April 3, 2009
MBB: LAURENCE EKPERIGIN NAMED ECAC DIVISION II PLAYER OF THE
YEAR
Edinboro, Pa. - Le Moyne College junior forward Laurence
Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) has been
named the 2008-09 ECAC Division II men's basketball Player of the
Year, as announced by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.
Ekperigin also earned a spot on the ECAC All-Star First Team.
Ekperigin, previously selected to the Northeast-10 Conference,
Daktronics All-East Region and NABC All-District East First Teams,
also received 2009 Northeast-10 Conference and Daktronics East
Region Player of the Year honors. Ekperigin, a seven-time
Northeast-10 player of the week, became the first Le Moyne player
to receive NE-10 and ECAC Player of the Year accolades. Joining
Ekperigin on the first team are C.W. Post senior guard Jonathan
Schmidt, Merrimack junior guard Darren Duncan, Bentley junior guard
Jason Westrol and Bloomfield sophomore guard Gage Daye.
Le Moyne's scoring leader for the second consecutive season,
Ekperigin ranks third in the conference at 18.3 points per contest.
Ekperigin led the conference in rebounding at 11.4 per game and was
second among Division II players nationally, while also leading the
league with a 68.4-percent field goal percentage (4th nationally)
and 81 blocked shots (10th nationally). The national leader in
double-doubles with 21, Ekperigin scored in double figures in 29 of
31 games, including each of the last 25 games, while also posting
double digits in rebounds on 22 occasions.
On December 13, Ekperigin poured in a career-best 40 points, one
point shy of the College's single game record. In Le Moyne's 77-68
win at The College of Saint Rose on February 10, Ekperigin posted
the second-highest scoring output of his career with 30 points,
grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds and tied the school record with
seven blocked shots. Through 89 career games, Ekperigin has 1,360
points and 831 rebounds, to rank 11th and seventh, respectively, in
Le Moyne's history. Ekperigin is one of only four players in Le
Moyne's 61-season history to record 1,300 points and 800
rebounds.
With eight rebounds and four blocks against Assumption in the
Northeast-10 Championship game, Ekperigin set the program's
single-season record in each category. Ekperigin passed Jene Grey
‘79 for most rebounds in a season with 354, eclipsing Grey's
total of 351 in 1977-78 and topped John Tomsich's mark of 78 blocks
in 1995-96 with 81 this season. Ekperigin scored 567 points in 31
games, the most points by a junior and the fourth-most in a season
by a Dolphin, while also posting the highest total since Adam
Stockwell '96 recorded 633 in the 1995-96 season.
Le Moyne finished the season at 20-11, including wins in 13 of its
final 15 games, to record the most victories in a season since the
1997-98 campaign. The Dolphins advanced to the Northeast-10
Championship Game for the first time since 1997.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is the nation's largest
athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with 319
member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging from
Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. The ECAC
publicizes the achievements of over 750 student-athletes annually
through the postseason all-stars. In men's basketball, the ECAC
awards one Division II all-star team and four regional Division III
all-star teams (New England, Upstate, Metro, and South).
2008-09 ECAC Division II Men's Basketball All-Star
Teams
| First Team | ||
| Laurence Ekperigin (Le Moyne) # | Junior | Forward |
| Jonathan Schmidt (C.W. Post) | Senior | Guard |
| Darren Duncan (Merrimack) | Junior | Guard |
| Jason Westrol (Bentley) | Junior | Guard |
| Gage Daye (Bloomfield) | Sophomore | Guard |
| Second Team | ||
| Lew Finnegan (Bentley) | Senior | Guard |
| Omari Knox (Bloomfield) | Senior | Guard |
| Manny Perez (Caldwell) | Junior | Forward |
| Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia) | Junior | Forward |
| Russell Frederick (Philadelphia) | Junior | Guard |
#-2008-09 ECAC Player of the Year
