CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Colgate, the co-regular-season champion and top seed in the upcoming 2019 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championships, claimed three of the four 2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Major Awards when they were announced by the League office on Monday.
Raiders junior forward Rapolas Ivanauskas was named the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and a first-team all-League selection while freshman teammate Tucker Richardson collected rookie of the year honors and one of five spots on the all-rookie team. Matt Langel was named the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding the Raiders to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the League tournament.
Holy Cross senior forward Jehyve Floyd captured Patriot League Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after finishing among the nation’s leaders with 76 blocked shots. Floyd, a two-time all-League honoree, was a second-team selection while earning a spot on the all-defensive team for the second time.
2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year
Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate, Jr., F, Barrington, Ill./Barrington/Brewster Academy (Northwestern)
*Ivanauskas finished among the League leaders averaging 16.3 points (5th) and 8.1 rebounds (3rd) while shooting .517 (187-for-362, 10th) from the field and .438 (39-for-89, 4th) from 3-point range.
*The junior forward finished the regular season with 10 double-doubles, tied for the League lead, placing him among the top-50 in NCAA DI.
*Ivanauskas, a three-time League player of the week, led the Raiders to a single-season program record 21 victories, including 13 in League play and an eight-game, season-ending win streak.
2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross, Sr., F, Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial
*Floyd claims Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season after leading the League and ranking 12th in NCAA DI with 2.45 blocks per game while setting a Holy Cross single-season record with 76 blocks.
*The senior forward helped the Crusaders possess the Patriot League’s best scoring defense, allowing opponents 69.2 points per game.
*Floyd finished eighth in the League with 6.1 rebounds per game while averaging 12.5 points and 3.5 assists. His .679 field goal percentage is second in the League and his .659 career field goal percentage is the best career mark in Patriot League history.
2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Year
Tucker Richardson, Colgate, Fr., G, Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central
*Richardson finished seventh in the League in assists (3.6 apg) and ninth in steals (1.3 spg) while ranking second among all League freshman in scoring (7.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.4 rpg).
*The freshman guard started 28 of 31 games played for the Raiders, helping the team to a single-season program record with 21 wins.
*Richardson made his biggest impact during Patriot League play, averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 18 League games.
2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year
Matt Langel, Colgate, Eighth Season
*Langel was selected as Patriot League Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after guiding Colgate to its first regular-season championship since 1995-96.
*Colgate, under Langel, set a single-season program record with 21 victories, breaking the mark of 19 set last season. The Raiders won their final eight games of the regular season to win a program record 13 League games.
*The Raiders posted the Patriot League’s best scoring margin (+5.2) and rebounding margin (+4.0) while possessing the third-best field goal defense (.432) and 3-point field goal defense (.333) in the League.
2018-19 All-Patriot League Teams
Lehigh and Colgate each finished with a trio of student-athletes on the three All-Patriot League squads. Bucknell had two selections while American, Army West Point, Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland and Navy each had one selection apiece.
Six student-athletes garnered all-League accolades for the second time with three multi-time honorees on the first-team and three on the second-team.
American junior guard Sa’eed Nelson (19.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.4 spg), Bucknell senior guard Kimbal Mackenzie (16.9 ppg, 2.9 apg) and Lehigh senior guard Lance Tejada (14.6 ppg, 3.4 apg, .436 3PT FG%) highlight the All-Patriot League First Team. They are joined by the Patriot League’s leading scorer Loyola Maryland junior guard Andrew Kostecka (21.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.7 spg), a two-time all-defensive team selection, and Ivanauskas.
Boston University junior forward Max Mahoney (16.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .624 FG%), Colgate junior forward Will Rayman (12.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .430 3PT. FG%) and Floyd made the second team, as two-time all-League selections. Bucknell senior forward Nate Sestina (15.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 10 double-doubles), a 2018 Patriot League All-Tournament Team member, and Colgate sophomore guard Jordan Burns (15.7 ppg, 5.7 apg), a 2018 all-rookie selection, round out the second team.
Army West Point junior guard Tommy Funk (12.3 ppg, 6.1 apg) was named to the third team after becoming the ninth player in League history to eclipse 500 career assists. Lafayette sophomore guard Justin Jaworski (14.4 ppg), who finished the regular season second among the NCAA DI leaders in 3-point field goal percentage (.488) both received all-League honors for the first time. Lehigh senior guard Kyle Leufroy (14.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .431 3PT FG%) and junior guard Jordan Cohen (13.1 ppg, 3.7 apg, .495 3PT FG%) join Navy senior guard Hasan Abdullah (10.3 ppg, 4.5 apg, 1.9 spg) to round out the third-team.
Floyd and Kostecka made the all-defensive team for the second time. They are joined by Abdullah, Rayman and Bucknell forward Bruce Moore. Richardson highlights the all-rookie team along with Navy freshman guard John Carter Jr. (8.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg), a five-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week. American freshman guard Jacob Boonyasith (4.7 ppg), Boston University freshman guard Jonas Harper (5.3 ppg, .493 3PT FG%) and Loyola Maryland freshman guard Jaylin Andrews (6.3 ppg) complete the rookie squad.
The Patriot League major awards and all-League teams were voted on by Patriot League men’s basketball head coaches, who could not vote for their own student-athletes or themselves.
2018-19 Men’s Basketball All-Patriot League Team and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate (Jr., F)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Sr., F)
Rookie of the Year: Tucker Richardson, Colgate (Fr., G)
Coach of the Year: Matt Langel, Colgate
First-Team All-Patriot League
Sa’eed Nelson, American (Jr., G)
Kimbal Mackenzie, Bucknell (Sr., G)
Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate (Jr., F)
Lance Tejada, Lehigh (Sr., G)
Andrew Kostecka, Loyola Maryland (Jr., G)
Second-Team All-Patriot League
Max Mahoney, Boston University (Jr., F)
Nate Sestina, Bucknell (Sr., F)
Jordan Burns, Colgate (So., G)
Will Rayman, Colgate (Jr., F)
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Sr., F)
Third-Team All-Patriot League
Tommy Funk, Army West Point (Jr., G)
Justin Jaworski, Lafayette, (So., G)
Jordan Cohen, Lehigh (Jr., G)
Kyle Leufroy, Lehigh (Sr., G)
Hasan Abdullah, Navy (Sr., G)
All-Defensive Team
Bruce Moore, Bucknell (Jr., F)
Will Rayman, Colgate (Jr., F)
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Sr., F)
Andrew Kostecka, Loyola Maryland (Jr., G)
Hasan Abdullah, Navy (Sr., G)
All-Rookie Team
Jacob Boonyasith, American (Fr., G)
Jonas Harper, Boston University (Fr., G)
Tucker Richardson, Colgate (Fr., G)
Jaylin Andrews, Loyola Maryland (Fr., G)
John Carter Jr., Navy (Fr., G)
The 2018-19 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Tournament begins with first-round action on Tuesday, March 5. No. 7 Lafayette hosts No. 10 Holy Cross at Kirby Sports Center with live coverage on the
Patriot League Network (PLN) and Lafayette Sports Network beginning at 7 p.m. No. 8 Boston University also hosts No. 9 Loyola Maryland on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Reitz Arena with live coverage on the
PLN.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.