KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Redshirt-junior guard Omari Banks (Middletown, Del./The Phelps School (Pa.)) of the Kutztown men's basketball team and senior guard Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) of the KU women's basketball team both were recognized as scholar-athletes by the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Organization's (LVSCBO), announced by the group Thursday afternoon.
 
Banks is a business administration major with a 3.7 GPA. He has started 15-of-17 games played this season, averaging 9.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. Banks ranks 15th in the PSAC in assists per game (3.5) and 11th in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.6). He was a member of the Dean's List this past fall and was named to the NABC Honors Court prior to the start of the season.
 
Hurley is an elementary education major that boasts a 3.88 GPA. She was All-PSAC East Second Team last season and currently ranks fifth all-time in program history with 170 made 3-pointers. Hurley ranks second in the PSAC in 3-point% (36.8%) and third in made 3-pointers (49). She was a member of the Fall Dean's List and was also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a member of the CSC Academic All-District Team last year.
 
The LVSCBO is made up of six small college institutions from around the Lehigh Valley, including Division II schools East Stroudsburg University and Kutztown University, along with NCAA Division III's Cedar Crest, DeSales, Moravian and Muhlenberg. The athletes of the year from each school will be announced later this month.
 
Kutztown men and women travel to take on Lock Haven this Saturday, Feb. 7, with the women's game starting at 1 p.m., and the men to follow, approximately at 3 p.m.