Men's Basketball | 3/18/2025 5:08:38 PM
Empire 8 men’s basketball standouts Jaylen Savage of Nazareth University in addition to Damien Call and Dayion Thompson of Utica University and Mekhi Beckett of SUNY Brockport were named to the 2024-25 NABC All-District III team on Tuesday, March 18. Savage was named the District III Player of the Year and was a first team selection, while Call garnered first team honors and Thompson and Beckett were second team picks. Utica University head coach Sean Coffey was named the District III Coach of the Year.
Savage, the 2025 Empire 8 Player of the Year, enjoyed another banner season for the Golden Flyers, as he led all Empire 8 players in scoring, averaging 21.0 points per game, shooting 87.9 percent from the foul line to go along with 6.1 boards and 1.6 steals per game. A native of Elmsford, NY, he averaged 21.1 points on 47 percent shooting from the floor in league play this season. Savage, who has 1,281 points in three seasons with the Golden Flyers, scored at least 20 points in 15 different games this season, including four different 30-point outings. He averaged 28.5 points in two E8 Tournament games this season on his way to earning E8 All-Tournament Team accolades.
Call, a native of Rome, NY, averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 2024-25 en route to earning All-E8 first team accolades. He was named the 2025 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor (16-of-27) in three E8 postseason contests. Call , the 2021 E8 Rookie of the Year, finished his illustrious Utica career by winning three Empire 8 Championships and helping lead the Pioneers to a 101-23 record in five seasons. He scored 1,118 points and grabbed 655 rebounds in his Utica career.
Thompson was a workhorse on offense for Utica averaging a team high 15.6 points per game. Thompson was lethal from behind the arc, taking second on the conference leaderboard in three point shooting percentage. The Beacon, NY native was able to convert consistently from the free throw line, locking in a top five ranking nationally in free throw percentage at 91.6 percent. Thompson was also a premier defender, generating a team high 49 steals.
Beckett, who hails from Westbury, NY, led the Golden Eagles to the E8 regular season title and trip to the league semifinals. An All-Empire 8 first team selection, Beckett led the high-flying Golden Eagles in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game in just 24 minutes per contest, while draining 64 shots from beyond the arc at a 42 percent clip.
Head Coach
Sean Coffey was named All-District 3 Coach of the Year. Coffey eclipsed a pair of career milestones this season, eclipsing both the 150 career wins and 100 conference wins mark. Coffey also piloted his squad to back to back Empire 8 Conference Championships this season, as well as the team's third straight trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. This season, the Pioneers eclipsed the 20-win mark for the fourth straight season under Coffey's tutelage, boasting a 21-8 record and going 12-4 in conference play to take the second seed in the Empire 8 Tournament.
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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