Staten Island, NY – The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced its postseason awards on Friday, with three Seahawks earning major awards.
Head Coach
Bashir Mason was named the Jim Phelan Northeast Conference Coach of the Year, senior
Alex Morales earned the league's Player of the Year award, while freshman
DeLonnie Hunt was named the NEC's Rookie of the Year.
Additionally, Morales and senior
Elijah Ford earned First Team All-NEC honors, while Hunt was named to the All-Rookie Team.
This marks the first time Wagner has ever won NEC Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year in the same season and first time since 2007-2008 that two Seahawks earned First Team All-NEC honors.
The Seahawks have won 12 out of their last 13 games and enter the NEC Tournament as the #1-seed, where they will take on Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at 2:00 pm at the Spiro Sports Center.
Morales becomes the first Seahawk since Jermaine Hall and third Wagner player ever to be named NEC Player of the Year. Hall won the award in 2002-2003, which also marks the last and only time Wagner won the NEC Championship and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Hall, the only other Seahawk to win the award was Terrance Bailey in 1985-1986. Both Hall and Bailey have been inducted into the NEC Hall of Fame.
One of the most versatile guards in the nation, Morales was the only player in the NEC to earn four Player of the Week awards throughout the regular season. The senior finished the season ranking in the Top-10 in the conference in scoring (17.1, fourth), rebounding (7.4, eighth), assists (4.26, fourth), and steals (1.8, seventh).
On January 15, Morales hit the game-winning jumper with three seconds to play, giving Wagner a 76-74 win over LIU and kickstarting the Seahawks' 10-game winning streak. Last week, the senior contributed 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in a win over CCSU, becoming one of just two players nationwide at the time to post at least 20/10/7/4 in a game this season. One night later, Morales set a new career-high with 29 points on 12-20 shooting to go along with nine boards and four steals against the Blue Devils.
Throughout the regular season, Morales has picked up six double-doubles.
Hunt crowns his first regular season on Grymes Hill with the league's Rookie of the Year award and becomes the first Seahawk since Jermaine Hall in 1999-2000 and fourth Wagner player ever to win the top award for newcomers in the NEC.
Earlier this season, Hunt became the first NEC player since LIU's E.J. Reed during the 2012-13 season to earn three straight NEC Rookie of the Week honors.
The athletic freshman leads all NEC Rookies with 10.6 points per game. An impact player from the moment he stepped on campus, Hunt has started every game this season and is eighth among all players in the NEC in minutes played, playing an average of 34.21 minutes per game.
Hunt has scored in double figures 11 times this season, including a career-high 20 points against St. Francis Brooklyn on February 5, while dishing out four or more assists on six occasions this year.
Mason earns the prestigious NEC Coach of the Year honor for the third time in his ninth season as the Seahawks' head coach, leading Wagner to another regular season championship after being picked eighth in the preseason poll. Mason previously won the award in 2015-16 and 2017-18, when he also led the Green and White to regular season titles.
Mason has entered elite territory, becoming just the second coach in the conference's 40-year history to win three Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors, joining NEC Hall of Fame coach Howie Dickenman, who earned the distinction four times in his storied career at CCSU.
Earlier this season, Mason helped the Seahawks re-write the record books, as the Green and White won 10 straight games, marking the longest winning streak by an NEC team since LIU reeled off 13 straight victories during the 2010-11 campaign and longest by a Wagner team since a 16-game streak under PJ Carlesimo in 1978-79.
The dynamic Ford earns a spot on the All-NEC First Team after a dominant season on both ends of the floor. The senior enters the NEC Tournament second in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game while sitting ninth in the circuit with 7.4 rebounds per contest and third in the NEC in steals (1.94).
One of the most efficient scorers in the country, Ford currently ranks 14
th nationally in field goal percentage, converting 59.5% of his shots.
Wagner's semifinal matchup against Mount St. Mary's, scheduled for 2:00 pm on Saturday, will air on ESPN3 and NECFrontRow.
