BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Three members of the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team have received All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference honors.
Senior guard Precious Okoh (Brockton, Mass.) was chosen to the all-conference first team while graduate student Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) and sophomore guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) earned spots on the second team.
Halbleib made the All-MASCAC first team in the 2022-23 season when he was also named the conference's defensive player of the year.
This marks the first appearance on the All-MASCAC team for Okoh and Kikuba, who was the 2022-23 rookie of the year in the conference.
BSU (14-12) finished in second place in the MASCAC with a 9-3 record. After defeating Westfield State University in the semifinal round of the conference tournament, the Bears lost at Framingham State University, 80-79, in overtime in the championship game.
Okoh, who appeared in 16 games with 11 starts in his final season, finished second in the MASCAC, scoring 19.6 points per game. He trailed only Quentin Gittens of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (20.2).
Okoh ranked third in field-goal percentage (39.7, going 48-for-121) and was 12th in rebounding (5.8 per game). He also averaged 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
The transfer from the University of Maine and Independence Community College in Kansas scored at least 20 points in the final 10 games of the season, getting a season-best 30 in a Feb. 3 win over MCLA.
Okoh was at Maine for two seasons and Independence CC for one season before transferring to BSU for the 2022-23 season.
In 28 career games with the Bears, Okoh shot 45 percent, including 42 percent from 3-point range, and averaged 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals.
The Bears were 21-7 in games that Okoh played the past two seasons.
Halbleib, a 6-foot-9 center, graduated from Purdue University where he was a member of the school's club basketball team.
After helping Purdue defeat Notre Dame for the National Club Basketball Association championship in 2022, Halbleib wanted to play for a team in the NCAA while attending graduate school.
He contacted a number of colleges and made a connection at BSU, helping the Bears go 18-8 in the 2022-23 season when he set program records for blocked shots (68) and field-goal percentage (68.2).
This season, Halbleib led the MASCAC with a field-goal percentage of 60.1 and was second in blocked shots (2.5) and rebounds (10.8) while placing 11th in points (11.5).
On a national level, Halbleib is 14th in all of Division III in blocked shots, 18th in rebounding, 25th in field goal percentage and 27th in defensive rebounds per game (7.43). He is also tied for 33rd with 12 double-doubles and tied for 39th in offensive rebounds per game (3.35).
Halbleib started 47 of the 49 games he appeared in at BSU, shooting 64 percent (271-for-421) while averaging 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
He had 12 double-doubles in both seasons, and had a season-high 25 points against FDU-Florham on Dec. 30 this season and 17 rebounds in games against Ithaca and Worcester State.
Kikuba led the MASCAC with 4.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game and ranked fourth in 3-point shooting percentage (37.8) and eighth in scoring (14.3 points per game). He is also currently tied for eighth in all of Division III in steals and 35th in assists.
Kikuba started all 26 games, playing 29.1 minutes and shooting 44 percent. He also averaged 4.9 rebounds.
In the season opener on Nov. 8, Kikuba poured in a career-high 40 points to go with nine assists and six steals. He had a season-high 11 rebounds against Worcester State and a season-best 10 assists against Ithaca.
In 52 career games, Kikuba has shot 45 percent, including 37.5 percent from 3-point range, and has 721 points (13.9 per game) with 279 assists and 135 steals.