The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference announced the 2021-22 All-Conference teams as well as individual awards Saturday evening as five Celts would receive honors. Senior guard Christian Alaekwe would headline for St. Thomas, being named the SCAC Player of the Year. Furthermore, Cameron Gims would make SCAC history by earning the Defensive Player of the Year award for the third consecutive year.
Alaekwe, a native of Fresno, Texas, led all conference players in scoring during league play, averaging 18.8 points game in just 28.6 minutes played per contest. His overall scoring average of 15.3 points per game was third in the conference. The senior also led the league in three-point field goals made (60) and was fifth in three-point field goal percentage (38.0 percent), eighth in steals (33) and 13th in blocks (17). He scored in double figures in 15 of 16 conference games and had a nine-game streak where he scored at least 18 points, which included a season-high 30-point effort on Jan. 29 at Dallas when he hit 11-of-16 shots from the field to earn SCAC Player-of-the-Week honors. Alaekwe is the first men's player from St. Thomas, which is completing its third season in the conference, to earn SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors. He would also earn First Team All-SCAC honors.
Gims, a senior guard from Cypress, Texas, becomes just the second player in league history to earn three Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors, joining Trinity's Sean Devins who took home the award in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05. A three-time all-SCAC performer, including a second team nod this season, Gims is currently leading the league in steals (2.5 per game) and is third in blocks (1.5 per game) – the only player in the league ranked in the top 10 in both categories. He has recorded at least two steals in 15 of the 20 games he has played this season, including five in the Celts' 99-90 overtime win over Texas Lutheran on Feb. 15. Gims' career steals per game average of 2.38 currently ranks fifth in SCAC history. Early on in the season, he also became the all-time leader in blocked shots in UST Men's Basketball history.
Junior guard Andrew Nguyen would land on the All-SCAC Third Team in just his first season with the Celts. Nguyen would play in every game for St. Thomas while starting in 16 of them. The crafty guard would average 10.0 points per game in league play while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor. Nguyen would reach double-digit scoring eleven times this season and would also rank ninth in the SCAC in assists.
Senior Juan Hood would receive honorable mention to cap off his final season. Hood, who played in 18 games for the Celts would provide huge performances in conference play to help St. Thomas clinch the regular season title. He would average 8.6 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and from behind the arc. Hood would maintain a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play and would average one steal a contest.
Junior Joshua Sanchez would join Hood, receiving honorable mention for the second-straight year. Sanchez would man the paint for the Celts, collecting a team-high 6.2 rebounds a game. He would also chip in 7.0 points per game while ranking third in the SCAC in field goal percentage (59.3%)
