TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) -- The 2022-23 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Basketball all-conference teams and yearly award winners were announced Tuesday afternoon.

The yearly award winners and all-conference teams are determined by vote of the league's 11 head coaches.

For the second consecutive year, Geneva College senior guard/forward Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy) was voted the PAC Player of the Year. Now a three-time First Team All-PAC selection, he is the first player in the conference to win consecutive Player of the Year honors since Bethany's Mike Drahos was a repeat winner in 2003-04 and 2004-05. 

The PAC men's basketball coaches selected a Defensive Player of the Year for the first time this season and that honor went to Allegheny senior forward Caden Hinckley (Boise, Idaho | Mt. Lebanon-Pa.).

Saint Vincent freshman guard Jaden Gales (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin) earned the PAC Newcomer of the Year distinction.

Chatham's fifth-year head coach David Richards was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year. It is his first coach of the year accolade and the first time a Chatham coach has received the recognition.

In addition to leading the PAC in scoring, Tipton ranks second in Division III with 24.7 points per game, while his 618 total points ranks fifth. He paced the league in free throw attempts (181) and makes (137) to rank fifth in free throw percentage at 75.7, while tying for sixth with 61 three-pointers made and fifth with 2.4 threes per game. Tipton was 11th in the PAC with 7.4 rebounds per game and was solid on the defensive end of the floor with 1.5 steals (eighth in the PAC) and 1.0 blocks (10th) per game.

Tipton scored 20 or more points in 18 of the 25 games he played in this season, including seven contests with 30+ points. He scored a PAC-high this season with 46 points in the conference quarterfinal against Thiel, the fifth-most in a game in Geneva history. Tipton currently ranks seventh in Golden Tornadoes history with 1,715 points and 14th with 604 career rebounds.

Hinckley earns the initial PAC Defensive Player of the Year award after he led the conference with 73 blocked shots and helped the Gators finish first in the PAC in opponent field goal percentage (39.7), as well as second in scoring defense (70.4). In addition to leading the conference in rebounding (10.9), he grabbed 8.4 defensive boards per contest, also tops in the league. 

Hinckley set two Allegheny shot block records this season, including the single-game record with nine in a win at Saint Vincent Dec. 10, 2022. He then broke the Gators' all-time rejections mark, which previously stood at 121, but Hinckley now has 151 in his career. 

Gales collects the Newcomer of the Year award after he ranked third in the PAC with 17.2 points per game, as well as ninth in rebounding (7.5), fourth in field goal percentage (50.3) and ninth in blocks (1.2). He posted six double-doubles during the season and nine games with 20 or more points, third-most in the conference.

The first-year Bearcat earned D3Hoops.com Team of the Week honors after he turned in a 35-point, 11-rebound double-double in an overtime victory over W&J Jan. 28th.

Richards was recognized after leading Chatham to a 13-7 PAC regular season record and the fourth seed entering the conference tournament. Once there, the Cougars defeated Westminster in the quarterfinals, W&J on the road in the semifinals and then knocked off Allegheny before a raucous crowd in Meadville to win the program's second PAC title. Richards was also the Chatham coach for that championship run in 2018-19, which was his first season at the helm. 

One of the keys to Chatham's success this season under Richards was taking care of the basketball, as the Cougars committed a PAC-low 11.5 turnovers per game this season. Chatham also shared the basketball well, ranking third in the league in assists per game (14.89) and led the conference with 10.3 three-pointers per game.

After winning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their PAC Tournament championship, Chatham (17-11) will open the Tournament Friday, March 3rd, at the University of Saint Joseph (27-1) in Hartford, Connecticut.

Allegheny (19-9) will also be playing postseason basketball, having earned a bid to the ECAC Tournament. The Gators will open ECACs Wednesday, March 1st, as the sixth-seed and play at third-seeded Carnegie Mellon University.
 

PAC Men's Basketball annual awards
PAC Player of the Year: Geneva senior guard/forward Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy)
PAC Defensive Player of the Year: Allegheny senior forward Caden Hinckley (Boise, Idaho | Mt. Lebanon-Pa.)
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Saint Vincent freshman guard Jaden Gales (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin)
PAC Coach of the Year: Chatham head coach David Richards

2022-23 All-PAC Men's Basketball Teams

First Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Caden Hinckley	Allegheny	F	Sr.	Boise, Idaho | Mt. Lebanon (Pa.)
Marcos Cintron	Chatham	G	Sr.	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Lyle Tipton	Geneva	G/F	Sr.	Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy
Jaden Gales	Saint Vincent	G	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin
Kyran Mitchell	W&J	G	Sr.	Reading, Pa. | Berks Catholic

 

Second Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Andre Wilder	Allegheny	F	Jr.	Beaver Falls, Pa. | Lincoln Park
Ryan Rachic	Geneva	G	Jr.	Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert
Shemar Bennett	Saint Vincent	F	Grad.	Lauderhill, Fla. | Nova
Matt Seidl	W&J	G	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Hills
Andrew Clark	Westminster	G	Fr.	New Middletown, Ohio | Springfield Local

 

Honorable Mention
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Luke Barker	Allegheny	G	So.	New Castle, Pa. | Struthers (Ohio)
Simon Boyer	Chatham	G	Jr.	Hampton, Va. | Hampton Roads Academy
Ahmad Tejumola	Thiel	F	Grad.	Waldorf, Md. | Saint Charles
Marlon Ellerbee	Thiel	G	Jr.	Temple Hills, Md. | Oxon Hill
Nick Gearhart	W&J	G	Jr.	Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon

 

PAC Sportsmanship Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Trey Williams	Allegheny	G	Jr.	Hudson, Ohio | Cuyahoga Valley Christian
Troy Hixson	Bethany	G	Fr.	Grove City, Ohio | Bishop Ready
Nick Fiumara	Chatham	G	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin
Garrett Lancaster	Franciscan	G	Sr.	Dallas, Texas | Bishop Lynch
Trevor Tipton	Geneva	G	So.	Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy
Jon Weir	Grove City	F	Jr.	Venetia, Pa. | Quaker Valley
Osyon Jones	Saint Vincent	G	Jr.	Orlando, Fla. | Bishop Moore
Kyriam Exum	Thiel	G	Jr.	Temple Hills, Md. | Central
Nick Gearhart	W&J	G	Jr.	Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon
Hayes Ramirez	Waynesburg	F	So.	San Antonio, Texas | William H. Taft
Tyler James	Westminster	F	Sr.	Youngstown, Ohio | Warren JFK