Men's Basketball | 2/24/2022 9:54:11 AM
St. John Fisher College junior forward Daniel Cook was named Player of the Year for the second straight year and regular season champion Utica University earned a pair of individual awards, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021-22 Men’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Thursday, February 24. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Cook is enjoying another standout season for the Cardinals, as he leads all Empire 8 players in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.3 points, 10.3 boards to go along with 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest, while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor. Cook has scored in double figures in 24 of 25 games played this season and has 17 double-doubles. He poured in a career-high and St. John Fisher single-game record 47 points on Nov. 23. It is the fourth straight season that a St. John Fisher student-athlete has earned E8 Player of the Year honors. Overall, Cook is the fifth two-time Empire 8 Player of the Year, joining fellow Cardinal standout Keegan Ryan (2014-15 and 2016-17), Jared Suderley of Hartwick (2011-12 and 2013-14), Sean Burton of Ithaca (2007-08 and 2008-09) and Brandon Redmond of RIT (2000-01 and 2001-02).
Senior guard Darius Hopkins of Utica was named the 2021-22 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Hopkins is the catalyst for a Pioneers defense that allowed just 60.4 points per game in league play, first among all E8 teams, while Utica out-scored opponents by 11.2 points per game in 16 E8 contests. Hopkins, a three-time All-Empire 8 selection, is among the league leaders, averaging 1.6 steals per game in 2021-22 and is averaging 14.0 points per game on the offensive end.
Elmira College’s Bryan Adams was named the E8 Rookie of the Year. Adams appeared in all 25 games for the Soaring Eagles, averaging 17.5 points per game (tied for second in the conference), 2.8 rebounds and a league-high 2.5 steals per game. He scored at least 20 points in a game 12 times this season. Adams is the first Elmira student-athlete to be named E8 Rookie of the Year.
Utica head coach Sean Coffey and his staff were named the 2021-22 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Pioneers won the Empire 8 regular season title, going 15-1 in league play and enter the championship tournament as the top seed. Utica is riding a program-record 13 game-winning streak and has a 22-3 record. It is Utica’s second E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor and first since 2005-06.
The entire five-man 2022 Empire 8 first team was the same as it was in the spring of 2021. Graduate student Stephen Gabel of Nazareth and senior Jalon Borders of Russell Sage College both earned All-Empire 8 first team honors for the third straight year. Gabel is second in the league, averaging 17.5 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 48 percent from the floor for the Golden Flyers. Borders is enjoying another strong season, averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds to go along with 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. His 3.8 assists are third best in the conference. Brendan Trapper joined Cook on the first team for St. John Fisher. A senior forward, Trapper is averaging 17.1 points per game, fourth best in the league. Junior forward Thomas Morreale of Utica, the 2019-20 E8 Rookie of the Year, also garnered first team accolades for the second straight year. He is averaging 14.5 points and 5.9 boards per game, while shooting 56.6 percent from the field and 54.7 percent from 3-point range for a deep Pioneers squad.
Top-seeded Utica will host the semifinals and championship of the 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship this weekend. Utica will take on No. 4 seed Alfred or No. 5 seed Russell Sage, Friday, February 25 at 5:30 p.m. in one semifinal, while No. 2 seed Nazareth and No. 3 seed St. John Fisher will battle in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for 2022 Empire 8 Championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 26. The Empire 8 Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021-22 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.
2021-22 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Daniel Cook, Jr., F, St. John Fisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Hopkins, Sr., G, Utica
Rookie of the Year: Bryan Adams, Fr., G, Elmira
Coaching Staff of the Year: Utica, led by Head Coach Sean Coffey
Empire 8 First Team
Stephen Gabel, Gr., G, Nazareth
Jalon Borders, Sr., G, Russell Sage
Daniel Cook, Jr., F, St. John Fisher
Brendan Trapper, Sr., F, St. John Fisher
Thomas Morreale, Jr., F, Utica
Empire 8 Second Team
Brewster Marshall, Sr., F, Alfred
Devin Milton, Jr., G, Keuka
Zach Stenglein, Sr., G, Nazareth
Darius Hopkins, Jr., G, Utica
Kobe Lufkin, Gr., G, Utica
Empire 8 Third Team
Jonathan Park, Sr., F, Nazareth
Kevin Underwood, Gr., G, Nazareth
Stuart Phair, Sr., F/C, Russell Sage
Sean Williams, Sr., G, St. John Fisher
Chris Green, Sr., G, Utica
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Elliot Bowen, Jr., F, Alfred
Harry Ravitz, Jr., G, Elmira
Cooper Francis, Fr., G, Hartwick
Reece Gustafson, Jr., G, Houghton
D.J Billings, Sr., G, Keuka
Brendan Broderick, Gr., G, Nazareth
Ryan Long, Sr., G, Russell Sage
Ian Duncan, Sr., F, St. John Fisher
Matt Champlin, So., G, Utica
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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