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Somerset, NJ -- The reigning NEC Player of the Year headlines an accomplished and experienced 2021-22 Preseason AllNortheast Conference (NEC) Men’s Basketball team.

The announcement of the team, along with the preseason coaches’ poll, was made on Tuesday during NEC Men’s Basketball Virtual Media Day, which aired on NEC Front Row and ESPN3.

Due to a tie in the coaches’ voting for the final spot, the preseason team consisted of six returning All-NEC performers, including two apiece from Wagner and LIU.

Graduate student guard Alex Morales (Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)), who became the third Wagner player to collect NEC Player of the Year honors last season, joined classmate Elijah Ford (Newark, NJ/Weequahic (Barton CC)) on the squad for the defending regular season champs. LIU was represented by three-time All-NEC performer Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)), a graduate student forward, and redshirt senior forward Eral Penn (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Academy (MD)). Bryant senior guard Peter Kiss (New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers, Quinnipiac)) and Sacred Heart junior guard Tyler Thomas (Amity, CT/Amity Regional (Williston)) rounded out the team.

Morales was the heart and soul of the Seahawks last season, leading Wagner to a 13-5 NEC record and the program’s third regular season title in six years after the Green and White were picked eighth in the conference preseason poll. The first NEC Player of the Year in Wagner history since Jermaine Hall in 2002-03, Morales ranked among league leaders in every key statistical category, a testament to his versatility and unique skill set as a 6’6” combo guard. He ranked fifth in scoring (16.8), tenth in rebounding (7.2), fourth in assists (4.3), seventh in steals (1.8) and fourth in double-doubles (six). The silky smooth performer with a penchant for making clutch plays was the only player in the nation last season to average at least 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 apg and 1.5 spg. In two years, Morales has racked up 716 points, 306 rebounds and 172 assists.

With Flowers returning to the LIU lineup as the NEC’s premier stretch four and ultimate matchup nightmare, it’s easy to see why opposition coaches will be happy to see the graduate student finally pack his bags following the 2021-22 campaign. The 6’9” forward, who can rise above the rim, score from mid-range and pick-and-pop from the three-point stripe, is the lone returning three-time All-NEC honoree after earning second team recognition a year ago. Flowers ranked in the NEC top-10 in six major statistical categories, including scoring (17.3, third), rebounding (8.1, third), steals (1.9, third) and double-doubles (7, second). Flowers enters the season as the NEC’s active leader in every major statistical category with 1,213 points, 674 rebounds,163 three-pointers, 197 assists, 124 blocks and 114 steals.

Ford’s year-to-year improvement did not go unnoticed around the NEC last season and was one of the key factors in Wagner’s resurgence. The 6’5” senior guard lifted all facets of his game, and one would be hard-pressed to find a chink in his armor. His ability to blow by defenders and both attack and finish at the rim is unmatched in the conference, evidenced by his 66.9 field goal percentage and league-best 99 makes around the rim. An elite defender, he also paced the NEC with 2.0 steals per contest. The first team All-NEC award recipient finished the 2020-21 season second on the circuit in both scoring (17.7) and field goal accuracy (.587), and placed sixth in rebounding (7.7). Ford heads into his final season in Staten Island with 583 points and 287 rebounds over his two years in a Seahawk uniform.

Kiss’s emergence on the NEC scene after transferring from Rutgers made for many sleepless nights for opponents last season thanks to his all-around game and ability to excel in a variety of roles for a Bryant team that reached the 2021 NEC title game. A fierce competitor and first team NEC all-star who leaves it all on the floor each night for the Bulldogs, the 6’5” New York City native possesses a deadly accurate shot and unlimited range, terrific court vision, and his creativeness with the ball makes him nearly impossible to guard one-on-one. Last season, Kiss made a run at the 50/40/90 club and finished as the NEC’s sixth-leading scorer at 16.6 ppg. He shot 50.4 percent from the floor (eighth in NEC), 42.4 percent from three-point range (second), 85.1 percent from the line (fourth) and ranked sixth in the league in effective field goal percentage (.575).

After missing the 2019-20 season with an injury, Penn returned with a vengeance a year ago, and established himself as one of the league’s premier power forwards for the Sharks. A high octane talent whose unique combination of agility, strength and leaping ability makes him both a dominant post presence and high flyer in transition, Penn was a double-double machine with an NEC-best 12 in 18 games. He also led the conference with 10.4 rebounds per game, and ranked ninth in scoring (15.9) and fourth in field goal accuracy (.557) on his way to first team All-NEC accolades. Penn, who measures 6’7”, was one of nine players nationwide to average at least 15.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg on the year. He has accumulated 537 points and 406 rebounds in his three years at LIU.

A decade ago Shane Gibson roamed the Pitt Center getting buckets at will, and there’s reason to believe that Thomas is on a similar career arc to the Pioneer legend. A pure scorer in every sense, Thomas ranked first in the league by a considerable margin with 19.1 ppg as a sophomore. In raising his scoring average by nearly 14 points, the Amity, CT native beat out a crowded field to snag NEC Most Improved Player honors while landing on the All-NEC second team. His shotmaking helped spring the Pios to a third place regular season finish after SHU was picked last by head coaches in the preseason poll. With an ability to create space and make shots in traffic, the 6-3 guard finished with eight games of 20+ points and drained 47 shots from distance. Thomas also averaged 5.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and ranked sixth in the league with an 81.3 percent mark from the line.

2021-22 Northeast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team    
          
Name              School         Pos.  Ht.   Wt.   Cl.    Hometown/High School
Ty Flowers        LIU            F     6-9   200   Gr.    Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart HS (UMass)
Elijah Ford       Wagner         G     6-5   205   Gr.    Newark, NJ/Weequahic (Barton CC)
Peter Kiss        Bryant         G     6-5   200   Sr.    New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers, Quinnipiac)
Alex Morales      Wagner         G     6-6   180   Gr.    Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)
Eral Penn         LIU            F     6-7   210   R-Sr.  Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Academy (MD)
Tyler Thomas      Sacred Heart   G     6-3   195   Jr.    Amity, CT/Amity Regional (Williston)

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 41st year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.