J.C. Smith forward Stedmon Lemon named CIAA men’s player of year

Johnson C. Smith senior forward Stedmon Lemon on Monday was named CIAA men’s basketball player of the year, the conference announced.

Kiana Johnson of Virginia Union was named women’s player of the year.

Lemon, who is from Lithonia, Ga., was the CIAA’s top scorer in conference games, averaging 22.1 points and 20.3 points in all games. He also led the league in total field goals (125), total points (332) and points per 40 minutes (29.5). He was second in defensive rebounds with 90.

Lemon, who is 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds, scored in double figures in 23 of 24 games and had a season-high 31 points in J.C. Smith’s 102-92 win against Shaw on Saturday. The win clinched the CIAA Southern Division title and solidified the No. 1 seed in this week’s CIAA tournament in Charlotte.

Lemon shot 48.7 percent from the field and 34.9 percent on 3-pointers. He made 72.3 percent of his free throws and averaged 7.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Lemon joins former guard Trevin Parks as one of two players from J.C. Smith to be named CIAA Player of the Year. Parks was a sophomore in 2011 when he was honored.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "J.C. Smith forward Stedmon Lemon named CIAA men’s player of year."