Ryan, Lott, Ford and Kornaker Earn NABC Accolades
NABC All District Teams
The accolades continue for Empire 8 men's basketball as Nazareth's Mitch Ford and St. John Fisher's
Keegan Ryan and
Chaz Lott have been named to the NABC All-District team, while Fisher head coach
Rob Kornaker was tabbed the Coach of the Year in the East District.
Ryan earned a spot on the East District First Team. He led Fisher in points (15.1), field goal percentage (56.2) and rebounds per game (9.1) during the 2014-15 campaign. His 56.2 field goal percentage was the most efficient mark in the Empire 8.
The conference player of the year improved his career double-doubles mark to 16 after recording 10 this season. Ryan helped the Fisher scoring offense put up 77.4 points per game, second-best in the Empire 8 conference, while leading the Cardinals in scoring in 14 of 30 games.
Lott was named to the District Second Team after proving to be one of the most dynamic backcourt players in the country, dishing out 6.2 assists per game, good for ranking 10th nationally. His 166 assists this year was among the best in program history, ranking him fourth on the single season list at Fisher and sixth in the nation.
In addition to his vision to find the open man on the court, Lott was a dependable scoring option for Fisher. He averaged 10.2 points per game while shooting and impressive 53 percent from the floor. The First Team All-Empire 8 selection proved his worth during the conference tournament leading the Cardinals with 23 points in their semifinal matchup with Ithaca, before dishing out a career-high 12 assists to help Fisher claim the Empire 8 crown over Alfred.
Ford, a Second Team selection, led the E8 with a 21.4 points per game scoring average. He also averaged 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field (155-for-312) and 73.4 percent from the free throw line (105-for-143). He was named three times as E8 Player of the Week. His season also was highlighted by a school-record shattering 49-point performance against Ithaca on Feb. 17.
Kornaker guided the Cardinals to a 25-5 record overall, including a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament, Fisher's first appearance since the 2006-07 season. Fisher defeated nationally-ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute in its first round contest before knocking of perennial power Amherst College, 87-70, to advance to a Sweet 16 matchup with No. 1 ranked Randolph-Macon.
The Kornaker-led Cardinals found their identity during the 2014-15 season on the defensive side of the ball, surrendering just 62.3 points per game. That defensive prowess, coupled with a high-powered offense, allowed Fisher to run opponents out of the gym by a margin of nearly 16 points a game, the fifth-best margin in the country. During the season Fisher shot 50.7 percent from the floor as a team, sitting only behind St. Norbert among all Division III foes.
Kornaker, along with his Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year, led Fisher to the regular season title with a 14-2 mark in conference play. During Fisher's impressive season they rattled off 18-conseutive wins, spanning from December 6, 2014 all the way to February 17, 2015. The Cardinals win streak this season was the third-best in history of the 52-year old program.