McIntyre named PacWest Player of the Year, Perteete is Freshman of the Year

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A late-season surge by the Westmont Men's Basketball team has validated a year-long journey not only for the collective unit, but a pair of individuals as well. When the Warriors play in their first-ever PacWest postseason game on Thursday night they will be taking the floor with two of the most-impactful players in the conference, two players that sparked a once 5-7 team to a berth in the conference tournament.

The efforts of those two young men were acknowledged by the conference, and etched into Westmont history on Wednesday afternoon, when the conference named Adrian McIntyre Player of the Year, and De'Undrae Perteete Freshman of the Year.

For McIntyre, he not only becomes Westmont Basketball's first PacWest Player of the Year, but the first in Westmont College Athletics' history.

"Adrian went to a different level in February," said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. "He was one of, if not the main reason we didn't lose a game in February until the final week of the month."

Boucher would be right, as during Westmont's season-saving seven-game winning streak in the month of February, all McIntyre did was break two records that have stood for more than half-a-century. His signature game came on February 8 in Murchison Gym, when Adria dropped in a single-game program record 51 points in an overtime win against Point Loma. The previous record had stood for 69 years.

McIntyre followed it up by leading Westmont to three-more consecutive wins after that, culminating in a PacWest Tournament-clinching win against Vanguard on February 19. On that night, which also happened to be his senior night, McIntyre broke the program's single-season scoring record that had stood for 70 years.

At the end of the regular season, McIntyre has posted a Westmont-record 723 points. He also enters postseason play averaging 27.8 points-per-game, which is the highest mark at the NCAA Division II level. Not to get lost in the shuffle, the senior also led Westmont with 56 steals, was second on the club with 104 assists, and third on the club with 136 rebounds.

Only three times all season did any club hold McIntyre under 20 points. On eight occasions, he scored at least 30. The moment, which seemed to get bigger and bigger as the year went on, never seemed to be too big for the most valuable player in the PacWest.

"He just got more and more confident after every game," reflected Boucher. "He has succeeded in just about every game and in clutch moments. He's going into the tournament playing the best basketball of his life.

"As much good as he has brought to Westmont, Westmont has given back just as much to him. Adrian is a proud Warrior, and will always be a Warrior at heart. To me, it's obvious to see how much gratitude he's playing with."

For Perteete, the PacWest Freshman of the Year, his Westmont career started on a quiet night in Billings, Montana, when he scored just three points, and fouled out after 25 minutes. Safe to say that night was false advertising for what has turned out to be an ascendant season for the conference's most-impactful first-year player.

For Perteete, who finished the season averaging 10.8 points-per-game, the signature game of his freshman season also came during Westmont's six-game winning streak. Perteete's game came on February 12 at Azusa Pacific, when the freshman scored a career-high 34 points, and made the most three-pointers in a game that any Westmont player had in 20 years (eight).

"When I was recruiting De'Undrae in high school, I really saw this," assured Boucher. "I saw him coming in and making a big impact defensively, as he has. He has done such a great job, just about every night, always guarding the other team's best player. It had been a couple years for him since going back and playing point guard, with that, he's just gotten better and better throughout the season.

"Of course there's the game where he had the eight three's, but there's been several games where he's been a key difference-maker in getting us to where we are. Earning a freshman of the Year nod is so exciting, because after all, it is just his freshman year.

"I think De'Undrae is going to be a really great Westmont Basketball player."

On Thursday night at 5:00 p.m. in San Rafael, the Warriors will clash with the Academy of Art Urban Knights in the PacWest Tournament Quarterfinals. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.

(Article courtesy of Westmont Athletics).