AMERICA EAST RELEASE
BOSTON, Mass. - Three student-athletes from the University of Hartford men's basketball team have been named America East All-Conference as the league announced on Monday afternoon. Senior forward Mark Nwakamma was named to the Second Team, classmate Corban Wroe earned All-Defensive and All-Academic Team laurels, while sophomore Justin Graham was tabbed the America East's co-Sixth Man of the Year.
A guard from San Antonio, Texas, Graham has improved drastically since the first half of the season. Averaging just 3.3 points and 18.5 minutes through Hartford's first 15 games, the sophomore has become an integral part of his team's success in conference play.
Since notching his first-ever double-figure scoring game (12 points) at New Hampshire on January 14, Graham has finished in twin figures 11 more times, including his last eight contests, while working his way into Hartford's starting lineup for three of the last four games. In addition, he has averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 22.7 minutes in 16 America East games to improve his season averages to 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 23.8 minutes.
Earning America East All-Conference honors in each of his first three years, Nwakamma, who is coming off back-to-back First Team nods, received Second Team distinction this season. Since his sophomore season, Nwakamma has led the Hawks in both scoring and rebounding. Despite an injury-riddled senior year that saw him miss two league games while combining for just four minutes over his last two outings, Nwakamma is ninth in the America East in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game, and seventh in rebounding with 5.7 boards per game. In addition, the Leander, Texas, native is currently the America East's active leading scorer with 1,530 career points.
Nwakamma has scored in double figures 18 times this season and 85 times in his career while posting 11 career double-doubles, including three this year. His name is engraved all over Hartford's record books as he ranks fifth in the program's Division I history in scoring, seventh in rebounding (625), third in field goals made (591), and sixth in made free throws made (309). Furthermore, Nwakamma is just the third player in program history to have 1,500-plus points and 500-plus rebounds and is the second Hartford student-athlete to have earned four America East All-Conference honors during his career.
Rounding out the award winners is Wroe, who brings home his second-straight All-Defensive and All-Academic Team honors. The first-ever two-time All-Defensive Team member in program history, Wroe put up solid numbers during his senior season, averaging the second-most points on the team (9.9 ppg) while adding 4.0 rebounds, 72 assists (2.5-per-game) and a team-leading 38 steals (1.3-per-game).
In addition to being the team's top defensive threat, Wroe has also improved on the offensive end, significantly stepping up his three-point game. Combining to make just 33 three-pointers over his first three seasons, the Townsville, Australia, native has converted from long range 48 times this season to rank seventh in the America East in threes per game at 1.7. In the classroom, Wroe holds a 3.71 grade point average and is a health sciences/physical therapy major. He has been named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll twice for earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher while earning America East Academic Honor Roll accolades one time for achieving a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
The Hawks earned the fifth-seed in the America East Playoffs and are set to travel to Durham, N.H., where they will face the fourth-seeded Wildcats on Wednesday night. The two teams split a pair of regular season contests, with each squad winning away from their home court. Fans can catch all of the action live from Lundholm Gymnasium by tuning into Jeff Dooley and Randy LaVigne's broadcast on WDRC 1360 AM (www.talkofconnecticut.com).
