Carolina Friends basketball star Justin Brader-Araje is the Triangle athlete of the week

The News & Observer high school athlete of the week in the Triangle is Carolina Friends’ basketball player Justin Brader-Araje.

The 6-foot-2 junior scored 23 points, including five three-pointers, plus four rebounds and two steals in a 70-47 loss to the O’Neal School Jan. 24.

The next night, he scored 17 points, including three 3-point shots, to go with four rebounds and two steals in a 68-44 loss at Salem Baptist.

Brader-Araje finished off that week with 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 59-57 loss at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill Jan. 2.

Brader-Araje is averaging 21.9 points per game for Carolina Friends School.

Want to nominate an athlete?: Athletes of the week highlights high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes in all sports, both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players. If you want to suggest someone to be included in the Athletes of the week column, send email to Jay Edwards at edwardsraleighnewsobserver@gmail.com. Please include the athletes’ name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Carolina Friends basketball star Justin Brader-Araje is the Triangle athlete of the week."