FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2007

Rhode Island College Earns Three All-Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Awards
Walsh Named Coach of the Year
Durgin & Bailey Named to All-LEC Teams

Providence, RI—Rhode Island College garnered three Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Awards. Head Coach Bob Walsh was named the Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year, while senior guard Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, ME) was named First Team All-LEC and sophomore guard Bobby Bailey (Fall River, MA) garnered Second Team and All-Defensive Team honors.

     Coach Walsh has led the Anchormen to a 24-3 overall record, the Little East Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships and a berth in the NCAA Div. III Men’s Basketball Tournament. In two seasons on the RIC bench, Walsh has led the Anchormen to a 43-13 (.768) record. Rhode Island College is currently ranked No. 21 in the latest edition of the D3Hoops.com national poll. The Anchormen spent one week earlier this season ranked No. 22.  RIC won its first-ever Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship with an 87-75 win over Keene State on Feb. 24. The club’s regular season title was the second for the team in the past three seasons and the program’s first-ever outright title. The squad’s 24 wins matches the school record for victories in a season, previously established by the 1968-69 team. Rhode Island College will participate in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 28 years when the Anchormen host first and second round action on Mar. 2-3 at The Murray Center. RIC will face Coast Guard at 8 p.m. on Mar. 2.

     Durgin was named First Team All-Little East Conference for the second consecutive season. He was named the Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, leading RIC to a 3-0 mark in tourney action and the club’s first-ever LEC title. He has played in 27 games, starting all of them. He is averaging 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He leads the team in scoring and assists, while ranking second in rebounding and third in steals. Durgin currently has 1,218 career points, which is 14^th all-time at RIC. He is 11^th in school history with 296 career assists. He was named the Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week three times this season.

     Bailey was named Second Team All-Little East Conference and was also selected to the league’s All-Defensive team. He has played in 27 games, starting all of them. He is averaging 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Bailey led the team in steals, while ranking second in assists and third in both scoring and rebounding. He posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in RIC’s, 87-75, win over Keene State in the LEC Tournament Championship Game.

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