All-Conference Teams     Stats Champions     Senior Awards

HICKORY, NC – The 2003-2004 South Atlantic Conference men’s and women’s basketball All-Conference teams and award recipients were announced during the tournament basketball awards banquet Thursday night in Hickory, N.C.

Approximately 400 players, coaches, media, support staff and special guests attended this year’s function, which tips off the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Basketball Tournament, which begins play Friday at Lenoir-Rhyne College and the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Facility.

Tusculum College first-year coach Duggar Baucom, who guided the Pioneers to a share of their first-ever SAC basketball title, was named Men’s Coach of the Year. Lenoir-Rhyne College coach Karen Barefoot and veteran Wingate University coach Johnny Jacumin were named co-Coach of the Year for women’s basketball. Both coaches guided their teams to a share of the league championship this year.

Lenoir-Rhyne College’s Roman Davis was the Men’s Player of the Year. Davis finished third in the league in scoring at 16.4 points per game and second in field goal percentage. He was named Player of the Week twice.

Catawba College senior forward Danyel Locklear was named Women’s Player of the Year. Locklear finished second in scoring at 20 points per game, second in rebounding (10.9) and second in field goal percentage. Her 33 points against Mars Hill was a conference season high. Locklear was named Player of the Week four times.

The men’s Freshman of the Year is Chris Conn of Mars Hill College. Conn started 23 games and averaged 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Lions.

The women’s Freshman of the Year is Emily Paffrath of Wingate University. Paffrath started all 28 games and averaged 10 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds. She also led the conference in blocked shots at 2.82 per game.

Men’s co-champions Lenoir-Rhyne and Tusculum each placed two players on the All-Conference Team, as did Carson-Newman and Wingate. Joining Davis on the first team were Todd Lucas of Carson-Newman; Ronald Lewis of Mars Hill; Rashaad Carter of Newberry; Brad Hawks of Tusculum and Keenan Dunn of Wingate.

Women’s co-champion Wingate was the only school with two representatives on the All-Conference First Team, with Samantha Dailey and Veronica Taylor. Joining them on the first team were Locklear, Andrea Fitzgerald of Carson-Newman; Crystal Clary of Lenoir-Rhyne; and Kristi Ferris of Mars Hill.

The SAC Scholar Athlete Awards went to Julie Maples of Tusculum College and Jerome Ramsey of Mars Hill College, both repeat winners.

Ramsey, who wins this award for the third year in a row, is a four-year lettermen for the Lions. He has a 3.93 grade point average as a Math Education major. He has been a member of his school’s Dean’s List every semester, as well as a member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He started 23 games this year, averaging 5.8 points per game and five double-figure games. In the community, Ramsey is a student teacher at North Buncombe High School, teaching algebra and calculus. He is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, United Baptist Church Youth Group, and a vacation Bible School volunteer. He is also a member of the Mars Hill Student Athlete Advisory Committee and serves as a counselor at summer basketball camps.

Maples has a 3.99 GPA as an English Education major. She has been named to the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the Tusculum Athletic Directors Honor Roll, the Tusculum Dean’s List and President’s List. Last year she was named the CoSIDA Academic All-District Four team. On the court, Maples is a two-time all-conference selection. This season, she led the Pioneers in scoring at 15.8 points per game, has scored more than 1,000 points in her career and is already the school’s all-time leader in free throw percentage.

She is active in the community and on campus, volunteering for park and road clean-up events and Adopt-A-Family projects. Julie has worked at a Bible and sports camp and has put on health and fitness demonstrations in local elementary schools. She is also vice president of the Tusculum Student Athlete Advisory Committee

The SAC Scholar Athlete Award is presented to one athlete from each of the SAC's 14 sports programs and represents a combination of athletic skill, academic achievement, and participation in community service and leadership roles.

Numerous players were presented with the SAC Senior Participant Award, given to players who are competing in their final season of SAC play, and the Statistical Champion Award, presented to players and teams leading the SAC in various statistical categories at the end of the regular season.

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND AWARD RECIPIENTS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS

The SAC Statistical Champion Award recognizes those individuals and teams that have finished the regular season as SAC leaders in various overall statistical categories. Individual leaders must have participated in 75 percent of the team’s games.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Individual Scoring – Ronald Lewis, Mars Hill, 18.9
Individual Rebounds Per Game – Ryan Pitts, Lenoir-Rhyne, 10.4
Individual Field Goal Percentage – Brad Hawks, Tusculum, 63.3
Individual Assists Per Game – Rashad Price, Lenoir-Rhyne, 5.42
Individual Steals Per Game – Ronald Lewis, Mars Hill, 2.48
Individual 3-Point Field Goal Percentage – Andrew Dellinger, Presbyterian, 54.5
Individual 3-Pointers Per Game – Keenan Dunn, Wingate, 3.04
Individual Blocked Shots Per Game – Bryan Grier, Wingate, 2.33
Individual Free Throw Percentage – Brandon Moses, Newberry, 86.7
Individual Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Mason Glick, Tusculum, 2.10
Team Scoring Offense – Tusculum, 78.8
Team Field Goal Percentage – Tusculum, 50.2
Team Field Goal Percentage Defense – Tusculum, 39.9
Team 3-Point Field Goal Percentage – Carson-Newman, 38.8
Team Assists – Tusculum, 20.19
Team Steals – Mars Hill, 8.67
Team Scoring Defense – Presbyterian, 65.0
Team Rebounding – Wingate, 39.2
Team Free Throw Percentage – Mars Hill, 78.5
Team Blocked Shots – Wingate, 4.37
Team Scoring Margin – Lenoir-Rhyne, +10.6
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Lenoir-Rhyne, 1.22

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Individual Scoring – Crystal Clary, Lenoir-Rhyne, 21.6
Individual Rebounds Per Game – Crystal Clary, Lenoir-Rhyne, 12.7
Individual Field Goal Percentage – Crystal Clary, Lenoir-Rhyne, 66.2
Individual Assists Per Game – Ashley Cox, Catawba, 5.26
Individual Steals Per Game – Crystal Clary, Lenoir-Rhyne, 2.81
Individual Free Throw Percentage – Ashley Cox, Catawba, 85.0
Individual 3-Point Field Goal Percentage – Samantha Dailey, Wingate, 39.3
Individual 3-Pointers Per Game – Laura Banda, Newberry, 2.16
Individual Blocked Shots Per Game – Emily Paffrath, Wingate, 2.82
Individual Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Ashley Cox, Catawba, 1.45
Team Scoring Offense – Mars Hill, 76.9
Team Field Goal Percentage – Mars Hill, 47.4
Team Field Goal Percentage Defense – Mars Hill, 39.0
Team 3-Point Field Goal Percentage – Catawba, 34.4
Team Assists – Mars Hill, 16.85
Team Steals – Tusculum, 11.7
Team Scoring Defense – Lenoir-Rhyne, 67.0
Team Rebounding – Lenoir-Rhyne, 42.5
Team Free Throw Percentage – Mars Hill, 79.9
Team Blocked Shots – Mars Hill, 4.85
Team Scoring Margin – Mars Hill, +8.3
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Catawba, 0.91

2003-04 SAC MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SENIOR AWARD RECIPIENTS