The Oglethorpe men's basketball team was well-represented in the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association (GABCA) Division III All-State Awards, released Friday by the organization. Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder was named the Georgia Division III Coach of the Year, while senior guard Tyler Courson earned First Team All-State honors, sophomore guard and forward Drew Patrick and Victor Rohlfs took home Second Team All-State accolades, and junior guard Alex Davis garnered All-State Honorable Mention.
Ponder earns his third Georgia Division III Coach of the Year award, and his first since 2008-09. He led his team to a 21-7 overall mark on the season, marking the first 20-win season of his career and the second in the Division III era for the Stormy Petrel men's basketball program. The team finished third in the SAA during the regular season, accruing a 9-5 record in conference play, before advancing all the way to the SAA championship game with victories over Millsaps in the quarterfinals and Birmingham-Southern, who'd defeated the Stormy Petrels in both regular-season meetings, in the semifinals. The Petrels lost the championship game by a single point in overtime to hosts Centre. It was the second time in Ponder's career that he's led a team to their conference tournament's championship game.
Courson earns First Team All-State honors after taking home All-SAA Second Team accolades and being named as a participant in the GABCA Senior All-Star Game, which will take place in Dorough Field House at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. He finished fourth in the SAA in scoring (15.9 points per game) and in steals (1.5 per game). He did this while playing the most minutes of anybody in the league, averaging 35.9 per game. He earned three SAA Player of the Week awards this season. He was named to the SAA All-Tournament team for his fine work in that event, which included a game-winning shot with four seconds left in the semifinals against Birmingham-Southern and 21 points in the championship game against Centre. He was also named to the All-Equinox Classic team for his work in that season-opening event in which the Petrels went 2-0.
Patrick takes home Second Team All-State honors despite suffering a season-ending injury on January 24. However, his season up to that point was good enough to earn him Second Team All-State honors and All-SAA Honorable Mention. At the time of his injury, he was averaging 13.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 41.0 percent from three-point range and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line. He was named SAA Player of the Week in early December after a 38-point performance in an overtime win over crosstown rival Emory.
Rohlfs garners Second Team All-State accolades after earning All-SAA Honorable Mention for his work during the season. He finished fourth in the league in blocks with 1.2 a game and fifth in defensive rebounds with 4.9 a game. He was named MVP of the Country Inn and Suites Holiday Classic in late December after his performance led the Petrels to a 2-0 record in the event. He was also named to the All-Classic team for that event.
Davis takes All-State Honorable Mention after earning the same award in the SAA. He finished the season ranked third in the league in assists with 3.1 per game and also finished fifth in minutes per game, averaging 32.8 a night. He was named to both the SAA All-Tournament team and the All-Country Inn and Suites Holiday Classic team over the course of the season.
Jake Davis of Emory took home Division III Player of the Year honors, making this the second straight year in which he's taken home that award. Owen Jacobs of SAA rival Berry earns the Division III Newcomer of the Year award after averaging a double-double this season.
GABCA gives All-State awards for Division II, Division III and NAIA/National Christian College Athletic Association/junior college levels.