BIDDEFORD, Maine – Following the first-ever season competing in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Suffolk men's basketball saw two standout student-athletes receive All-CCC recognition in Nate Hale and Aidan Sullivan. Hale picked up a spot on the first team, while Sullivan sealed a slot on the third team, the league office announced Tuesday.
As a fifth-year, Hale has always been in the conversation as one of the most threatening scorers in the league this season. The 6-foot-4 guard from Nashua, New Hampshire, has assembled an 18.0 points per game average on a lethal 45.1 connection rate from the floor, which includes a 41.7 shooting percentage from 3-point land. He has contributed double digits in scoring in all, but three of Suffolk's 24 games this year and hit the 20-point mark seven times with two 30-plus point outings. His final year of eligibility also features a milestone moment as he became the 31st member of Suffolk's 1,000-point club in a thrilling 90-81 upset win over then-No. 11 Tufts Nov. 18, 2021.
Hale adds 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game to his all-around effort. The conference accolade is the first of his career and marks the first Ram to take home first-team honors since Thomas Duffy earned a first-team nod from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in 2019.
Sullivan, meanwhile, secured his first all-league honor as well after having a career-high season. He heads into the postseason second on Suffolk's squad in scoring with 11.7 points per game, however, it is his finesse for setting up the offense with a league-best 4.9 assists per outing that truly sealed his spot on the conference's third team. The junior from Scituate, Massachusetts pitches in 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game to his stat line.
The two all-conference nods mark the first time a pair of Rams were recognized with all-league distinction since Duffy and Steven DiPrizio each garnered All-GNAC in 2019. The awards start a new collection of all-league accolades for Suffolk. When combined with the vast GNAC honors, the Rams now have earned 29 all-conference honors including three rookies of the year, a dozen first-team, five second-team and nine third-team selections.
Hale and Sullivan were instrumental in helping the Rams secure not only a spot in the CCC postseason in its first year in the conference, but home hardwood in the quarterfinals as Suffolk sealed up the fourth seed with a 10-8 league ledger.
CCC Quarterfinal action gets underway tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 22 when the fourth-seeded Rams welcome the fifth-seeded Gulls of Endicott to Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court for a 5:30 p.m. outing.
2022 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CCC TEAM
MAJOR AWARDS
Player of the Year - Jakigh Dottin, Nichols
Defensive Player of the Year - Jaekwon Spencer, Nichols
Rookie of the Year - Tahmeen Dupree, Nichols
CCC Scholar-Athlete - Cameron Collins, Salve Regina
Coach of the Year - Sean Foster, Salve Regina
Team Sportsmanship - Gordon
FIRST TEAM ALL-CCC
Cameron Collins, Salve Regina
Jakigh Dottin, Nichols
Jalen Echevarria, Endicott
Nate Hale, Suffolk
Eli Harris, Roger Williams
Drew Hart, Roger Williams
Mikey Spencer, Salve Regina
SECOND TEAM ALL-CCC
Matthew Alectus, Nichols
Trey Carrier, Wentworth
Alex Kravchuk, U. of New England
Garrett Sattazahn, Gordon
Jaekwon Spencer, Nichols
THIRD TEAM ALL-CCC
Billy Arseneault, Endicott
Tahmeen Dupree, Nichols
Matt Morrow, Nichols
Alex Sikorski, Western New England
Aidan Sullivan, Suffolk