Four Saints Earn All-MAAC Acclaim
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Siena Men’s Basketball red-shirt senior forward Brett Bisping and senior guard Marquis Wright have been named Second Team All-MAAC selections, as voted upon by the league’s 11 head coaches. On the women’s side, sophomore guard Jackie Benitez earned First Team All-MAAC acclaim, while junior guard Kollyns Scarbrough was tabbed a Second Team honoree.
By virtue of her First Team All-MAAC selection, Benitez is eligible to be named the MAAC Player of the Year. The conference’s major award winners, including the announcement of the men’s and women’s Players of the Year, Rookies of the Year, Sixth Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year, will be announced at the MAAC Basketball Postseason Awards Show on Friday at 10 a.m. at the Albany Capital Center, and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Bisping currently leads the MAAC in rebounding for the second straight season, averaging 9.6 caroms per contest. He also ranks 10th in the MAAC averaging 1.2 steals, while adding 12.2 points per game. A native of Peoria, Illinois, Bisping has recorded team-highs of 11 double-doubles and 14 double digit rebounding performances this season. He stands fourth all-time in Siena history in rebounding (991), and 11th in scoring (1,487).
A two-time MAAC Player of the Week (Nov. 13, Feb. 13), Wright earns his first conference postseason honor. The Waldorf, Maryland standout ranks third in the MAAC in assists (4.9), and seventh in scoring (16.5). Wright wrapped up a phenomenal February in which he averaged 22.3 points and 5.8 assists in eight contests in the month. He currently ranks third all-time in program history in assists (597), and 12th in scoring (1,485).
A two-time MAAC Player of the Week (Nov. 21, Jan. 16), Benitez ranks second in the MAAC in scoring (16.7), free throw percentage (.821), steals (3.0), and threes (82). Benitez’s 3.0 steals per game ranks 13th nationally, and her 82 threes are a program single-season record. The Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania star has recorded two of the five highest scoring performances in the MAAC this season, and already ranks sixth in program history with 140 career threes in just two years.
A Second Team All-MAAC selection for the second straight season, Scarbrough was named the MAAC Player of the Week Jan. 30. The Jamaica, New York star ranks sixth in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.467), and ninth in scoring (13.5). Scarbrough became the 28th member of Siena’s 1,000 Point Club yesterday, as the Saints completed the regular season sweep of defending MAAC Champion Iona.
Both the Siena men and women begins their quests for MAAC Championships on Saturday at the Times Union Center as the No. 4 seeds in their respective tournaments. The women face fifth seeded Iona at 2:30 p.m., with the men taking on No. 5 Fairfield at 9:30 p.m.