The 2011-12 America East Fans' Choice Players of the Year and Players of the Game were unveiled on Tuesday and five standouts, two men and three women, have been recognized for their respective accomplishments this season.
Stony Brook swept the Fans' Choice Player of the Year award with Bryan Dougher taking the men's award and Dani Klupenger earning the women's trophy. Boston University's Darryl Partin was named the Men's Player of the Game for earning the most single game honors during the season. New Hampshire's Denise Beliveau and UMBC's Erin Brown shared the honor on the women's side.
Dougher, a senior guard, led Stony Brook to one of its best regular seasons in program history. Dougher, who ranks 10th among league leaders averaging 13.4 points per game this year, led his team to 20 regular-season wins and its second America East regular-season title in three years. One of the top three-pointer shooters in league history, Dougher leads the league with 79 this season and ranks third on America East's all-time list with 327 made treys. He also became the 42nd player in league history to eclipse the 1,500-point mark earlier this year and currently sits 36th on the conference's all-time list with 1,552 career points.
Klupenger, a junior guard, had a breakout year and was the team’s third-leading scorer with 5.2 ppg. She scored a career-high 18 points in Stony Brook’s conference win over Vermont on Jan. 2 and came one point shy of hitting the mark again with 17 points on 5-of-6 long-range shooting at UMBC on Jan. 12. Klupenger averaged 1.3 three-pointers per game in conference play and ranked seventh with a 33.9 three-point field goal percentage.
Dougher received 41 percent of nearly 700 votes, while Klupenger got 27 percent of the women's tallies. Eighteen nominees (two from each school) were named to each ballot on Feb. 21. Voting, which ran through America East's Facebook page for the first time, went through Feb. 28.
Partin, a senior, was invaluable to Boston U.'s success this seaosn, scoring 19.7 points per game, which puts him second in America East and in the top 25 nationally. The 2010-11 first-team all-conference selection accounts for 31 percent of the Terriers' scoring (64.5 ppg) and has gone over 15 points 20 times this year. A two-time America East Player of the Week honoeer, Partin surpassed the 1,000-point mark earlier this year and has 1,287 career points, including 1,113 in just 66 games at Boston U.
Beliveau, a fifth-year senior, led the Wildcats to their first winning season since 2006 and four seed in the upcoming tournament. The senior forward is the only America East player to rank in the top five in both scoring and rebounding after finishing the regular season with 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. She notched a league-best 10 double-doubles this season, five of them against America East opponents. Beliveau is third in the league with an 85.3 percent free-throw percentage and is also one of the top defensive players in the league with 2.1 steals per game.
Brown, a senior forward, led the Retrievers and ranked second in the conference with 14.4 points per game. She reached the 20-point plateau eight times this season, the most 20+ point games in America East. Brown also ranks second for UMBC with 6.6 rebounds per game. She is also a long-ball threat, averaging a league-best 2.2 three-pointers made per game and is seventh with a three-point field-goal percentage of 34.8. She was a work horse in leading UMBC to a 9-7 America East record, her 37.1 minutes per game average is higher than any other player in the league.
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.
The league's annual awards, including the all-conference teams, as well as Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year, will be announced later this week. The women's honors will be unveiled at the women's awards reception on Thursday, March 1 at 12 p.m. while the men's will be given out on Friday, March 2 at 5 p.m. Both receptions will be held at University of Hartford, site of the 2012 of the America East Men's & Women's Basketball Championship Presented By Newman's Own.
Past Fans' Choice Player of the Year Winners
Men
2010-11 - Evan Fjeld, Vermont
2009-10 - Marqus Blakely, Vermont
2008-09 - D.J. Rivera, Binghamton
2007-08 - Brian Lillis, Albany
2006-07 - Mike Trimboli, Vermont
Women
2010-11 - Kerry Cashman, Boston U.
2009-10 - May Kotsopoulos, Vermont
2008-09 - Christine Kinneary, Boston U.
2007-08 - Danielle Hood, Hartford
2006-07 - Katie Meinhardt, Boston U.
Past America East Player of the Game Winners
Men
2010-11 - Chris De La Rosa, UMBC
2009-10 - Alvin Abreu, New Hampshire
2008-09 - John Holland, Boston U.
2007-08 - Brian Lillis, Albany
2006-07 - Jamar Wilson, Albany
Women
2010-11 - Denise Beliveau, New Hampshire
2009-10 - Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook
2008-09 - Candace Williams, New Hampshire
2007-08 - Danielle Hood, Hartford
2006-07 - Danielle Clark, New Hampshire