Anderson's Mollenhauer and Newberry's Gibson Named 2019-20 SAC Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Anderson's Alexy Mollenhauer was voted the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Newberry's Luke Gibson earned the men's honor, the Conference office announced today. Both Mollenhauer and Gibson are repeat Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award winners, having won the award in 2018-19 as well.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.

Mollenhauer, a senior guard, has a perfect 4.00 GPA in English/secondary English education. She has earned numerous accolades, both on and off the court, in her final season with the Trojans.  In the classroom, she was a 2019-20 a CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Women's Basketball First Team selection, a CoSIDA Academic All-District® honoree, as well as being a four-time Dean's List selection. She was named the 2020 SAC Women's Basketball Elite 20 winner and was a four-time SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.

On the court, she was named SAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a first team All-SAC selection. She was named D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year for the second time, was a D2CCA First Team All-American, and WBCA First Team All-American. The five-time SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week earned United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 4, 2020, and became the first player in Anderson program history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for their career. She led the conference in both scoring (19.7 ppg.) and rebounding (12.4 rpg.) during the 2019-20 season.

"Honestly words cannot express how much Alexy has done for this program," said Anderson head women's basketball coach Jonathon Barbaree.  "I know you will read about all the numbers, records, and awards but those things can't come close to explain it. Let me try and paint this picture for everyone, Alexy is a 4.0 student who speaks four languages, plays the piano, and yes can make a shot every now and then. But for those that don't know her, Lexy is an extremely unselfish player and the ultimate teammate, who loves to see her friends succeed!"

Barbaree added, "Alexy is strong in her faith. She loves the Lord and represents what Anderson University is about. She prays for her team, coaches, school, and I've even seen her pray for other players in this conference when they've gone down with an injury. That's who Alexy Mollenhauer is. We are extremely proud of her. We love her and want to congratulate her on this award."

A native of Lindale, Texas, Mollenhauer is active on and off of the court in the Anderson community. She has served in Hope Kids at Hope Fellowship Church for the last four years. She volunteers at two schools, Calhoun Academy of the Arts and Nevitt Forest Elementary, reading to the elementary students. Mollenhauer has also participated in Martin Luther King Jr. Day service project for the past two years and has helped with numerous girls basketball summer camps hosted at Anderson.

Gibson is a senior accounting major with a 3.97 grade point average from Albemarle, N.C. He is a four-time Dean's List selection, a three-time SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection, a CoSIDA Academic All-District® pick and a CoSIDA Academic All-America® honoree. Gibson played in all 29 games in 2019-20, scoring 11.9 points with 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He led the SAC in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 46.3 percent of his shots from long range.   

"This is such a great well deserved honor," said Newberry head men's basketball coach Jason Taylor. "He truly is the best representation of what we all want the term 'student-athlete' to represent. He maximized every aspect of his experience during his time at Newberry College. I'm so proud and so happy for him!"

In addition to his success on the basketball court and in the classroom, Gibson has been an active member of the community. He volunteers at the Newberry Academy Spanish Academy, was a referee-coach for the Law Enforcement & Youth Basketball Tournament, volunteers at Gallman Elementary and is a leader in the Newberry Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He has spent time each of the last four years working with the Special Olympics basketball teams in Newberry and volunteered at the Newberry Fire Department's Kids Fun Day. 

SAC Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Finalists

Karlie Bearden, Lenoir-Rhyne
Kayla Marosites, Carson-Newman
Kristian Earnes, Queens
Lindsay Proffitt, Lincoln Memorial
Raya Coley, Coker
Taisha DeShazo, Catawba
Teliyah Jeter, Wingate

SAC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Finalists

Ben Zemonek, Catawba
Courvoisier McCauley, Lincoln Memorial
Darius Simmons, Lenoir-Rhyne
Jakob Dawkins, Wingate
Trenton Gibson, Tusculum

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