Suffolk University Men's Basketball junior Matt Pepdjonovic (Quincy, Mass.) was a second-team All-Conference selection by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) for the 2011-12 season.
Pepdjonovic started all 25 games this season for the Rams logging a team-high 34.8 minutes per game. He averaged 17.0 points per game and had a rebounding average of 13.6 boards per game which led all players in the GNAC and is currently the second best average among all NCAA Division-III Men's Basketball players in the nation. Pepdjonovic was dynamic on both sides of the court this year for the Rams. He recorded a double-double in total points and rebounds in 21 of 25 contests for the Rams, the second highest total in NCAA Division-III Men's Basketball, while his 3.2 blocked shots per game average (80 total) is the fifth best mark in the country and tops in the league.
Pepdjonovic reached a career milestone on January 17, 2012 as he scored his 1,000th career point becoming the 26th player in Suffolk's 66-year Men's Basketball program history to do so. Pepdjonovic hit the career mark at 12:25 in the first half in the Rams' 98-65 loss at Tufts University as he connected on a free-throw as he scored 24 points on the evening for Suffolk.
Through three seasons Pepdjonovic has now scored 1,191 career points in 76 career games which ranks as the 17th highest total in Suffolk program history. He has scored at a 15.7 points per game clip, while grabbing 12.8 rebounds per game. He is currently on pace to finish his career as only the second player ever to record 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds in Suffolk University Men's Basketball history. Christos Tsiotos ('77) is the only other player to do so as he achieved 1,639 points and 1,016 rebounds. Tsiotos was a 2009 inductee into the Suffolk University Hall of Fame. Pepdjonovic has totaled 975 career rebounds so far in his career.
Pepdjonovic became the 53rd player in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) history to achieve 1,000 career points since the league's inception in 1996. Suffolk has been members of the GNAC since the 1999-2000 season. Last season he became the league's 34th member of the 500 career rebound club. If Pepdjonovic continues to score and rebound at his current pace he will become only the third player in GNAC history to record the grand total plateau in points and rebounds joining Ray Askew ('12) of Albertus Magnus College and Jeff Carpenter ('08) of Rivier College. He also has a chance to be only the fifth player in league history to maintain a double-double points and rebounds per-game average for a career.
Pepdjonovic was a first-team All-Conference selection for the 2010-11 season by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). Pepdjonovic finished the season averaging 17.0 points and 13.3 rebounds in 26 games this season for the Rams. His 13.3 boards per game were ranked third among all NCAA Division-III players, while it was the highest total among GNAC players. His 17.0 points per game average was eighth among scorers in the league. Pepdjonovic was also one of the league's top defenders averaging 2.1 blocks per game (55 total), while collecting a league best 9.5 defensive boards per game. Pepdjonovic started all 26 games on the season for the Rams at center logging a team-best 33 minutes per game. During the year, Pepdjonovic posted 17 double-doubles on the year (10th most in the nation) and combined to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game on three occasions.
In 2009-10, Pepdjonovic was named GNAC Rookie of the Year, while also garnering 3rd team All-Conference honors. That season the 6'6 Rams center provided a dominant force in the paint for the Rams starting all 25 games and leading his team in points, averaging 13.0 points per game and was one of the leading rebounders in the nation. His 11.6 rebounds per game was ranked ninth among all NCAA Division-III players and was second in the league as a freshman.
The Rams finished the season with a 9-16 overall mark, finishing ninth in the GNAC with a 6-12 league record.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
2012 ALL CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team
Ray Askew Albertus Magnus Sr Hamden, CT
Darius Watson Albertus Magnus So New Britain, CT
Anthony Click Anna Maria Jr Springfield, MA
Lamonte Thomas Johnson & Wales Sr Providence, RI
Zach O'Brien Saint Joseph's (ME) Sr Schenectady, NY
Second Team
Isaiah Duke Emmanuel Sr Albany, NY
Javon Williams Lasell Sr Mattapan, MA
Sean Bertanza Lasell Jr Seymour, CT
Chris Petzy Saint Joseph's (ME) Sr Kensington, NH
Matt Pepdjonovic Suffolk Jr Quincy, MA
Third Team
Arshad Jackson Albertus Magnus Jr Hartford, CT
Nathan Firn Emerson Sr Wadesboro, NC
Theo Robinson Emmanuel So Springfield, MA
Isiah Benjamin Mount Ida Sr Windsor, CT
Antonio Davis Norwich Sr Albany, NY
Player of the Year: Ray Askew Albertus Magnus
Rookie of the Year: Eli Kell-Abrams Emerson
Def. Player of the Year: Ray Askew Albertus Magnus
Coach of the Year: Mitch Oliver Albertus Magnus