ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois guard Xavier Johnson was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. The honor marks the first time in his career he has earned Player of the Week honors and the second time earning weekly honors from the MVC.

Johnson put together his third 30+ point performance of the season Tuesday night as the Salukis knocked off Oklahoma State inside Banterra Center. A Germantown, Maryland, native, Johnson put in a game-high 32 points to go along with five assists and a trio of rebounds as the Salukis improved to 6-2 on the season.

Johnson led all scorers with 19 first-half points as the teams went into the locker room knotted at 34 points. Johnson added 13 more in the second half of action, scoring eight of the final 13 SIU points. He finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line where he has been superb all season, where he is 63-69 (91.3).