WHITEFISH, Mont. – Frontier Conference commissioner Kent Paulson announced the all-conference men's basketball team, as well as individual award winners today after balloting by the league's coaches.
Westminster was represented with four players on the two all-conference teams.
Jake Orchard and
Ben Walker were both named to the first team while
Jordan Hayter and
AJ Reilly made the second team.
This is the second straight year that Orchard was named to the first team. The 6-4 junior from Salt Lake City led the Griffins by averaging 15.2 points per game while ranking third in the league in that department. He is 24th in the NAIA by shooting 81.6% at the foul line while placing 25th with a 53% field goal percentage.
Walker was named to the first team for the second time in his career after also making the squad in 2010. The 6-7 senior from Lehi, Utah averaged 11.9 points per game while also grabbing a team-best 5.4 rebounds per night. Walker led the Frontier Conference with 53 blocked shots and was 15th in the NAIA in that category and also 21st with an average of 1.66 per game.
Hayter was named to the second team in his first year with the Griffins. The 6-3 junior from Grants Pass, Ore. averaged 9.7 points per game during the season and shot 50.2% from the field. He is sixth in the Frontier in steals per game at 1.41 while also placing eighth in assists with an average of 2.7.
Reilly made the second team for the second consecutive season. The 5-10 senior from San Diego averaged 8.9 points per game this season while shooting 49.2% from the field. After moving to a reserve role shortly after league play began, Reilly raised his scoring average to 9.5 points per game. He led the team in scoring on five occasions and 13 times scored in double figures this year.
Montana Western's Steve Keller was selected as the 2011-2012 Coach of the Year. Keller led Western to a conference co-championship and a berth to the national tournament. Montana Western senior guard Brandon Brown was named Player of the Year for the second straight year. Brown was the preseason pick of the league's coaches for Player of the Year. This year, he led the Frontier in scoring and in assists.
P.J. Bolt of Lewis-Clark State College was named Newcomer of the Year. Montana State-Northern's Joe Simpson was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Adam Greger of Montana Tech was named Freshman of the Year. Leon Sutton of the University of Great Falls was selected the Frontier's 6th Man of the Year.
