February 27, 2009
LAURENCE EKPERIGIN NAMED NORTHEAST-10
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHRIS JOHNSON NAMED TO ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
South Easton, Mass. - Le Moyne College junior forward
Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter
Panas) has been named the 2008-09 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's
15 head coaches and announced by the conference office on Friday
morning. Freshman guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst,
N.Y./Lindenhurst) was named to the conference's all-rookie
team.
Ekperigin, the first Le Moyne men's basketball player to be
selected Northeast-10 player of the year, was also named to the
First Team All-Northeast-10 for the second consecutive season.
Ekperigin, a seven-time Northeast-10 player of the week, has
received post-season honors in each of his three seasons after
earning All-Rookie accolades as a freshman.
Le Moyne's scoring leader for the second consecutive season,
Ekperigin ranks second in the conference at 18.8 points per
contest. Ekperigin leads the conference in rebounding at 11.6 per
game and is second among Division II players nationally, while also
leading the league with 67 blocked shots. The conference leader in
double-doubles with 19, Ekperigin has scored in double figures in
25 of 27 games, including the last 21, while also posting double
digits in rebounds on 20 occasions. On December 13, Ekperigin
poured in a career-best 40 points, one point shy of the College's
single game record. In Le Moyne's win at The College of Saint Rose
on February 10, Ekperigin posted the second-highest scoring output
of his career with 30 points, grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds and
tied the school record with seven blocked shots. Through 85 career
games, Ekperigin has 1,300 points and 790 rebounds, to rank 15th
and eighth, respectively, in Le Moyne's history. Ekperigin is one
of only four players in Le Moyne's 60-season history to record
1,300 points and 750 rebounds.
Johnson, the fifth Dolphin in the last six years to earn a spot on
the All-Rookie team, is second on the team and 10th in the
conference in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Johnson, who leads
the conference in made three-pointers with 94, was named the
conference freshman of the week on two occasions. Johnson, who
connected on at least three three-pointers in 19 of 27 games
played, including a career-best seven at UMass Lowell on January 6,
ties Peter Jerebko '88 for second-most in a season by a Dolphin
with his 94 made three-pointers. Johnson made a career-high 10
field goals, including five from three-point range, against Saint
Michael's on February 18 en route to a career-best 25 points.
Le Moyne (17-10, NE-10 13-9), which opens Northeast-10 Conference
tournament play on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against 11th-seeded
Franklin Pierce, has won eight straight games to record the team's
longest winning streak since February 1993. The 17 wins equals the
most in a season by head coach Steve Evans. In the two teams' prior
meeting this year, the Ravens defeated the Dolphins, 72-67, in
Rindge, N.H.
-agate-
2008-09 All-Northeast-10 Conference Selections
| First Team | |||
| Darren Duncan | Jr. | G | Merrimack |
| Laurence Ekperigin | Jr. | F | Le Moyne |
| Lew Finnegan | Sr. | G | Bentley |
| A.J. Rudowitz | Jr. | F | Stonehill |
| Jason Westrol | Jr. | G | Bentley |
| Second Team | |||
| Kyle Caiola | Fr. | G | UMass Lowell |
| Cassius Chaney | Jr. | F | New Haven |
| Victor Colon | Jr. | F | UMass Lowell |
| Darin Mency | So. | G | Merrimack |
| Isiah Wallace | Fr. | F | American Int'l |
| Third Team | |||
| Thomas Baudinet | So. | G | Saint Anselm |
| Trot Bowen | Sr. | F | So. New Hampshire |
| Jermaine Clark | Jr. | G | Saint Rose |
| Matt Hall | Sr. | G | Stonehill |
| Patrick Shea | Sr. | F | Assumption |
| All-Rookie | |||
| Kyle Caiola | Fr. | G | UMass Lowell |
| Chris Johnson | Fr. | G | Le Moyne |
| Wayne Mack | Fr. | G | Merrimack |
| Tyler Schilling | Fr. | F | Saint Michael's |
| Isiah Wallace | Fr. | F | American Int'l |
Player of the Year: Laurence Ekperigin, Le
Moyne
Defensive Player of the Year: Max Kernan, UMass
Lowell
Freshman of the Year: Kyle Caiola, UMass Lowell
Coach of the Year: Greg Herenda, UMass Lowell
