The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year awards for the 2015-16 men’s basketball season. The conference coaches vote on the awards and all-conference teams.
The Player of the Year award goes to Nazareth’s
Mitch Ford. A senior, Ford is the fourth Golden Flyer to earn the honor. Previous recipients were Jim Evans (2003), Tyler Schultz (2004) and Corey McAdams (2010). Ford led the conference in scoring (22.6) and rebounds (11.4), and was six in shooting percentage (.546). He reached double figures in scoring in all 25 regular season games and had 17 double-doubles.
Nazareth sophomore
Tyler Stenglein was named the Rookie of the Year. He is the third Nazareth player to earn the honor and joins 2005 recipient Joe Canori and 2007 honoree McAdams. Stenglein started all 25 regular season games and averaged 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and four assists. Among conference players Stenglein ranked 11
th in points per game and ninth in assists, while his 1.9 assist to turnover ratio was fourth. The five-time E8 Rookie of the Week reached double figures in scoring in 20 games, including a season high of 29 points.
Nazareth and St. John Fisher College were named co-Coaching Staffs of the Year. It is the first E8 coaching honor for Nazareth, led by Kevin Broderick, while Fisher head coach Rob Kornaker and his staff earn the award for the second straight season.
The Golden Flyers are 17-8 overall and earned the No. 2 seed for the E8 Championship with a 13-3 conference mark. The 13 conference wins is the most ever for a Nazareth team. The Golden Flyers lead the conference in scoring margin (10.4), fewest turnovers (10.8), field goal percentage (48.7%) and field goal percentage defense (40.6%), while ranking second in blocked shots (3.68).
The Cardinals, currently receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, finished the regular season with a 20-5 record and a 14-2 mark in conference play and will host the E8 Championship this weekend. The 20 wins marks the 15th time in the program's 53-year history the Cardinals have won 20 or more games in a season. The Cardinals lead the Empire 8 in scoring defense (61.2 points per game), while ranking second in the Empire 8 in both field goal percentage (47.6%) and field goal percentage defense (41.6%).
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
Empire 8 2015-16 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Mitch Ford, Nazareth College
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Stenglein, Nazareth College
Co-Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth College & St. John Fisher College