The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUST a week into his senior season, Nashad Mackey is already earning conference accolades for the Embry Riddle Eagles men's basketball programme.

Mackey earned the first Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Week as the Eagles got off to a 2-1 start to the year.

He recorded three double-doubles in the Eagles' first three games, averaging 20.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He also recorded seven steals and turned away a pair of shots for the Eagles over the weekend.

In the season opener, he posted 18 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in Embry-Riddle's 72-69 win over Concordia.

In game two, he finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in a 79-70 win over Azusa Pacific.

In their first loss, Mackey finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in a 94-81 loss to Lindenwood.

The Eagles return to the court tonight and look to get back into the win column against Lee University.

Mackey has 26 double-doubles in 31 career games with Embry-Riddle.

As a junior, Mackey produced a number of career milestones and postseason awards.

He was named to the All-Conference second team as well as the All-Newcomer team when the Sunshine State Conference office announced the 2017-18 men's basketball postseason awards.

Mackey made school history when he became the first Eagles player to earn an All-Conference selection. He had an immediate impact on the programme as they transitioned to NCAA Division II with his record-breaking junior season.

He averaged 17.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, both team leads. In 28 starts, he also set a new single-season double-doubles record with 23 on the year and ended the season with 13 such consecutive games. He posted a total of 350 rebounds, another school record, ranked second in NCAA Division II.

He finished with nine 20-point games, including one 20-point, 20-rebound game in an upset of No. 10 Barry University. He also shot 88.8 per cent from the free throw line this season, ranked sixth among single-season totals in programme history.

The Eagles closed out the 2017-18 season last week with a 104-97 loss to Florida Southern to end the season at 11-17, 5-15 in the conference.

Mackey ended the campaign strong with his final double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds. He transferred to the Eagles and NCAA Division II level after he posted stellar individual numbers and garnered postseason awards at the JuCo level.

During his stint with the Daytona State College Falcons, he was named the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year and was also named First team All-State in the conference as a sophomore.