Friday, March 11, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – After earning GNAC Player of the Year honors and leading Central Washington to a spot in the GNAC Championships final, Wildcats’ senior guard Xavier Smith leads four conference selections to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Men’s Basketball All-West Region Team.

Smith, the conference’s lone first-team selection this year, finished third in the GNAC in scoring with 18.4 points per game while also contributing 4.3 rebounds and two assists per game. In pacing the conference’s top-scoring offense, Smith scored in double digits in all but two games this season, reaching a season-high of 32 points against Western Washington on Jan. 29. Smith was also one of the conference’s top free-throw shooters, ranking sixth at 83.3 percent.

Three second-team selections join Smith on the All-West Region Team in Seattle Pacific senior guard Divant’e Moffitt, Alaska Anchorage senior forward Oggie Pantovic and Alaska senior guard Shadeed Shabazz.

Moffitt finished the year ranked second in the GNAC in scoring at 19.3 points per game while his 3.8 assists per game ranked third among all West Region players. Moffitt scored in double figures in all but four of the Falcons’ 26 games, led by a season-high 34 at Central Washington on Feb. 26. He also scored 32 points in 32 minutes against Simon Fraser on Feb. 17.

Pantovic was one of two players in the GNAC this season to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding, finishing third in rebounding with 8.4 per game and seventh in scoring with 15.9 points per game. A starter in 18 games, Pantovic had six double-doubles on the season, including a 27-point, 10-rebound performance against Seattle Pacific in the GNAC Championships on Mar. 3.

Shabazz, a First Team D2CCA All-West Region selection in 2020, was named the GNAC Championships MVP after leading the No. 10 seeded Nanooks to the championship. Shabazz leads the conference and ranks 23rd in Division II in scoring at 20.7 points per game. He also ranks second in Division II with 3.17 steals per game. Shabazz has eight 30-plus point performances to his credit this season, topped by his 41-point effort against Simon Fraser in the GNAC Championships on Mar. 2.

With his selection to the first team, Smith is now eligible for consideration for the D2CCA All-America Team, which will be announced on Mar. 21.