NEW HAVEN - Philadelphia University senior guard Tayron Thomas has been named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year today, as the All-CACC teams were released after a vote by the 12 conference head coaches. Fellow Ram Mike Dunn was voted as the Rookie of the Year, and Goldey-Beacom Head Coach Chuck Hammond was honored as the Coach of the Year. Furthermore, Philadelphia finished first in the balloting for the annual Team Sportsmanship Award.

Thomas leads the CACC and all of Division II in scoring with 29.0 points per-game, while Dunn checks in with an average of 12.6 ppg. on the season. Hammond won Coach of the Year honors after leading the Lightning to a 15-12 overall record to go with a 10-12 conference mark. Goldey-Beacom went 6-21 last year and 5-14 in the CACC and was picked 11th out of 12 teams in the preseason coaches poll.

In addition to Thomas, Bloomfield had two of its standouts earn First Team All-CACC honors in junior guard Andre Dabney and senior guard Daniel Terrell. The first team was rounded out by NJIT junior guard Clayton Barker and Prince Jackson, a junior forward from Dominican. The five players on the first team represent five of the top six scorers in the league.

Caldwell, which enters the CACC Tournament as the second seed, had two players named to the All-CACC second team in sophomore forward Manny Perez and junior guard Jean Georges. Holy Family also had two players earn second team plaudits in senior center Dan Welch and senior guard Ryan Haigh. The Tigers are the third seed in the upcoming CACC Tournament. Philadelphia junior center Christian Burns was the fifth member of the second team.

The All-CACC third team includes Felician senior forward Thomas Johnson, Nyack senior forward Lataiva Escho, Holy Family sophomore guard Ryan Lancaster, Goldey-Beacom senior guard Nate Lewis and Wilmington sophomore forward Taureen Temple. Temple is the second-leading scorer in the conference with an average of 22.5 ppg.

Post senior guard Justin Skipwith, Dominican senior forward Tahiem Stewart and USP junior forward Eric Cangelosi were Honorable Mention picks.

The complete All-CACC team is listed below.

2005-06 All-CACC Men's Basketball Teams

FIRST TEAM

G - Tayron Thomas - PhiladelphiaSr.Bristol, PA

G - Andre Dabney - BloomfieldJr.Plainfield, NJ

G - Daniel Terrell - BloomfieldSr.Sumerdale, NJ

G - Clayton Barker - NJITJr.Passaic, NJ

F - Prince Jackson - DominicanJr.Schenectady, NY

SECOND TEAM

F - Manny Perez - CaldwellSo.Egg Harbor, NJ

C - Christian Burns - PhiladelphiaJr.Hamilton, NJ

G - Ryan Haigh - Holy Family - Sr.Philadelphia, PA

G - Jean Georges - Caldwell - Jr.Vauxhal, NJ

C - Dan Welch - Holy Family - Sr.Philadelphia, PA

THIRD TEAM

F - Thomas Johnson - FelicianSr.Newark, NJ

F - Lataiva Escho - NyackSr.Syracuse, NY

G - Ryan Lancaster - Holy FamilySo.Egg Harbor, NJ

G - Nate Lewis - Goldey-BeacomSr.Gibbstown, NJ

F - Taureen Temple - WilmingtonSo.Newark, DE

Honorable Mention: Justin Skipwith, Sr., G, Post; Eric Cangelosi, Jr., F, USP; Tahiem Stewart, Sr., F, Dominican

Player of the Year: Tayron Thomas, Philadelphia

Rookie of the Year: Mike Dunn, Philadelphia

Coach of the Year: Chuck Hammond, Goldey-Beacom

Team Sportsmanship Award: Philadelphia University