Men’s Basketball Rookie – Elmira
Shawn Backus, Freshman, Forward – Hamden, CT/The Governor’s Academy
 
Shawn Backus helped Elmira go 1-2 in a trio of Empire 8 games, including a 97-92 victory over the then-first-place Ducks of Stevens and a nail-biting 108-103 overtime loss to Houghton. Backus averaged 16.67 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 58.8 from the field. On Tuesday, he finished eight nine points against St. John Fisher before he posted the two highest-scoring games of his rookie season over the weekend. He registered his first double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Stevens, marking just the third win for the Soaring Eagles in the all-time series against the Ducks. Backus shot 9-of-12 from the field against the Highlanders en route to a 20-point performance as he added seven rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in the narrow overtime loss.