Wrestling Southern Conference

SoCon Announces December Athletes of the Month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its December athletes of the month for men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling Tuesday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.


MEN’S BASKETBALL
Tim Williams, Samford, So., F
Samford forward Tim Williams helped the Bulldogs to a 4-3 record in December, averaging 19.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and shooting 71.6 percent from the floor (48-for-67). The Chicago, Ill., native scored in double figures in each contest, highlighted by a career-high 31 points in a win over Presbyterian on Dec. 30 in which he was 14-for-16 from the floor and added five steals and three blocked shots. The 31 points were the most by a Bulldog player since 2006. Williams was nearly perfect from the floor at Jacksonville on Dec. 20, going 12-for-13 en route to 25 points in the win. The sophomore had 20 points against UT Martin on Dec. 4 and flirted with a pair of double-doubles, pulling down nine rebounds to go with 12 points against Austin Peay (Dec. 7) and again notching nine boards along with a game-high 16 points against Marquette (Dec. 28). He had 15 points and four blocked shots in a win over Kentucky State to open the month on Dec. 1.

Others nominated: Michael Obacha (Appalachian State), Brian White (The Citadel), Lucas Troutman (Elon), Stephen Croone (Furman), Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern), Kyle Cain (UNCG), Z. Mason (Chattanooga), Trey Sumler (Western Carolina) and Karl Cochran (Wofford).


WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Laura Murray, Davidson, Sr., G
Davidson guard Laura Murray averaged 21.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in December as the Wildcats went 2-3 and opened SoCon play with a pair of wins for the third straight season. She scored in double figures in each contest, pushing her streak to 13 on the season, and notched at least 20 points in each of her last four games in the month. Murray scored a season-high 25 points in a win over Wofford on Dec. 7 and followed that up with 24 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double in a win over Furman two days later to earn SoCon player of the week honors. She also had 23 points in a loss to Charlotte and 20 against Richmond to close the month. She scored 15 against Rutgers on Dec. 4. For the month, the Harrisburg, Pa., senior shot 43.8 percent from the floor (32-for-73) and 39.3 percent from 3-point range (11-for-28). She was also 32-for-43 from the free-throw line (74.4 percent) and averaged 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

Others nominated: Maryah Sydnor (Appalachian State), Kelsey Harris (Elon), Anna Claire Knight (Georgia Southern), Taylor Hall (Chattanooga) and Jordan Frazier (Wofford).


WRESTLING
Nick Soto, Chattanooga, Jr., 133 pounds
Chattanooga junior Nick Soto went 8-0 in December, winning the 133-pound bracket at the Reno Tournament of Champions and going 3-0 in dual matches. The highlight of Soto’s month was unquestionably his 15-8 win over No. 1 Ryan Mango of Stanford on Dec. 20, which helped the Mocs knock off the 15th-ranked Cardinal on the road. Soto opened his month with a 10-8 win over All-American Cashe Quiroga of No. 21 Purdue on Dec. 15 before topping Gardner-Webb’s Robbie Golde via major decision the following day as Chattanooga won its SoCon opener 35-3. At the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 22, the Spring Hill, Fla., native went 5-0 to earn the 133-pound crown, starting with a 15-0 dismantling of Shorter’s Clint Jones. Soto followed that up with an 11-5 win over Oregon State’s Izaak Tobin before rattling off three straight major decisions to clinch the title. Five of his eight wins in the month went for bonus points. Soto was named the SoCon wrestler of the week for his efforts over the final two weeks of December.

Other nominees: Dylan Cottrell (Appalachian State), Brent Jorge (Campbell), Matthew Frisch (The Citadel), Scott Patrick (Davidson) and Austin Trott (Gardner-Webb).

Southern Conference December Athletes of the Month
Men’s Basketball    Tim Williams, Samford
Women’s Basketball    Laura Murray, Davidson
Wrestling    Nick Soto, Chattanooga

-www.SoConSports.com-