FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BHG headlines First Team as
GNAC Player, Defensive Player of the Year
WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales University junior Brian Hogan-Gary has been selected as both the 2019 GNAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, as the conference announced its All-Conference Teams on Monday morning. The league's head coaches vote to decide all major awards and all-league honorees.
Hogan-Gary, a Staten Island, N.Y. native, was also named to the All-GNAC First Team for the second straight season after averaging 23.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals, while shooting 51.2% overall from the floor. He was top-3 among GNAC leaders in scoring, rebounding and steals, and finished tied for seventh in assists while playing a league-leading 37.7 minutes per game for the Wildcats. Hogan-Gary is only the third student-athlete in GNAC men's basketball history to win both awards, as Albertus Magnus College's Victor Ljuljduraj accomplished the feat in 2014-15 and former GNAC member Emerson College saw Jeremy Shannon win both in 2007-08.
Many of the 2019 selections will look for continued GNAC success in 2019-20, as only three of the 15 All-Conference selections this winter are seniors, including not one soon-to-be graduate on the First Team.
For the complete All-Conference results, major award winners and All-Sportsmanship Team, please see below.
Garnering First Team accolades alongside Hogan-Gary were Colby-Sawyer College junior Dana Bean, Lasell College junior Stefan Masciarelli, Saint Joseph's College of Maine sophomore Jack Casale, and Suffolk University junior Thomas Duffy.
Casale finished second in the GNAC Player of the Year voting, as the sophomore experienced a stellar season for the Monks. He was second among GNAC leaders in scoring (24.1), first in three-pointers made (100-221), and fifth in rebounding (9.0). The Portland, Maine native's second-year jump comes after averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds as a rookie last year.
Bean was one of the league's most efficient scorers, shooting 58.5% overall for 17.4 points and 9.2 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game for the Chargers, who earned the No. 5 seed in the GNAC Tournament in their inaugural season a GNAC core member.
Masciarelli is a repeat GNAC First Teamer, as the Lasers junior won the league's individual scoring title at 24.6 points per game after averaging 18.2 points as a sophomore. He shot 40.1% from three-point range and 92.6% from the free-throw line this winter.
To round out the league's First Team selections, Suffolk's Duffy was the Rams' leading scorer at 15.6 points per game to go along 5.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) freshman Delshawn Jackson Jr. was voted the 2019 GNAC Rookie of the Year, as the Hartford, Conn. native and All-GNAC Third Team selection averaged 16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists under first-year head coach Jim Calhoun. The seventh-seeded Blue Jays advanced all the way to the GNAC Championship after two upset road victories in the conference tournament last week.
Having guided the Rams to the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Tournament, Suffolk fourth-year head coach Jeff Juron was voted the 2019 GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Juron's Rams won an impressive 13 of 14 from December 30 through Valentine's Day, and were in position to claim the GNAC regular-season title outright on the last day of the league schedule.
Emmanuel College first-year head coach Danny Lawson was a close second in the Coach of the Year voting, as the Saints went 18-8 overall and earned the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Tournament after going 3-22 a year ago. Emmanuel also saw junior Emmett Riddick and senior Joe Tamburro selected to the All-GNAC Second and Third Teams, respectively.
League champion Albertus Magnus College, which will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent in the Division III Selection Show today at 12:30 PM, placed sophomore Tyreek Perkins on the Second Team, as the Falcons' leading scorer is averaging 13.1 points and 2.9 rebounds. The Falcons have found their stride under eight-time GNAC champion head coach Mitch Oliver, winning nine in a row since January 31 to cement home-court throughout the GNAC Tournament, including three straight wins at The Nest in last week's playoffs.
Anna Maria College junior Mike Rapoza was a Second Team selection having put together another monster year, averaging 17.4 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting 64.6% from the floor. The Charlton, Mass. native was the 2017 GNAC Rookie of the Year and 2018 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year for the AMCATS.
Saint Joseph's of Maine led the way with three All-Conference selections, as senior Darian Berry was a Second Team choice and classmate Ian Mileikis was a Third Team choice. Berry was a First Teamer last season and last week was named to the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, while Mileikis was a 2018 All-GNAC Second Teamer.
FIRST TEAM
Dana Bean, Colby-Sawyer (Jr., Franklin, N.H.)
Brian Hogan-Gary, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Staten Island, N.Y.)
Stefan Masciarelli, Lasell (Jr., Northbridge, Mass.)
Jack Casale, Saint Joseph's of Maine (So., Portland, Maine)
Thomas Duffy, Suffolk (Jr., Fairfield, Conn.)
SECOND TEAM
Tyreek Perkins, Albertus Magnus (So., New Haven, Conn.)
Mike Rapoza, Anna Maria (Jr., Charlton, Mass.)
Emmett Riddick, Emmanuel (Jr., Middletown, Conn.)
Ademola Afonja, Regis (Sr., Staten Island, N.Y.)
Darian Berry, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Rochester, N.H. )
THIRD TEAM
Patrick Coffey, Colby-Sawyer (Jr., Westford, Mass.)
Joe Tamburro, Emmanuel (Sr., South Windsor, Conn.)
Delshawn Jackson Jr., Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Hartford, Conn.)
Ian Mileikis, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Auburn, Maine )
Steven DiPrizio, Suffolk (Jr., Medford, Mass.)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Brian Hogan-Gary, Johnson & Wales
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Brian Hogan-Gary, Johnson & Wales
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Delshawn Jackson Jr., Saint Joseph (Conn.)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Jeff Juron, Suffolk
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Norwich University
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Marquise Owens, Albertus Magnus (So., Thorafare, N.J.)
Joseph Holmes, Anna Maria (Jr., Shirley, Mass.)
Nate Trevino, Colby-Sawyer (So., Boerne, Texas)
Zachary Crisafulli, Emmanuel (So., Easthampton, Mass.)
Matt Madoian, Johnson & Wales (Sr., North Kingstown, R.I.)
Joe O'Brien, Lasell (Sr., Saugus, Mass.)
Daniel Haimes, Norwich (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Milik Wallace, Regis (Sr., Hinesville, Ga.)
Tarik Rivers, Rivier (So., Stamford, Conn.)
Jake Sullivan, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Branford, Conn.)
Tatsuaki Sakai, Saint Joseph's of Maine (So., Ishikawa, Japan)
Kevin Querusio, Suffolk (Sr., Millis, Mass.)
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –