MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference recognizes sixteen men’s basketball student-athletes as All-SSC in 2018-19. Nova Southeastern University, regular season champions, boasts six All-SSC awards including Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year. The University of Tampa was represented through Marco Downer, who was named Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the SSC.

Downer becomes the first SSC men’s basketball player in history to win both awards in the same year and overall. The Portmore, Jamaica native dominated in the low-post throughout the year, ranking 5th in the nation with 76 blocks while he averaged 3.3 blocks per game, doubling the second best in the SSC in each category. The six-foot-nine center becomes Tampa’s third SSC Defensive Player of the Year, second consecutive as Duke Shelton took last year’s honors, and he is the fifth Spartan to win Freshman of the Year. The most recent Freshman of the Year was teammate Pat Bacon, who won the award in 2016. In terms of school history, Downer finished with the third most blocks in a season by a Spartan trailing only Sylvere Bryan and Nate Johnston.

All-SSC History: SSC Players and Coaches of the Year | All-SSC Teams

2018-19 ALL-SSC Men’s Basketball Honors

Player of the Year = Jonathan Lawton, Florida Southern

Defensive Player of the Year = Marco Downer, Tampa

Newcomer of the Year = Mark Matthews, Nova Southeastern

Freshman of the Year = Marco Downer, Tampa

Coach of the Year = Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern

 

2018-19 ALL-SSC First Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown

G Jonathan Lawton*† Florida Southern Sr. Williamstown, New Jersey

G David Dennis*†# Nova Southeastern Sr. Canal Winchester, Ohio

F Mark Matthews Nova Southeastern Jr. Bonita Springs, Florida

G Mike Baez Lynn Sr. Charlotte, North Carolina

G Drushaun McLaurn*^$ Eckerd Sr. Jacksonville, Florida

 

2018-19 ALL-SSC Second Team

Pos., Name, School, Yr., Hometown

F Nashad Mackey~† Embry-Riddle Sr. Nassau, Bahamas

F Daniel Mortensen† Barry Sr. Islev, Denmark

G Kyran McClure Saint Leo Jr. Concord, North Carolina

G Brett Hanson~ Florida Southern Jr. Manchester, New Hampshire

F Derek Murphy Florida Tech Jr. Detroit, Michigan

 

2018-19 ALL-SSC Honorable Mention

Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown

G Jamal Palmer Lynn Sr. Delray Beach, Florida

 

2018-19 ALL-SSC Newcomer Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown

F Mark Matthews Nova Southeastern Jr. Bonita Springs, Florida

G Darius Moore Lynn Jr. Brown Summit, North Carolina

G Mikkel Kolstad Nova Southeastern Jr. Bergen, Norway

F Tylan Birts Barry Jr. Florida City, Florida

G Alston Jones Embry-Riddle Sr. Kansas City, Missouri

* = 2017-18 First Team ~ = 2017-18 Second Team † = 2017-18 Newcomer Team ^ = 2016-17 First Team

 

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