Johnson, Kwiatkowski earn PSUAC All-Conference Awards
State College, Pa. - Thursday saw the release of the annual PSUAC Basketball awards and a pair of Hazleton athletes were at the top of the charts with freshman Azaria Johnson (Richmond Hill, Ga.) and senior Andy Kwiatkowski (Gaithersburg, Md.) being named First Team All-Conference in the sports of women's and men's basketball.
No surprise here as both players stood out in the talented PSUAC Eastern Divsion. On the women's side, Johnson had an outstanding freshman season, helping the squad to a record of 11-8 in the conference and ranking at or near the top in multiple statistical categories. The freshman averaged 14.4 points per game in 2021-22, the seventh highest in the PSUAC. Johnson went for 20 or more points on five occasions and had six double-doubles during the season including a season high 28 points and 15 rebounds on February 19 as Hazleton looked to advance in the post-season. Azaria ranked first in the PSUAC in field goal percentage, shooting at a 51.6 percent clip throughout the year and ranked in the top ten conference-wide in free throw shooting, offensive rebounds and steals per game. For the season, Johnson totaled 303 points in 21 games played with 151 rebounds and 49 steals while shooting an impressive 79-for-101 from the free throw line.
On the men's side, Kwiatkowski was back in action for the first time since the 2019-20 season, finishing out his three-year tenure with the Nittany Lions and across the board, Kwiatkowski led Hazleton in nearly every major statistical category. He ended the 2021-22 season as the conference's third leading scorer, averaging 21.4 points per game. His 7.3 rebounds per game were top ten in the PSUAC and his 2.4 triples per outing were the third highest average in the conference. In addition, Andy ranked second in the PSUAC with an 87.3 free throw shooting percentage and toted 1.8 steals per game, a testament to the seniors hard work in all aspects of the game. For the season, Andy scored 30 or more points in four games and notched three double-doubles, ending the season with 343 points in 16 games played, adding 322 rebounds, 78 assists and 70 steals to his credit.
In addition to the All-Conference award winners, two other Nittany Lions garnered attention in Thursday's announcement with junior Justine Bernazeau (Trelissac, FR) and sophomore Conner Soo being named as the campus recipients of the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award. Congratulations to all of our award winners on a tremendous season for both teams!