GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2014-15 Men’s Basketball All-Conference selections, with First, Second and Third Team honors being awarded to the top 15 players as selected by the conference coaches. 

The NEAC has also announced its individual award winners, which were also selected by the coaches.  Lancaster Bible College junior CJ Dunston (Elkton, Md.) has been chosen as the NEAC Player of the Year after an outstanding season for the Chargers.  The 6-foot-4 forward shot the lights out this season, as his 65 percent shooting percentage leads the NEAC and is currently the fifth-best mark in all of NCAA Division III.   That came on the seventh-most made buckets in the NEAC at 144 en route to averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game in just under 30 minutes per contest.  The two-way player also got it done defensively, swiping a conference-most 51 steals while blocking the third-most shots (35) and grabbing the second-most defensive rebounds (176), with his overall average of 8.8 rebounds per game also being second-best in the conference.  

A three-time NEAC Player of the Week selection, Dunston helped the Chargers set a new program record with 15 straight wins during the season en route to finishing with a program-best overall mark of 23-2.  That included a 17-1 conference record, which helped the Chargers clinch their second straight NEAC South Division regular season title and earn the right to host this weekend’s Final Four round of the NEAC Tournament as the top seed.  Dunston’s play landed him on the All-Conference First Team for the second straight season. 

Morrisville State College freshman Trent Ward (Auburn, N.Y.) took home NEAC Rookie of the Year honors after a terrific year for the three-time defending conference champion Mustangs. The long-range threat averaged a rookie-best 15 points per game after sinking the eighth-most 3-pointers with 56, while his 42 percent shooting from beyond the arc was the fourth-best mark in the conference.  He was very efficient at the free throw line as well, shooting the fifth-best percentage there at nearly 82 percent, while also shooting nearly 45 percent from the field overall.   Ward added 71 assists and 42 steals in 25 games on the year, which ranked 12th and 11th in the conference, respectively. 

Gallaudet University’s Brendan Stern was voted by his peers as the NEAC Coach of the Year after a memorable season leading the Bison.  Stern guided the Bison to their most successful season in school history, as the team set new school records for wins (18) and conference wins (14), while also breaking a 98-year-old program record for consecutive wins in a season (10).  The wins also surpassed the team totals from the previous two seasons combined.  Stern’s squad gave up the fewest points per game in the conference at 61.6 during the regular season, while also ranking sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (37.8) en route to clinching the No. 2 South seed in the NEAC Championship Tournament. 

The complete list of 2014-15 NEAC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Selections is as follows:

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has fourteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of men’s and women’s tennis.