Daemen’s Bill and Hemphill Collect D2CCA All-East Region Honors

AMHERST, N.Y. - The awards continue to roll in for members of the No. 1/2 Daemen University men's basketball team as redshirt sophomore center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) was tabbed to the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-East Region First Team and redshirt senior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) was selected to the second team. It marks the first time in both players' careers that they earned D2CCA honors. The full announcement of the D2CCA All-East Region Teams was made in a press release and can be found here.   — Daemen Men's Basketball (@DaemenMBB) March 14, 2025   It is the third major award each player has earned this year as Bill was tabbed East Coast Conference Player of the Year and tabbed to the All-ECC First Team while Hemphill was named the ECC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and also an All-ECC First Team selection. For Bill, he is now eligible for D2CCA All-America honors which will be announced on March 26.    Daemen tied Southern Connecticut State of the Northeast 10 for the most selections with two each. Joining Bill on the first team was Tray Alexander of Pace (NE-10), Aliou Cisse of Bridgeport (CACC), Antonio Chandler of SCSU and Cash McClure of Bentley (NE-10). Hemphill, Dayshaun Walton of Adelphi (NE-10), Cam Edmonds of Georgian Court (CACC), Malik Brooks of Roberts Wesleyan (ECC) and Albert Vargas of SCSU were tabbed to the second team. Pace's Alexander was also tabbed the D2CCA East Region Player of the Year as well.    The ECC Player of the Year for the first time in his career, Bill is having a campaign to remember as he ended the regular season ranked third nationally and the ECC leader in field goal percentage at .724. The redshirt sophomore currently leads the 'Cats in both scoring at 16.9 points per game and blocks with 52l. Bill has scored 10-or-more points in all but three games and on seven occasions, notched a double-double. Bill has also excelled on the defensive side of the ball this year as he currently leads Daemen and ranks 19th nationally in blocks per game with 1.93 and 25tht nationally for total blocks with 51. Coming off the bench for all but one game, Bill helped pace Daemen in bench points per game with an average of 38.2 which ranks second in the nation. Finally, on the glass, Bill leads the Blue and White and ranks fifth in the ECC for offensive rebounds per game at 2.81 and is second on the squad for total rebounds with 195. Bill collected six weekly honors this year as he was named the ECC Player of the Week on four occasions (Dec. 2, 9, 23 & Feb. 15) and the ECC Defensive Player of the Week twice (Dec. 9 & Jan. 13) and was named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watchlist.   The ECC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Hemphill collected all-conference honors for the second consecutive year after getting tabbed to the third team last season. The Buffalo, N.Y., led the Wildcats in total assists (108), total rebounds (204) and steals (40). One of four players to start all 27 games, Hemphill ranked sixth in the ECC with his 108 assists and in assists per game with an average of 4.0. Hemphill finished in double-figures in 20 games this season, highlighted by a 22-point outing against St. Michael's on Dec. 21, and notched a team-best nine double-doubles, highlighted by a 16 point, 11 assist and eight rebound outing against then No. 21/7 Gannon on Jan. 18. In the ECC final, Hemphill joined Bill as the first Daemen duo to score 20-or-more points each as they combined to score 44 of Daemen's 88 points to propel the Wildcats to their first ECC Championship. Hemphill also was fourth in the conference for rebounds per game at 7.6 and was second on the Wildcats and eighth in the ECC for total blocks with 32. Hemphill was tabbed the ECC Player of the Week twice (Nov. 18 & Jan. 20) and was named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watchlist as well.    Bill, Hemphill and the rest of the top-seeded Wildcats are back in action on March 15 when they take on No. 8 seed Bridgeport in the first round of the NCAA East Regional. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. from a sold out Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.   Follow the Daemen men's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.
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