Men's Basketball | 2/27/2020 9:58:33 AM
St. John Fisher senior guard Sammy Robinson was named Player of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2019-20 Men’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Thursday, Feb. 27. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Robinson, a three-time All-Empire 8 selection (second team, 2017-18; first team, 2018-19 and 2019-20), has helped the Cardinals to a share of the Empire 8 regular season title and No. 2 seed in this weekend’s championship tournament. He leads the Cardinals and is second in the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game to go along with 5.3 boards per game in 2019-20. Robinson has scored in double figures 23 times this season, including five 25-plus point efforts. He now has 1,430 career points in his career at St. John Fisher
Sophomore guard Zach Stenglein of Nazareth College was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while first-year standout Thomas Morreale of Utica was named Rookie of the Year. Stenglein has enjoyed a breakout season for the Golden Flyers, averaging 15.6 points per game to go along with a league-best 4.6 assists per contest. He leads the league in steals, averaging 2.5 per contest and has a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio. In addition, Stenglein has nearly one block per game. Morreale enters the tournament averaging 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, fifth best in the league. He is also shooting 43 percent from behind the arc. Morreale was a four-time Empire 8 Rookie of the Week.
Nazareth head coach Kevin Broderick and his staff were honored as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Top-seeded Nazareth, who earned a share of the Empire 8 regular season title, enters the tournament with a 20-5 overall record, having finished 12-2 in league play. In addition, the Golden Flyers have won 14 of their last 15 contests and were the highest scoring team in Empire 8 play, averaging 84.4 points per game, while shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. The Golden Flyers boast five players averaging in double figures.
In addition to Robinson, Alfred’s Sam Dagon, along with Stephen Gabel of Nazareth, Sage’s Jalon Borders and Darius Hopkins earned All-Empire 8 first team honors. Dagon leads all E8 players in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game, while Gabel leads Nazareth and is third in the conference, with 16.1 points per game. Borders leads Sage and is fourth in the league, averaging 15.6 points per game, while Hopkins leads the Pioneers, recording 14.3 points per contest.
Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Utica and Sage are in action this weekend as the 2020 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Nazareth. Nazareth takes on Sage in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday, while St John Fisher and Utica battle in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The semifinal winners meet for the league title on Saturday at 4 p.m. with an automatic berth into the 2020 Division III NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on the line.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019-20 Men’s Basketball Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
2019-20 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Sammy Robinson, Sr., G, St. John Fisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Zach Stenglein, So., G, Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Thomas Morreale, Fr., F, Utica
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by Head Coach Kevin Broderick
Empire 8 First Team
Sam Dagon, Sr., G, Alfred
Stephen Gabel, Jr., G, Nazareth
Jalon Borders, So., F, Sage
Sammy Robinson, Sr., G, St. John Fisher
Darius Hopkins, So., G, Utica
Empire 8 Second Team
Marshall Brewster, So., F, Alfred
Pat Garey, Jr., G, Hartwick
Jonathan Park, So., F, Nazareth
Zach Stenglein, So., G, Nazareth
Dennis Hare, Sr., G, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Honorable Mention
Kyle Bradshaw, Sr., F, Hartwick
Austin Haskell, Jr., F, Hartwick
Cody Green, Sr., G, Nazareth
Jordan Holmes, Jr., G/F, Houghton
Isander Ramos-Net, Sr., G, Houghton
James Leone, Sr., G, St. John Fisher
Thomas Morreale, Fr., F, Utica
Kimedrick Murphy, Jr., C, Utica
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Justin Phillips, So., G, Alfred
Kyle McCreery, Sr., F, Elmira
Sam Hanley, Jr., G, Hartwick
Kyle Donk, Sr., C, Houghton
Isaac Nelson, Jr., G, Nazareth
Anthony Mitchell, Sr., G/F, Sage
Mark Valeriani, Jr., G, St. John Fisher
Justin Strielkauskas, Sr., F, Utica