Friday, March 15, 2019

BILLINGS, Mont. –Five of six of the conference’s first-team selections have earned recognition at the next level with selection to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association’s (D2CCA) Men’s Basketball All-West Region Team.

Northwest Nazarene junior guard Adonis Arms and Western Washington junior Trevor Jasinsky were both elected to the first team by the region’s sports information directors. Saint Martin’s senior guard Luke Chavez, Seattle Pacific senior forward Coleman Wooten and Northwest Nazarene senior guard Obi Megwa were all second-team selections.

The GNAC players accounted for just under half of the 11 total selections. The PacWest Conference received four honorees while the CCAA landed two selections.

Arms was named both the GNAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after he helped lead the Nighthawks to just their second-ever GNAC Championships appearance. The junior transfer leads the conference with 20.6 points per game and 1.89 steals per game. Arms scored in double figures in all 28 NNU games this season, led by 32 points at Seattle Pacific on Nov. 29.

Jasinsky was the only player to rank in the GNAC’s top-five in both scoring and rebounding, ranking second with 19.1 points per game and fourth with 7.1 rebounds per game. The junior also led the GNAC with a .887 free throw percentage and ranked in the NCAA top-30 in both free throws attempted and made. Scoring double digits in 28 of the Vikings’ 30 games, Jasinsky scored a season-high 33 against Central Washington on Feb. 7.

Chavez earned second-team honors for the second consecutive season and helped lead the Saints to a second-straight berth in the NCAA West Regional. Chavez enters the tourney averaging 12.8 points per game, ranks fifth with a .864 free throw percentage and eighth with 2.11 three-pointers made per game. Overcoming early-season injury issues, Chavez emerged to score a season-high 33 points in the regular-season finale at Central Washington on Mar. 2.

Wooten was named the GNAC Championships MVP after helping lead the Falcons to the tournament title and a 12-game win streak that the team carries into the West Regional. The senior is averaging 12.8 points per game and is second in the GNAC with eight rebounds per contest. Wooten scored his season-high of 25 points in the GNAC Championships final with Western Oregon, which was also one of his seven double-doubles on the season.

Megwa combined with Arms for a potent one-two scoring punch for the Nighthawks. He finished third in the GNAC with 18.8 points per game and was also third with 1.50 steals per contest. Megwa scored in double figures in all but one of his 27 games, topped by his 34 points against Alaska on Feb. 16.