BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

If the Acadia basketball Axemen need a boost entering this weekend’s AUBC ‘Final Six’ championship tournament in Halifax, they got it when the conference awards and all-star selections were announced this week.

Acadia’s Leonel Saintil, Shawn Berry and Achuil Lual were all among the AUBC major award recipients for their contributions toward an 18-2 regular season that saw Acadia lead the conference in team offense and team defense.

Saintil, an Ottawa native in his third year of eligibility (and first year with the Axemen) was named the winner of the Frank Baldwin Memorial Award as the conference MVP.

Saintil had a tremendous season for the number two-ranked Axemen. He averaged 18.6 points per game, third in the conference, led the nation in rebounding with 13.9 per game and set a new AUBC record for rebounds in a season with 277.

As well, despite averaging just 27.8 minutes of floor time per game, the 6’5” forward finished third in blocked shots, fifth in field goal percentage and ninth in steals. His 183 free-throw attempts were one short of the conference record of 184.

“Leo has been a difference-maker on both sides of the ball this season,” says Axemen head coach Les Berry. “His consistent willingness to be the best at what he does has really paid off, both for him as an individual and our basketball team as a whole.

“These types of seasons and players don’t come along very often,” Berry said. “My hat is off to Leo for such a great season.”

It marks the second consecutive year and the seventh time overall that an Acadia player has won the conference MVP award. Axemen Paulo Santana won last year.

Berry, Lual also shine

Teammate Shawn Berry joined Saintil on the first all-star team following a regular season in which he finished fifth in the conference in scoring at 16.6 points per game, second in free throw percentage at 81.7 and seventh in both field goal percentage and steals.

It marks the first time since 1987-1988 (Peter Morris and Kevin Veinot) that Acadia has had two players named to the first all-star team.

Senior forward Achuil Lual was the choice for AUBC Defensive Player of the Year.

Lual, an Axemen co-captain, led the conference in blocked shots with 1.35 per game and was a key component of an Acadia defense that allowed just 65.8 points per game.

“Achuil is an excellent defensive player who has provided our team with great leadership and competitiveness on defense every game,” Berry said. “He plays with an incredible amount of intensity, day-in and day-out, and consistently putting his body in harm’s way is just a little piece of what he does for his teammates.

“He will take on any challenge, whether it requires guarding a smaller, quicker player or someone bigger and stronger.”

Atlantic University Sport also announced its men’s basketball All-Rookie team, chosen for the first time after last season. Kings County native (and Central Kings graduate) Jason Shepherd of the Memorial SeaHawks was among the first-year players recognized.

Shepherd worked his way into a starting assignment for the SeaHawks by the end of the season and started 14 of Memorial’s 22 games. He averaged 11.6 points per game in his rookie season and made an impressive 62.5 per cent of his three-point shots.