STANDISH, ME – The 2011 GNAC Men's Basketball All Conference teams have been announced and two Saint Joseph's College players have garnered honors.
Junior guard Zach O'Brien (Schenectady, NY/Bishop Gibbons) has been selected as a First Team All-GNAC honoree and senior guard Tyler Kelley (Saco, ME/Thornton Academy) is listed on the Second Team.
Junior swingman Tom Ray (Cape Elizabeth, ME) has also been honored as the Monks' 2011 GNAC All-Sportsmanship team representative by a vote of his teammates.
O'Brien, a Second Team selection last winter, paces the Royal Blue in scoring (17.1 PPG), rebounding (4.8 RPG), assists (4.4 APG) and field goal percentage (49.7%, 173-348) through 26 contests. His current point total (445) is the most in a season by an SJC player since Chad Pulkkinen '07 recorded 505 points in 30 games during the 2006-07 campaign.
The junior guard became the 34th member of the Monks' 1,000-point club in a win over Rivier College on February 15th. O'Brien is just the 12th player in team history to reach the milestone during his junior season.
O'Brien is the second SJC Men's Basketball player to gain First Team All-GNAC honors. Ray Eatmon '10 collected the same honor following the 2008-09 campaign. Saint Joseph's joined the Great Northeast Athletic Conference prior to the 2007-08 season.
Kelley has now earned Second Team honors for the second consecutive season and is averaging 15.3 points per game during his senior campaign. He currently leads the conference in three-point success (46.3%, 82-177) and trifectas made (82) and is the Monks' all-time leader with a 44.6% (197-442) success rate from downtown.
The senior sharpshooter also ranks second in team history in threes made (197) and is 15 treys shy of tying the program's single-season mark for three-pointers made in a season. Kelley also became the 33rd member of the SJC 1,000-point club in a win over Emmanuel College on January 31st.
As of February 21st, Kelley ranked 14th in all of NCAA DIII Men's Basketball in three-point field goal percentage and 21st in the country in three pointers made per game (3.1).
Saint Joseph's (19-7, 15-3 GNAC), the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament, will host #4 Norwich University in a 7:00 PM semifinal tilt at the Alfond Center this evening. The Royal Blue topped #8 Mount Ida College, 82-71, in a conference quarterfinal at home on Tuesday.
