Wingate’s Barnette, Grier, Lenoir-Rhyne’s Bratton Named To All-Region Basketball Team

March 12, 2008

MORROW, Ga. -- Wingate University senior forward/guard Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.), redshirt senior center Bryan Grier (Charlotte, N.C.) and Lenoir-Rhyne College senior forward Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C.) have been named to the 2007-08 Daktronics NCAA Division II Men's Basketball All-South Atlantic Region teams. The All-Region teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A first team Daktronics All-South Atlantic Region selection for the second year in a row, Barnette is the 2008 Co-Player of the Year. He shares this honor with junior guard Anthony Hilliard from Elizabeth City State University. Grier earns second team Daktronics All-South Atlantic Region honors for the first time in his career.

The 2007 South Atlantic Conference Male Athlete of the Year, Barnette leads the Bulldogs and the SAC with 21.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The SAC Player of the year for the second consecutive year, Barnette averaged a double-double (21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game) in conference games this year. Barnette is the league's all-time leading scorer and the only male player in SAC history to score 2,000+ points.

Sean Barnette

Bryan Grier

Reggie Bratton

Barnette was named to the 2007 Daktronics All-American third team. He has 33 career double-doubles, including 16 this season. He has scored in double figures in 68 consecutive games. He enters the 2008 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament with 2276 career points.

Grier is second on the team and 11th in the SAC with 13.9 points per game. He is second in the SAC with 8.9 rebounds per game. He leads the SAC and is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (67.3 percent). Grier tops the SAC charts and is third in the NCAA in blocked shots (4.26).

The NCAA Division II all-time career leader in blocked shots, Grier has 450 career rejections. He is averaging 3.75 blocks per game in his career. Grier holds the three highest single-season totals in league history. The Vance High School product has blocked at least six shots 27 times in his career, including nine games with at least eight blocks.

Joining Barnette and Hilliard on the first team are Augusta State's Tyrekus Bowman, USC Aiken's Chris Commons and Virginia Union's Brad Byerson on the first team. With the first team selection, all five players are automatically eligible for Daktronics Division II All-American honors.

A 6-4 junior guard from Fayetteville, N.C., Hilliard was selected 2008 "Player of the Year" in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), becoming the first ECSU player since Nate Higgs in 1993, and the sixth Viking overall to receive the honor. Hilliard led the CIAA in both scoring and rebounding and for the second straight year is the only men's basketball player in the conference averaging a double-double at 20 points and 11 rebounds a game.

A 6-5 senior forward from Tignall, Ga., Bowman shared Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year honors with Commons, a 6-8 junior forward from Toledo, Ohio. Bowman paced Augusta State to its second straight berth in the NCAA Division II National Tournament, averaging 19 points and seven rebounds game.

Commons helped engineer one of the biggest turnarounds this season in NCAA Division II as he led USC Aiken from a 9-22 season in 2006-07 to 27-3 so far this season and the Pacers' first Peach Belt regular season championship since 1993. He leads the Peach Belt in scoring at 22 points a game, and will lead USC Aiken to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time since 1998.

A 6-7 senior from Colonial Heights, Va., Byerson was selected as the 2008 CIAA "Defensive Player of the Year" and All-CIAA for a third straight season. He paced Virginia Union to the 2008 CIAA regular season championship, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game.

2008 Daktronics Men's All-South Atlantic Region Team

First Team
Player School YR POS HT WT Hometown
Sean Barnette Wingate Sr. F 6-4 215 Rock Hill, S.C.
Anthony Hilliard ECSU Jr. G 6-4 195 Fayetteville, N.C.
Chris Commons USC Aiken Jr. F 6-8 215 Toledo, Ohio
Tyrekus Bowman Augusta State Jr. F 6-5 185 Tignall, Ga.
Brad Byerson Virginia Union Sr. C 6-7 250 Colonial Heights, Va.
2008 South Atlantic co-Players of the Year: Sean Barnette (Wingate), Anthony Hilliard (Elizabeth City State)

Second Team
Player School YR POS HT WT Hometown
Jeremy Fears USC Aiken JR G 6-5 190 Chicago, Ill.
Bryan Grier Wingate SR F 6-5 210 Charlotte, N.C.
Garret Siler Augusta State JR C 7-0 304 Augusta, Ga.
Reggie Bratton Lenoir-Rhyne SR F 6-4 190 Charlotte, N.C.
Phillipe' Harris Fayetteville St. SR G 5-11 180 Fayetteville, N.C.