Golden Eagles earn conference awards

This archived article was written by: David Osborne Jr.

Although the 2013–14 basketball season ended before the championship round of the Scenic West Athletic Conference for both the men and women’s basketball teams of USU Eastern, post-season awards were garnered by members of both teams. Awards included one First-Team All-Conference player, three Second-Team All-Conference and an honorable mention.
Kendahl Amerson – sophomore, No. 15
Amerson came to USU Eastern from Detroit, Mich., and became a key for the Golden Eagles basketball team. He was named SWAC First-Team All-Conference. Averaging 17.5 points per game, while maintaining a 44.7 field goal percentage, he connected 39.5 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Amerson managed to grab 3.3 rebounds per game while handing out 1.5 assists. He ranked in the top-50 list of National Junior College Athletic Association athletes on 3-point shots made connecting on 81of his 212, giving him the 35th spot on the list. He said, “Making First Team means a lot to me, it is a big goal to accomplish being one of the best players in the conference.”
Jaleni Neely – sophomore, No. 10 Neely first went to Highland Community College where he played his freshman year before becoming a member of the Eagles. Coming from Chicago, Ill., Neely was able to make a statement from the point-guard position, which earned him a spot on the All-Conference Second Team. He averaged 14.2 points a game, hitting 41.5 percent of his shots from the field. Neely ranked in the NJCAA top 50 in three categories. Ranking 33rd in minutes played, he recorded 892 minutes of playing time, averaging 30.8 minutes per game that slotted him in the 24th spot in the national rankings. Neely’s free-throw percentage was another help to the Eagles where he earned his third-top-50 ranking, reaching 18th in the nation with free throws made/attempted, hitting 173-212 of his tries from the charity stripe. “It feels good to go out on top,” he said.
Bryanna Adams – freshman, No. 3
Adams came to USU Eastern and play for the Lady Eagles after graduating from American Fork High School in American Fork, Utah. As part of head coach Dave Paur’s high-powered offense, Adams became a driving force, reserving a spot for herself on the All-Conference Second Team. She averaged 12 points a game for the Eagles, hitting 32.6 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from behind the 3-point line. Not only was Adams a scorer for the Lady Eagles, but crashed the boards averaging just over four rebounds a game. Adams made her way into the top-50 rankings as well with her three-point prowess connecting on 59-183, which grabbed her the 44th spot in the nation.
Teotonio Do – sophomore, No. 44
Hailing from Angola, Do was a force to be reckoned with on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. Although he averaged 4.7 points and just under five rebounds per game, Do had a field-goal percentage at just over 49 percent from the field. Not only was he able to grab rebounds and provide rim-rattling dunks, he averaged 1.7 blocks a game and got into the heads of opponents many times forcing them to alter their shots. Do ended up ranked 45th in the nation with 52 blocks. The accolades earned Do a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.
Lerissa Quintana – sophomore, No. 24
Another foreign player for USU Eastern earned post-season honors, this time for the Lady Eagles. From Brazil, Quintana averaged 10.8 points per game while hitting just under 40 percent of her shots. Quintana found herself consistently at the free-throw line where she hit 66.4 percent of her attempts from the charity stripe. Rounding out the stat sheet, she pulled in 2.5 rebounds per game and handed out one assist per contest. All of this earned Quintana an honorable mention.