CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- University of Vermont's Evan Fjeld and UMBC's Chris De La Rosa were honored by America East on Wednesday for their respective accomplishments this season. Fjeld was tabbed the 2011 America East Men's Basketball Fans' Choice Player of the Year while De La Rosa was named the 2011 America East Player of the Game.
Fjeld (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) has had a spectacular senior season, ranking sixth among league leaders in scoring (14.9 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (6.3 rpg). He also is the league leader in field goal percentage (.543) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg). Named the league's Player of the Week on Nov. 22, also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career this season. The senior forward received 27.8 percent of the nearly 2,000 votes.
Eighteen nominees (two from each school) were narrowed down to five finalists last week in the first round of voting. The final round of voting began Thursday, Feb. 24 and ended Tuesday, March 1 with all balloting done through www.AmericaEast.com.
De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows/Siena) earned 13 Player of the Game awards during the season to receive the yearly honor. He ranks among the nation's assist leaders (15th) averaging a league-best 6.0 helpers per game. De La Rosa has also been a scoring force this season, ranking third among conference leaders with 15.9 points per game. The transfer from Siena also ranked second in assist-to-turnover ratio(2.11).
The Player of the Game award was determined by tabulating award winners from the regular season. At the conclusion of each America East home game, a player was named the Player of the Game. Just one player was tabbed in non-conference games, while a player from each team was recognized during conference games. New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley finished a close second picking up 10 awards.
The league's annual awards, including the all-conference teams, as well as Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year, will be announced at the championship awards banquet on Friday, March 4 at 4 p.m. in Hartford, site of the 2011 of the America East Men's & Women's Basketball Championship Presented By Newman's Own.
Past Fans' Choice Player of the Year Winners
2009-10 - Marqus Blakely, University of Vermont
2008-09 - D.J. Rivera, Binghamton University
2007-08 - Brian Lillis, University at Albany
2006-07 - Mike Trimboli, University of Vermont
Past America East Player of the Game Winners
2009-10 - Alvin Abreu, University of New Hampshire
2008-09 - John Holland, Boston University
2007-08 - Brian Lillis, Albany
2006-07 - Jamar Wilson, Albany