NEWTOWN, Pa. - The Albright Men's Basketball team enjoyed their best season in seven years finishing the regular season as the top team in the MAC Commonwealth. Head Coach
Rick Ferry was named MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year,
Phanique Dupree named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year,
Eric Chamberlain named First-Team All-MAC Commonwealth and
Jeremiah Stanton named All-MAC Commonwealth Honorable Mention.
This season marked the 24
th for coach Ferry at the helm. Under his leadership, the Lions won 17 games overall and went 12-2 in MAC Commonwealth play. Ferry guided this year's team to their best season since the team's 20-win season in 2017-18.
Prior to this season, the Lions were slated sixth in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. What then followed was the Lions ending the regular season as the top seeded team with three players receiving all conference recognition. This is the fourth time coach Ferry has been named Coach of the Year and now has 328 career wins with the Lions.
Dupree joined his teammate
Eric Chamberlain as just the second player to win the conference's defensive player of the year award in program history. After starting just six games last year, Dupree started all 25 games for the Lions averaging over 30 minutes of play (30.3).
The junior set a new program record for blocks in a season with 90, and per game average of 3.6 went on to lead the entire nation (D3). Dupree also picked up 31 steals and ended the season with a rebounding average just under nine (8.9). One of Dupree's best performances of the season came against Penn St. Berks (11/8) where he scored 17 points and flirted with a triple double with rebounds (9) and blocks (8).
In addition to breaking program records, Dupree also set a career high with eight blocks in the team's opener against Penn St. Berks. Dupree also recorded 10 double-doubles and recorded a season high 12 rebounds four times throughout the season.
Chamberlain finished the season averaging a career best 18 ppg in addition to recording another 64 steals to become the first Lion to surprise 200 steals for a career (236). This past season, Chamberlain dropped a career high 34 points in the team's win against Eastern. Chamberlain becomes the first Lion to receive first team honors since his former teammates Corey Simmons and Sam Majekodunmi were recognized in 2021.
Chamberlain ends his collegiate career with a strong list of accolades and records in addition to joining the ranks of the 1,000-point club this past season. Chamberlain ended with 1,299 career points ending in a tie for 22
nd all-time in program history with Albright Hall of Famer John Scholl.
Stanton was named an All-MAC Commonwealth Honorable Mention after appearing in 17 games this season with 12 starts and stepped up as the team's main facilitator throughout the season.
In his second start against Stevenson, Stanton dished out a career high 11 assists in the win. Stanton also played a huge role in the team's overtime win against York. Stanton scored the first eight points for the Lions and also recorded three rebounds, a steal and six assists in 38 minutes of play.
The junior Lion finished the season ranked highly in the MAC Commonwealth in total assists and assists per game. Stanton averaged 4.2 assists this season, which was good for second in the conference. Stanton also finished ninth in conference in total assists (72), despite playing eight less games than everyone else in the top 10.