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

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Stephen Croone, Furman, Jr., G
Furman guard Stephen Croone averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game for the Paladins in December, highlighted by a season-high 33 points in a Dec. 6 win over Samford. The Covington, Ga., junior scored in double digits in all seven games, eclipsing 20 points three times. In addition to the 33 points against the Bulldogs, Croone also notched 25 and 23 in road losses to Minnesota and TCU, respectively.  He had a team-high eight rebounds in contests against Liberty and Florida Gulf Coast and added six boards and five steals against Samford. Croone had at least three steals in five games in the month. He narrowly missed two more 20-point games, amassing 19 at Gardner-Webb and 18 at FGCU. In a win over St. Andrews on Dec. 30, Croone turned in a solid all-around game with 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and seven assists. For the month, he shot an even 50 percent from the floor, going 39-for-78, and was 15-for-37 (40.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Other nominees: Ashton Moore (The Citadel), Rashawn Rembert (ETSU), Ike Nwamu (Mercer), Tyler Hood (Samford), Greg Pryor (Chattanooga), and Rhett Harrelson (Western Carolina).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Precious Bridges, Mercer, Sr., G
Mercer guard Precious Bridges repeated as player of the month after averaging 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and a league-best 21.3 points per game for the Bears. The senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., scored at least 20 points in five of Mercer’s seven December contests, surpassing the 30-point threshold for the second time this season with 33 against College of Charleston on Dec. 21. Bridges, who played 273 of a possible 280 minutes in the month, opened her December account with 13 points against Georgia before adding 22 points and seven rebounds in a win at Georgia Southern. She followed that up with 17 points and seven rebounds in a win at Alabama before finishing the month with four straight 20-plus efforts. She had an even 20 against Kennesaw State, 21 against Belmont and 23 at Jacksonville State in addition to her 33 at College of Charleston. Against Belmont on Dec. 19, Bridges had seven rebounds and dished out eight assists, while she had six assists against KSU three days earlier and another eight boards and half-dozen assists against JSU on Dec. 29. With just eight turnovers against her 28 assists in the month, she had a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, which was second-best in the SoCon.

Other nominees: Tianna Tarter (ETSU), Jasmine Joyner (Chattanooga), Hannah Nichols (Samford) and Justin Taylor (Western Carolina).

WRESTLING
Austin Trott, Gardner-Webb, R-So., 165 pounds
Gardner-Webb redshirt sophomore Austin Trott turned in a dominant December, going 6-0 and scoring bonus points in each bout. After opening the month with a pin of VMI’s Shabaka Johns in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 31-9 SoCon win on Dec. 3, Trott went 5-0 at the Cleveland State Open on Dec. 13 to win the 165-pound bracket. The Kingsland, Ga., native opened with three consecutive major decisions, topping Buffalo’s Derek Holcomb 13-3, Eastern Michigan’s Dakota Juarez 9-0 and unattached Campbell wrestler Paul Duggan 8-0. Trott then reeled off consecutive pins to claim the title, sticking Ohio’s Austin Reese in just 51 seconds before pinning Michigan’s Garrett Sutton in 1:02 in the title bout. Trott was named the SoCon Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 17 for his efforts at the Cleveland State Open. He now stands at 15-4 on the season with a 6-1 dual mark and six pins.

Other nominees: Matt Frisch (The Citadel), Ian Solcz (Davidson) and Jared Johnson (Chattanooga).

Southern Conference December Athletes of the Month
Men’s basketball    Stephen Croone, Furman
Women’s basketball    Precious Bridges, Mercer
Wrestling    Austin Trott, Gardner-Webb