PEREZ NAMED ECAC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-STAR

4-3-09
CALDWELL, N.J. - Caldwell College senior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) has been selected an ECAC Division II Men's Basketball All-Star, the organization announced on Thursday. Perez, who was included on the second team, was one of 10 players named an ECAC All-Star in voting conducted by the head coaches of ECAC member institutions.

This is the latest of several individual awards for Perez, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game to earn first team all-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference accolades. He also was chosen to the Daktronics all-East Region second team, and last week Perez was one of 20 players in the country to play in the NABC/NCAA Division II All-Star Game, held in Springfield, Mass.

This past season, Perez led the CACC and ranked 29th nationally in field goal percentage (.577) while ranking third in the conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding. A two-time CACC Player of the Week honoree this season, Perez also was named the ECAC Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 35 points in a victory over Chestnut Hill on Jan. 20. He had 12 games with 20 or more points, and recorded six double-doubles. In his final game as a Cougar, Perez tallied 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a loss to Bloomfield College in the CACC Tournament first round. That performance earned him a spot on the CACC all-Tournament Team for the third time in his career.

The 2005 CACC Newcomer of the Year, Perez eclipsed 1,000 points in his first two seasons at Caldwell. After a knee injury forced him to miss all but two games in 2006-07, Perez rebounded to earn all-CACC second team honors last season. A four-time all-CACC and all-Met performer, Perez leaves Caldwell as the program's second-leading scorer with 1,859 points. He also holds the school record for most free throws made (567) while ranking third in field goals (639) and fifth in blocks (60) all-time at Caldwell.

The ECAC's membership includes 319 colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Caldwell student-athletes have received weekly and year-end honors from the ECAC since joining the organization in 2004, and the men's and women's soccer teams and men's and women's basketball teams have competed in ECAC championship tournaments.

2008-09 ECAC Division II Men's Basketball All-Stars
First Team
Laurence Ekperigin, Le Moyne, Jr., Forward, Cortlandt Manor, NY
Darren Duncan, Merrimack, Jr., Guard, Briarwood, NY
Jonathan Schmidt, C.W. Post, Sr., Guard, Centereach, NY
Gage Daye, Bloomfield, So., Guard, Newark, NJ
Jason Westrol, Bentley, Jr., Guard, Brielle, NJ

Second Team
Lew Finnegan, Bentley, Sr., Guard, Lexington, MA
Russell Frederick, Philadelphia, Jr., Guard, Baltimore, MD
Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia, Jr., Forward, Philadelphia, PA
Omari Knox, Bloomfield, Sr., Guard, Brooklyn, NY
Manny Perez, Caldwell, Sr., Forward, Egg Harbor Twp., NJ

Player of the Year: Laurence Ekperigin, Le Moyne
Rookie of the Year: Justin Swidowski, Holy Family

Back to Men's Basketball page