February 26, 2009

Murray and Russell Earn NECC All-Conference Recognition


ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Mitchell College men's basketball players, Eric Murray (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Jenel Russell (East Hampton, N.Y.) were honored as New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) All-Conference selections. 

Murray, a junior forward, was named All-NECC second team for his efforts in the 2008-09 season.  Murray averaged 21.3 points per game which was tops in the conference, and he pulled down 7.7 rebounds per game which ranked him 5th in the NECC.  The Business Administration major also collected 63 assists and 49 steals, and his field goal percentage was 42% on the season.

Russell, a sophomore center, was named All-NECC honorable mention after his first season of play for the Mariners.  Russell scored 14.9 points per contest, and he averaged 7.6 rebounds per game which ranked him 6th in the conference, one spot behind teammate Eric Murray.  The Sport Management major was a force in the paint as he totaled 37 blocks, and he also contributed with 49 assists and 38 steals.

The Mariners concluded the season, 8-18, and fell in the NECC quarterfinals to #4 seed Wheelock College.

The Becker College Hawks' senior guard Travis Suber (Springfield, Mass.), a criminal justice major, was named the 2008 NECC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. In conference play, Suber finished fourth in scoring (20 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage (.505), fifth in assists (4.2 apg) and second in steals (3.4 spg). He averaged 5.2 rebounds per game, while making the top 15 in the NECC for shooting behind the arc with a .281 three-point field goal percentage and 1.1 three-point field goals made per game.

Fellow Hawk freshman forward  Terrance Favors (Boston, Mass.) nabbed the 2009 NECC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year for his first season of collegiate play. Favors, a business major, finished 11th in conference scoring averaging 12.8 points per game and tenth in rebounding averaging 6.9 rebounds per game.  He also finished seventh in blocked shots (0.8 bpg). Favors averaged a.429 field goal percentage, a .740 free-throw percentage and a .240 three-point field goal percentage.

The Elms College Blazers (24-1) took top honors as they finished undefeated in NECC play at 14-0. The Blazers' head coach Ed Silva was named the 2009 NECC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. In the past four years, Silva led Elms to four appearances in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. They earned the #1 seed and the ability to host the 2009 NECC Men's Basketball Tournament with a .960 overall winning percentage. They are still ranked #12 in the nation according to the D3hoops.com top 25 poll and are currently on a 14 game winning streak.

The Mountaineers of Southern Vermont, led by head coach Michael McDonough, were honored as the 2009 NECC Team Sportsmanship Award recipients. The Mountaineers finished with a 7-18 overall and 4-10 in conference finishing tied for 5th place narrowly losing out for the final spot in the 2009 tournament.

Voing for the All-NECC team and each of the major awards was conducted among all NECC men's basketball head coaches.

Joining Suber on All-NECC First Team were Elms' junior Juan Galdon (Holyoke, Mass.) and senior Aswad Thomas (Hartford, Conn.), Daniel Webster sophomore Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) and Southern Vermont junior Joe Karnik (Castleton, N.Y.).

Second team honors went out to Mitchell forward Eric Murray (Bridgeport, Conn.), Daniel Webster senior Brian Inge (Fort Washington, Mass.), Elms junior Javon Mathis (West Hartford, Conn.), Wheelock junior Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) and Newbury senior Kevin Cleveland (Lynn, Mass.)

Six players received honorable mention honors including Becker sophomore DJ Exum (New London, Conn.), Lesley sophomore Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.), Newbury senior Walky Magliore (Waltham, Mass.), Mitchell sophomore Jenel Russell (East Hampton, N.Y.), Becker sophomore Trey Jacobs (Lexington Park, Md.) and Southern Vermont sophomore Brendan Kordana (Adams, Mass.).



2009 NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE  MEN'S BASKETBALL


2009 NECC MENS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Travis Suber, Becker, Senior, Guard (Springfield, Mass.)

209 NECC MENS BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Terrance Favors, Becker, Freshman, Forward (Boston, Mass.)

2009 NECC MENS BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR: Ed Silva, Elms College

2009 NECC MENS BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Southern Vermont College



2009 ALL-NECC MENS BASKETBALL FIRST TEAM

Travis Suber, Becker, Senior, Guard (Springfield, Mass.)
Juan Galdon, Elms, Junior, Guard (Holyoke, Mass.)
Aswad Thomas, Elms, Senior, Guard (Hartford, Conn.)
Chris Hanson, Daniel Webster, Sophomore, Guard (Salem, Mass.)
Joe Karnik, Southern Vermont, Junior, Forward (Castleton, N.Y.)

2009 ALL-NECC MENS BASKETBALL SECOND TEAM

Eric Murray, Mitchell, Junior, Forward (Bridgeport, Conn.)
Brian Inge, Daniel Webster, Senior, Guard (Fort Washington, Md.)
Javon Mathis, Elms, Junior, Forward (West Hartford, Conn.)
Sherard Robbins, Wheelock, Junior, Forward (Malden, Mass.)
Kevin Cleveland, Newbury, Senior, Forward (Lynn, Mass.)

2009 ALL-NECC MENS BASKETBALL HONORABLE MENTION

DJ Exum, Becker, Sophomore, Guard (New London, Conn.)
Jesus Trejo, Lesley, Sophomore, Center (Methuen, Mass.)
Walky Magliore, Newbury, Senior, Forward (Waltham, Mass.)
Jenel Russell, Mitchell, Sophomore, Center (East Hampton, N.Y.)
Trey Jacobs, Becker, Sophomore, Center (Lexington Park, Md.)
Brendan Kordana, Southern Vermont, Sophomore, Guard (Adams, Mass.)