Staff Report
Four Ohio Wesleyan University men’s basketball players were named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference men’s basketball teams, it was announced earlier this week.
Sophomore guard Nate Axelrod (Dublin/Coffman) was named NCAC Player of the Year and joined sophomore guard Seth Clark (Lewis Center/Olentangy) and junior post Ben Simpson (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) as first-team all-conference selections. Senior wing Claude Gray (Avon) was a second-team All-NCAC pick.
Axelrod was named NCAC Player of the Year, the Bishops’ fourth NCAC Player of the Year selection in the last 5 seasons. Axelrod ranks fifth the NCAC in scoring with an average of 16.9 points per game and is second in the conference in assists with an average of 5.3 per game. He leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.6), is tied for fifth in the conference in free throw percentage (.778), and ranks eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.365) and 11th in 3-point field goals (1.9/game) and field goal percentage (.498). Axelrod was the NCAC Newcomer of the Year and a first-team All-NCAC selection in 2014-15.
Clark ranks eighth in the NCAC in scoring with an average of 15.1 points per game. He leads the league in 3-point field goals (2.7/game) and ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (.399), eighth in steals (1.5/game), and 14th in field goal percentage (.474).
Simpson leads the league in rebounding with an average of 10.1 rebounds per game and ranks 14th in scoring with an average of 14.1 points per game. He ranks fifth in the conference in steals (1.7/game), sixth in field goal percentage (.560), and 11th in blocked shots (0.7/game). Simpson was a second-team All-NCAC selection last season.
Gray ranks 13th in the conference in scoring with an average of 14.2 points per game. He ranks fifth in the NCAC in 3-point field goals (2.0/game), 11th in free throw percentage (.753) and 3-point field goal percentage (.275), and 12th in steals (1.3/game). Gray was named NCAC Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference pick in 2014-15, and was an honorable mention All-NCAC choice in 2013-14.
The Battling Bishops are 23-4 going into Friday’s NCAA Division III tournament first-round game against Pitt-Greensburg. Ohio Wesleyan shared the NCAC championship with a 15-3 record, the Bishops’ second consecutive NCAC championship. Ohio Wesleyan is making its fifth consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearance.
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OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
