Men’s Basketball Trio Earns All-Commonwealth Coast Conference Honors

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team landed three players on the All-Commonwealth Coast Conference teams, announced by the league office Monday. Senior Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) headlines the selections as he collected his third-straight All-CCC first team nod while seniors Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) and Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) were both named to the All-CCC third team.

The Lions' three All-Commonwealth Coast Conference picks match the most in a single season since the 1996-97 campaign.

Owens leads the Lions with 17.5 points per game this season and has appeared in all 25 contests while making 22 starts. He also ranks third in the conference in assists per game with 4.2 helpers per contest while his 2.0 steals per game rank fourth in the league.

Owens sports a field-goal percentage of 40.5% to go with 37.1% shooting from long range. He has dished out 105 assists, recorded 50 steals and hauled in 70 rebounds this season.

In conference play this year, Owens averaged 18.3 points per game, 3.6 assists per game and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Earlier this season, he was tabbed the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career after averaging 28.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game to propel the Lions to a pair of key league wins.

Owens is the first three-time All-CCC first team honoree in program history and currently sits seventh all-time with 1,722 career points.

Gomes claims his first career All-CCC nod after averaging 14.1 points per game, good for second on the squad. He ranks fifth in the league with 6.0 defensive rebounds per game and sixth in the conference with 8.0 boards per contest.

This season he has posted seven double-doubles while seeing action in all 25 games and earning 14 starts. Gomes is shooting 51.6% from the floor this season, the fourth-highest field-goal percentage in the league.

Eric Lynch picks up his second career All-CCC accolade after earning All-CCC second team honors as a sophomore. He ranks fourth on the team with 10.3 points per game and is averaging 10.5 points per game in league games this season.

Lynch paces the conference with a field-goal percentage of 53.6% and ranks second on the squad with 61 assists.

On February 16, Lynch became the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000 career point mark with a 14-point performance in Eastern Nazarene's 81-67 victory over the University of New England.

The Lions boast an 18-7 overall record and posted a 12-6 mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference this year. Eastern Nazarene nabbed the No. 3 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game for the fourth consecutive season. The Lions will square off against sixth-seeded Roger Williams February 23 at the Lahue Physical Education Center at 7 pm.