Tuesday, March 5, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – After leading Northwest Nazarene to one of the best seasons in program history, Northwest Nazarene junior guard Adonis Arms leads the selections to the 2018-19 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team.

The transfer from Mesa Community College in Arizona was selected by the conference’s coaches as both the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Arms helped lead the Nighthawks to a third-place regular season finish and just their second GNAC Championships berth.

Arms’ dynamic scoring ability and passionate style of play took the conference by storm. He leads the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game and is second with two steals per contest (51 total). He is also eighth in the GNAC with a .560 field goal percentage. A double-digit scorer in all 26 games, Arms netted a season-high 32 points at Seattle Pacific on Nov. 29.

Saint Martin’s saw its regular-season championship season rewarded with the selection of Alex Pribble as GNAC Coach of the Year and senior guard/forward Jordan Kitchen as the Defensive Player of the Year.

In four seasons at the helm, Pribble has coached the Saints to four winning seasons and three GNAC Championships appearances. In 2018-19, Pribble has led SMU to a 24-4 record and a 17-3 GNAC record, the best in the Saints’ Division II history. The No. 1 ranked team in the West Region entering last week’s games, the Saints have excelled as a defensive-minded team. Saint Martin’s ranks second in the GNAC in scoring defense, allowing 68.1 points per game, leads the league in three-point defense (.319) and is second in steals (7.5 per game).

Kitchen was the unanimous choice for Defensive Player of the Year. The senior enters the GNAC Championships ranked fourth in the GNAC with blocked shot per game while also averaging 1.1 steals and 5.4 rebounds per game. Kitchen pulled down double-digit rebounds three times, topped by 14 boards against Montana State Billings on Feb. 23, and had four blocks against Evergreen State on Dec. 7.

Montana State Billings forward Brendan Howard was a near-unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year. The Yellowjackets’ leading scorer, Howard is fifth in the GNAC with 15.6 points per game while also averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. Playing in all 28 games this season, primarily in a sixth-man role, Howard scored a season-high 25 points in the regular-season finale at Alaska on Mar. 2.

Arms was joined on the All-GNAC First Team by senior guard Obi Megwa. Also earning first-team honors was Saint Martin’s senior guard Luke Chavez, Western Washington junior forward Trevor Jasinsky, Seattle Pacific senior forward Coleman Wooten and Alaska Anchorage junior guard/forward Tyler Brimhall.

Arms and Megwa provides a potent scoring combination for the Nighthawks. Megwa enters the GNAC Championships ranked second in the GNAC at 19.2 points per game while ranking third with 1.5 steals per game. He scored in double-digits in all but one of NNU’s 25 games, led by his 34 points against Alaska on Feb. 16.

Chavez rebounded from early-season injury issues to reclaim his role as one of the Saints’ top scorers. The senior finished the regular season tied for the team lead at 13.2 points per game He also ranks fourth in the GNAC with a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio and fifth with a .864 free throw percentage. Chavez saved his best for last, scoring 33 points in the Saints’ 105-96 double-overtime win at Central Washington on Mar. 2.

Jasinsky finished the year as one of just three players to finish in the GNAC top-10 in both scoring and rebounding. The junior is third in the league with 19.1 points per game and fourth with 7.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference and ranks 30th in Division II with a .887 free throw percentage. Jasinsky finished with five double-doubles on the year and scored a season-high 33 points against Central Washington on Feb. 7.

Wooten earned his third all-conference nod, and first first-team laurels, for his role in leading the Falcons to the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships and a 10-game win streak to end the regular season. Averaging 12.2 points per game, Wooten is second in the GNAC with his 7.8 rebounds per contest. He has five double-doubles on the year, led by his 23 points and 10 rebounds against Simon Fraser on Jan. 31.

A junior transfer from North Idaho College, Brimhall led Alaska Anchorage and finished fourth in the GNAC with 18.7 points per game while ranking seventh with 6.5 rebounds per game. A double-digit scorer in all but four of the Seawolves’ 28 games, Brimhall scored a season-high 34 points at Concordia on Jan. 31.

2018-19 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM