NORTHEAST CONFERENCE • 200 COTTONTAIL LANE • SOMERSET, NJ 08873 • PH: (732) 469-0440 • FAX: (732) 469-0744 • WWW.NORTHEASTCONFERENCE.ORG For Immediate Release March 3, 2020 Saint Francis U’s Isaiah Blackmon Tabbed NEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Somerset, NJ -- March has arrived so it’s time to honor the best-of-the-best in Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s basketball from the 2019-20 season. And no one has done it better than Saint Francis U redshirt senior guard Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte), who was tabbed the NEC Player of the Year in a vote conducted by the league’s head coaches. NEC Rookie of the Year honors were awarded to Bryant freshman guard Michael Green III (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy). NEC newcomer Merrimack took home a pair major awards. Senior forward Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, NJ/St. Anthony) was named the unanimous NEC Defensive Player of the Year, while Joe Gallo was also a unanimous pick as the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year after leading the Warriors to the NEC regular season title. Mount St. Mary’s sophomore guard Damian Chong Qui (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) claimed NEC Most Improved Player ac- colades. The honorees were announced this afternoon as a prelude to the 2020 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which begins on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at four campus sites. There may not be a better story in the league than Blackmon, who made it back-to-back NEC Player of the Year honors for the Red Flash following Keith Braxton’s selection last season. Twice felled with season-ending knee injuries, Blackmon - who was an All-NEC third teamer in 2016-17 - saved his best for last, elevating his game to a new level as a senior in helping lead SFU to 20 wins and the #2 seed in the NEC Tournament. How unique is his skill set? The Charlotte, NC native is the league’s best long distance marksman and one of the finest leapers as well with a highlight reel above the rim aspect to his game. Blackmon was the NEC’s leading scorer during conference play (21.6) and ranks second overall (19.2). He leads the circuit and is 13th nationally in three-pointer accuracy at 42.8 percent, and also ranks first in offensive rating (122.5), fourth in made-three point- ers (2.85) and steals (1.7) per game and fifth in effective field goal percentage (.558). Throw in 5.4 rpg and you have a portrait of a complete player at the top of his game. The two-time NEC Player of the Week is the only player in the nation this season and one of five over the last decade (two of the others are D’Angelo Russell and Markelle Fultz) to average at least 19 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 spg while shooting at least 40 percent from outside the arc. Entering the week with 1,561 points, 508 boards and 207 triples, Blackmon is just the third player in NEC history with 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 200 three-pointers in his career, joining the Mount’s Gregory Harris and RMU’s Jeremy Chappell. He is the third NEC Player of the Year in SFU history, joining Braxton and NEC Hall of Famer Mike Iuzzolino (1990-91). (2019-20 NEC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Release; 1-of-4) Bryant University • Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University • LIU Brooklyn Mount St. Mary’s University • Robert Morris University • Sacred Heart University St. Francis Brooklyn • Saint Francis University • Wagner College There were no shortage of outstanding rookies in Smithfield this season, with Green III moving to the head of the class. Bryant became the first team in conference history to have three different players earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors on multiple occasions, with Green earning two of the Bulldogs’ nine honors. A quintessential New York City guard, he took over as the starting spot at the point in February and delivered, helping lead Bryant to a 5-4 record in his nine starts and a spot in the NEC Tournament. Combining pinpoint passing, creative playmaking and undefendable playground style moves, Green paces NEC freshman with 3.2 apg and ranks second with 9.2 ppg. Over a five-game stretch in mid-February, he raised his profile by averaging 17.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 4.4 apg, highlighted by a 23-point, five-rebound, six-assist effort in a key win at St. Francis Brooklyn. Green is the third NEC Rookie of the Year in Bryant history, joining all-time great Alex Francis (2010-11) and Marcel Pettway (2015-16). Hayes came to the NEC with a big-time reputation as a ball hawk and on-the-ball defender, and did not disappoint in his transi- tion to the DI ranks. The heart of Merrimack’s strangling zone defense, the cat-quick guard used his wingspan and uncanny timing and anticipation skills to lead the nation in steals for a third straight season. His 3.9 steals per game is the highest by an NEC player since St. Francis Brooklyn’s Jim Paguaga swiped 4.3 per game in 1985-86, and his 121 steals ranks third in single- season league history. And that’s just the start of it. The Paterson, NJ native leads the country in steal percentage (6.5) by a wide margin on a team that ranks in the NCAA top-five in steals and turnover margin, and has registered five or more swipes in a game nine times on the year. And for his crowning achievement, Hayes recently broke a 17-year record in becoming the NCAA career steals leader at any level. He concluded the regular season with an astounding 457 steals over his four years, which translates to 3.63 per outing over a 127-game career. Chong Qui began his Mount career a year ago as a walk-on and heads into his junior season in 2020-21 as a full-fledged star after earning third team All-NEC accolades. After overcoming the odds to claim a starting spot as a freshman, Chong Qui was awarded a scholarship in the offseason and took his game to another level this winter. Using his diminutive 5’8’ frame to his advantage, the Baltimore product’s game fuses intangible qualities like toughness and leadership with quickness, court vision, smart decision making, a reliable jump shot and finishing ability around the rim. Chong Qui improved his numbers across the board from his freshman season, lifting his scoring average from 6.8 to 12.0, his rebounding from 2.8 to 3.9 and his assists from 3.7 to 3.8 per game. He also raised his three-point accuracy from 27.0 percent to 36.4 percent. Chong Qui currently ranks second in the NEC in free throw rate (51.9), and fourth in the NEC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.97). He is the second Mount player to earn NEC MIP honors, joining Lamar Trice (2010-11). It’s been nothing short of a magic carpet ride for Gallo and Merrimack in their first year in the NEC. Picked to finish last in the league’s preseason poll wasn’t surprising, but the Warriors’ ascension to the NEC regular season championship certainly was, as it became a national story in the process with everyone from ESPN to Forbes to the Washington Post singing the praises of the fledgling DI program. Merrimack announced itself in a big way with a win over Northwestern in just its second game and never looked back. The Warriors won nine straight at one point to take over first place in the NEC and never relinquished the spot on its way to a 20-victory season. The Warriors set an NCAA wins record for a first year reclassifying program and became the first school to win a conference regular season title in its initial DI campaign. Gallo, a former assistant at Robert Morris who earned an NEC ring back in 2015, is the orchestrator of Merrimack’s morphing zone defense that has become the program’s calling card and ranks with the nation’s best. The Warriors lead the NEC in scoring defense (60.2), three-point defense (.302), steals (9.94), turnovers forced (17.4) and turnover margin (5.58), and rank nationally in the latter three cat- egories. Gallo has now won 81 games over the first four years at the helm of his alma mater. AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS Saint Francis U senior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) became just the second four- time All-NEC honoree in league history, joining NEC Hall of Famer Chris McGuthrie, who starred at the Mount from 1992-96. Braxton collected first team honors in each of the last three years and was the 2018-19 NEC Player of the Year and 2016-17 NEC Rookie of the Year. He recently became the first player in conference annals to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, and is the NEC’s all-time leader in combined points (2,003) and rebounds (1,129) with 3,132 over his four years. Brax- ton ranks second on the league’s career rebounding list, just 30 behind all-time leader Jalen Cannon and is seventh in scoring. Saint Francis U boasted two All-NEC first team all-stars for the third straight year with NEC Player of the YearIsaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte) and classmate Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)) being honored.