KANSAS CITY, Mo. - - The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has announced the 2017 NABC Coaches' Division II All-District Teams and Coaches, and Wilmington University's Tyaire Ponzo-Meek has added another accolade to his outstanding senior season.
Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division II, 88 total student-athletes represent two teams for each region. Ponzo-Meek (Wilmington, Del/Howard) earned First Team All-East Region by the region's head coaches.
Ponzo-Meek already struck the record books by becoming the first two-time First Team All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference performer in program history while also becoming the first men's basketball student-athlete to be named the CACC Player of the Year. He also became the program's first ever All-Region selection earlier this month when he was named First Team D2CCA All-East Region in a vote of the region's sports information directors.
The senior led the Wildcats to a program best 19-10 overall record, going 14-5 in the CACC. They earned the South Division's number two seed for the CACC Tournament, hosting their first ever playoff game at the WU Athletics Complex.
Ponzo-Meek led the Wildcats and was third in the CACC in scoring 20.1 points per game, finishing his career by scoring 10 or more points in 63 consecutive games. He was also third in the league in made free throws (136) and fourth in made field goals (195). He played the sixth most minutes per game (36.9) and had the eighth best assists to turnover ratio (1.9). Defensively, he was fifth in the CACC with 51 steals while also ranking 23rd in rebounds with 5.4 per game from his guard position.
For his career, Ponzo-Meek will leave the men's basketball program as the all-time leader in points scored (1,808) and steals (174) while also finishing second in rebounds (533) and assist (336). He scored 30 points in his final game, a feat he accomplished three times as a senior and six times as a junior.
Southern New Hampshire's Devin Gilligan, Saint Anselm's Tim Guers, Southern Connecticut State's Michael Mallory, Molloy's Charlie Marquardt, and St. Thomas Aquinas's Justin Reyes join Ponzo-Meek on the First Team. Saint Rose's head coach Brian Beaury was named the region's Coach of the Year.
AGATE:
2017 NABC Coaches' Division II All-District Teams and Coaches:
East First Team
Devin Gilligan, Southern New Hampshire
Tim Guers, Saint Anselm
Michael Mallory, Southern Connecticut State
Charlie Marquardt, Molloy
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek, Wilmington
Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas
East Second Team
Matt Bonds, Saint Michael's
Nick Davidson, Bloomfield
Ryan Logan, Stonehill
Ryan Richmond, Bentley
Chris Walters, Southern New Hampshire
Coach of the Year: Brian Beaury, St. Rose