting them in a second place tie with Saint Mary's in the league standings.

Prior to USD's recent two-game homestand, it was Johnson's buzzer beating three-pointer at Portland that started USD's current 3-game win streak. For the season Johnson leads the team in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (3.1) and steals (2.0). The Toreros will be gunning for their fourth straight win this coming Saturday, Feb. 2nd, with a 7 p.m. contest at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion.