The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has released its 2014-15 men's basketball All-Conference teams, recognizing one Oswego State student-athlete and also head coach Jason Leone. Brian Sortino was named to the First Team while Leone earned Coach of the Year honors.
Sortino has started in every contest, aside from one, for the Lakers this season, helping fuel an offense that averages 70.6 points a game. The sophomore is averaging 16.4 points a game which leads the team and also ranks him fourth in the SUNYAC for that statistic. During the regular season, Sortino also led the team in scoring 19 of the 28 games. The guard posted a season-high 29 points in a road win against Fredonia on Feb. 6. Facilitating the offense is another one Sortino's attributes, as his average of 2.9 assists a game ranks him second on the team.
Offense is not Sortino's only contribution to the squad as he leads it in steals with 42. These steals have helped to create a turnover margin of 3.1, which ranks the team 44th nationally. The Fairport native also displays his defense on the top of the zone, smothering opponent's chances from behind the arc and leading to an opponent 3-point field goal percentage of 29.2% (the 12th lowest in the nation).
This is not the first time Sortino has been given an accolade this season as he was named Most Valuable player of the SUNYAC Championship and was twice named the Oswego State Male Athlete of the Week.
Coach Leone received Coach of the Year honors after leading his squad to its second SUNYAC Championship win in four years. The Syracuse native is currently in his fourth year at Oswego, sending the basketball to the post-season in as many years. Of those four years, he has coached the team to a winning record every time, averaging 20 wins a season. This year, Leone recorded his 150th victory as a collegiate varsity basketball coach after defeating Oneonta 68-59 on Feb. 24 at home. A former guard for the University of Rochester, this is the second time Leone has been named coach of the year at Oswego State as he also earned it in his first season (2011-2012).
Men's basketball will return to at 5:30 p.m. on Friday as it squares off against Calvin College in the first round of the Division III NCAA Tournament. This match-up will take place at regional host Mount Union University.
