NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 24, 2017) -- Wilmington University men's basketball standout Tyaire Ponzo-Meek on Friday was named the 2016-17 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. In addition to being named the league's top player, Ponzo-Meek also garnered a spot on the All-CACC First Team. The voting for the all-conference teams and major award winners was conducted by the league's 14 head coaches in the sport of men's basketball.

Joining Ponzo-Meek as major award winners were Philadelphia University's Kylan Guerra (2016-17 CACC Rookie of the Year), University of the Sciences' Flo Da-Silva (2016-17 CACC Defensive Player of the Year), Wilmington's Dan Burke (2016-17 BSN Sports CACC Coach of the Year) and Georgian Court University (2016-17 CACC Team Sportsmanship Award).

Ponzo-Meek has had a fantastic season in 2016-17, as he helped guide the Wildcats to a 19-9 overall record and a 14-5 mark in CACC play, which was good enough for second place in the South Division standings. The Wildcats will play host to North No. 3 seed Caldwell University in the CACC Championship quarterfinals on Saturday in New Castle, Del.

He averaged 19.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while also shooting 45 percent from the floor. Ponzo-Meek ranked third in the league in scoring and was in the top-10 in six other categories, including field goals made (3rd, 186), free throws made (3rd, 127), minutes played (4th, 1031), minutes per game (6th, 36.8), steals (6th, 48) and assist-to-turnover ratio (8th, 2.0).

Ponzo-Meek scored in double-figures in each game this season, including topping 20 points 14 times. He went for at least 30 points in a pair of games, including 30 in an 82-73 win over Felician University on Jan. 4, and a season-high 31 in a 97-84 triumph over Nyack College on Feb. 4. In the win over the Warriors, he shot a blistering 11-of-12 from the field (92%), including a 4-of-5 effort (80%) from beyond the arc.

Guerra was named the league's top rookie following a strong collegiate debut during the regular season, as he helped guide PhilaU to the 2016-17 CACC South Division Championship. He posted averages of 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Guerra ranked 17th in the CACC in free throws made with 79, and was 12th in the league with 28 steals in conference games-only. He went for over 20 points in five games, including a streak of three straight from Jan. 7-12, in wins over Felician, Post University and Holy Family University. Guerra's season-high was a 25-point effort in a victory over Assumption on Dec. 18.

Da-Silva served as a vital cog for USciences, as the Devils rebounded from a slow start to finish the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league. The junior missed eight games in late-November and early-December, as USciences went 1-7 in those contests and were 2-10 overall after 12 dates. Once he returned, however, the Devils roared back by winning 11 of their final 15 contests to lock up a spot in the CACC quarterfinals. In only 19 games played, Da-Silva ranked second in the conference with 52 steals, including 39 in conference play. He averaged 5.1 rebounds per game and helped forge a defensive effort by USciences, as it limited the opposition to 60 points or less in seven contests after his return from injury.

Burke was named the league's coach of the year after he led WilmU to a strong second-place finish and high asipirations entering the CACC Tournament. Wilmington's strong showing in the regular season came just two years after the Wildcats put on a memorable run to the CACC Championship Final before coming up just short to Philadelphia. That post-season experience, combined with this year's strong showing in the regular season, gives WilmU tremendous confidence heading into the playoffs.

Georgian Court won the team sportsmanship award for demonstrating outstanding character and commitment throughout the season under first-year head coach Terrence Stewart.

Joining Ponzo-Meek on the All-CACC First Team were Nick Davidson (Bloomfield College), Dyllon Hudson-Emory (Holy Family), Gerrel Irvin (Dominican College) and Kaison Randolph (PhilaU).

Five standouts were placed on the All-CACC Second Team and featured Tyler Desrosiers (Post), Will Gregorits (USciences), Jalen Heath (Concordia College), Nick Richards (WilmU) and Terrell Spaulding (Felician).

The All-CACC Third Team also featured five impressive players from the year, including Jordan DeCicco (PhilaU), Marcus Fleming (Bloomfield) Jon McGill (USciences), Parris Ridgeway-Higgs (Goldey-Beacom College) and Riyan Williams (Goldey-Beacom).

All of the award winners will be recognized at the CACC Basketball Championship Banquet next Friday in New Jersey, as the event is held on the eve of championship weekend with the men's and women's semifinals on Saturday, followed by both championship finals on Sunday. Caldwell University will serve as the host school for the semifinals and finals next weekend.

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (Wilmington University)

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Kylan Guerra (Philadelphia University)

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Flo Da-Silva (University of the Sciences)

2016-17 BSN SPORTS CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Burke (Wilmington University)

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Georgian Court University

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Nick Davidson (Bloomfield College)
Dyllon Hudson-Emory (Holy Family University)
Gerrel Irvin (Dominican College)
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (Wilmington University)
Kaison Randolph (Philadelphia University)

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Tyler Desrosiers (Post University)
Will Gregorits (University of the Sciences)
Jalen Heath (Concordia College)
Nick Richards (Wilmington University)
Terrell Spaulding (Felician University)

2016-17 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
Jordan DeCicco (Philadelphia University)
Marcus Fleming (Bloomfield College)
Jon McGill (University of the Sciences)
Parris Ridgeway-Higgs (Goldey-Beacom College)
Riyan Williams (Goldey-Beacom College)

ABOUT THE CACC
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.