MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Five members of the 2013-14 Southern Polytechnic State University basketball teams, including two women and three men, recently garnered postseason honors from the Southern States Athletic Conference. The SSAC head coaches voted to determine the award winners, which were announced at the conference's annual basketball banquet on Wednesday night.
For the women, senior Arnissa Galloway was named as the SSAC Defensive Player of the Year and was also selected to the 15-player All-SSAC Team. Additionally, Galloway was chosen to represent Southern Polytechnic on the SSAC Champions of Character Team. Joining Galloway on the All-SSAC Team is senior Sarah Ogoke, a repeat selection from last year.
Galloway, a 6-foot-1 forward/center from Columbia, Miss., is the only Southern Poly player to start all 28 contests this season. She leads the Hornets in total rebounds (221), rebounds per game (7.9), offensive rebounds (101) and blocked shots (46) while averaging 11.4 points per contest with 37 assists and 32 steals. Galloway, who shoots 46.0 percent (121-of-263) from the field and 71.7 percent (76-of-106) at the free throw line, ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3.61), second in blocked shots per game (1.64), second in blocked shots, eighth in rebounds per game, tied for ninth in double-doubles (six) and 10th in total rebounds. Nationally in NAIA Division I, she is No. 16 in blocked shots per game, tied for No. 19 in total blocked shots and tied for No. 20 in offensive rebounds per game.
A 5-foot-9 guard out of Sugar Land, Texas, Ogoke twice was picked as the SSAC Player of the Week in 2013-14. Last year's SSAC Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Ogoke paces SPSU in scoring (17.0 points a contest), field goals made (125), three-point field goals made (37), three-point field goal percentage (40.7 percent, 37-of-91), free throws made (103), free throw percentage (81.1 percent, 103-of-127), defensive rebounds (142) and assists (72, 3.1 per outing) while tallying 7.7 boards an outing with 12 blocked shots. Within the conference, she is third in three-point field goal percentage, third in free throw percentage, fourth in defensive rebounds per game (6.17), sixth in scoring, seventh in steals per game (2.0), ninth in assists per game, tied for ninth in field goal percentage, tied for ninth in double-doubles (six) and 10th in rebounds per game. At the national level in NAIA Division I, Ogoke comes in tied for No. 19 in three-point field goal percentage, at No. 20 in free throw percentage and at No. 22 in defensive rebounds per game.
On the men's side, senior Kevin Phillip was selected to the All-SSAC Team while Evyn Smith earned a spot on the 10-member SSAC All-Freshman Team. Senior Ricky Fuller was tabbed as Southern Poly's representative on the SSAC Champions of Character Team.
Phillip, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward from Brooklyn, N.Y., led the Hornets in blocked shots this season with 41 while averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 boards a contest, shooting 47.7 percent (125-of-262) from the floor with 33 assists and 20 steals. He tops the conference in both total blocked shots and blocked shots per game (1.52), ranking tied for 21st and 20th, respectively, in the country in NAIA Division I.
A 6-foot, 165-pound guard out of Long Island, N.Y., Smith paced SPSU with 122 assists in his first season while averaging 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds an outing with 35 steals. He is among the conference leaders in total assists (fifth), assists per game (seventh, 4.07) and assist-to-turnover ratio (seventh, 1.85 a contest). Smith is also tied for No. 25 nationally in NAIA Division I in total assists.
Fuller is a 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard from Cranston, R.I. He played in all 31 games with 13 starts for Southern Poly in 2013-14, registering 6.2 points and 5.1 boards per outing while shooting 77.4 percent (24-of-31) at the foul line with 40 assists, 37 steals and 11 blocked shots.
All of the award winners from Wednesday evening's banquet can be found at ssacsports.com.
The SPSU women's squad, rated 27th in the nation, has already claimed an automatic bid to the NAIA Division I national tournament as the champion of the SSAC Eastern Division. The Hornets are 22-6 overall and riding a season-best nine-game winning streak entering their SSAC Tournament quarterfinal contest on Thursday morning. Southern Poly finished 16-4 in conference play.
On Wednesday afternoon, the SPSU men's team had its season come to an end in the first round of the SSAC Tournament. The Hornets ended 13-18 overall and went 7-11 in the SSAC, tying for fourth place in the East.
