FAIRMONT — Sophomore Steve Custis and true freshman Isaac Thornton lead a group of four Fairmont State University players who received honors on the annual All-West Virginia Conference Men’s Basketball Team which was selected by the league’s 16 coaches and announced today by the conference.
Custis, a 6-1 guard from Frederick, Md., was named to the league’s nine-member first-team unit, while Thornton, a 6-3 guard from Martinsburg, was selected as the WVC’s Freshman of the Year.
Custis is FSU’s leading scorer with a 17.4 average and played a big role in the team’s most successful start in 10 years. He helped Fairmont get off to a 19-3 beginning before suffering a torn meniscus in his knee. He missed the last five games of the regular season and the Falcons went just 2-3 in those five games.
Custis shot 50.7 percent from the field (138-of-272), averaged 3.5 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists and was second on the team in steals with 44.
The Falcons are hoping to have the services of Custis this week for the WVC Tournament which begins tonight when FSU hosts Concord University at 7:30 p.m. at the Joe Retton Arena.
Thornton, meanwhile, wasted little time proving he could be an impact player in the WVC. The youngster, who led Martinsburg High School to the Class AAA state title last year, got off to a hot start for the Falcons and never let up. He averaged 15.1 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, a team-high 2.7 assists and was third on the squad in steals with 41 during the regular season. He also tallied 32 3-pointers which was second on the team.
Thornton becomes the second FSU player to garner Freshman of the Year honors in the league in the last five seasons. Chris Carey won the award in 2006 for the Falcons, but later transferred and finished his career at Salem International.
FSU senior Dan Bruner and junior Terrence Green also received accolades from the league. Bruner, a 6-9 forward from Kettering, Ohio, was named to the second-team unit, while Green, a 6-3 guard/forward from Williamsburg, Va., received honorable mention.
Bruner averaged 12.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing for the Falcons. He led FSU with 71 made 3-point field goals and set a new school record for made 3-pointers in a game when he nailed 11 earlier this year in a victory over Salem International.
Green, on the other hand, averaged 12.7 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per outing. He also led the team in steals (50), blocked shots (19) and was second in assists with an average of 2.2 per game.
The 2009-10 WVC Player of the Year is Alderson-Broaddus standout 6-4 senior point guard Terrell Eargle who helped lead an inexperienced Battler squad to a 22-5 regular season mark with his across the board contributions. The Youngstown, Ohio native leads the WVC in rebounding (10.9) and steals (3.3), while ranking among the league’s leaders in scoring (14.7, 19th) and assists (4.2, 7th). His 14 double-doubles are also tops in the league this season. A near-quadruple double of 16 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, and eight steals during a January win against Davis & Elkins ranks among the top individual efforts in Division II during 2009-10. The four-year starter has been a part of 99 victories against only 24 defeats during his Battler career.
West Liberty head coach Jim Crutchfield, who led the Hilltoppers to a 25-1 overall record and their first regular-season league title since 1961, has been named the conference’s Coach of the Year by his peers for the second time since 2005.
The sixth-year Hilltoppers’ coach owns an outstanding 138-37 career record at the school. His teams have won 20 or more games in each of his six seasons. This year West Liberty ended the regular season with a 20-game winning streak. The Hilltoppers are averaging 104.0 points per game and currently hold the top spot in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Rankings.
Crutchfield, a native of Clarksburg, also won eight WVC tennis Coach of the Year awards (three men and five women) during a stint as the Hilltoppers’ head coach in that sport.
Joining Eargle and Custis on the nine-player first-team unit are West Liberty’s Corey Pelle and Mike Mathey, West Virginia State’s Darren Jones and Josh Miller, Davis & Elkins’ Tim Turner, Alderson-Broaddus’ Jamar Board and Charleston’s Bahaadar Russell.
No members of the first-team unit are repeat players from last season, however, Eargle was a first-team selection in 2007-08 as a sophomore.
Bruner is joined on the second-team unit by Pitt-Johnstown’s Danny Branch and Patrick Grubbs, Charleston’s John White, Davis & Elkins’ P.J. Turner, Seton Hill’s Chris Giles, West Virginia Wesleyan’s Justin Caldwell and Wheeling Jesuit’s Steve Catich.
Besides Green, the honorable mention list includes: West Liberty’s Barry Shetzer and John Wolosinczuk, Charleston’s Jonathan Liggins, Ohio Valley’s Donavin Vinson, Seton Hill’s Cody Boone and Shepherd’s Tyrone Roach.
Joining Thornton on the All-Freshman Team are Wheeling Jesuit’s Recardo Gaddy and Andre Harris, Pitt-Johnstown’s Nick Novak, Seton Hill’s Justin McCoy and Shepherd’s Chad Moore.
