NEWARK, Del. - - Coming off one of the best careers in Wilmington University men's basketball program history, former player Tyaire Ponzo-Meek will extend his game to the professional ranks, signing a contract to play for the Ascherleben Tigers in Aschersleben, Germany.
The Tigers are a member of the Regionalliga North Division, the fourth tier of the German basketball league system. Last season, the Tigers went 12-6 and finished third in the North Division. Aschersleben is located just over two hours southwest of Berlin in the northeast portion of Germany.
The 2017-2018 season is set to begin on September 23 when Ponzo-Meek and the Tigers take on Weser Baskets Bremen/BTS Neustadt.
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.
Ponzo-Meek was signed in Germany through his signing agency Cro Pro Basketball Agency for player representation and SIMS Basketball Placement Agency.
A direct link to the Ascherleben Tigers homepage: http://asl-tigers.de/