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March 11, 2009
IUP continued its run of PSAC West Freshmen of the Year with the selection of guard Julian Sanders by the conference head coaches while forwards Gerald Brooks and Darryl Webb were both named to the all-conference first team. Brooks was the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2007 and Webb earned the award last year. Brooks was on the all-conference second team each of the past two seasons and was joined on the second team by Webb a year ago. Sanders was third on the Crimson Hawks in scoring with an average of 11.6 points per game. He leads the team with 64 3-pointers in 157 attempts, ranking first in the conference and 58th in the nation with an average of 2.6 makes per game. He is also fourth in the league and 27th nationally with a 3-point percentage of 40.8. Sanders, a four-time PSAC West Freshman of the Week this season, has scored in double figures 16 times including a season-high 18 points versus Penn State Fayette and Lock Haven. He has a total of nine games with 15 or more points and made five 3-pointers in three contests. His 3-point field goal percentage is the eighth highest career mark in IUP history. He also has 23 steals, the third highest total on the team. Brooks is averaging a team-leading 15.2 points and his 6.6 rebounds per game and 25 steals are both second on the team. He is also fourth on the Crimson Hawks with 36 assists and his 69.7 percent free throw percentage paces the team. Brooks ranks 14th in the PSAC in scoring and 15th in rebounding and his 3.6 offensive boards per game is the third best mark in the conference. He has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games, including six games with 20 or more points and a career-high 32 in IUP's PSAC playoff game at Slippery Rock. He hit double figures in the past 11 games with an average of 17.0 points over that span. Brooks reached the 1,000-point mark versus Gannon on February 21 and currently stands 20th in school history with 1,063 points. Webb ranks fourth in the PSAC and 27th in the nation with an average of 9.2 rebounds per game, including 11 games in double figures. He has six games with 15 or more rebounds and grabbed a career-high 19 versus Shippensburg, one of his 10 double-doubles on the season. Webb also averages 12.8 points per game and leads the Crimson Hawks with 42 blocked shots and a field goal percentage of 53.2 on 151-of-284 accuracy. His field goal percentage is the seventh highest in the PSAC and he also stands tied for seventh in blocked shots and 25th in scoring. In 56 career games, Webb is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game, the fifth-highest mark in school history, and he is also fifth in career blocked shots with 74. IUP has a record of 21-7 this season, an eight-game improvement from last year and a 15-game jump from two seasons ago. The Crimson Hawks earned their first berth in the NCAA tournament and begin play Saturday in a 2:30 game versus Virginia Union at Gannon's Hammermill Center. |
