Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University men's basketball standout Clayton Black, class of 2012 from Lancaster, Ohio, has earned first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors from both d3hoops.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Black was a third-team all-region honoree by d3hoops.com and a second-team all-region selection by the NABC a year ago. He is now eligible for the All-America teams to be announced by both organizations in the near future.
Black emerged as one of the top players in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) a year ago, and he followed that up with a second straight first-team all-conference performance in 2011-12. He topped the Tigers for the second year in a row in scoring (14.0 points per game), and he was the team leader in rebounds with 6.7 per contest after ranking second on the squad a year ago.
Black also ranked among the team leaders with a .530 shooting percentage from the field and a .733 free throw percentage, and he paced the Tigers by a wide margin in blocked shots for a second straight year with 36.
Black capped his career with 1,172 points, good for 18th in program history. His 38-point performance in a 71-63 victory over Kenyon on Jan. 11 was the best for a Wittenberg player since Rod Emmons in 2003 and tied for the ninth-highest in program history. He also finished with 550 career rebounds.
A philosophy major, Black earned third-team Capital One Academic All-District and NABC Honors Court honors in 2011. In addition to his exploits on the basketball court and in the classroom, Black is a leader in a variety of extracurricular activities, including the student-run radio station, WUSO 89.1-FM, and Wittenberg's caving club. He previously served as the editor of the caving club's scientific journal Pholeos.
The Tigers won their 11th NCAC regular season title in 23 years in the league with a 14-2 record. After a loss to Denison in the NCAC Tournament semifinals, the Tigers made the most of an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament, advancing to the national quarterfinals before losing to Illinois Wesleyan. Wittenberg finished the season with a 24-7 overall record.
Written By: Ryan Maurer