Johnson, Patterson named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for January

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College basketball players Kendall Patterson and Kasey Johnson have been named the Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for January.  This marks the second straight month that Patterson and Johnson have earned this honor.

Patterson, a senior guard from Burlington, North Carolina, averaged a team-best 17.8 points, 3.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game in the Pioneers' nine games in January.  He scored in double figures in every game during the month, including three outings of 20 or more points.

He opened the month with a season-high 27 points at Carson-Newman where he shot 9-of-16 from the floor, including a sizzling 6-of-9 from three point territory.  He tallied 24 markers to go along with three assists and four steals against third-ranked Queens University of Charlotte.  Patterson notched 21 points in TC's 85-70 home win over Brevard. 

On the month, Patterson shot 48.1 percent from the field while connecting on 17 three-pointers and averaged two rebounds per contest.  He continues to be the team's leader in scoring, assists and steals.  His 5.5 assists per game are tops in the South Atlantic Conference and 26^th in NCAA Division II. His 2.4 steals per game average is second in the league and 16^th in the country.  His 16 points per game ranks him in the top-10 amongst the conference's top scorers.

Johnson, a sophomore forward from Greensboro, North Carolina, posted a team-high 15.4 points per game during the Pioneers' eight contests in January. She also averaged seven rebounds per game, while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 57.1 percent from three-point territory and 63.3 percent at the free throw line.

Johnson scored in double figures in all but one of her eight starts for the month.  She poured in a career-high 28 points against No. 8 Lincoln Memorial.  In that game, she shot 10-of-13 from the floor including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.  She also went 6-of-7 at the charity stripe while hauling in four rebounds.

In Tusculum's double-overtime win over Brevard, she scored all of her game-high 25 points after halftime, while also hauling in a career-best 13 rebounds in the game.  She tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots in a road win at Mars Hill.

In January, Johnson also averaged 1.8 blocked shots, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.  She is ranked in the SAC's top-10 in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Her team-best 15.1 points per game average is eighth in the league, while her TC-best 7.4 rebounds per game average is seventh. She is also averaging 1.8 blocked shots per game, which is currently third in the conference.

The Tusculum College Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee's Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2016-2017 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

2016-2017 Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month