IRVING, Texas – Centenary College and Texas Lutheran University shared the SCAC regular season title and, in exclusive voting by the head coaches of the conference, the two programs were rewarded for their successful seasons with multiple postseason awards. Sophomore forward James Sapp of Centenary was selected as SCAC Men's Basketball Player-of-the-Year while Texas Lutheran head coach Jimmy Smith was named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In that same balloting, senior forward Donte McGee of Texas Lutheran was voted the league's Defensive Player-of-the-Year, and freshman guard Travion Kirkendoll of Centenary and sophomore guard Sterling Holmes of Texas Lutheran split the vote to share SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors.
While leading Centenary to a SCAC co-regular season title, Sapp earned five conference Player-of-the-Week awards (no other player had more than one) and currently leads the league in scoring at 15.9 points per game and is second in rebounding at 7.9 boards per game. He is also in the top 10 in both field goal percentage (52.1 percent – fifth) and free throw percentage (74.6 percent – eighth) as well as steals per game (1.2 – tied for fifth). The junior has recorded seven double-doubles this season, six of which came in conference play, including season-highs of 33 points at Trinity (Jan. 23) and 15 rebounds at Austin College (Feb. 7). The honor for Sapp marks the third consecutive year that a Centenary player has either won or shared SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors as Jonathan Blount was recognized in both 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Sapp was the coaches' overwhelming choice for Player-of-the-Year as he received seven of eight first-place votes. Senior forward Donte McGee of Texas Lutheran received the remaining first-place vote.
McGee garnered SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors after leading the conference in rebounding during the regular season with an 8.4 rebounds per game average. The senior also leads the league in double doubles with 10, pitching in with 10.6 points per game on the offensive end. A versatile defender, McGee effectively guarded positions 1-5 for the Bulldogs throughout the season and is fifth in the SCAC in blocks with 20.
McGee nipped sophomore forward Kendall Demouchet of Centenary for league Defensive POTY honors, garnering four votes from the coaches. Demouchet picked up three first-place votes while senior forward Blake Scott of Southwestern University received the remaining first-place vote.
Centenary's Kirkendoll was strong all season, but saved his best for conference play as the freshman led the league in minutes played (33.1) while starting all 14 SCAC games with a 14.1 points per game average (third in the SCAC). Overall, he enters the tournament ranked in the top 11 in the league in scoring (12.8 points per game – sixth), field goal percentage (45.7 percent – 11th), three-point field goals made (29 – 10th), three-point field goal percentage (39.2 percent – 11th) and steals (29 – fifth). He finished the regular season with his best month of the year, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, 57.0 percent from three-point range, and averaging 17.3 points over the Gents' final six games.
Texas Lutheran's Holmes ended the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the SCAC in six categories: points (307 – eight in the SCAC), points per game (12.3 – eighth), assists (81 – third), steals (24 – ninth), free throws made (112) and free throw percentage (81.2 percent – fourth). six of the possible 12 categories. The sophomore guard had five games where he scored 20+ points, including a season-high 25 points against Anderson (Ind.) on Dec. 19. He led the Bulldogs in both assists (3.2 – fifth in the SCAC) and steals per game (1.0 – ninth) and was second on the team in scoring and rebounding – grabbing 4.0 boards per game from his point guard position.
Kirkendoll and Holmes received four votes each from the league's head coaches to share Newcomer-of-the-Year honors.
In his first season at the helm of the Texas Lutheran program, Smith has guided the Bulldogs to a 16-9 overall mark, a share of the regular season championship with an 11-3 conference record and the top seed of this weekend's SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament. It is the first time TLU has been a top seed in a post-season conference tournament since the 1997-98 season when the Bulldogs were the top seed for the Heart of Texas Conference Championship. Smith inherited a program that had gone 9-17 (3-11 in the SCAC) the year before and had not had a winning season since the 2004-05 squad went 13-12. Additionally, the 2014-15 team has posted the most wins in a single season for TLU since the 1979-80 team finished with 19 wins.
Smith received seven votes from his peers in earning SCAC Coach-of-the-Year honors. Centenary's Adam Walsh received the remaining first-place vote.
2014-15 SCAC PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
James Sapp, Centenary College, 6-4, So., Forward, Shongaloo, La.
2014-15 SCAC CO-NEWCOMERS-OF-THE-YEAR
Travion Kirkendoll, Centenary College, 6-3, Fy., Guard, Campti, La.
Sterling Holmes, Texas Lutheran University, 6-0, So., Guard, San Antonio, Texas
2014-15 SCAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Donte McGee, Texas Lutheran University, 6-5, Sr., Forward, Victoria, Texas
2014-15 SCAC COACH-OF-THE-YEAR
Jimmy Smith, Texas Lutheran University / 16-9 Overall / 11-3 SCAC / Top seed in SCAC Tourney
2014-15 ALL-SCAC FIRST TEAM
James Sapp, Centenary, 6-4, So., Forward, Shongaloo, La.
Donte McGee, Texas Lutheran, 6-5, Sr., Forward, Victoria, Texas
Chris Lesnansky, Colorado College, 6-6, Sr., Forward, Denver, Colo.
Jordan Kouremetis, Texas Lutheran, 6-0, So., Guard, San Antonio, Texas
Travion Kirkendoll, Centenary, 6-3, Fy., Guard, Campti, La.
2014-15 ALL-SCAC SECOND TEAM
Steven Guerrero, Schreiner, 6-2, Sr., Guard, Edinburg, Texas
Aaron Wyatt, Dallas, 6-6, Sr., Forward, Frisco, Texas
Sterling Holmes, Texas Lutheran, 6-0, So., Guard, San Antonio, Texas
Zach Whitlock, Southwestern, 6-5, So., Forward, San Angelo, Texas
Kendall Demouchet, Centenary, 6-4, So., Forward, Lafayette, La.
2014-15 ALL-SCAC THIRD TEAM
Wes Miller, Schreiner, 6-6, So., Forward, San Antonio, Texas
Brian Baehl, Austin College, 6-1, So., Guard, The Woodlands, Texas
Kym Malone, Dallas, 5-11, Sr., Guard, Richardson, Texas
Matt Selling, Trinity, 6-3, Sr., Guard, Phoenix, Ariz.
Blake Scott, Southwestern, 6-4, Sr., Forward, Fort Worth, Texas
HONORABLE MENTION (players receiving votes)
Austin College – Alan Sullivan (So., F), Austin Freet (So., F); Centenary – Caden Cheramie (Sr., G), Brandon Campbell (So., G); Colorado College – Russell Clark (Sr., F), Justin Berardino (Jr., G), Luke Winfield (Jr., G/F); Dallas – Mark Promberger (Sr., F); Schreiner – Hollis Robinson (Sr., F); Southwestern – Chris Lee (Jr., G), Ryan Ogden (Fy., F); Texas Lutheran – Thomas Verm (Sr., C), Garrett Wilkins (Sr., G)
Coaches voted for 15 places for All-SCAC with 15 points awarded for first-place votes, 14 points for second-place votes, 13 points for third-place votes, etc., down to one point for a 15th-place vote. All players not elected to the First, Second or Third Team, but who received at least one vote, were named Honorable Mention. Coaches could not vote for their own players.
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