Dartmouth College junior John Golden was selected as the Ivy League’s co-Player of the Week for his performances in the Big Green victories over the University of Pennsylvania on Feb. 1 and Princeton University on Feb. 2. This is the first weekly honor for Golden since being chosen as the conference’s Rookie of the Week twice during his freshman campaign in 2011-12.
For the two games, Golden averaged 17 points by shooting 60 percent (12-of-20) overall and 50 percent (3-of-6) from long range, while collecting a total of 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
A 6-foot-6 wing from Freehold, Golden recorded his two biggest scoring games of the season. Against Penn, he produced 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, a team- and season-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action. Golden carried the team offensively during a six-minute stretch of the second half, scoring 11 of the team’s 15 points during the span to turn a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Dartmouth maintained a lead of at least eight the rest of the way to knock off the Quakers, 67-58.
The next night, Golden tallied a season-high 19 points in a thrilling 78-69 overtime victory over Princeton, giving the Big Green their first home sweep of the two perennial Ivy League powerhouses in 25 years. This time, Golden jump-started the offense early, scoring seven of the first nine points for Dartmouth and assisting on the next two buckets. Then, with less than seven minutes to play in the second stanza, the product of the Peddie School boosted the Dartmouth lead to six on three consecutive possessions. Finally, in overtime, he provided the first points with a pair of foul shots and came up with a key steal. Golden finished the night hitting 6-of-12 field goals, with two 3-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws, plus three more steals in a career-high 41 minutes on the floor.