Robert Morris men claim 3 Horizon League postseason awards

Five years into its Horizon League membership, Robert Morris finally is proving the prognosticators wrong.

Picked to finish ninth in the 11-team conference and with no one on the preseason all-league men’s basketball teams, the Colonials on Monday claimed three of the Horizon’s major postseason awards less than a week after clinching their first regular-season championship.

“Obviously, excited and happy,” said Robert Morris’ Andy Toole, who was named the conference’s Coach of the Year after leading the Colonials to a 15-5 Horizon mark, their first winning record since joining the league.

RMU sophomore Alvaro Folgueiras was named Player of the Year and junior Amarion Dickerson garnered Defensive Player of the Year.

Folgueiras, who averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, also was named to the all-league first team, while senior Kam Woods, RMU’s leading scorer (14.6 ppg), joined Dickerson on the second team, and Dickerson also was voted to the league’s all-defensive team and was a finalist for the annual Sportsmanship Award.

“It’s a reflection of the season that they had, the production that they had on the floor and the impact that they had on winning that other coaches in the league honored them in a such a way,” Toole said. “I’m really proud of how they’ve played, how they’ve performed and how they’ve sacrificed during the course of the season.”

Cleveland State picked up two specialty awards in Freshman of the Year Je’Shawn Stevenson and Sixth Man of the Year Chase Robinson.

Jamichael Stillwell of Milwaukee was named Newcomer of the Year and Jalen Jackson of Purdue Fort Wayne topped a group that included Dickerson to win the Sportsmanship Award.

Folgueiras, who was injured in Robert Morris’ 82-68 victory at IU Indianapolis on Thursday and was listed as day-to-day in advance of this week’s Horizon League Tournament, shot a league-leading 56.4% and finished the regular season with 12 double-doubles.

The top-seeded Colonials received a first-round bye and will open postseason play in the tournament’s quarterfinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at UPMC Events Center against an opponent to be determined after Tuesday’s scheduled first-round games.

In an earlier game, the No. 4 Robert Morris women’s team will entertain No. 5 Northern Kentucky in a Horizon Tournament quarterfinals game at 5:30 p.m.

Cleveland State is the tournament’s top seed.

Despite earning a first-round bye, Robert Morris (14-15, 10-10) was shut out of the all-conference teams.

Purdue Fort Wayne’s Maria Marchesano was named Coach of the Year, Cleveland State’s Mickayla Perdue was named Player of the Year, Green Bay’s Bailey Butler was voted the Defensive Player of the Year, Lauren Ross of Purdue Fort Wayne was named Newcomer of the Year, Youngstown State’s Sophia Gregory collected Freshman of the Year, Jordan Reid of Purdue Fort Wayne won Sixth Player of the Year and Jazzlyn Linbo of Purdue Fort Wayne won the Sportsmanship Award.

Dickerson ranks fifth in Division I on the men’s side in blocked shots with 76, and his average of 2.5 blocks per game ranks second in the league and 10th in D-I.

Woods, who was a member of North Carolina State’s Final Four team last season before transferring to Robert Morris, led the Colonials in scoring (14.6 ppg), despite missing five games with an injury.

He finished second in the league in assists (133), assists per game (5.1 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).

For Toole, who is in his 15th season as Robert Morris’ coach, it is his second Coach of the Year honor. He won a similar award in 2014, when the Colonials played in the Northeast Conference.

Robert Morris (23-8 overall) is ranked No. 22 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25. The Colonials’ .742 winning percentage is the highest since the 2008 team finished the regular season at .765 when the Colonials were a member of the NEC.

Horizon League All-Conference Teams

Men

First team

Tevin Smith, Cleveland State

Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee

Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne

Jalen Jackson, Purdue Fort Wayne

Alvaro Folgueiras, Robert Morris

Second team

Themus Fulks, Milwaukee

Allen Mukeba, Oakland

Amarion Dickerson, Robert Morris

Kam Woods, Robert Morris

Brandon Noel, Wright State

Third team

Dylan Arnett, Cleveland State

Tahj Staveskie, Cleveland State

Trey Robinson, Northern Kentucky

EJ Farmer, Youngstown State

Nico Galette, Youngstown State

Freshman team

Reece Robinson, Cleveland State

Je’Shawn Stevenson, Cleveland State

Nate Johnson, Detroit Mercy

DeSean Goode, IU Indianapolis

Solomon Callaghan, Wright State

Defensive team

Dylan Arnett, Cleveland State

Tevin Smith, Cleveland State

Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne

Amarion Dickerson, Robert Morris

Gabe Dynes, Youngstown State

Women

First team

Mickayla Perdue, Cleveland State

Natalie McNeal, Green Bay

Maddy Schreiber, Green Bay

Katie Davidson, IU Indianapolis

Lauren Ross, Purdue Fort Wayne

Second team

Jordana Reisma, Cleveland State

Maddy Skorupski, Oakland

Amellia Bromenschenkel, Purdue Fort Wayne

Sydney Freeman, Purdue Fort Wayne

Jewel Watkins, Youngstown State

Third team

Sara Guerreiro, Cleveland State

Destiny Leo, Cleveland State

Aaliyah McQueen, Detroit Mercy

Emaia O’Brien, Detroit Mercy

Amaya Staton, Wright State

Freshman team

Kailey Starks, Detroit Mercy

Azyah Newson-Cole, IU Indianapolis

Payton Rechlicz, Milwaukee

Kamora Morgan, Northern Kentucky

Sophia Gregory, Youngstown State

Defensive team

Sara Guerreiro, Cleveland State

Jordana Reisma, Cleveland State

Bailey Butler, Green Bay

Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, Green Bay

Amaya Staton, Wright State