Photo by: Justin Casterline
Kempton repeats as Patriot League Player of the Year to highlight four Lehigh honorees
2/29/2016 12:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following another outstanding season, Lehigh men's basketball junior Tim Kempton was named Patriot League Player of the Year on Monday for a second consecutive season while four Mountain Hawks received postseason awards. Kempton was also named a unanimous first team All-League selection while sophomore Kahron Ross earned a spot on the first team, junior Austin Price garnered third team laurels and freshman Kyle Leufroy was named to the All-Rookie Team. This marks the first time in school history that two Lehigh players were named first team All-Patriot League in the same season.
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Kempton joins elite company as just the third player to earn two Player of the Year awards before his senior year, along with Lehigh alum C.J. McCollum and Colgate's Adonal Foyle. McCollum is currently in his third NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers while Foyle also played in the NBA. For a second consecutive season, Kempton's numbers have improved as he continues to take his game to a new level. After averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds as a sophomore when he earned Player of the Year laurels, Kempton is currently averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 boards, which both stand second in the Patriot League. In league play, Kempton led all players in points per game (17.8) and was second in rebounds per contest (9.7). He also owns more assists (39), blocks (12) and steals (17) than last season while shooting a career-high 54.3 percent from the field and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. Kempton has posted six double-doubles in his last seven games, owning 11 double-doubles this season and 31 in his career.
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Ross followed his Patriot League Rookie of the Year campaign with a strong sophomore season and his second straight All-League recognition after being named to the third team as a freshman. The Jonesboro, Arkansas native is averaging 11.4 points and a league-leading 6.0 assists per game as his 173 assists stand fourth in school history. Ross has been a critical part of Lehigh's nine-game winning streak entering the Patriot League Tournament. Over his last seven contests, he's averaged 17.6 points per game, tallying 48 assists compared to just 14 turnovers. In that time, he's scored a career-high 24 points twice, scoring 16 or more points in five of the seven games. Ross is also shooting 52.6 percent from the field in that span, including 65 percent (13-of-20) from three-point range.
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Earning All-League honors for the first time in his career is Price, who's been a steady contributor for the Mountain Hawks. He is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, which includes a team-high 64 made three-pointers. Price has reached 20 points six times this season, scoring double-figure points on 19 occasions. With 16 points at Army West Point Saturday, he became the 34th player in school history and 112th in Patriot League history to score 1,000 career points. Price was named Patriot League Player of the Week earlier this season after scoring 19 points at Robert Morris then 19 points in a home win over Mount St. Mary's. He is also the league leader in steals with 55 on the season, including a career-high five steals on four different occasions.
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Leufroy became the fourth Mountain Hawk in the last three seasons to be named to the All-Rookie Team, following Ross last season and Kempton and Price in 2013-14. Lehigh has now featured 10 All-Rookie Team members over the last 10 years. Leufroy joined the starting lineup on Dec. 19 against Mount St. Mary's and stayed in the starting lineup ever since. For the season, he's averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds, including averages of 11.4 and 4.2 in league play. Leufroy has reached double-figure points on 16 occasions, reaching 20 points three separate times. He has knocked down 43.7 percent of his three-pointers for the season, including 48.1 percent in Patriot League play, which is tops in the league.
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Lehigh will enter the upcoming Patriot League Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Following a first-round bye, the Mountain Hawks will host the winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup between No. 10 Lafayette and No. 7 Navy in the quarterfinals on Thursday (Mar. 3) at 7 p.m. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased, here.
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2015-16 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Team and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Tim Kempton, Lehigh (Jr., F/C)
Defensive Player of the Year: Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
Rookie of the Year: Delante Jones, American (Fr., G/F)
Coach of the Year: Nathan Davis, Bucknell
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First-Team All-Patriot League#
Eric Fanning, Boston University (Jr., G)
Chris Hass, Bucknell (Sr., G)*
Tim Kempton, Lehigh (Jr., F/C)*
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point (Sr., F)
Kahron Ross, Lehigh (So., G)
Austin Tillotson, Colgate (Sr., G)
*Unanimous first-team choice
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Second-Team All-Patriot League#
Kevin Ferguson, Army West Point (Sr., C)
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (So., C)
Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
Jesse Reed, American (Sr., G)
Andre Walker, Loyola (So., G)
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Third-Team All-Patriot League
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (So., G)
Tilman Dunbar, Navy (Sr., G)
Austin Price, Lehigh (Jr., G)
Kyle Wilson, Army West Point (Sr., G/F)
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# - Six players on the first team and five players on the second team due to ties in the voting.
