KUTZTOWN, PA. (March 10, 2010) --- The postseason honors continue to roll in for Kutztown University senior guard Stephen Dennis, who has been selected as the Daktronics NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Player of the Year.  

Dennis, who was also selected as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's Eastern Division Player of the Year, has paced the Golden Bears to back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips and currently leads Division II in scoring at 26.6 points per game.

“This is just a great honor,” Dennis said. “There are many great players in the CIAA and WVIAC and to have everybody acknowledge me as player of the year is amazing. I am really in awe of this recognition. Again, this award is a tribute to the hard work of my teammates giving me confidence in practice and during games, setting picks for me, playing hard and finishing plays. This honor does not happen without them.”

The Atlantic Region is the largest in Division II with 45 schools mainly from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).  Voting for the Daktronics all-region squad is conducted by the region's sports information directors and is powered by ATHLETICSITE.com.

Dennis, who was a second team Daktronics Atlantic Region selection last season, is the second consecutive Golden Bear to receive first team honors. Dave Ben was named to the first team last year. Dennis is the first Kutztown men's basketball player in school history to be named Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year.

Kutztown, which was seeded sixth in the Atlantic Region, will meet third-seeded Saint Augustine's College (26-4) Saturday afternoon at West Liberty University (W. Va.) in Wheeling beginning at 5 p.m. If the Golden Bears win, they will advance to face the winner of West Liberty State/Alderson-Broaddus Sunday night at 7 p.m.

Dennis is also third in the conference in assists (4.6) and fourth in steals (2.1). He has scored 30 or more points 10 times and handed out five or more assists 14 times this season. In addition, Dennis had five double-doubles this year. During the season, Dennis became the all-time leading scorer in Kutztown history. He currently has 2,386 career points, which is third all-time in PSAC history.

In addition to the career scoring mark, Dennis also became the Golden Bears' all-time leader in assists (444), field goals (844) and free-throws (613). With 797 points this year, Dennis broke the single-season scoring mark of 710 that he set last year. He scored a career-high 42 points during an 87-84 victory over undefeated and then-ranked No. 24 East Stroudsburg on Jan. 13.

He was named PSAC East player of the week five times and was featured in the Feb. 8 issue of Sports Illustrated. Dennis was also selected to participate in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Dennis has scored in double figures in 45 consecutive games and 106 times in his sterling career.

The remainder of the five-player Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first team consists of players who are active in NCAA post-season play.  Indiana (PA), which ranks second nationally, is represented by forward Darryl Webb.  West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion West Virginia State places their dynamic backcourt of Darren Jones and Josh "Cookie" Miller on the squad.  WVIAC Player of the Year Terrell Eargle of Alderson-Broaddus rounds out the first team.

PSAC Western Division Player of the Year Thomas Young from Indiana (PA) highlights the second team.  No. 10 West Liberty, the second seed in this week's Atlantic Regional, has a pair of selections in Corey Pelle and Mike Mathey.  Fayetteville State's Jamel Carpenter, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's leading scorer, and Davis & Elkins' Tim Turner complete the second team.

The complete 2009-10 Daktronics Men's Basketball All-Atlantic Region squad follows:

1st Team:

STEPHEN DENNIS (Kutztown, 6-6, 185, Sr., G, West Chester, PA, 26.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.0 spg)

Terrell Eargle (Alderson-Broaddus, 6-4, 200, Sr., G, Youngstown, OH, 15.1 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.3 spg)

Darren Jones (WV State, 5-9, 165, Sr., G, Cleveland, OH, 20.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.3 apg)

Josh Miller (WV State, 5-6, 152, Jr., G, Charleston, WV, 20.7 ppg, 5.3 apg)

Darryl Webb (Indiana, 6-6, 200, Jr., F, Elkridge, MD, 15.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg)

2nd Team:

Jamel Carpenter (Fayetteville State, 6-4, 200, Jr., F, Salisbury, NC, 19.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg)

Mike Mathey (West Liberty, 6-2, 182, Sr., G, Prospect, OH, 16.1 ppg, 6.3 apg, 6.1 rpg)

Corey Pelle (West Liberty, 6-0, 164, Jr., G, Silver Grove, KY, 17.4 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.9 spg)

Tim Turner (Davis & Elkins, 6-1, 175, Jr., G, Stafford, VA, 20.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg)

Thomas Young (Indiana, 6-3, 200, Sr., G, Philadelphia, PA, 16.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.2 apg)

Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year: Stephen Dennis (West Chester, PA/Henderson), Kutztown