NSU’s Williams Selected Player of the Year; Evans Earns Coach of the Year Honors

NORFOLK, Va., March 10, 2013- Norfolk State junior guard Pendarvis Williams was named the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year as announced by the conference on Sunday. Hampton’s Deron Powers was selected as Rookie of the Year and North Carolina A&T State’s Austin Witter garnered the Defensive Player of the Year honor. Norfolk State Head Coach Anthony Evans was named the MEAC Coach of the Year. All awards are voted on by the conference's head men's basketball coaches and sports information directors.

Williams averaged 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds to lead the defending MEAC champion Spartans to an unblemished 16-0 mark in MEAC play and 21-10 record overall. He was among the top five in the MEAC in several categories including scoring, free throw percentage (.814), and 3-point field goals percentage (.407). Williams tallied 132 rebounds, 47 assists, 17 blocks and 33 steals this season.

Powers finished second in the MEAC in free-throw percentage shooting 83-percent from the floor. The rookie was fourth in the conference with 4.8 assists per game, and was fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.3 per game. Powers led the Pirates in scoring (11.9 ppg), free-throw percentage and assists to help the team tally an 11-5 mark in conference play and 14-16 record overall.
Witter led the MEAC and his team in rebounds with 7.2 per game and blocks, averaging 3.0 for the season. The senior recorded 10 or more rebounds six times to help the Aggies to a 15-16 overall record and an 8-8 mark in MEAC play. A three-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Witter totaled 27 steals during this year’s campaign.

Evans earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Norfolk State Spartans to a perfect 16-0 record in conference play and 21-10 mark overall. The Spartans became the first team to post an undefeated record in conference play since Coppin State in 1993-94. Under his tutelage, Norfolk State also recorded a unblemished mark at home with 11 victories and ended the season on a 15-game win streak. The team was third in the MEAC in scoring (66.6 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (.423).
Williams is joined on the 2013 All-MEAC First Team by North Carolina Central’s Jeremy Ingram and Stanton Kidd, Bethune-Cookman’s Adrien Coleman and Morgan State's DeWayne Jackson.

Norfolk State clinched the MEAC regular-season title with a 55-48 win over North Carolina A&T. The Spartans will enter the tournament as the number one seed and will face the winner of the No. 8/No. 9 matchup on Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m.

The 2013 regular season champion, regular-season runners-up, first-team members and top honorees including Player, Rookie, Defensive and Coach of the Year selections, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to their first games of the 2013 MEAC Basketball Tournament. Tournament