BOSTON – The University of Vermont men's basketball team had three earn America East Major Awards winners and four All-League honors. The conference announced its year-end award winners and All-Conference Teams on Friday afternoon.
RELATED LINKS
America East: Release | Award Listing
Tournament: Playoff Central
The Catamounts won three of the five major wards – Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach
John Becker was named Coach of the Year,
Ryan Davis repeated as Player of the Year, and
Aaron Deloney was chosen as the league's Sixth Man of the Year.
Becker guided Vermont to a 25-5 overall record, including a 17-1 mark in conference play. The Catamounts clinched the America East Regular Season Title by six games over second-place UMBC, which is the largest margin in league history. Vermont's 17 conference wins are the most in program history, and tied for the most in the league's history. Becker is the league's all-time leader with six Coach of the Year honors. The UVM bench boss became the third head coach in program history to reach 250 wins at Vermont. Becker and his staff guided the Catamounts to a league-best 79.2 points per game and an average scoring margin of 16.7 points per game against conference foes.
Davis is the fifth Catamount to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors, winning the award for the 14th time in program history. The senior extends Vermont's streak to six-straight Player of the Year awards, which is the longest active streak in the country. UVM is also the fourth team in NCAA history to collect at least six consecutive Player of the Year awards. Davis led the Catamounts with a 17.2 scoring average in 26 games played. The 6-8 forward averaged 17.5 points per game in league play, shooting a conference-best 66.0% from the field. Davis' season-long field goal percentage of 57.9% ranks No. 15 in the country.
Deloney is the fourth Vermont student-athlete to be named Sixth Man of the Year. Davis last earned the honor in 2020. Deloney averaged 9.7 points per game off the bench in league play, which ranked No. 3 on the Catamounts' scoring list. The junior converted on 52.7% of his field goal attempts and shot 39.7% from long range in league play. Deloney dropped a career-high 24 points against NJIT on Feb. 2, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the field.
Ben Shungu joins Davis on the league's All-Conference First Team. The graduate student was also named to the All-Defensive Team. Shungu ranked No. 3 in conference scoring (17.4) and was a league-best 51.3% from deep. Defensively, Shungu ranked No. 7 in league play with 1.3 steals per game.
Isaiah Powell was named to the All-Conference Third Team, receiving the honor for the first time in his career. The senior averaged 8.7 points per game on the season, and posted 3.6 assists per game in league play.
The top-seeded Catamounts will host No. 8 NJIT in the America East Quarterfinals on Sunday (Mar. 6) at Patrick Gym. The opening tip is slated for 2 p.m. Phone orders will not be taken until all in-person customers have been assisted. Tickets are available for purchase at
UVMathletics.com/Tickets.
TICKET PRICES
Courtside: $30
Padded Reserve: $20
Reserved: $16
Reserved Youth (12 and under): $10
UVM Students: Free
Sunday's game will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. Fans can listen for free on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield on The Game, which will air on 97.1 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 960 AM around the rest of the region. The radio broadcast is also available via the
Varsity Network App with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's basketball
