Sports
Men’s Basketball: Cooper’s Big Week Earns Him MAC Award
By: Blake Brodie
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Ohio junior D.J. Cooper was named the MAC East player of the week, the conference announced Monday morning.
The 5-foot-11 point guard from Chicago, Ill., was instrumental in the 'Cats garnering their 20th win of the season Wednesday, and on Saturday, he helped secure the team's 15th win of the season inside the Convocation Center. The most home wins a team has recorded in a single-season at Ohio.
On Wednesday, Cooper carried Ohio past Bowling Green by scoring 13 points in the final six minutes en route to a 22 point, five rebound, three assist performance in Ohio's 72-59 victory. The win moved Ohio into sole possession of fourth place in the Mid-American Conference.
On Saturday, in Ohio's Bracketbuster showdown with UNC-Asheville, Cooper played the facilitator role, as he scored just six points but dished out eight assists as Ohio cruised to an 81-62 victory. The eight assists were the most since his triple-double performance against Portland on December 10. Cooper is now just 23 assists shy of breaking Ohio's all-time assists mark.
This is the second time Cooper's been named the MAC East player of the week this season, and the seventh time of his career.