FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNAC Hall of Fame Dinner
set for August 7 in Boston

WINTHROP, Mass. – In preparation for the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Induction on Wednesday, August 7, the GNAC is featuring each of the eight inductees leading up to the event at the Hilton Garden Inn Logan Airport in East Boston, Mass. For the complete spotlight schedule, please see below. 

From the Johnson & Wales University men's basketball program, 2012 graduate Lamonte Thomas was the most decorated scorer the GNAC has ever seen.

A local Providence, R.I. native for the Wildcats, Thomas is fourth in NCAA Division III history and the GNAC all-time leader with 2,740 points. The 6-2 guard is Johnson & Wales' all-time leader in nine different categories and he has played professionally since his collegiate career ended, including this past season in Portugal.

He topped the NCAA in scoring his final two seasons as a junior and senior, as the two-time D3hoops.com All-American (2011-12) was also crowned the 2011 GNAC Player of the Year. His career accolades include twice being named All-Northeast Region and three times being named All-GNAC First Team.

As a senior in 2012, he averaged 34.1 points per game, which was good for the eighth-best total in NCAA history. The 34.1 scoring clip came on just 23.0 shot attempts per game, as Thomas was an impressive 48.5% from the field, including 37.6% from three-point range (59-157), and 83.5% from the free-throw line (202-242). He topped 40-plus points six times that winter, and also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, as the Wildcats' season ended in the GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals against Anna Maria College despite a 35-point effort from Thomas.

The year prior as a junior, Thomas led the Wildcats to the 2011 GNAC Championship, garnering GNAC Tournament MVP and Player of the Year honors. During the 2010-11 campaign, Thomas averaged 30.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists while shooting 52.2% overall and a stellar 42.2% from three (73-173). 

En route to playoff MVP honors that season, Thomas averaged 35.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists throughout the GNAC Tournament, including a phenomenal 40-point, 20-assist performance in the semifinals against Albertus Magnus College. That game saw the Widcats go up against fellow 2019 GNAC Hall of Fame inductee Ray Askew, who was the 2010 and 2012 GNAC Player of the Year, but Askew was only able to suit up for three minutes of action due to illness.

Thomas followed up by registering 33 points, seven boards and six assists in a 76-66 GNAC Championship victory over Saint Joseph's College of Maine. That JWU team went on to a 114-106 overtime victory at Ramapo College in the NCAA Tournament – the first-ever NCAA Tourney win by any JWU program at the time – in which Thomas shot 15-of-30 (5-9 3PT, 8-12 FT) for 43 points to go with seven rebounds and nine assists across 44 minutes of action. The next night, Thomas had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in an NCAA Second Round loss to Buffalo State.

Last fall, Thomas was inducted into the JWU Hall of Fame along with the 2010-11 team. 

As a sophomore, Thomas posted per-game numbers of 23.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists after averaging 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists during his freshman year. 

The festivities on August 7 will begin at 6:00 PM with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner at 6:30 PM and the induction ceremony presentations running from approximately 7:00 PM until 8:30 PM at the Hilton Garden Inn. All eight inductees are expected to be in attendance. 

Info Provided by JWU Athletics Communications.

Throughout the month of July, the GNAC will spotlight eight Hall inductees on the following dates:
Tues 7/9: Ray Askew, Albertus Magnus College Men's Basketball
Thurs 7/11: Iman (Davis) Barbosa, Emmanuel College Women's Basketball
Tues 7/16: Lamonte Thomas, Johnson & Wales University (RI) Men's Basketball
Thurs 7/18: Jose Guitian, Lasell College Men's Basketball
Tues 7/23: Josh McElroy, Norwich University Men's Soccer
Thurs 7/25: Aaron Dufoe, Rivier University Men's Basketball/Men's Soccer
Tues 7/30: Michael Maguire, Suffolk University Baseball
Thurs 8/1: Jackie (Shedlock) Kapusta, Western New England University Softball

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –

2019 HALL of FAME INDUCTEE: Lamonte Thomas, JWU Men's Basketball