University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Justin Tuoyo was named Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, announced by the league office.
The 6-foot-10 center set a career high with 6.7 rebounds per game and led the SoCon with 2.9 blocks per contest, while also averaging a career-best 13.6 points per contest for the 19-11 Mocs, who face Wofford in the conference quarterfinals at 2:30 at the Asheville (N.C.) Civic Center.
He was also named first-team all-conference by the coaches and second team by the media. Senior guard-forward Tre' McLean, who led the team in the regular season with 13.6 points per game and averaged 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting a career-best 39.1 percent from 3-point range, was named to the second team by the coaches and third team by the media.
Furman's Devin Sibley was named conference player of the year, averaging 17.3 points and shot 45 percent from 3-point range, while the Paladins' Niko Medved, who helped lead his team to a 21-10 record and a share of the SoCon championship, was named Coach of the Year.
The Citadel's Preston Parks, who averaged 18 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals, was named freshman of the year.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.