Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team was honored with a pair of postseason awards Tuesday in a vote by Northeast Conference head coaches, as senior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) was named the 2010 NEC Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) was a unanimous selection as the 2010 NEC Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the accolades for Nwigwe and Abraham, senior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) earned a spot on the 2010 All-NEC Second Team.
Nwigwe, 6'4" and 195 pounds, was at the heart of a Colonial defense that enters the 2010 NEC Tournament ranked second in the league in field goal percent defense (.410) and fourth in three-point field goal percent defense (.328).
In 18 games against NEC opponents this season, Nwigwe led a Robert Morris defense that paced the conference in both field goal percent defense (.383) and three-point field goal percent defense (.296) while ranking second in scoring defense (60.9 points per game).
Nwigwe is RMU's second straight NEC Defensive Player of the Year honoree, following in the footsteps of former guard and 2009 winner Bateko Francisco (2007-09). Individually, Nwigwe ranks second for the Colonials this season in steals with 41 while producing averages of 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
The 5'9", 150-pound Abraham is the third player in school history to earn the NEC Rookie of the Year, joining former guard Jeremy Chappell (2005-09), who was bestowed the honor in 2006, and former forward Steve Vandiver (1986-88), who was named the 1987 NEC Newcomer of the Year.
Abraham enters the 2010 NEC Tournament as RMU's leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, the only freshman in the league to lead his team in scoring.
On the 2009-10 campaign Abraham has established Colonial freshman records for three-pointers (72) and free throws (113), while his free-throw shooting percentage of .863 is tops in the NEC. Since Abraham was inserted into the starting lineup in a 72-67 win at Youngstown State (12/30/09), Robert Morris owns a record of 16-4 (.800).
Robinson was named to the All-NEC Second Team for the second straight season and enters the 2010 NEC Tournament averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while ranking second for RMU in blocks with 22.
The 6'8", 215-pound forward has scored in double figures in each of his last five games and ranks fourth in the NEC in field goal percentage (.520) after finishing third in the circuit in field goal percentage against league foes (.555).
Robert Morris, which owns an overall record of 20-11 and is led by third-year head coach Mike Rice, opens the 2010 NEC Tournament by hosting No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (12-17) in a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Charles L. Sewall Center as part of quarterfinal action Thursday, March 4.
