ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Three players from the University of Rochester have earned All-Association honors in men's basketball after voting conducted among the head coaches of the University Athletic Association.
 
Brian Amabilino Perez was named First Team All-UAA. Ross Gang was named Second Team All-UAA and Trent Noordsij was accorded Honorable Mention status. Gang was accorded Honorable Mention status in the 2019-20 season. The honors this year for Amabilino Perez and Noordsij are their first in UAA play.
 
The majority of the 15 first-and second-team selections this year are either seniors or graduate students. The seven-player first team is comprised of one graduate student and six seniors. The second team has two grad students, four seniors, one junior, and one sophomore.
 
Amabilino Perez (Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain/Avon Old Farms School [CT]) ld Rochester in scoring (13.8 ppg.), shooting .569 from the floor, .725 from the line. He led in rebounding (6.1 rpg.) and blocked shots (18) with 56 assists and 27 steals. In the 14-game UAA season, he averaged 13.1 ppg., shooting .553 from the floor, .653 at the foul line. He grabbed 82 rebounds (5.9 rpg.), had 36 assists, eight blocked shots and made 18 steals. In 2020-21, Rochester played a limited six-game schedule due to the pandemic. Amabilino Perez averaged 11.2 ppg, shooting just below 55% from the floor.
 
Gang (Short Hills, NJ/Millburn) is second in scoring at 10.2 ppg. He is shooting .505 from the floor, .358 outside the arc, and .655 at the line. He is second in rebounding (4.8 rpg.), leads the team in assists (87) and in steals (35). In UAA play, he averaged 11.4 ppg., hitting .496 from the floor, .375 from the arc, and .667 at the foul line. He collected 67 rebounds (4.8 rpg.), had 40 assists, nine blocks, and 20 steals.
 
Noordsij (New London, NH/Kearsarge Regional/Kimball Union) sank a career-high 43 three-pointers this season, nearly doubling his total from his earlier seasons (46). That helped him to a 10.0 ppg. average, shooting .439 from the floor overall, .410 outside the arc, and .821 at the foul line. He had 96 rebounds (3.8 rpg.), 26 assists, nine blocks, and 23 steals. In UAA play, he was second in scoring for Rochester (11.7 ppg.), shooting .428 from the floor, .362 outside the arc, and .750 at the line. He had 16 assists, four blocks, and 11 steals. On February 13, he scored a dramatic three-pointer from the left corner as time expired to give Rochester a 72-71 victory over Washington-St. Louis.

 

Rochester is one of four UAA teams competing in the 2022 NCAA Division III men's basketball playoffs this weekend. The Yellowjackets will play against Eastern University of St. David's PA on Friday at 4:15 pm. That game will be held at Marietta College in Marietta, OH. The host school will play Medaille College the other game.
 
WashU and UAA champion Emory are hosting four-team first-and-second round playoff games this weekend. Case Western Reserve will make its inaugural NCAA Division III playoff appearance this weekend in the Midwest. Emory won the UAA title with a 12-2 league record. CWRU finished second with an 8-5 mark (one league game couldn't be make up). Rochester and Washington were both 8-6. The Yellowjackets head into NCAAs with a 17-8 overall record. Fourteen of the 25 games came against regionally-ranked opponents. Rochester was 7-7 in those games. At one point, six of the eight UAA schools were ranked in the regional polls. UR won six of its last eight(all in the UAA) to finish in second place in the regional poll.
 
The other members of the UAA First Team are Justin hardy and Jack Nolan of WashU, Bobby Hawkinson of NYU, Matthew Schner and Nick Stuck of Emory, and Mitch Prendergast of CWRU.
 
Second Team honors went to Brandon Beckman and Zach Munson of Chicago, Collin Sawyer and Tommy Eastman of Brandeis, Cole Frilling of CWRU, Charlie Jacob from WashU, and R.J. Holmes of Carnegie Mellon.
 
Noordsij is one of four players acknowledged with Honorable Mention status. The others are Nolan Haggerty of Brandeis, Bryce Hopkins of Chicago, and Hayden Doyle of WashU.
 
Individual honors were spread over three teams. Schner is the UAA Player of the Year. Jacob is the Defensive Player of the Year. Doyle is the First Year Rookie of the Year, and Holmes is the Sophomore Rookie of the Year.
 
Emory's staff of head coach Jason Zimmerman, assistant coaches Gebereal Baitey, Charlie Copp, and Jacob Fleegle were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. Since the UAA did not have a season in 2020-21, the Sophomore Rookie of the Year award was created for the 2021-22 season only.