GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its 2021-22 All-PAC Men’s Basketball teams and yearly award winners Wednesday 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.

Geneva College junior guard/forward Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy) was voted the PAC Player of the Year. He is the first Geneva player to earn the league's player of the year award. A two-time All-PAC selection, Tipton has secured All-PAC First Team honors in back-to-back years. 

Washington & Jefferson College sophomore guard Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Seton LaSalle) was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year.

W&J seventh-year head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year. It is his first coach of the year citation.

Tipton led the PAC scoring and ranks fifth in NCAA Division III with a 24.8 points per game average. His 596 points this season are the eighth-most in Division III. Tipton ranks third in the league with a 9.1 rebounds per game average, fourth with a 52.4 percent (207-395) field goal percentage, fifth with a 77.7 percent (146-188) free throw percentage and sixth in blocked shots per game (1.2). He also averaged 34.7 minutes played per game, the fourth-highest average in the PAC. 

Tipton's free throws made (146) and free throws attempted (188) rank sixth in Division III.

This season Tipton finished with six games scoring 30 or more points and 20 games scoring 20 or more points. He registered a career-high 39 points in a 95-89 season-opening victory at Kenyon College on Nov. 15. Tipton also posted 10 double-doubles this season. He totaled 31 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 75-70 overtime loss at Westminster College on Dec. 11. 

Tipton surpassed 1,000 career points in a 74-41 win over Saint Vincent College on Feb. 16, becoming just the 12th Geneva men’s player to reach the milestone in his junior season.

Tipton ranks 25th among Division III active leaders with a 17.5 points per game scoring average. 

Bigley averaged 10.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in his debut season with W&J. He tallied 57 assists and 33 steals in 25 starts (26 appearances). Bigley scored a season-high 26 points in a 111-103 win at Geneva on Feb. 12.  

Bigley is W&J's first newcomer of the year award winner since Jon Koch in 2003-04. 

Stewart-Smith is the first W&J men's basketball coach to be named PAC Coach of the Year since Glenn Gutierrez in 2007-08. He is the fourth different W&J coach to be named PAC Coach of the Year. 

Stewart-Smith has led W&J to a school-record 24 victories as the Presidents surpassed the previous record of 22 wins established during an NCAA Elite 8 season in 1993-94. The Presidents have improved their winning percentage in each of Stewart-Smith’s seven seasons at the helm. After falling in the quarterfinal round of the PAC Championship Tournament in each of the previous three seasons, W&J secured three victories in this year’s tournament en route to the championship tournament title.   

Stewart-Smith, along with help from assistant coaches Evan Bonnaure and Brandon Staley, changed styles in 2021-22 to better match their personnel. The move paid off as W&J averaged 87.2 points per game, which ranks 10th in Division III. The Presidents also rank second in free throw attempts (713), third in free throws made (465), fourth in total steals (349) and sixth in turnovers forced (20.79/g) in Division III. 

PAC Men's Basketball annual awards
PAC Player of the Year: Geneva junior guard/forward Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy)
PAC Newcomer of the Year: W&J sophomore guard Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Seton LaSalle)
PAC Coach of the Year: W&J seventh-year head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith

2021-22 All-PAC Men's Basketball Teams

First Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Malik Potter	Chatham	G	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Winchester Thurston
Lyle Tipton	Geneva	G/F	Jr.	Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy
Nick Gearhart	W&J	G	So.	Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon
Kyran Mitchell	W&J	G	Jr.	Reading, Pa. | Berks Catholic
Matt Popeck	Waynesburg	G	Sr.	Washington, Pa. | Washington

 

Second Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Sean Hickey	Franciscan	G	Gr.	North Olmsted, Ohio | Holy Name
Ryan Rachic	Geneva	G	Jr.	Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert
Ahmad Tejumola	Thiel	F	Sr.	Waldorf, Md. | Saint Charles
Reese Leone	Westminster	G	So.	Beloit, Ohio | West Branch
Daniel Ritter	Westminster	G	Sr.	North Lima, Ohio | South Range

 

Honorable Mentions
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Derek White Jr.	Bethany	G	Sr.	Portsmouth, Va. | Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
Marcos Cintron	Chatham	G	Jr.	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Ben Pollock	Chatham	F	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Cheswick Christian Academy
Josh Zimmerman	Franciscan	G	So.	Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville
Ben Rose	Grove City	G	Sr.	Helena, Ala. | Helena
Marlon Ellerbee	Thiel	G	So.	Temple Hills, Md. | Oxon Hill

 

PAC Sportsmanship Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Trent Uphold	Bethany	G	Sr.	Uniontown, Pa. | Uniontown
Nick Bomar	Chatham	G	Sr.	Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park
Colton Hage	Franciscan	G	Jr.	Reseda, Calif. | Crespi
Amos Luptak	Geneva	G	Sr.	Sewickley, Pa. | Quaker Valley
Isaac Thrasher	Grove City	G	Sr.	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Adam Bosco	Saint Vincent	G	So.	Cape Coral, Fla. | Mariner
Daquan Simmons	Thiel	G	Sr.	Capitol Heights, Md. | Central
Alexander Skowron	W&J	F	Sr.	Sewickley, Pa. | Quaker Valley
Zach Ford	Waynesburg	F	Sr.	Houston, Pa. | Chartiers-Houston
Josh Hutcherson	Westminster	F	Sr.	Uniontown, Ohio | Lake