GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2015-16 Men’s Basketball All-Conference selections, with First, Second and Third Team honors being awarded to the top 17 players regardless of position as selected by the conference coaches. 

The NEAC has also announced its men’s basketball individual award winners, which were also selected by the coaches. 

Lancaster Bible College senior forward CJ Dunston (Elkton, Md.) was named the NEAC Player of the Year for the second straight year after another phenomenal season for the Chargers.  The senior once again did it all for the nationally ranked Chargers, posting averages of 17.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game to guide Lancaster Bible to a perfect 25-0 regular season.  Dunston was also extremely efficient all season, as his 65 percent shooting mark from the field is currently ranked fifth in the nation and also leads the conference, as does his steals total and his 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio after he committed just 30 turnovers all year.  He was also third in the NEAC in rebounding, fourth in blocks and 12th in scoring to display his all-around game.  Dunston, who claimed his fifth career NEAC Player of the Week honor this season, also earned a spot on the NEAC All-Conference First Team for the third straight year.

 

Dunston was joined by his head coach as an individual award winner, as Lancaster Bible’s Zach Filzen was selected by his peers as the NEAC Coach of the Year after an incredible debut season for the Chargers.  Filzen has yet to know what a loss feels like as a head coach, as the first-year leader guided the Chargers to a perfect 25-0 regular season record to be one of only two squads across all of NCAA Division I, II and III to go undefeated this season.  That mark also included a victory over a nationally ranked team to open the year, along with an unblemished 18-0 mark in NEAC play en route to capturing the South Division regular season title for the third straight year and the right to host this weekend’s Final Four portion of the NEAC Tournament.  Under Filzen’s direction, the Chargers also saw four players selected to the NEAC All-Conference Team in addition to three different players winning a total of four NEAC Player of the Week selections throughout the season. 

Filzen’s guidance and Dunston’s play also helped the Chargers claim both the program’s and the NEAC’s first-ever in-season national ranking, as they jumped into the D3Hoops.com National Top 25 poll at No. 22 back on Jan. 18 and have remained on it ever since, while climbing up to No. 15 as of Monday’s latest poll.

 

Joining those two individual award winners is Wells College freshman guard Rich Ross (Bronx, N.Y.), who claimed the NEAC Rookie of the Year honor after an excellent debut for the Express.  Ross led all conference rookies in scoring and was second overall at 19.4 points per game through 25 contests, which helped him post the third-best single-season point total (486) in program history for Wells.  His per-game average of 7.4 rebounds was also second amongst all rookies and ranked 11th overall, while his 101 free throws made during conference play led the NEAC and his 86 percent mark from the line ranked third.  Ross’ breakout inaugural season, which also included totals of 70 assists, 23 steals and 11 blocks, helped the Express return to the NEAC Tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season while also landing him on the NEAC All-Conference Second Team.       

 

 

The complete list of 2015-16 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.