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All-Defensive
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (So., G)
Nathan Dieudonne, Boston University (Sr., F)
Kevin Ferguson, Army West Point (Sr., C)
Ryan Frazier, Bucknell (Sr., G)
Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
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All-Rookie
Karl Charles, Holy Cross (Fr., F)
Kyle Foreman, Boston University (Fr., G)
Delante Jones, American (Fr., G/F)
Kyle Leufroy, Lehigh (Fr., G)
Malcolm Regisford, Colgate (Fr., F/C)
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following another outstanding season, Lehigh men's basketball junior Tim Kempton was named Patriot League Player of the Year on Monday for a second consecutive season while four Mountain Hawks received postseason awards. Kempton was also named a unanimous first team All-League selection while sophomore Kahron Ross earned a spot on the first team, junior Austin Price garnered third team laurels and freshman Kyle Leufroy was named to the All-Rookie Team. This marks the first time in school history that two Lehigh players were named first team All-Patriot League in the same season.
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Kempton joins elite company as just the third player to earn two Player of the Year awards before his senior year, along with Lehigh alum C.J. McCollum and Colgate's Adonal Foyle. McCollum is currently in his third NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers while Foyle also played in the NBA. For a second consecutive season, Kempton's numbers have improved as he continues to take his game to a new level. After averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds as a sophomore when he earned Player of the Year laurels, Kempton is currently averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 boards, which both stand second in the Patriot League. In league play, Kempton led all players in points per game (17.8) and was second in rebounds per contest (9.7). He also owns more assists (39), blocks (12) and steals (17) than last season while shooting a career-high 54.3 percent from the field and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. Kempton has posted six double-doubles in his last seven games, owning 11 double-doubles this season and 31 in his career.
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Ross followed his Patriot League Rookie of the Year campaign with a strong sophomore season and his second straight All-League recognition after being named to the third team as a freshman. The Jonesboro, Arkansas native is averaging 11.4 points and a league-leading 6.0 assists per game as his 173 assists stand fourth in school history. Ross has been a critical part of Lehigh's nine-game winning streak entering the Patriot League Tournament. Over his last seven contests, he's averaged 17.6 points per game, tallying 48 assists compared to just 14 turnovers. In that time, he's scored a career-high 24 points twice, scoring 16 or more points in five of the seven games. Ross is also shooting 52.6 percent from the field in that span, including 65 percent (13-of-20) from three-point range.Â
Earning All-League honors for the first time in his career is Price, who's been a steady contributor for the Mountain Hawks. He is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, which includes a team-high 64 made three-pointers. Price has reached 20 points six times this season, scoring double-figure points on 19 occasions. With 16 points at Army West Point Saturday, he became the 34th player in school history and 112th in Patriot League history to score 1,000 career points. Price was named Patriot League Player of the Week earlier this season after scoring 19 points at Robert Morris then 19 points in a home win over Mount St. Mary's. He is also the league leader in steals with 55 on the season, including a career-high five steals on four different occasions.Â
Leufroy became the fourth Mountain Hawk in the last three seasons to be named to the All-Rookie Team, following Ross last season and Kempton and Price in 2013-14. Lehigh has now featured 10 All-Rookie Team members over the last 10 years. Leufroy joined the starting lineup on Dec. 19 against Mount St. Mary's and stayed in the starting lineup ever since. For the season, he's averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds, including averages of 11.4 and 4.2 in league play. Leufroy has reached double-figure points on 16 occasions, reaching 20 points three separate times. He has knocked down 43.7 percent of his three-pointers for the season, including 48.1 percent in Patriot League play, which is tops in the league.
 Lehigh will enter the upcoming Patriot League Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Following a first-round bye, the Mountain Hawks will host the winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup between No. 10 Lafayette and No. 7 Navy in the quarterfinals on Thursday (Mar. 3) at 7 p.m. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased, here.
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Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
2015-16 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Team and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Tim Kempton, Lehigh (Jr., F/C)
Defensive Player of the Year: Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
Rookie of the Year: Delante Jones, American (Fr., G/F)
Coach of the Year: Nathan Davis, Bucknell
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First-Team All-Patriot League#
Eric Fanning, Boston University (Jr., G)
Chris Hass, Bucknell (Sr., G)*
Tim Kempton, Lehigh (Jr., F/C)*
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point (Sr., F)
Kahron Ross, Lehigh (So., G)
Austin Tillotson, Colgate (Sr., G)
*Unanimous first-team choice
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Second-Team All-Patriot League#
Kevin Ferguson, Army West Point (Sr., C)
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (So., C)
Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
Jesse Reed, American (Sr., G)
Andre Walker, Loyola (So., G)
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Third-Team All-Patriot League
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (So., G)
Tilman Dunbar, Navy (Sr., G)
Austin Price, Lehigh (Jr., G)
Kyle Wilson, Army West Point (Sr., G/F)
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# - Six players on the first team and five players on the second team due to ties in the voting.
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All-Defensive
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (So., G)
Nathan Dieudonne, Boston University (Sr., F)
Kevin Ferguson, Army West Point (Sr., C)
Ryan Frazier, Bucknell (Sr., G)
Will Kelly, Navy (Sr., C)
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All-Rookie
Karl Charles, Holy Cross (Fr., F)
Kyle Foreman, Boston University (Fr., G)
Delante Jones, American (Fr., G/F)
Kyle Leufroy, Lehigh (Fr., G)
Malcolm Regisford, Colgate (Fr., F/C)
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Players Mentioned
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