Men's Basketball

Fritsch Earns All-America Honors from NABC & Basketball Times

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Bentley senior forward Nate Fritsch (Durham, N.C./Woodberry Forest), who has led the Falcons to a 33-0 record and a return trip to the NCAA Elite Eight, has been named to the 2008 State Farm Division II All-America Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The 6-6 Fritsch was also named a Division II All-America by Basketball Times, and his coach, Jay Lawson, was selected as the Basketball Times Division II co-Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

Fritsch, one of eight players who was selected to both teams, achieved the dual honors despite not starting a game all season. Lawson generally inserts him into the game about two or three minutes in, and the unselfish Fritsch has responded by averaging 13 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. He’s shot 52 percent from the field, is the Northeast-10 leader in three-point accuracy (.484), and tops the team in offensive rebounds and blocks.

Fritsch, who has helped the Falcons to a remarkable 116-16 record during the last four years, has put together some numbers that no other player in the program’s history can match. He’s the only Bentley player with career totals exceeding 1400 points, 700 rebounds and 200 assists. Bentley’s all-time leader in games played (130) is also the only Falcon to shoot 50 percent overall, 40 percent from three and 80 percent from the line for his career.

Fritsch, the Most Outstanding Player in last week’s Northeast Regional after averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and four assists, is also the only player in the NE-10 ranked amongst the top 15 in all three shooting categories.

Previously, Fritsch was named first-team All-Northeast-10, first-team Daktronics Division II All-Northeast Region and first-team NABC All-Northeast District. He’s the first Bentley player since Brian Hammel in the mid-seventies to make the latter team twice.

Lawson, who is in his 17th season as Bentley’s head coach, has led his team into the Elite Eight undefeated for the second straight year, an accomplishment unprecedented in Division II history. After graduating five players from last year’s 32-1 club (the only loss was to then-unbeaten Winona State in the Elite Eight quarterfinals), he has directed the 2007-08 Falcons to a 33-0 season, entering Wednesday night’s encounter with North Alabama at the MassMutual Center.

Bentley’s accomplishments this season included breaking the NCAA Division II record for consecutive regular season wins (formerly 52 by Langston), a record that had stood since the mid-forties, and breaking the New England record for longest winning streak for the second straight season after the former mark (Bob Cousy’s Holy Cross team, 29) had lasted for more than 50 years.

Bentley captured the Northeast-10 regular season title for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year, repeated as NE-10 playoff champs and earned a second straight NCAA Division II Northeast Regional title.