March 31, 2010

PEMBROKE – UNCP's Shahmel Brackett and Brandon Thomas have been named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association's (NCCSIA) College Division All-State Men's Basketball Second Team for their efforts for the Braves during the 2009-10 campaign, it was announced Wednesday.

Brackett, a native of Florence, S.C., was named the Peach Belt Conference's Freshman of the Year earlier this month. He started 22 of the 24 games he's played in and scored in double figures in 17 contests, including a career-high 29 points against Francis Marion on Feb. 3.

He ranked 12th in the PBC in scoring averaging 14.0 points per game and 10th in the conference in free throw percentage with a mark of .800. Brackett led the team in scoring average and is second in points with 331. He also led the team in 3-pointers made with 36 on the year.

Brackett pulled down 67 rebounds including a career-high seven boards twice on the year. In his first collegiate game he scored 18 points and dished out four assists against Fayetteville State on Nov. 16. In UNCP's rematch with FSU on Dec. 14 he hit the game-winning layup to give UNCP its fourth win of the season. He's third on the team in assists with 61 and led the team in scoring 10 times this season.

A native of Cherryville, N.C., Thomas was named the PBC Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 21. He led the team in scoring with 342 points, rebounds with 155 and blocks with 26. Thomas recorded four double-doubles this season and tied a career-high for points with 24 against Anderson on Dec.12.

He reached the 20-point plateau four times this year while reaching double digit points in 19 contests. Thomas started 23-of-25 contests and pulled down 10 or more rebounds in five games, including a 14-board performance against Lander on Jan. 13.  He ranked eighth in the PBC in field goal percentage with a mark of .535, ninth in block shots with 26 and 11th in rebounding averaging 6.3 per game.

Thomas was 16th in the PBC in scoring averaging 13.3 points per game. He scored 22 points against North Georgia on Feb. 22, 21 points against The Apprentice School on Nov. 28 and 21 points against Lander on Dec. 20. He led the team in scoring and rebounding in nine games this year.

The teams consist of student-athletes from North Carolina NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA institutions. Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals. NCCSIA members voted for the all-state teams and teams were selected for men and women in both the college and university (NCAA Division I) divisions.

Founded in 2002, The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) is comprised of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.

NCSSIA selects all-state teams in the University (Division I) and College (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, softball and baseball.