Peel, Nehls Earn All-Northeast Conference Honors
Peel and Nehls led the Blue Devils in scoring this season.
Senior Brandon Peel and freshman Austin Nehls of the Central Connecticut men's basketball team were honored by the Northeast Conference with postseason awards it was announced Tuesday morning. Peel was named to the All-NEC Third Team, while Nehls was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team.
Peel capped an outstanding season year by tying for the team lead, averaging 11.7 points per game and grabbing a team-best 9.1 rebounds per game, both career-highs. His 59 assists on the year were also a career-best. On the year, Peel ranked second in the NEC with 9.1 rpg and 16 double-doubles. In NEC play, Peel put up a double-double averaging 12.9 points and 10.2 rebounds, while shooting .838 from the foul line to rank eighth in the league.
He closed out the season strong, posting a double-double in each of the last 11 games of his career. He was a force in the paint in that span, averaging 16.6 ppg, 12.9 rpg and 1.8 bpg. Included in that stretch was his game against Bryant on Jan. 28 when he became just the ninth player since 2010-11 to put up 22 points, 18 rebounds and five assists in a game. Peel closed out his career with 881 rebounds, which ranks eighth on the CCSU all-time list and 14th in the NEC's career annals. He also finished with 958 career points and 170 career blocked shots.
Nehls emerged as one of the top marksmen in the NEC, ranking second with 71 three-pointers and 2.5 trifectas per game. Nehls posted two 20-point games on the season and hit five three-pointers in a game twice, while averaging 11.7 points per game. On the year, he shot 38.2 percent from the arc and converted 77.8 percent from the foul line. Nehls' 71 three-pointers rank ninth on the CCSU single-season list and is tied for the most by a freshman in Blue Devils' history (Kyle Vinales, 2011-12).