Men's Basketball 3/2/2022 11:16:00 AM By Marisa Lombardo (Director of Sports Information)

Three Golden Wolves Pick Up All-MAC Commonwealth Honors

Walker Named Defensive Player of the Year

Annville, Pa. (March 2, 2022) - Three Alvernia University Men's Basketball student-athletes earned All-MAC Commonwealth honors for their performances during the 2021-22 season, as announced by the Middle Atlantic Conference on Wednesday.

Avery Walker, a senior guard, was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. Both Malik Green, a senior forward, and Keon Taylor, a senior guard, earned First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors.

Avery Walker anchored an Alvernia defense that allowed an average of 75.4 points per game and won 18 games during the 2021-22 season. In addition to having the responsibility of guarding the opponent's leading scorer, Walker also averaged 10.5 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. He finished the season with a team-high 34 blocks, which was also good for second most in the MAC Commonwealth. He also added 34 steals on the season. Walker was also named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year during his sophomore season in 2020.

Malik Green averaged 17.4 points per game to lead Alvernia's offense and finish third in the MAC Commonwealth in average scoring. Green finished the season shooting .345 from three-point range and .434 overall. He averaged 6.7 rebounds per game and finished with a team-high 39 steals. He recorded three double-doubles, including a 12-rebound, 23-point performance in a win over Albright on December 8, 2021. He also became the 28th player in Alvernia Men's Basketball history to score 1,000 points during that same game. This is Green's second All-Conference honoree. He was also a first-team All-MAC Commonwealth honoree during the shortened 2021 season and was the Rookie of the Year during his first year in 2018-19.

Keon Taylor averaged 16.7 points per game and led the MAC Commonwealth with 103 total assists. Taylor led Alvernia in minutes played with 875, averaging 35 minutes a game. He finished the season shooting a team-high .422 from three point range and shot .443 from the field. He led Alvernia with 102 free throws made and also added 94 rebounds and 25 steals. Taylor scored a season-high 29 points in a double-overtime win against Lebanon Valley in February where he was also responsible for hitting the game-winner as time expired. Taylor also became the 27th player in Alvernia Men's Basketball history to score 1,000 career points with a layup against NJCU back in November. This is Taylor's third All-MAC Commonwealth honor. He was a first-team honoree during the shortened 2021 season, and earned honorable mention honors during the 2019-20 season.

Hood senior Mason Wang was named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, and Messiah sophomore Arkese Claiborne was named the Rookie of the Year. Dan Pruessner of Eastern was named the MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year.

Alvernia's season continues on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 ECAC Championship.

2021-22 All-MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Mason Wang, Hood
Defensive Player of the Year: Avery Walker, Alvernia
Rookie of the Year: Arkese Claiborne, Messiah
Coach of the Year: Dan Pruessner, Eastern

FIRST TEAM
Position	Name	Year	School
Forward	Malik Green	Senior	Alvernia
Forward	Collin Jones	Junior	Lebanon Valley
Guard	Keon Taylor	Senior	Alvernia
Guard	Evan Wang	Senior	Hood
Guard	Mason Wang	Senior	Hood

SECOND TEAM
Position	Name	Year	School
Forward	William Blet	Graduate Student	Eastern
Guard	Sidney Brown	Senior	Albright
Guard	Draig Cooley	Senior	Eastern
Forward	Jaron Fairweather	Junior	Eastern
Forward	David Giuliani	Senior	York

HONORABLE MENTION
Position	Name	Year	School
Guard	Arkese Claiborne	Sophomore	Messiah
Guard	Sam Gallardo	Junior	Eastern
Guard	Khalil Richard	Senior	Stevenson

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Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Green: F; 6' 4"; Junior

#4 Keon Taylor: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#15 Avery Walker: G; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Green
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F

#4 Keon Taylor
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#15 Avery Walker
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Green

#4 Keon Taylor

#15 Avery Walker

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Green

#4 Keon Taylor

#15 Avery Walker