FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A 20-game winning streak, which the third-longest in the country, regardless of division, has garnered national attention for the Johnson & Wales University men's basketball team. On Monday, the leader of the program, head coach Jamie Benton also earned some recognition of his own.

The Wildcats moved up three spots to No. 14 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll. The first NCAA regional rankings come out on Wednesday.

Benton was named Division III Coach of the Week by HoopDirt.com.  Benton is in his 12th season as the head coach of the Wildcats.         

The Wildcats lead all three NCAA divisions with a scoring margin of 28.5 points per game. Johnson & Wales is the only team in Division III to be ranked in the Top 15 for both scoring offense (11th – 92.4 ppg.) and scoring defense (14th – 63.4 ppg.). JWU is also in the top 10 nationally for steals (2nd – 13.8 per game), turnover margin (5th – 8.7 per game) and field goal percentage (6th – 50.1 percent).

On Saturday the Wildcats won their 20th game of the season. It is the program's third straight 20-win season and the fifth in program history.

Johnson & Wales is back on the court Tuesday when plays second-place Lasell for the second time in a week. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Wildcat Center.

– #TheGNAC –