March 22, 2011

KANSAS CITY, MO – Five Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball players and Augusta State head coach Dip Metress received All-Region recognition from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).  Georgia Southwestern’s Philip Brown, Augusta State’s George Johnson and Clayton State’s Brandon Robinson were all named first-team All-Region while ASU’s Franck Ndongo and Clayton’s Timmy Downs were named second team.  ASU coach Dip Metress was named the region’s Coach of the Year.  All first-team selections are now eligible for All-America consideration.

A 6-4 shooting guard from Arlington, Va., Johnson helped pace Augusta State to both the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship and the PBC Tournament title and reach the Sweet 16 in his first year as a member of the program. He was a first-team, All-PBC selection and finished the season averaging 16.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

In addition, Johnson ranked second in the PBC in 3-point percentage (.437), third in the league in 3-point field goals made (3.2 per game), fourth in scoring (16.7 points) fifth in free-throw percentage (.855), seventh in minutes played (31.7 mpg.) and 10th in steals (1.6 spg.). He also ranked 12th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage and 14th in 3-point field goals made per game. He scored in double figures in 30 of 34 games and scored 20 or more points 10 times, including a career-high 31 points vs. Queens in the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional on Sunday, March 13.

Johnson drilled a career-best eight 3-pointers in the Jaguars' 71-60 NCAA Southeast Regional victory over Queens. He led the PBC in total 3-pointers made and set a new school record with 104 3-pointers made, breaking the previous mark of 90 set by Adam Miller during the 1994-05 season.

 A two-year member of the program, Ndongo more than tripled his scoring average from last season when he served as the Jaguars' sixth man. A 6-7 forward from Yaounde, Cameroon, Ndongo averaged 14.1 ppg., while leading ASU to its fourth league title in the last five seasons. He led the team in rebounding at 7.9 rpg., and ranked in the top 15 in the league in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage (.502).

Ndongo paced the team in scoring 11 times and tallied double-figure point totals in 28-of-34 games. He registered a team-best 10 double-doubles, including all three games of the NCAA Southeast Regional. In the championship game vs. Anderson on Tuesday, March 15, Ndongo enjoyed a career night with 28 points and 10 rebounds. For the three games in the regional, he shot 60 percent from the field and averaged 22.3 ppg., and 12.0 rpg. He was also an Academic All-American nominee and is finishing his requirements for his MBA this summer.

Phillip Brown spearheaded GSW's dramatic turnaround this season as the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and an All-Conference First Team selection. He was named the PBC Player of the Week on three occasions and is averaging 15 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. Brown is shooting 63.4 percent from the field, leading the PBC in both rebounding and field goal percentage. He ranks third in the conference in blocked shots and 10th in scoring.

Brown ranks near the top of D-II in several categories, as well, including rebounds per game (fourth), field goal percentage (11th) and blocks (19th).

A 6-foot-7 junior, Brown has recorded 14 double-doubles this season and scored in double-figures on 24 occasions. In addition, he's pulled down double-figure rebounds 16 times.

Clayton State’s Robinson and Downs have been the top two scorers in the Peach Belt all season, rotating more than once between first and second. Robinson finished first in the Peach Belt in scoring at 20.4 points a game, while Downs was a close second at 19.6 points a game.

A 6-foot-6, 180-pound senior from Lake Wales, Fla., Robinson has scored in double-figures in every game this season for the Lakers. Three times, he has scored 30 or more points, including his career-high 31 points twice against St. Augustine’s and against Georgia Southwestern in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

In addition, Robinson had 12 more games of scoring 20 or more points and recorded three double-doubles. In addition to leading the conference in scoring, he is also eighth in the conference in steals and 10th in free throw percentage (81 percent). Robinson came up only 10 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his Laker career.

A 5-6, 165-pound senior from Greenville, S.C., Downs scored in double-figures in all but one game this season. He also had 15 games with 20 or more points – the most by any player this season in the Peach Belt. Downs scored a career-high 28 points in three games against Tennessee Temple, USC Aiken and Georgia Southwestern.

He also recorded two double-doubles. Downs leads the Peach Belt in steals (2.3 spg) and is ranked second in assists (5.5 apg). He finished 59 points shy of 1,000 for his Laker career.

For Metress, the honor is the second in the last three seasons and the fourth selection overall since 2002.  He guided the Jaguars to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship in the last five seasons.

Despite having to replace all five starters, the Jags matched the school record for victories in a season with 30 and hosted their fifth consecutive NCAA Regional while reaching as high as No. 3 in the national rankings. With 65 consecutive weeks, ASU owns the nation's longest active streak of appearances in the national rankings and fourth-longest of all time.

First Team
Philip Brown, Georgia Southwestern
Jarrell Douglass, Limestone (S.C.)
Reggie Hopkins, Queens (N.C.)
George Johnson, Augusta State
Brandon Robinson, Clayton State
Chris Woods, Pfeiffer (N.C.)

Second Team
Richard Barbee, Belmont-Abbey (N.C.)
Timmy Downs, Clayton State
L.J. Dunn, Barton (N.C.)
Franck Ndongo, Augusta State
Josh Roper, Brevard (N.C.)

Coach of the Year: Dip Metress, Augusta State