HARTFORD CITY – A fantastic regular season by the Bethel College men’s basketball program afforded one of its stars, Matt Schauss, to be named Crossroads League Player of the Year.

Schauss, a senior for the Pilots, finished first in rebounds, second in scoring, third in assists and fourth in field goal percentage. Schauss averaged 20.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists shooting 50 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line. The 6-4 Greens Fork, Ind. native helped guide the Pilots to a 25-5 record while finishing third in the league at 13-5. Schauss won four Crossroads League Player of the Week honors this season and becomes the first Pilot to win Player of the Year honors since William Walker in 2009.

Also earning a spot on the Crossroads League First Team is Bethel sophomore Clay Yeo. The 6-5 sophomore led the league in scoring with 21.0 points per game shooting 52 percent from the field, 45 percent from beyond the arc and 86 from the free throw line. Yeo’s efforts also landed him on the Crossroads League All-Newcomer Team.

Earning a Second Team nod was Grace College guard Logan Irwin. The junior guard from South Whitley has played almost 35 minutes per game and averaged 13.4 points and 4.5 assists per contest.

Several locals were named to the Third Team in Bethel’s Zach Miller, Indiana Wesleyan’s Zac Vandewater, Goshen’s Dominique Bolden and Grace’s Brandon Vanderhegghen.

Vanderhegghen has been a solid contributor for the Lancers, averaging 10.3 points per game to go with five rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals a contest. The junior from Mishawaka has had three or more steals in a game on seven occasions this season. Vandewater, a Whitko grad, in limited action this season is scoring at a 9.2 ppg clip to go with totals of 94 rebounds, 20 steals and 26 assists.

Honorable Mentions included Grace’s Dennis Williams and Goshen’s Stefon Luckey. Williams has averaged over 10 points, six rebounds and a block per game for the Lancers.

Newcomer of the Year for the Crossroads League went to Jonny Marlin of Indiana Wesleyan, Vandewater was named Defender of the Year, and coaches Jim Kessler and Grace College and Greg Tonagel of Indiana Wesleyan were both awarded Coach of the Year.

Crossroads League
Player of the Year – Matt Schauss, Bethel College

First Team
Matt Schauss, Bethel
Jonny Marlin, IWU
Clay Yeo, Bethel
Austin Fox, Saint Francis
Dion Smith, Marian

Second Team
Lane Mahurin, IWU
Logan Irwin, Grace
Martell Medley, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Keegan Comer, Saint Francis
Derek Hinen, Huntington

Third Team
Zach Miller, Bethel
Zac Vandewater, IWU
Dominique Bolden, Goshen
Brandon Vanderhegghen, Grace
Jason Riley, Marian

Honorable Mention
Kyle Sovine, Saint Francis
Kyle Stidom, Taylor
Bob Peters, IWU
Daniel Woll, Huntington
Dennis Williams, Grace
Bryan Redic, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Stefon Luckey, Goshen

Newcomer of the Year – Jonny Marlin, IWU

All-Newcomer Team
Jonny Marlin, IWU
Clay Yeo, Bethel
Dion Smith, Marian
Dominique Bolden, Goshen
Bryce Lienhoop, Saint Francis

Defender of the Year – Zac Vandewater, IWU

All-Defensive Team
Zac Vandewater, IWU
Brandon Vanderhegghen, Grace
Austin Fox, Saint Francis
Josh Ashwill, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Nick Painter, Marian

Crossroads League Co-Coach of the Year – Greg Tonagel, IWU and Jim Kessler, Grace