MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball player Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Basketball All-Conference First Team, it was announced by the NEWMAC.
Iafrate becomes the first sophomore Wheaton men's basketball player to earn First Team honors since Anthony Coppola '11 was selected following the 2008-09 campaign. Iafrate was also the only non-senior named to the NEWMAC First Team this year.
The guard was one of the best all-around players in the league and the region as one of just two players in the conference to rank among the top 20 in the NEWMAC in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game as well as field goal percentage and assist/turnover ratio. The La Salle Academy product started all 24 games that he appeared in and averaged 14.8 points to place seventh in the league, while scoring double-digits in all but four games that he played in. Iafrate showed his ability to take over games, scoring 20 or more points on six occasions, including a three-game stretch from February 12-19 where he tallied 21, 22 and 22 points to average 21.7 points per game during the stretch. The Business major proved to be one of the most reliable shooters on the squad, making 49.8% (134-269) of his attempts to place sixth among league leaders. As good as he was on the offensive end for the Lyons, he was even better on the defensive end as one of the league's top defenders he consistently locked up whoever he was guarding. Iafrate led the league with 2.42 steals per game and was 37th in the nation, finishing with 58 thefts for the third-highest single-season total in school history. He also pulled down 4.6 rebounds to stand 19th among NEWMAC leaders. The Ocean State native came up with multiple steals 16 times and recorded at least one steal in all but two contests, including a four-game string that saw him average 3.3 steals with 13 from February 8-19. Iafrate ripped down five or more rebounds in 12 games and matched his career high with nine boards to go with 15 points in a 73-71 victory over Babson College on January 16. The backcourt standout proved to be the consummate playmaker as well for Wheaton, handing out 4.0 assists per outing to rank fourth in the conference and give him 96 for the year for the eighth-most in a season for the Blue and White, while standing second on the NEWMAC leaderboard with a 1.60 assist to turnover ratio. Iafrate's value to the team was on full display when he netted 22 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed six rebounds, came up with three steals and blocked a shot, while shooting 50% (8-16) from the field against United States Coast Guard Academy on February 15.
For his career, Iafrate has started 36 of 49 games, while averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 4.7 rebounds per game to go with 24 total blocks. He is the only player in school annals to register 50 or more steals in each of his first two seasons for the Lyons.
Wheaton finished the season with an 11-14 overall record, including 6-10 in league play.
