MANNING SELECTED TO ALL-ROOKIE SQUAD BY ECC

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Mar. 3, 2009) - Freshman guard Chris Manning (Queens, N.Y.) landed his name on the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball All-Rookie Team on Tuesday as the league announced its year-end honors. This season, he earned ECC Rookie of the Week recognition four times, and led the conference in steals per game with an average of 3.59. He is also ranked second in the country in that same category.

Manning ended the regular season with totals of 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. He also passed 111 assists and swiped 94 steals - both of which led Molloy. From a national standpoint, Manning is presently No. 61 amongst Division II in assists per game (4.5). In the East Coast Conference, he is fourth in APG, sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.35) and 11th in minutes played (32.04).

Joining him on the All-Rookie team are St. Thomas Aquinas guard Ra'Shad James (White Plains, N.Y.) and Queens College guard Edil Lacayo (Bronx, N.Y.), who were both dubbed the ECC Co-Rookies of the Year. Dowling College guard John Merchant (Monticello, N.Y.) and Concordia College forward/center William Eason (Springfield, Mass.) also made the cut in addition to Manning.

Head Coach Charlie Marquardt and the Lions have secured the eighth seed in the East Coast Conference Tournament. They will take on No. 2 and top-seeded C.W. Post in the quarterfinal round at the Pratt Recreation Center on Wednesday night in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

2009 All-East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Teams

First-Team

Richard Byrd - Adelphi

Nicholas Carter - C.W. Post

Akeem Comas - St. Thomas Aquinas

Teairez Stennis - Bridgeport

David Seagers - Dowling

Second-Team

Khaleef Allicott - Queens

Dave Boykin - Bridgeport

Kenny Burkes - C.W. Post

Casey Cosgrove - Adelphi

Bryant Lassiter - NYIT

All-Rookie Team

Ra'Shad James - St. Thomas Aquinas

Edil Lacayo - Queens

Chris Manning - Molloy

John Merchant - Dowling

Daniel Olsen - Concordia

Player of the Year: Jonathan Schmidt - C.W. Post

Co-Rookies of the Year: Ra'Shad James - St. Thomas Aquinas/Edil Lacayo - Queens

Coach of the Year: Tim Cluess - C.W. Post