NAIA
[Men's Basketball] Francis and Hines Headline SAC Awards
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Wednesday afternoon, the Sooner Athletic Conference announced that Chris Francis and Cameron Hines (SR/Ft. Cobb, OK) were the biggest winners for the annual postseason awards. The conference announced that head coach Chris Francis and Cameron Hines earned the league's top awards for a player and a coach. Additionally, Cameron Hines, Stephon Hall (SR/Oklahoma City, OK), and Rory Pantophlet (JR/Philipsburg, Sint Maarten) were awarded with All-Conference selections.Chris Francis collected his first John Hudson SAC Coach of the Year honor, after leading the Drovers to a 24-5 regular season record and a No. 10 ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, as well as the program's first regular season championship since the 2000-01 season. Coincidentally, the last Drover men's basketball head coach to earn the honor was Brisco McPherson (00-01), when he led the Drovers to the SAC Regular Season Championship, as well as a runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championship. Since taking the helm in 2015-16, Francis has led the Drovers to a 137-71 (.659) overall record as well as a pair of SAC Tournament Championships, and five NAIA National Tournament appearances.Under the guidance of Coach Francis, Cameron Hines was selected as the third player in program-history to be awarded SAC Player of the Year award. Hines also earned first-team All-SAC honors for his tremendous play, averaging 17.8 points per game. This season, the sharp-shooter from Ft. Cobb has knocked down 40.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and 89.4 percent at the charity stripe. In addition to his shiny, new SAC P.O.T.Y award, the decorated guard has earned three All-SAC selections, a NAIA All-America selection, 2021 SAC Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, and the 2021 SAC Tournament MVP award. In his career he has tallied 1,700 points, 339 rebounds, 355 assists, and 96 steals. Hines ranks second in program-history in points, second in three-pointers made (278), and third in assists.Stephon Hall reeled in his third consecutive All-SAC selection after another spectacular season on both ends of the court. Since stepping on campus in 2018, he has evolved from a good offensive player to a terrific all-round superstar. During the regular season, Hall delivered 15.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 1.67 steals per contest. He was very efficient on offense, shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from three-point range, and 83.7 percent from the free-throw line. The Oklahoma City native owns the program-record for assists (402), while ranking second in steals (159), third in three-pointers made (208), and seventh in points (1,472).Rory Pantophlet made an immediate impact in his first year as a Drover, tallying 10.0 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. The big man recorded six double-doubles and hauled in 95 offensive rebounds, which ranked 14thin the NAIA this season. Pantophlet was incredibly efficient on offense, shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line. WHAT'S NEXT?The No. 1 seed Drovers will open postseason play as they host No. 8 seed Southwestern Christian University in the SAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, February 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 PM CT inside Drover Fieldhouse. MORE INFO Stay up to date on all Science & Arts Athletics news by following us on our media platforms!Athletics Website: www.usaoathletics.comLive-stream: www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/YouTube: Drover AthleticsTwitter: @DroverAthleticsFacebook: @DroverAthleticsInstagram: @drover_athleticsGIPHY: www.giphy.com/USAODrovers