Texas Lutheran's Holmes and Smith Headline 2015-16 All-SCAC Men's Basketball Selections

Texas Lutheran's Holmes and Smith Headline 2015-16 All-SCAC Men's Basketball Selections

SHREVEPORT, La. – In exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), junior guard Sterling Holmes of Texas Lutheran University was selected as SCAC Men’s Basketball Player-of-the-Year while Bulldogs head coach Jimmy Smith was named the league’s Coach-of-the-Year. Complete Release

In that same balloting, Texas Lutheran first-year guard Paris Marquez was voted the league’s Newcomer-of-the-Year award while junior forward Stephen Igbinosa of Austin College was named the SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

A three-time SCAC Player-of-the-Week during the regular season, Holmes is currently third in the league in scoring at 16.5 points per game and seventh in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game. He is also in the top 10 in both free throw percentage (84.3 percent – second) and three-point field goal percentage (44.9 percent – third) as well as assists per game (4.1 – third). The junior guard was a huge reason the Bulldogs garnered the top seed in this year’s conference tournament and secured the program’s second-consecutive regular season title. He led the team in points, field goals made, three-point field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists, and steals while playing just 29 minutes a game. Holmes is Texas Lutheran’s first student-athlete to earn SCAC Men’s Basketball Player-of-the-Year honors since the institution joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season.

Holmes was the coaches’ overwhelming choice for Player-of-the-Year as he received seven of eight first-place votes. Sophomore guard Travion Kirkendoll of Centenary College received the remaining first-place vote.

Igbinosa garnered SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors after leading the conference in blocked shots during the regular season with a 3.3 per game average – the highest average anyone has posted in the SCAC since the 2008-09 season and sixth best in all of Division III. The junior’s rim-protecting ability was key in Austin College leading the conference and finishing the regular season ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense as the ‘Roos allowed opponents to convert on just 38.3 percent of their attempts from the floor. He also led Austin College in rebounding with a 6.4 boards per game average (eighth in the SCAC). Igbinosa is just the second Austin College player to earn SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors, following Ransom Okpala who won the award for the 2012-13 season.

Igbinosa earned five votes in the balloting for the league’s Defensive POTY award. Sophomore forward John Hatch of Colorado College, junior forward James Sapp of Centenary College and junior forward Zachary Whitlock of Southwestern University all received one vote each.

Texas Lutheran’s Marquez played in all 25 games this season, averaging 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He played even better in SCAC games, averaging 10.5 points per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from three-point range – ranking him second among all first-year players in all three categories. He led all freshmen in free-throw percentage during conference games, hitting on 72.5 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe. Marquez pitched in a game-high 24 points in just 25 minutes of play in the Bulldog’s 80-81 victory at the University of Dallas on Feb. 12.

Marquez nipped first-year guard Treylan Matthews of Centenary for league Newcomer-of-the-Year honors, becoming the second consecutive TLU player to earn the award (Sterling Holmes was Co-Newcomer-of-the-Year last season). Marquez garnered four votes from the coaches, while Centenary’s Matthews picked up three first-place votes. First-year forward Ben Beatie of Trinity University received the remaining first-place vote.

A year after leading Texas Lutheran to its first-ever NCAA Division III tournament appearance, Jimmy Smith kept the Bulldogs in the fast lane in 2015-16 with a 19-6 overall record, a second-consecutive regular season conference title with an 11-3 league mark and the top seed at this weekend’s SCAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. The 19 wins equals the most wins in a single-season for the TLU program since the 1979-80 team also accomplished the mark, and, currently, the Bulldogs are the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division III South Region rankings.

Smith received five votes from his peers in earning his second consecutive SCAC Coach-of-the-Year honor. Janson Hightower of Southwestern University received two of the remaining three votes while Andy Partee of Colorado College received one vote.

2015-16 SCAC PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Sterling Holmes, Texas Lutheran University, 6-0, Jr., Guard, San Antonio, Texas

2015-16 SCAC NEWCOMER-OF-THE-YEAR
Paris Marquez, Texas Lutheran University, 6-0, Fy, Guard, Humble, Texas

2015-16 SCAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Stephen Igbinosa, Austin College, 6-8, Jr., Forward, Bellaire, Texas

2015-16 SCAC COACH-OF-THE-YEAR
Jimmy Smith, Texas Lutheran University / 19-6 Overall / 11-3 SCAC / Top seed in SCAC Tourney

2015-16 ALL-SCAC FIRST TEAM
Sterling Holmes, Texas Lutheran, 6-0, Jr., Guard, San Antonio, Texas
Ryan Ogden, Southwestern, 6-3, So., Forward, Bellaire, Texas
Travion Kirkendoll, Centenary, 6-3, So., Guard, Campti, La.
James Sapp, Centenary, 6-4, Jr., Forward, Shongaloo, La.    
James Lonergan, Colorado College, 6-7, Sr., Forward, Dallas, Texas

2015-16 ALL-SCAC SECOND TEAM
Jordan Kouremetis, Texas Lutheran, 6-0, Jr., Guard, San Antonio, Texas
Alan Sullivan, Austin College, 6-7, Jr., Forward, Dallas, Texas
Zachary Whitlock, Southwestern, 6-5, Jr., Forward, San Angelo, Texas
Brian Baehl, Austin College, 6-2, Jr., Guard, The Woodlands, Texas
Wes Miller, Schreiner, 6-6, Jr., Forward, San Antonio, Texas

2015-16 ALL-SCAC THIRD TEAM
Matt Jones, Trinity, 5-10, So., Guard, Austin, Texas
A.J. Pulliam, Trinity, 6-5, Jr., Forward, Bryan, Texas
Kendall Demouchet, Centenary, 6-4, Jr., Forward, Lafayette, La.
John Hatch, Colorado College, 6-7, So., Forward, Lodi, Wisc.
Eric Houska, Colorado College, 6-1, So., Guard, Wilton, Conn.

HONORABLE MENTION (players receiving votes)
Centenary – Treylan Matthews (Fy., G); Colorado College – Andrew Maddock (So., F), Justin Berardino (Sr., G); Dallas – Michael Sarrat (Jr., G), Tom Kaiser (Jr., F/C), Lorenzo Gonzalez (Jr., G); Schreiner – Christian Pena (Sr., G); Southwestern – Chris Molina (Jr., G); Texas Lutheran – Zach Behr (Jr., F), Paris Marquez (Fy., G); Trinity – Ben Beatie (Fy., F)

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.

For the complete release, click here. 

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