Courtesy of BucknellBison.com
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell juniors Nana Foulland and Zach Thomas were both named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 13 First Team on Wednesday. Both players were also First Team All-Patriot League selections. Foulland was the Patriot League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while Thomas was picked as Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Foulland and Thomas were two of the catalysts in a championship season for the Bison in 2016-17. They helped lead Bucknell to the Patriot League outright regular-season title for the sixth time in the last seven years, and then the Bison went on to defeat Lehigh in the conference title game to secure the seventh NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
Joining the Bison duo on the NABC All-District First Team were Lehigh’s Tim Kempton, Boston University’s Eric Fanning, and Princeton’s Steven Cook. Second Team selections included Harvard’s Bryce Aiken, Brown’s Steven Spieth, Dartmouth’s Evan Boudreaux, and Spencer Weisz and Devin Cannady of Princeton.
Thomas was Bucknell’s leading scorer this season at 15.9 points per game. That was the third-highest figure in the Patriot League, and Thomas also ranked sixth in rebounding (6.6), ninth in field-goal percentage (.474), 10th in assists (3.4), third in free-throw percentage (.814), and sixth in 3-point percentage (.409).
Thomas recorded 13 points and six rebounds against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. He reached double figures in scoring in 33 of the team’s 35 games this season, including eight 20-point performances.
Foulland finished his junior year with a terrific game against West Virginia. He posted 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. He tallied 31 double-figure scoring games and 11 double-doubles this season.
Foulland ranked second to Thomas on the team and fourth in the Patriot League in scoring at 15.0 points per game. He led the Patriot League with 72 blocked shots — the fourth-highest total in Bucknell history — and finished second in the league in rebounding (7.8). Foulland’s .630 field-goal percentage ranks eighth nationally.
Both players went over the 1,000-point mark as juniors this season.
Bucknell finished the season 26-9. The 26 victories are third-most in team history.
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