Thomas presented SAC Defensive Player of the Year honors
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior center Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Thursday morning.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior center Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Thursday morning.
Thomas becomes the first Eagle to be named the league's defensive player of the year in the fifth year of the award's existence.
Additionally, Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) represented Carson-Newman on the SAC's all-league second team.
Thomas has been the back-line anchor to Carson-Newman's zone defense that leads the league in blocks and scoring defense, and as a result Carson-Newman has held more opponents (three) below 50 points this season than in any other season this century.
Thomas is the league's top shot blocker and rebounder.
He is ninth nationally with 62 blocks and 14th in the country with 2.22 re-directs per game. Thomas is the league leader in both categories. His 60 rejections are the Eagles' single-season record.
Carson-Newman has the country's 28th best shot-blocking team with 111 total rejections.
Thomas has posted multiple rejections in 17 of Carson-Newman's games this season – including the last seven in a row.
He has tied his own single-game school record twice this season with six-block days against Queens (Nov. 20) and Coker (Jan. 17).
The league's top rebounded, Thomas has snagged at least five rebounds in every game Carson-Newman has played since Jan. 17 – 13 straight.
He's posted double-digit rebounds in nine contests, including three consecutive for the first time in his career from Jan. 22-26 against Wingate Anderson and Lincoln Memorial.
Thomas has also added some thievery to his game. He's posted 24 steals on the season and has had 15 since Jan. 24.
Thomas is both Carson-Newman's single-season and career record holder for rejections. He sits at 129 for his Carson-Newman career.
The 6-9 center has also added some scoring punch to his game, averaging a career-best 10 points per game. He has 15 double-digit scoring efforts, including a season-best 17 against Wingate on Nov. 27.
Thomas has posted five double-doubles on the year.
Davis is Carson-Newman's leading scorer, with a 13.5 point per game average. He's scored in double digits in 21 games this season, including five of the last six to close the year. Davis has logged a quartet of 20 point games this season and has 14 for his career.
Davis tallied a 23-point night at Wingate (Jan. 27) for his top scoring effort on the year.
The conference's leader in steals, Davis is sixth in the country in total steals with 70 and 9th in steals per game with 2.62. Davis is in the top five for steals in a single season at Carson-Newman. Davis' 70 steals are third for a single-season all-time at C-N. Mike Morton (1971-72) is second with 79 steals
Davis has 160 steals for his career. He passed Ishmail Simmons for fourth on the all-time career steal chart at C-N with his five swipes against Coker. It would take an extended tournament run for Davis to catch third place - Ish Sanders and his 183 steals.
Davis has 15 games this season with at least three steals.
He became Carson-Newman's 39th 1,000-point scorer in the SAC quarterfinals against Wingate with a 13-point night. Davis has 1,004 points in his C-N playing career and 1,258 in his collegiate basketball career.
Both Thomas and Davis will be on display in the Eagles semifinal matchup with Lincoln Memorial Saturday at 5 p.m. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network 15 minutes prior to tip with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
First Team
Jarren Cottingham, Wingate
Kenny Dye, Queens
Trenton Gibson, Tusculum
Chase Rankin, Lincoln Memorial
Caleb Robinson, Catawba
Jamari Smith, Queens
Second Team
TJ Brown, Newberry
Mekell Burries, Lincoln Memorial
Tripp Davis, Carson-Newman
Jordan Guest, Lincoln Memorial
Crosby James II, Anderson
Quandaveon McCollum, Newberry
Third Team
Alex Dahling, Lincoln Memorial
Parker Dortch, Anderson
Ben Gahlert, Limestone
Inady Legiste, Tusculum
TJ Nesmith, Lenoir-Rhyne
Bernard Pelote, Catawba
All-Freshman
Kadyn Dawkins, Mars Hill
Myles Jenkins, Anderson
Joel Pettiford, UVA Wise
Kris Robinson, Catawba
Matthew Sells, Lincoln Memorial
Player of the Year
Jamari Smith, Queens
Freshman of the Year
Kadyn Dawkins, Mars Hill
Defensive Player of the Year
Bryant Thomas, Carson-Newman
Coach of the Year
Jeremiah Samarrippas, Lincoln Memorial
Statistical Champions
Points Per Game – Crosby James, Anderson; 17.6
Three-Pointers Per Game – Andreas Wilson, Wingate; 2.86
Rebounds Per Game – Bryant Thomas, Carson-Newman; 7.8
Blocked Shots Per Game – Bryant Thomas, Carson-Newman; 2.22
Field Goal Percentage – TJ Nesmith, Lenoir-Rhyne; 62.3
Assists Per Game – Chase Rankin, Lincoln Memorial; 6.1
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Chase Rankin, Lincoln Memorial; 2.89
Steals Per Game – Tripp Davis, Carson-Newman; 2.62
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage – Matthew Sells, Lincoln Memorial; 40.0
Free Throw Percentage – Jalen Johnson, Lenoir-Rhyne; 92.0
Team Scoring Offense – Lincoln Memorial; 88.2
Team Steals – Queens; 231
Team Field Goal Percentage – Lincoln Memorial; 51.4
Team FG Percentage Defense – Lincoln Memorial; 39.8
Team Assists – Lincoln Memorial; 518
Team Rebounds – Lincoln Memorial; 1,167
Team Blocked Shots – Mars Hill; 114
Team Three-Point FG Percentage – Lincoln Memorial; 39.3
Team Scoring Defense – Carson-Newman; 67.1
Team Free Throw Percentage – Lincoln Memorial; 76.4
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Lenoir-Rhyne; 1.57
