STANDISH, Maine – The 2019 Maine Men's Basketball Coaches & Writers Association (MMBCWA) postseason accolades have been released and a pair of Saint Joseph's College players have received honors.
Sophomore guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) is the 2019 MMBCWA Player of the Year and a First Team All-State honoree while senior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) has collected Second Team All-State honors.
Casale becomes the first Saint Joseph's player since 1999 (Carl Howell '99) to be selected as the State of Maine Player of the Year after averaging 24.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game this winter. In his first season as a starter, Casale led all Maine NCAA DIII players in scoring average, field goals made (216) and attempted (410), three-pointers made (100) and attempted (221), three-point percentage (45.2%), total points (626) and defensive rebounds per game (8.1). He also ranks second in total rebounds (235), rebounding average and double-doubles (11), fourth in free throw attempts (129), fifth in field goal percentage (52.7%) and assists (98), and sixth in free throws made (94) and assists average.
Casale, who was selected as the MMBCWA Player of the Week five times this winter, is just the second SJC player to net 100 or more three-pointers in a season and the first to score over 600 points since Carl Howell '99 poured in a team-record 769 points during the 1998-99 campaign. Casale's scoring average is the fourth-highest in the 48-year history of the Monks' men's basketball program and he ranks second all-time in three-pointers made, fourth in trifectas attempted, fifth in rebounding average, seventh in points, three-point percentage and total rebounds, 10th in field goals made, and 12th in field goals attempted.
Berry, a 2018 First Team All-State selection, collects Second Team mention after averaging 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists during his final collegiate season. He finished the year ranked second in the State of Maine in scoring average, points, three-point percentage (45.1%), and field goals made (204) and attempted (378), was fourth in field goal percentage (54.0%), and seventh in three-pointers made (69).
Berry, who became the 41st SJC player to reach the 1,000-Point plateau when he netted 21 points in a 104-85 win over eventual GNAC Champion Albertus Magnus College on January 16th, capped his college career with 1,275 points in 89 career games and ranks fifth in team history in three-pointers made (196) and attempted (485), seventh in three-point percentage (40.4%), 16th in field goals made (467), and 20th in points.
Led by 16th-year Head Coach Rob Sanicola '99, Saint Joseph's posted a 19-8 overall record – including a 7-4 mark in conference play – en route to earning the #6 seed in the GNAC Tournament this season. The Monks upset #3 Johnson & Wales 83-80 in a conference quarterfinal on February 19th but suffered a season-ending 91-86 semifinal setback at the hands of seventh-seeded University of Saint Joseph two days later.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
