KNOX AND PEREZ SELECTED TO PLAY IN NABC/NCAA DIVISION II ALL-STAR GAME
NEW HAVEN, CT (March 20, 2009) - Seniors Omari Knox of Bloomfield College and Manny Perez of Caldwell College have been selected to play in the 2009 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/NCAA Division II All-Star game, the NCAA announced. The duo are two of 20 players representing all eight regions to be invited to play in the game, which will be played on Friday, Mar. 27 in Springfield, Mass., as a part of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament. The NCAA Division II national championship will be played the next day.
This is the fourth consecutive season that student-athletes from Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) institutions have been selected to play in the game. Last year, Holy Family University guard Michael Sturns played in the game. Philadelphia center Christian Burns and Bloomfield guard Andre Dabney played in 2007 and Philadelphia guard Tayron Thomas participated in the inaugural game in 2006.
Knox, a 6-2 guard from Brooklyn, NY, led the Deacons to a 15-1 conference record and a CACC North Division regular-season championship this season. Bloomfield then advanced to the CACC Tournament championship game. For his efforts, Knox was named the CACC Player of the Year and was also a first team All-Conference selection. Knox finished the season ranked second in the conference in scoring with 18.8 points per-game and he was first in three-point field goals made with 91 (3.03 per-game). Furthermore, he stood 11th in free-throw shooting (.718) and ninth in steals (1.63).
Perez, a 6-foot-7 forward from Egg Harbor Twp., NJ, averaged a team-leading 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per-game this season en route to earning first team All-CACC and second team Daktronics All-East Region honors. He led the conference in field goal percentage (.577) while ranking second in scoring and fourth in rebounding.
The invitation to the NABC/NCAA All-Star Game is the exclamation mark on an outstanding career for Perez, who scored 1,859 career points to rank second all-time at Caldwell. He also holds the school record for most free throws made (567) while ranking third in field goals (639) and fifth in blocks (60) on the Cougars' career lists. A four-time All-CACC performer, Perez was the CACC Newcomer of the Year in 2005.