PAC honors men's basketball all-conference teams, award winners

PAC honors men's basketball all-conference teams, award winners

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First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | PAC Sportsmanship Team

GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) -- The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its 2017-18 All-PAC Men’s Basketball teams and yearly award winners Tuesday afternoon.

The all-conference teams, as well as the PAC's yearly award winners, are determined, by vote, of the league’s 10 head coaches.

Thomas More College junior guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark) collected PAC Player of the Year honors to become the Saints’ second player of year since entering the league in 2005. D’Carlo Hayes earned the award following the 2012-13 season.

King, now a two-time All-PAC First Team selection, has totaled a league-best 120 assists this season and currently ranks 68th among NCAA Division III counterparts. He is fourth among PAC players in minutes per game (32.2), seventh in scoring average (15.4) and 13th in rebounding average (5.9). His .821 free throw percentage (92-of-112) and .409 three-point field goal percentage (38-of-93) rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in the PAC this season, while his .464 field goal percentage (150-of-323) ranks 11th.

King scored his 1,000th career point February 10 in a 65-50 victory over league rival Waynesburg University.

In nine career PAC Championship Tournament games (8-1), King averaged 16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 47.9 percent (58-of-21) from the floor. He totaled 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in last Saturday’s 78-73 title game win over Bethany College.  

Thomas More fifth-year head coach Drew Cooper was selected as the PAC’s Coach of the Year for the second-straight year, the first coach to win the award in back-to-back years since Thomas More’s Jeff Rogers (2012-13).

Cooper led top-seeded Thomas More to its third PAC Championship Tournament title this season (2009, 2017-18) and has had his program in the league’s title game in four of the last five years.

The Saints are currently 23-5 and finished their league regular season schedule 16-2, which included a perfect 9-0 record at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky for the second-straight year.

Thomas More will travel to University Heights, Ohio Friday night to face John Carroll University (23-5) in the opening round of the Division III Championship. Bethany (16-12), the runner-up in this year’s PAC Championship Tournament, and Westminster College (19-8) both qualified for this year’s Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship. In Wednesday's first round Bethany will host fourth-seeded Penn State Altoona (17-9) while second-seeded Westminster will host third-seeded Medaille College (17-10).

Annual PAC Men's Basketball awards
PAC Player of the Year: Thomas More junior guard Damion King
PAC Coach of the Year: Thomas More fifth-year head coach Drew Cooper

2017-18 All-PAC Men's Basketball Teams
First Team
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown | High School
Calique Jones Bethany G Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa. | Obama Academy
Ethan Moose Geneva G/F So. New Castle, Pa. | Neshannock
Tom Kromka Saint Vincent F Sr. Monroeville, Pa. | Gateway
Damion King Thomas More G Jr. Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark
Jon Knab Waynesburg F Sr. Beaver Falls, Pa. | Beaver County Christian
 
Second Team
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown | High School
Liam Davis Bethany C Sr. Orlando, Fla. | Orlando Christian Prep.
Cory Huff Grove City C Sr. Kersey, Pa. | Elk County Catholic
Cameron Kane-Johnson Westminster G So. Niles, Ohio | Niles
Deontay Scott Westminster G/F Sr. Youngstown, Ohio | East
Jarret Vrabel Westminster F Sr. Canfield, Ohio | Canfield
 
Honorable Mentions
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown | High School
Chaice Truex Bethany F So. Wheeling, W.Va. | St. John Central (Ohio)
Alex Schoppen Chatham G/F Jr. Gibsonia, Pa. | Central Catholic
Jimmy Leichliter Geneva G/F Sr. Connellsville, Pa. | Connellsville
Andrew Beckman Grove City F Sr. Shelby, Mich. | Shelby
Brandon Horne Thomas More G/F Jr. Louisville, Ky. | Male
Matt Popeck Waynesburg G Fr. Washington, Pa. | Washington
 
PAC Sportsmanship Team
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown | High School
Andrew Williams Bethany G Sr. Oil City, Pa. | Oil City
Logan Hunter Chatham G Sr. Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield Area
Ethan Moose Geneva G/F So. New Castle, Pa. | Neshannock
Jon Grim Grove City F Sr. New Castle, Pa. | Mohawk
Josh Duda Saint Vincent G So. Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park
Josh Lumbus Thiel F Sr. Cleveland, Ohio | John Hay
Michael Griffin Thomas More G Sr. Crestwood, Ky. | South Oldham
Brian Lindquist W&J F Sr. Narvon, Pa. | Pequea Valley
Kendall Paige Waynesburg F Sr. McKees Rocks, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Jarret Vrabel Westminster F Sr. Canfield, Ohio | Canfield