FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2014
Southern Connecticut's Donnelly (pictured)
also named NABC East Region Coach of the Year
SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its 2014 NABC Coaches' Division II All-District teams and coaches on Wednesday, with six Northeast-10 Conference student-athletes receiving East Region accolades.
Five of the six All-East Region First Team selections hail from Northeast-10 institutions, headlined by Southern Connecticut State University senior Greg Langston and junior Tylon Smith, who have led the Owls to a Northeast-10 Championship, an NCAA East Region title and Elite Eight berth.
Franklin Pierce University senior Ellis Cooper, University of New Haven junior Eric Anderson and The College of Saint Rose senior Dominykas Milka were all named to the NABC All-District First Team as well, while Saint Anselm College sophomore Mike McCahey garnered a Second Team selection.
All six made up the 2014 Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team in its entirety.
So. Connecticut head coach Michael Donnelly was also named the East Region Coach of the Year by the NABC, as his Owls are currently 30-2 and winners of 19 straight as they head to Evansville, Ind. for its national quarterfinal matchup with Central Missouri next Wednesday, March 26. The 30 wins are a program record for the nation's No. 4 nationally ranked team.
Langston, the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, leads the Owls in scoring, averaging 19.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists heading into the Elite Eight. Langston was also named to the Northeast-10 All-Championship Team and the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team.
Smith is in the midst of a stellar all-around campaign in which he is averaging 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists, while shooting nearly 54 percent overall from the floor. Smith was also named the NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the Northeast-10 Championship.
Cooper averaged 19.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season, despite missing close to two weeks with an injury. He helped lead the Ravens all the way to the NCAA East Region semifinals, as he earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 27.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Ravens' two tournament games.
Anderson ranked second on the Chargers, who earned the No. 2 seed at the NCAA East Regional, with 15.8 points per game, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. He currently ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Northeast-10 with 11.7 rebounds per contest and is one of five student-athletes in all of Division II to record 20 or more double-doubles. He was also named the 2014 Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Milka averaged 20.7 points and 12.4 rebounds per game to go along with 20 double-doubles this past season, the nation's third best mark. Additionally, he closed out his career in a Saint Rose uniform as the eighth all-time leading scorer (1,550) and fifth all-time leading rebounder (961) in program history.
McCahey led the Hawks, who fell in the NCAA East Regional title game to So. Connecticut, in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg), while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, including 38.3 percent from beyond the arc in 2013-14. He posted seven double-doubles and tied for ninth in the league in scoring and eighth in rebounding.
Information for this release was provided by Northeast-10 Athletics Communications staffs.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
2014 NABC Coaches' Division II All-East District Teams
First Team
Eric Anderson, New Haven
Ellis Cooper, Franklin Pierce
Garret Kerr, Sciences
Greg Langston, Southern Connecticut
Dominykus Milka, St. Rose
Tylon Smith, Southern Connecticut
Second Team
Peter Alexis, Philadelphia
Darien Davis, Dowling
Mike McCahey, Saint Anselm
John Petrucelli, Molloy
Nick Smith, Dominican
Coach of the Year – Mike Donnelly, Southern Connecticut
– #NE10 –
