The South Atlantic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Annual Awards (Video)

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Carson-Newman guard Charles Clark was voted the 2016-17 South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while Newberry's Marshall Lange was voted the Conference's Freshman of the Year.  In addition, Lincoln Memorial mentor Josh Schertz was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.

Clark, a junior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., finished the regular season averaging 22.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.  His 22.5 points per game were No. 1 in the Conference and his 47.5 3-point percentage netted him the fifth spot in the League.  Nationally, Clark ranks No. 1 in D-II with three triple-doubles this season, No. 20 with 22.5 points per game and his 629 total points good for tops in the SAC and No. 13 in the country.  Clark finished up his season with 33 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds against Brevard and 54 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds vs. Coker.  His 54 points against the Cobras set the SAC single-game scoring record as he became the only player in D-II to earn the United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week twice this season.  Clark received five first-place votes and finished with 188 points from the panel.

Lange, a guard from High Point, N.C., averaged 12.9 points, 1.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game this season.  He recorded 32 steals this season to rank No. 16 Conference.  Lange put up a 46.6 field goal percentage on the year to go along with shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc.  Lange's biggest night came in a win against Mars Hill where he scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Wolves to an 83-79 victory. Lange received six first-place votes from the coaches to finish with 45 points in the voting.

Schertz became the first-ever South Atlantic Conference men's basketball coach to lead his team to five-straight South Atlantic Conference Championships after claiming the 2016-17 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Title.  His team finished with a Conference record of 19-3 with the help of a 14-game League winning streak to close out the season.  With an overall record of 24-3, Schertz's team is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 1 in the Southeast Region.  The Railsplitters finished the regular season averaging 93.3 points per game which was No. 2 among the League and No. 5 nationally.  His team also finished as the top three-point shooting team again this year with a 40.9 percent stroke from beyond the arc.  The Railsplitters closed out the 2016-17 campaign ranked No. 1 in the League with rebounds per game with an average of 43.4 and finished fifth in the country with 1,215 total rebounds.  Lincoln Memorial is currently No. 4 in the nation in scoring margin as he led his Railsplitters to defeat their opponents by an average of 19.8 points per game.  Schertz received four first-place votes to finish with 36 points in the voting.

Lincoln Memorial put a pair of student-athletes on the first team with Chris Perry and Luquon Choice representing the Railsplitters.  Jalin Alexander of Queens, Wingate's Mike Baez, and Randall Shaw of Anderson all joined Clark as the first-team honorees.

2016-17 South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball All-Conference Agate

Second Team
Sawyer Williams, Carson-Newman
Jameel Taylor, Catawba
Todd Withers, Queens
Dorian Pinson, Lincoln Memorial
KJ Arrington, Catawba
Josh Dominguez, Wingate

Honorable Mention
Daniel Camps, Queens
Kendall Patterson, Tusculum
Mike Davis, Queens
Jerrin Morrison, Catawba
Keith Griffin, Wingate
Darrion Evans, Lenoir-Rhyne

All-Freshman
Marshall Lange, Newberry
Cornelius Taylor, Lincoln Memorial
Carlos Dotson, Anderson
Daniel Carr, Queens
Justin Hartfield, Mars Hill

Player of the Year
Charles Clark, Carson-Newman

Freshman of the Year
Marshall Lange, Newberry

Coach of the Year
Josh Schertz, Lincoln Memorial

Statistical Champions
Points Per Game – Charles Clark, Carson-Newman, 22.5
Three Pointers Per Game – Luquon Choice, Lincoln Memorial, 4.04
Rebounds Per Game – Shaun Jones, Carson-Newman, 9.6
Blocked Shots Per Game – Keith Griffin, Wingate, 2.65
Field Goal Percentage – Chris Perry, Lincoln Memorial, 68.0
Assists Per Game – Kendall Patterson, Tusculum, 5.1
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Valentine Bauer, Mars Hill, 2.87
Steals Per Game – Gerald Evans, Newberry, 2.57
Three Point Field Goal Percentage - Luquon Choice, Lincoln Memorial, 48.7
Free Throw Percentage – Ronnie Baylark, Tusculum, 85.1
Team Scoring Offense – Newberry, 94.0
Team Steals - Newberry, 367
Team Field Goal Percentage – Lincoln Memorial, 52.1
Team FG Percentage Defense - Lincoln Memorial, 39.9
Team Assists – Lincoln Memorial, 488
Team Rebounding - Lincoln Memorial, 1,215
Team Blocked Shots – Wingate, 151
Team Three Point FG Percentage - Lincoln Memorial, 40.9
Team Scoring Defense – Queens, 73.7
Team Free Throw Percentage – Wingate, 75.6
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - Lincoln Memorial, 1.41