Columbia’s Winston Hill earns national USBWA weekly award

FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore 6-7 center Winston Hill of Francis Marion University has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Men’s NCAA Division II National Player of the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 3, 2020.

The Columbia native claimed his first Division II National Player of the Week honor of the season after posting consecutive 30-point games to lead the Patriots to a split of last week’s Peach Belt Conference matchups.  He scored a career-high 31 points with 12 rebounds in an 84-70 road defeat to league-leading UNC Pembroke, and he followed it up with a 30-point, 8-rebound effort in an 83-75 win over Georgia Southwestern.

Hill shot 62 percent (24-for-39) from the field on the week, averaging 30.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in last week’s games.  He made 11-of-16 from the field and 9-of-14 from the free throw line in his 31-point performance against UNC Pembroke, adding two assists and three steals.  In the win over GSW, Hill hit 13-of-23 from the field plus 4-of-8 free throws, adding eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal.

Hill is the PBC’s scoring leader at 20.0 points per game, and he ranks fourth in the league in rebounding with 8.7 rebounds per game.  He is the first player from the Peach Belt Conference to earn USBWA Men’s Division II National Player of the Week honors this season.