Laput Named Northeast-10 Player of the Year; 3 Teammates Also Receive All-Conference Honors
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University junior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS), the leading scorer in the conference, has been selected as the Men's Basketball Player of the Year in the Northeast-10 Conference. He's only the third Falcon to receive the honor, following in the footsteps of Jim Ferrer (1989) and Jason Westrol (2010), both NE10 and Bentley Hall of Famers.
The six-foot-four Laput was also voted to the All-Northeast-10 first team.
Three Bentley graduate students were also recognized Monday when the conference announced its year-end awards. Forward Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) was on the All-Conference second team, guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) was tabbed for the third team and the first-ever NE10 All-Defensive Team included guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School).
Laput, who had 29 points and 11 rebounds Sunday in Bentley's 78-67 win over Le Moyne in the NE10 quarterfinals, averages 20.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, three assists and one steal. He's had a very good shooting season with accuracy marks of .545 overall, .418 from three and .839 from the foul line. No other player in the NCAA Division II East Region can match that combination of numbers.
"We're very pleased to see Zach chosen as the NE-10 Conference Player of the Year after the kind of regular season he had," said coach Jay Lawson. "His efficient and consistent numbers certainly speak for themselves as both a high level scorer and rebounder. However, what the numbers don't explain is Zach's special drive to improve and reach his full potential. He is highly motivated and has a special work ethic that will not only push him to continued success, but also motivate his teammates to take a similar approach."
Laput has 18 20-point games this season, including at least 26 in three of the last four, and has five double-doubles. In addition to being the only NE10 player to produce more than 18 points a game, he leads the conference in free throws made and attempted, is fifth in field goal percentage, sixth in free throw percentage, ninth in three-point accuracy and tenth in rebounds a game.
Leritz, in his first Bentley season after a standout career at Illinois Wesleyan University, is averaging 14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He's number two in the conference in rebounds as well as third in field goal percentage (.570) and fourth in shooting the three (44.1). Last week against American International, he became the first Falcon in 45 years to claim 20 rebounds in a game.
Webb, 20 points away from becoming the 22nd player in program history with 1,400 career points, averages 14.0 points while shooting 45 percent overall, 41 percent from downtown and 90 percent from the foul stripe. His numbers have been even more impressive over the second half of the season: 16.0 PPG, .503 FG and .457 from three while making 3.1 treys a game.
Wright-Kinsey leads Bentley in both steals (28) and blocks (30), and is second in the conference in assist-turnover ratio. He leads the Falcons in offensive rebounds (57) and is also second on the team in rebounds per game (7.3), fourth in assists (64) and fifth in scoring (9.4).
Bentley, 21-5 overall and the number one team in the latest NCAA Division II East Region rankings, will play at Saint Anselm Wednesday in the Northeast-10 semifinals.