BENIMON REPEATS AS CAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Damas, Guthrie and Parker-Rivera also honored at 2014 CAA Awards Banquet
BALTIMORE, Md. — Towson senior forward Jerrelle Benimon was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in voting by the league’s head coaches, media relations directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Baltimore, Md.
Also receiving top honors were Delaware’s Monte’ Ross as the CAA Coach of the Year, William and Mary freshman guard/forward Omar Prewitt as the CAA Rookie of the Year and Northeastern junior forward Scott Eatherton as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. William and Mary senior forward Tim Rusthoven was the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.
Benimon becomes the eighth player in conference history to receive CAA Player of the Year honors in multiple years. The senior forward has recorded a nation’s-best 20 double-doubles in 31 games and he also leads Division I in rebounding with 11.7 per contest. Benimon, who ranked fourth in the league in scoring with 18.9 points per game, reached double figures in 28 of 31 outings and tallied 20 or more points 17 times.
Benimon, who was also selected to the CAA All-Defensive team for the second straight year, broke his own Towson single-season record with 363 rebounds, which was the fourth-most in a season in CAA history and the most by any CAA player other than Navy All-American David Robinson. Showing his all-around game, Benimon was also third in the conference in assists (3.7 apg), fourth in field goal percentage (52.8%) and fifth in blocked shots (1.3 bpg).
Joining Benimon on the All-CAA first team were Drexel senior guard Frantz Massenat, Delaware senior guardDevon Saddler, William & Mary junior guard Marcus Thornton and Delaware senior guard Davon Usher.
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were Northeastern’s Eatherton (15.5 ppg/10.1 rpg), Drexel graduate student guard Chris Fouch (17.9 ppg/3.2 rpg), College of Charleston senior forward Willis Hall (12.2 ppg/9.0 rpg), William & Mary’s Rusthoven (12.2 ppg/4.9 rpg) and Hofstra graduate student guard/forward Zeke Upshaw (19.6 ppg/4.2 rpg).
Named to the All-CAA third team were Delaware senior forward Carl Baptiste (10.9 ppg/8.3 rpg), James Madison sophomore guard Charles Cooke (14.3 ppg/5.0 rpg), Towson senior forward Marcus Damas (11.4 ppg/5.3 rpg), Towson senior forward/guard Rafriel Guthrie (12.0 ppg/2.9 rpg), James Madison sophomore guardAndre Nation (15.2 ppg/5.3 rpg) and Hofstra graduate student guard Dion Nesmith (13.2 ppg/4.3 apg).
Damas is second on the team in both rebounding and three-pointers made, and ranks third in scoring, assists and blocks. The senior ranks Top 20 in the CAA in scoring, rebounding, blocks, free throw percentage and free throw percentage. Damas became Towson’s 23rd player to reach the 1,000-point scoring plateau on January 27. He enters this weekend’s CAA Tournament having scored 1,094 points.
Guthrie ranks second on the team and 14th in the CAA in scoring. The senior has been on a tear in the second half of the season, scoring in double figures in 12 of his last 14 games. Since being inserted into the starting lineup on February 15, the Tigers are 6-0. Guthrie scored a season-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting in Towson’s win at Northeastern on February 20.
Sophomore Timajh Parker-Rivera was also honored on Thursday night as the forward was named to the CAA All-Academic Team.
Towson is set to open CAA Tournament play on Saturday night as the second-seeded Tigers will host seventh-seeded James Madison at 6 p.m. inside Baltimore Arena. The game can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet.
2013-14 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-CAA
Jerrelle Benimon, Towson Sr. F 6-8 245 Warrenton, Va./Fauquier
Frantz Massenat, Drexel
Devon Saddler, Delaware
Marcus Thornton, William & Mary Jr. G 6-4 185 Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara
Davon Usher, Delaware
Second Team All-CAA
Scott Eatherton, Northeastern Jr. F 6-8 219 Hershey, Pa./Hershey
Chris Fouch, Drexel
Willis Hall, College of Charleston Sr. F 6-6 235 Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian
Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary Sr. F 6-9 235 Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy
Zeke Upshaw, Hofstra
Third Team All-CAA
Carl Baptiste, Delaware
Charles Cooke, James Madison So. G 6-6 200 Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic
Marcus Damas, Towson
Rafriel Guthrie, Towson
Andre Nation, James Madison So. G 6-5 200 Plant City, Fla./Faith Baptist Christian
Dion Nesmith, Hofstra
2013-14 CAA Player of the Year – Jerrelle Benimon, Towson
2013-14 CAA Coach of the Year – Monte’ Ross, Delaware
2013-14 CAA Rookie of the Year – Omar Prewitt, William & Mary
2013-14 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Scott Eatherton, Northeastern
2013-14 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary
CAA All-Rookie Team
Canyon Barry, Coll. of Charleston Fr. G 6-6 195 Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain
Omar Prewitt, William & Mary Fr. G/F 6-6 180 Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County
Jamall Robinson, Hofstra Fr. G/F 6-5 210 Cheltenham, Md./Paul VI
Rodney Williams, Drexel Fr. F 6-7 220 Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s
T.J. Williams, Northeastern
CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Adjehi Baru, Coll. of Charleston Jr. F 6-9 225 Abidjan, Ivory Coast/The Steward School
Jerrelle Benimon, Towson Sr. F 6-8 245 Warrenton, Va./Fauquier
Scott Eatherton, Northeastern Jr. F 6-8 219 Hershey, Pa./Hershey
Davon Usher, Delaware
David Walker, Northeastern So. G 6-6 176 Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
CAA All-Academic Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Kyle Anderson, Delaware
Canyon Barry, Coll. of Charleston Fr. G 6-6 195 Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain
Brandon Britt, William & Mary Sr. G 6-2 200 Chesapeake, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian
Kyle Gaillard, William & Mary Sr. F 6-8 220 Huntersville, N.C./North Mecklenburg
Willis Hall, College of Charleston Sr. F 6-6 235 Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian
Tanner Milson, UNCW
Dion Nesmith, Hofstra
Timajh Parker-Rivera, Towson So. F 6-7 215 Milford, Conn./St. Joseph
Shane Reybold, UNCW
Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary Sr. F 6-9 235 Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy