BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball Nate Hale became the first player in program history to earn an all-region accolade as the senior guard garnered a spot on the D3Hoops.com All-East/Northeast Second-Team, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.
The honor comes on the heels of an eight-game season in which the blue-and-gold lost two games by a combined six points. Hale was a crucial ingredient to one of Suffolk's most successful seasons winning-percentage wise (.750) in program history.
The Nashua, New Hampshire product not only led the team in scoring, but topped the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) as well with an offensive output of 21.5 points per game, the 32nd-most points scored by a student-athlete in NCAA Division III this season. The 20-plus point average came behind a 55.2 connection rate from three-point land, good for ninth in the country in 2020-21, and a 52.1 shooting percentage from the field. His performance from downtown was consistent. He put in 4.00 triples per game, the sixth-most buckets buried from behind-the-arc per game in D3 this year.
Hale added 2.6 assists per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per outing.
The yearly accolade is not only the first for Hale in a Suffolk jersey, but in his collegiate career as he brought his talents to Beacon Hill from Rivier in 2019-20.
Players were nominated for recognition on the 20th-edition of the D3Hoops.com all-region teams by Sports Information Directors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some regions had limited numbers of teams competing so regions were combined for awards purposes. In order to be considered for recognition, a team had to play a minimum of five games to make their players eligible.
Hale was the only player from the CCC to earn the region distinction from the national organization.
2020-21 D3HOOPS.COM ALL-EAST/NORTHEAST REGION TEAM
First-Team
G – Jack Casale, St. Joseph's (Maine)
G – Marcus Azor, UMass Dartmouth
G – Andrew Jaworski, Babson
F – Ryan Algier, Rochester
F – Daniel Cook, St. Jogh Fisher
Second-Team
G – Dante Law, Rhode Island College
G – Nate Hale, Suffolk
G – Calvin Cheek, New England College
G – Peyton Olsen, Northn Vermont – Lyndon
F – Jeff Hunter, Keene State