MANSFIELD, Mass. – Tray Alexander becomes the first Pace student-athlete to ever be named Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as the league office announced All-Conference honors on Tuesday afternoon.
Adelphi, the NE10 regular season champion, earned a pair of major awards as Jarnel Rancy was named Defensive Player of the Year and Dave Duke was chosen by his peers as Coach of the Year. Saint Anselm's Erik Oliver-Bush was selected as Rookie of the Year.
Adelphi and Pace each had a league-high four selections on the All-Conference and All-Defensive Teams, while Assumption, Bentley, Southern Connecticut and Southern New Hampshire all had three. Adelphi and Southern Connecticut both had two players named to the First Team All-Conference.
Alexander has averaged 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 3.0 steals per game this season for No. 22 Pace, which includes 12 double-doubles. He ranks second in all of Division II in assists (257), assists per game (8.9), steals (87) and steals per game (3.0). In other categories among NE10 players, he ranks eighth in scoring, eighth in field goal percentage, third in free throw percentage and second in minutes played. Alexander was also named to First Team All-Conference and the All-Defensive Team.
Rancy was a big contributor to No. 18 Adelphi's defensive efforts this season, as he led all Division II players in blocks (116) and blocks per game (3.6). A senior forward that stands 6-foot-8, Rancy is the first Adelphi player to win NE10 Defensive Player of the Year and he is currently tied with Saint Michael's Michel Bonebo for the all-time single season blocks record in league history. He was named to Second Team All-Conference and the All-Defensive Team.
Oliver-Bush started in every game this season for Saint Anselm and ranks in the top 25 of NE10 players with 11.3 points per game, which came on 49.2% shooting from the field. He scored double-digits in 18 games this season for the Hawks and was a three-time selection as NE10 Rookie of the Week. Oliver-Bush is the first Saint Anselm player since Tim Guers in 2016 to win the award and was also named to the All-Rookie Team.
In a historic season for Adelphi, Dave Duke made history himself - becoming the first Panthers' coach to ever win NE10 Coach of the Year after leading the program to its first regular season championship since 2012. Currently ranked No. 18 in the NABC Division II poll, Adelphi is 26-6 under Duke - which included a 12-game winning streak from Dec. 1 to Jan. 14. Adelphi is the top seed in the NE10 Championship and was ranked second in the latest NCAA Division II East Region rankings.
The NE10 Men's Basketball Championship semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday night, as top-seeded Adelphi plays Pace and Southern New Hampshire hosts Bentley. Please visit Championship Central for more information. The games will be broadcast live on NE10 NOW on FloSports.
Player of the Year: Tray Alexander, Pace
Defensive Player of the Year: Jarnel Rancy, Adelphi
Rookie of the Year: Erik Oliver-Bush, Saint Anselm
Coach of the Year: Dave Duke, Adelphi
FIRST TEAM
Andres Fulgencio, Adelphi
Dayshaun Walton, Adelphi
Cash McClure, Bentley
Tray Alexander, Pace
Antonio Chandler, SCSU
Albert Vargas, SCSU
Kurtis Henderson, SNHU
SECOND TEAM
Jarnel Rancy, Adelphi
Daouda Dembele, Assumption
Cooper Farrall, Bentley
Jah’Likai King, New Haven
Paul Greene, SNHU
THIRD TEAM
Justice Ellison, AIC
Njavan Stewart, Assumption
Aaron Latham, Bentley
Trey Boyd III, Pace
Sean McCarthy, Saint Anselm
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Jarnel Rancy, Adelphi
Daouda Dembele, Assumption
Tray Alexander, Pace
Jabari Nurse, Pace
Cherif Diara, SCSU
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Leonard Tangishaka, Assumption
Najimi George, New Haven
Erik Oliver-Bush, Saint Anselm
Rico Byrd, Saint Michael’s
Christian McClease, SCSU
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season. The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.