BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- West Liberty's Dalton Bolon has been selected as the 2019-20 Mountain East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while Fairmont State's Dale Bonner (Freshman of the Year) and Charleston's Dwaine Osborne (Coach of the Year) also received top honors from the league.
Bolon, a junior from Gnadenhutten, Ohio, averaged 19.6 points and 9.0 rebounds in helping West Liberty claim a third-straight MEC regular season title. The four-time MEC Player of the Week ranks third in the league in both scoring and rebounding, and leads the league free throw percentage and is second in three-point field goals made. Bolon has been particularly hot since the start of January posting 10 double-doubles and averaging 20.3 points and 10.6 rebounds. He currently ranks in the top 25 among active players with over 1,700 career points and is a first-team All-MEC player for a second-straight year.
Bonner, a native of Shaker Heights, started all 28 games in his first season at Fairmont State. He leads all league freshmen in scoring with 17.6 points per game. He is third in the conference in assists (5.36) and is the league leader in steals with 2.36. Bonner He has four double-doubles on the year and scored 20 points or more in nine games this season. Bonner also became the first freshman to be named to the All-MEC first team.
Osborne is the MEC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career after leading Charleston to a 23-5 record and a runner-up finish in the MEC. The Golden Eagles cracked the NABC top 25 this year and were fifth in the most recent edition of the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. Charleston was unbeaten in non-conference play (6-0) and comes into this week's MEC Tournament having won six-straight.
The league also announced the 2019-20 all-conference teams. In addition to Bolon and Bonner, seven others were selected to the first team. Charleston's Drew Rackley earned the honor for a second-straight year, along with teammate Devon Robinson. West Virginia State's Glen Abram, Glenville State's Phil Bledsoe, West Virginia Wesleyan's Dusan Vicentic, Fairmont State's Cole VonHandorf and West Liberty's Will Yoakum also earned first-team honors.
Players from seven different institutions comprise the second team: Daniel Alexander (Frostburg State), Kenzie Melko-Marshall (Fairmont State), Lamont McManus (Charleston), DeAnthony Owens (Notre Dame), Anthony Pittman (West Virginia State), Jordan Reid (Wheeling) and Pat Robinson (West Liberty).
Davis & Elkins' Donte Doleman, West Liberty's Luke Dyer, West Virginia State's Jeremiah Moore and West Virginia Wesleyan's Luka Petrovic earned honorable mention accolades.
The All-MEC teams are selected by a vote of the league's coaches.
| 2020 All-MEC First Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Glen Abram |
W.Va. State |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Chicago, Ill. |
| Phil Bledsoe |
Glenville State |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
Wheeling, W.Va. |
| Dalton Bolon* |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
G |
6-4 |
Gnadenhutten, Ohio |
| Dale Bonner |
Fairmont State |
Fr. |
G |
6-3 |
Shaker Heights, Ohio |
| Drew Rackley* |
Charleston |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Zanesville, Ohio |
| Devon Robinson |
Charleston |
Sr. |
F |
6-4 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Dusan Vicentic |
W.Va. Wesleyan |
Sr. |
F |
6-9 |
Belgrade, Serbia |
| Cole VonHandorf |
Fairmont State |
Jr. |
G |
6-2 |
Covington, Ky. |
| Will Yoakum |
West Liberty |
So. |
G |
6-5 |
Delaware, Ohio |
| * First team in 2019 |
| 2020 All-MEC Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Daniel Alexander |
Frostburg State |
Sr. |
G/F |
6-2 |
Rockville, Md. |
| Kenzie Melko-Marshall |
Fairmont State |
Jr. |
F |
6-4 |
Morgantown, W.Va. |
| Lamont McManus |
Charleston |
Jr. |
C |
6-6 |
Waldorf, Md. |
| DeAnthony Owens |
Notre Dame |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
Austin, Texas |
| Anthony Pittman |
W.Va. State |
Fr. |
F |
6-5 |
Charleston, W.Va. |
| Jordan Reid |
Wheeling |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Silver Spring, Md. |
| Pat Robinson |
West Liberty |
So. |
G |
6-3 |
Chesterfield, N.J. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2020 All-MEC Honorable Mention |
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown |
| Donte Doleman |
Davis & Elkins |
Sr. |
G |
6-0 |
Ranson, W.Va. |
| Luke Dyer |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
G |
5-11 |
Clarksburg, W.Va. |
| Jeremiah Moore |
W.Va. State |
Jr. |
F |
6-6 |
West Orange, N.J. |
| Luka Petrovic |
W.Va. Wesleyan |
Sr. |
G |
6-6 |
Knjazevac, Serbia |
|
|
|
|
|
Player of the Year: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
Freshman of the Year: Dale Bonner (Fairmont State)
Coach of the Year: Dwaine Osborne (Charleston) |
Previous Winners
Player of the Year
2014: Cedric Harris (West Liberty)
2015: Seger Bonifant (West Liberty)
2016: Seger Bonifant (West Liberty)
2017: Matt Bingaya (Fairmont State)
2018: Haywood Highsmith (Wheeling Jesuit)
2019: Will Vorhees (Notre Dame)
2020: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
Freshman of the Year
2014: Thomas Wimbush (Fairmont State)
2015: Pat Moseh (Wheeling Jesuit)
2016: David Dennis (West Liberty)
2017: Luke Layhew (West Virginia Wesleyan)
2018: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty)
2019: Will Yoakum (West Liberty)
2020: Dale Bonner (Fairmont State)
Coach of the Year
2014: Jim Crutchfield (West Liberty)/Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)
2015: Kent McBride (Concord)
2016: Dan Sancomb (Wheeling Jesuit)
2017: Jerrod Calhoun (Fairmont State)
2018: Ben Howlett (West Liberty)
2019: Tim Koenig (Notre Dame)
2020: Dwaine Osborne (Charleston)