NABC All-District Honors for Ford, Norton and Ryan
KANSAS CITY, MO – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today that Nazareth senior Mitch Ford, Hartwick senior guard Trevor Norton and St. John Fisher junior Keegan Ryan have been recognized on the
NABC Coaches' Division III All-East District Teams. Ford was a first team honoree, while Norton and Ryan were named second team.
The release of the NABC All-District Teams, recognizes the best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes and coaches in the division, selected by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division III.
Ford was a dominant player for the Golden Flyers in 2015-16 as he was named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring (22.2 ppg.) and rebounding (11.3 rpg.). He ranked 25th nationally in scoring and 10th in rebounding and seventh with 17 double-doubles. He also set a single-season rebounding record with 293 and posted the second-highest single-season scoring average.
He ranks seventh all-time in career scoring with 1,510 points and third in rebounding with 764 boards. Among the other school records he holds is the mark for points in one game -- 49 vs. Ithaca last season.
Norton was a prolific scorer this season as he reached double figures in scoring in all but one game and netted 15 points or more in 20 of the Hawks' 26 contests. He scored 20 or more 12 times and 30 or more twice.
The two-time All-Empire 8 First Team pick scored a career-high 39 points on 11-of-21 shooting and a 6-of-12 showing from three-point range in a 117-115 double overtime game at home against Ithaca on January 23. He lit the Bombers up again less than a month later with 32 points (10-of-16 shooting) and another six three-point field goals.
Norton would finish his senior campaign as one of the top three-point shooters in the country. He currently ranks twenty-third nationally in three-point field goals per game (3.12) and twenty-seventh in three-pointers made (81). He also led the Empire 8 in both categories.
Norton ranked second in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage (.407), and third in points per game (19.5), total points (506), free-throws made (103), and free-throw percentage (.851).
Ryan's selection marks the second consecutive season he was named to an NABC All-District East Team. This season, Ryan led the team in scoring (17.4 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg), and field goal percentage (59.4%). He was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference First Team, tallied 14 double-doubles this season, and now has 30 such games in his career. He currently ranks third at Fisher in career rebounding with 739 boards and seventh in career scoring with 1,220 points.
The junior helped the team to a 14-2 conference record, as Fisher secured the number one seed for the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament. The Cardinals fell to Hartwick College in the championship title game.
The Cardinals finished their season 21-6 overall, marking the 15
th time in the programs 53-year history that Fisher has won 20 or more games in a single season.
EAST
First Team
Sam Borst-Smith, Rochester
Deshon Burgess, Union
Brian Sortino, SUNY Oswego
Kyle Richardson, Plattsburgh State
Mitch Ford, Nazareth
Evan Kupferberg, NYU
Second Team
Trevor Norton, Hartwick
Blair Estarfaa, SUNY Cortland
Justin Ringen, SUNY Geneseo
Keegan Ryan, St. John Fisher
CJ Dunston, Lancaster Bible
District Player of the Year: Kyle Richardson, Plattsburgh State
Coach of the Year: Tom Spanbauer, SUNY Cortland