ALBANY - The 2007-08 Daktronics NCAA Division II men's basketball All-Northeast Region squad has a decidedly different look to it with eight new players from a year ago, including four sophomores. The Northeast Regional Player of the Year is a two-time, first-team selection. He is joined on the first-team by a player who garnered second-team accolades last season. Sports Information Directors throughout the Northeast Region conducted the voting.

Senior guard Steve Dagostino (Schenectady, NY) from The College of Saint Rose has been named the Daktronics Regional Player of the Year. He is joined on the first team by Pace University senior guard Ryan Williams (Centreville, VA), who was a second-team pick in 2006-07. Bentley senior forward Nate Fritsch (Durham, NC), senior guard Michael Sturns (Fort Worth, TX) of Holy Family and C.W. Post junior guard Jonathan Schmidt (Centereach, NY) comprise the remainder of the first team.

Dagostino, who recently became only the fifth player in Northeast-10 Conference history (1981) to be tabbed the league's Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons, is among the conference's top-five players in scoring, assists, steals and free throw percentage. Dagostino is shooting 88.6 percent (171-for-193) from the foul line and is averaging 17.8 points, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals for the 22-7 and NCAA Tournament bound Golden Knights. He is the lone player in the history of Saint Rose men's basketball to record more than 1,500 points (1,577), 500 assists (554) and 200 steals (237).

Williams is second in the NE-10 with a 19.6 scoring average and is among the top-20 players in all of NCAA Division II in 3-pointers per-game (3.17) and 3-point shooting accuracy (.410) in addition to scoring. He tossed in 20 points on 19 occasions this season for the Setters who finished 14-14 overall. Williams amassed 1,892 points, 340 three-pointers, 402 rebounds, 225 assists and 175 steals throughout his career at Pace.

An NE-10 first-team All-League pick, Fritsch has led the top-ranked 30-0 Falcons to an NCAA II record 54-game regular-season winning streak and back-to-back league titles. The lone player in Bentley annals to shoot a career 50.0 percent from the floor, 40.0 percent from the arc, and 80.0 percent from the free throw line; Fritsch has averaged 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds this season for the Falcons. Bentley is one of the nation's only two undefeated teams remaining. The Falcons have rattled off a 113-16 record throughout Fritsch's career.

Sturns garnered Player of the Year accolades from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference after leading the nation with a 26.5 scoring average this season. Sturns tossed in a school record 51 points in a 108-75 victory against NYIT on February 2 for the NCAA Tournament bound Tigers who are 21-9 on the year.

Finally, Schmidt was named the East Coast Conference Player of the Year for the league champion Pioneers who enter the NCAA Tournament boasting a 26-4 mark. Schmidt, who earlier this season became only the fourth C.W. Post player to reach the 1,000 point plateau as a junior, is averaging 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals.

The second team is comprised of Merrimack sophomore guard Darren Duncan (Briarwood, NY), sophomore forwards Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, NY) of Le Moyne and Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia, PA) of Philadelphia University; Bentley sophomore guard Jason Westrol (Brielle, NJ), and senior forwards Vincent Falzone (Middle Village) of Molloy and Brian Monahan (Kinderhook, NY) of Saint Michael's.

The 2007-08 Daktronics Men's Basketball All-America team will be announced in conjunction with the NCAA Division II "Elite Eight" in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, March 25. The five first-team members from each of the country's eight regions are placed on the national ballot with Division II SIDs selecting first, second and third-team All-America honorees.

2007-08 Daktronics NCAA Division II Men's Basketball
Northeast All-Region Teams

First Team

Second Team

%-2007-08 Daktronics Northeast Region Player of the Year
*-2006-07 Daktronics first-team All-Northeast selection
#-2006-07 Daktronics second-team All-Northeast selection