Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University men's basketball standouts Clayton Black, class of 2012 from Lancaster, Ohio, Alex Brandt, class of 2012 from Lewis Center, Ohio, Michael Duffy, class of 2012 from Lewis Center, Ohio, Sam Gardner, class of 2012 from Noblesville, Ind., and Jacob Weide, class of 2012 from Fort Wayne, Ind., have been named to the 2010-11 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court in recognition of their athletic and academic accomplishments.
To qualify for inclusion on the NABC Honors Court list, a student-athlete must be either a junior or senior and a member of the varsity team while maintaining a 3.2 grade point average or better.
Black emerged as one of the top players in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2010-11, earning first-team all-conference for a second straight year and third-team All-Great Lakes Region honors. He topped the Tigers with 15.2 points per game and 28 blocked shots, and he ranked second on the squad with 5.4 rebounds per outing. He finished the season ranked seventh in the conference in scoring, 16th in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage and fourth in blocked shots per game.
Brandt enjoyed a breakout season in 2010-11, ranking among the best in the NCAC by shooting 61.9 percent from the field. He finished the season ranked fourth on the team with 8.1 points per game to go along with a team-best 6.0 rebounds per outing. More than half of his rebounds were at the offensive end.
Weide saw extensive action off the bench in 2010-11, finishing with averages of 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds while appearing in all 29 games. Duffy appeared in 19 games and Gardner appeared in 11 during the 2010-11 season.
The Tigers finished second in the 2010-11 NCAC regular season title chase with a 12-3 record before advancing to the NCAC Tournament title game for a second straight year. After a loss to Wooster, the Tigers were given new life with an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament, in which they advanced to the second round before losing on a last-second shot to host Marietta. Wittenberg finished the season with a 20-9 overall record.
Wittenberg is scheduled to open the 2011-12 season with home games against Indiana University-East on Tuesday, Nov. 15, and Capital University on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Preseason training camp opens with a Fall Break trip to Canada, where the Tigers will play three games in four days while traveling through Ontario.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
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