Men's Basketball | 2/27/2024 1:58:39 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2023-24 Men’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team on Tuesday, February 27. Utica University graduate student Justice Brantley was named Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the top-seeded Pioneers to their second E8 title in program history on February 24.
Brantley averaged 20.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor in a pair of postseason contests. He scored 12 points in Utica’s E8 semifinal win Thursday evening over No. 5 seed Alfred University. In Saturday’s championship game, Brantley scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, leading the Pioneers to a 97-90 win over No. 2 Nazareth University to claim the E8 title. Brantley was 10-of-20 from the floor, drained four 3-pointers and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line, while grabbing six boards and dishing out four assists.
Fellow Utica graduate student Thomas Morreale joined Brantley on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in the three wins, while shooting 76.5 percent from the field, 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 87.5 percent from the foul line. Morreale had 20 points and 11 boards in Thursday’s win, while scoring 17 points without missing a shot in the title game Saturday.
Logan Blankenburg, a graduate student, averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the floor in two games for runner-up Nazareth to earn All-Tournament Team accolades. Fifth-year Daniel Cook of St. John Fisher University and sophomore guard Tyler Hind of Alfred University were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Cook, who was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year for the fourth straight season, averaged 23.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals with a pair of double-doubles in two games, while leading the Cardinals to the semifinals. Hind averaged 18.5 points and 4.0 assists per game in the tournament for Alfred, who knocked off Keuka College in the opening round and battled No. 1 seed Utica in the semifinals.
2023-24 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team
Tyler Hind, So., G, Alfred
Logan Blankenburg, Gr., F, Nazareth
Daniel Cook, Sr., F, St. John Fisher
Justice Brantley, Gr., G, Utica *
Thomas Morreale, Gr., F, Utica
* Named Most Valuable Player
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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