NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee State University's Robert Covington and Kellen Thornton garnered Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball All-Conference accolades as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
Covington showed his all-around game by ranking in the Top-10 in seven different OVC stat categories. The junior ranked second in the OVC in rebounding (8.1/game), third in scoring (18.1/game), third in 3-point percentage (45.0%), fourth in blocks (1.3/game), fifth in steals (1.6/game), sixth in field goal percentage (52.6%) and eighth in 3-pointers made (2.0/game). Covington also led the OVC with nine double-doubles in 30 total games and helped Tennessee State to its first winning season since 1995-96.
He was named OVC Player of the Week twice during the season, including on Feb. 13 after helping the Tigers to a victory at No. 7 Murray State in which he scored 17 points and had eight rebounds including hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the contest. That game was the only blemish an opponent put on Murray State record during the regular season.
A year ago, Covington earned second team All-OVC honors. He also earned All-Newcomer status as a freshman. Prior to the regular season, Covington was a preseason All-OVC selection.
In his first year on the court for the Tigers, Thornton came off the bench to average 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. The Illinois State transfer garnered Newcomer of the Week honors on three occasions this season. He averaged a double-double, notching a season-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Murray State last Thursday.
With one more victory the Tigers will reach the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 1978-79 season. TSU is the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament - the first since the 1995-96 season.
Tennessee State will play in the OVC Tournament semifinal on Friday, March 2. The Tigers will face either No. 3 Morehead State, No. 6 Austin Peay or No. 7 Jacksonville State. Friday's tip time is at 8 p.m. ESPN carries the semifinal round as Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla call the action.
 |
| Robert Covington and Kellen Thornton Courtesy: Sam Jordan / TSU Athletics |
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
Isaiah Canaan, Murray StateRobert Covington, Tennessee State
Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech
Donte Poole, Murray State
Jud Dillard, Tennessee Tech
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
Jaron Jones, Eastern Kentucky
Tyler Stone, Southeast Missouri
John Fraley, Austin Peay
Jeremy Granger, Eastern Illinois
Ivan Aska, Murray State
Mark Yelovich, SIUE
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Tyler Stone, Southeast Missouri
Myles Taylor, UT Martin
Mike DiNunno, Eastern Kentucky
Kellen Thornton, Tennessee State
Jerome Jones, SIUE
OVC Player of the Year: Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Jewuan Long, Murray State
OVC Freshman of the Year: Myles Taylor, UT Martin
OVC Coach of the Year: Steve Prohm, Murray State
OVC Men's Basketball Release
COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
VISIT: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: TSUTIGERS.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment