Kaleb Lowery Named GSAC Player of the Year

Kaleb Lowery has been voted Golden State Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year by the conference's coaches.
 
The awards didn't stop there as Victor Ohia Obioha was named co-Defensive Player of the Year, Kamrin Oriol earned Freshman of the Year, and Jordan Caruso voted on the All-GSAC team.
 
Lowery, a 6-8 sophomore, averaged 15.8 points per game (eighth in the GSAC) and 9.9 rebounds a game (second in the conference). He finished with 14 double-doubles, scoring a career-high 31 against Westmont and pulling down a season-best 17 rebounds in the final game of the year against Menlo. His 25 blocks on the season ranks him fifth in the GSAC.
 
"Kaleb is a special talent," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "He has always been a great athlete and basketball player. This year I have seen even more growth in his maturity as a man, and that growth has led to him dominating games. As just a sophomore his ceiling is still so high.  Can't wait to see how high he flies."
 
Victor Ohia Obioha led the conference in blocks with 54, nearly double that of second place. Nationally, the 6-10 senior from Owerri, Nigeria, ranks No. 15 with his blocks, averaging 2.0 per game. He averaged 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, but in the last 10 games of the season, all against GSAC opponents, Ohia Obioha averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds a game while rejecting 36 of the 54 shots he blocked.
 
"Victor has anchored our defense this year," Starr said. "He makes everything at the rim a challenge for our opponents. He has sold out to his role on our team and is the main reason we have performed so well on the defensive end."
 
Despite getting injured late in the season, Kamrin Oriol averaged 10.3 points per game coming off the bench for the Mustangs. The 6-3 freshman from St. Petersburg, Fla., averaged less than 22 minutes a game, yet was still able to score in double digits in nine games out of the 19 he played, with a season-high 24 against OUAZ.
 
"What Kamrin has done as a freshman in the GSAC is really impressive," said Coach Starr. "Averaging double digits off the bench on a deep team as a freshmen is special. He has a huge future ahead of him."
 
Another player injured late in the season, Jordan Caruso was voted to the All-GSAC team for the first time. The 6-3 junior from New York City, averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Starting all 20 games he played before his injury, the transfer from Vanguard scored double digits in all but three games, including a season-high 23 against Hope International.
 
"Jordan has been a spark all year for us," Starr said. "He has been so good in the open court and getting downhill. Our team was devastated for him when he suffered the knee injury. He has been a huge part of our success."