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

#-2008-09 ECAC Player of the Year