NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 26, 2016) -- Philadelphia University senior forward Peter Alexis on Friday was named the 2015-16 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara.

The announcement of Alexis' major honor was the highlight of the day that also saw Mara announce the 2015-16 All-CACC Men's Basketball Teams, along with other major year-end awards. All the voting for the awards and all-conference teams was handled by the league's 14 head coaches in the sport.

Joining Alexis as major-award winners were Concordia College's Stephen Milhaven (CACC Rookie of the Year), Holy Family University's Derrick Stewart (CACC Defensive Player of the Year)and Holy Family head coach R.C. Kehoe, who was named the BSN Sports CACC Coach of the Year.

The player-of-the-year accolade for Alexis is the first major award of his highly-decorated career. He was also named to the All-CACC First-Team on Friday, as it marked all four years at the school that Alexis was placed on one of the three all-conference teams. He earned second-team honors a season ago, while also collecting first-team status as a sophomore during the 2013-14 campaign. Alexis was also placed on the third-team during the 2012-13 season.

Alexis was named the league's top player after he averaged 19.4 points per game during the regular season on a 62-percent shooting clip. He nearly averaged a double-double for the regular season by collecting 9.1 rebounds an outing. He led the CACC in field goal percentage, while ranking second in total points (543), offensive rebounds (114) and blocks (65).

Alexis' scoring average was the third-best mark in the conference. He topped 20 points in 13 games, including netting a season-high 28 points versus Assumption on Dec. 20. He was named the league's player of the week a conference-high five times this season, including this past week (Feb. 22).

Alexis' success has not been limited to the court, as he also is a standout in the classroom. He was named a CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American last season, while following that up with First-Team Academic All-District I status this year. By being named to this year's all-district team, Alexis is now a candidate to once again land on one of the prestigious Academic All-America teams.

Milhaven was named the CACC Rookie of the Year after producing averages of 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He was named the CACC Rookie of the Week four times. Milhaven ranked among the league leaders in rebounding, as his average was ninth best in the CACC. His defensive rebound total (148) was seventh most and his overall rebounding total (208) was eighth highest.

Stewart garnered Holy Family's second-consecutive CACC Defensive Player-of-the-Year award following his strong defensive work all season long, as the Tigers ranked among the league's and Division II's stingiest teams. He led the CACC in rebounding (10.6 rpg), total rebounds (297) and defensive rebounds (201). Stewart also ranked fifth in blocks (45) and 13th in steals (38). 

Stewart, along with his teammates, benefitted from the strong leadership of Kehoe during the season, as he was named the league's coach of the year after guiding the Tigers to the CACC North Division Regular Season Championship. Holy Family concluded the regular season with a 23-5 overall record and a 17-2 mark in the conference. The CACC record enabled the Tigers to capture the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming CACC Championship Tournament, which will begin this Saturday with the quarterfinals. Holy Family is also ranked second in the latest NCAA Division II East Region Rankings.

The other major award announced on Friday was the 2015-16 CACC Men's Basketball Team Sportsmanship Award, which was given to the University of the Sciences for the second-straight year. Head Coach David Pauley and his staff have led a strong program on the court over the past several years, but the team has also demonstrated outstanding character and leadership during the heat of competition at the various venues throughout the CACC.

The 2015-16 All-CACC Men's Basketball Teams featured a variety of schools and outstanding student-athletes. Joining Alexis on the first-team was Bloomfield College's Claude Blue, Holy Family's Reggie Charles, USciences' Sho Da-Silva and Wilmington University's Tyaire Ponzo-Meek.

The All-CACC Second-Team featured Peter Aguilar (Concordia), Nick Davidson (Bloomfield),Tyler Desrosiers (Post University), Luke Dickson (Chestnut Hill College) and TJ Huggins(Philadelphia).

In addition to his defensive player-of-the-year accolade, Stewart also garnered a spot on the All-CACC Third-Team. The other four honorees to make the unit were Isaiah Gans (Holy Family),Jalen Heath (Concordia College), Wes Kerr (USciences) and Kaison Randolph (Philadelphia).

The 2016 CACC Men's Basketball Championship begins this Saturday with the quarterfinals at the sites of the highest seeds. Saturday's four winners will advance to CACC Championship Weekend next Thursday-Saturday at Dominican College in Orangeburg, N.Y. The winner of the CACC Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Regional, which will be held the following weekend at a site to be determined.

For more information on the CACC Tournament and a preview of Saturday's contests, please clickHERE. Fans can also follow the tournament through the official online bracket by clicking HERE.

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Peter Alexis (Philadelphia University)

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Stephen Milhaven (Concordia College) 

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Derrick Stewart (Holy Family University)

2015-16 BSN CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
R.C. Kehoe (Holy Family University) 

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
University of the Sciences 

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST-TEAM
Peter Alexis (Philadelphia University)
Claude Blue (Bloomfield College)
Reggie Charles (Holy Family University)
Sho Da-Silva (University of the Sciences)
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (Wilmington University)

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND-TEAM
Peter Aguilar (Concordia College)
Nick Davidson (Bloomfield College)
Tyler Desrosiers (Post University)
Luke Dickson (Chestnut Hill College)
TJ Huggins (Philadelphia University)

2015-16 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD-TEAM
Isaiah Gans (Holy Family University)
Jalen Heath (Concordia College)
Wes Kerr (University of the Sciences)
Kaison Randolph (Philadelphia University)
Derrick Stewart (Holy Family University)