The Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) announced its 2010-2011 awards this week, naming Jerel Blocker the men’s basketball Player of the Year, and Brooke McKinnon the women’s basketball Co-Player of the Year.

For the season, Blocker leads the Flames, scoring 17 points per game. The guard from Lake Wales, Fla. also grabs just under five rebounds per game, while dishing out three assists.

McKinnon’s award is the latest chapter in one of the most outstanding careers in Lee University women’s basketball history. For her career, the senior guard has scored 2,173 points, 98 points behind Vikki Clemmons for the top spot on the Lady Flames all-time scoring list.

On the men’s side, Blocker is joined on the SSAC All-Conference team by fellow seniors, Antonio Haymon and Larriques Cunningham. Haymon and Cunningham are the second and third leading scorers for the Flames, pitching in 14 and 13.6 points per game, respectively.

Freshman Hollie German joins McKinnon as the Lady Flames’ representatives on the SSAC All-Conference team. Playing in all 30 games thus far this season, German has averaged 10 points per game, while helping run the Lady Flames offense.

Seniors Stephen McClellan and Kayla Carlisle, and junior Angela Spann were each named to the SSAC-All East Division teams, men’s and women’s, respectively. German and Madison Lee are both a part of the women’s basketball SSAC All-Freshman Team.

Between the two clubs, seven different players were named SSAC All-Academic. From the Flames, Elizha Burdette, Justin Madden, and Matt Stilwell join Carlisle, Kally Eldridge, Brooke Hamby, and Julia Zimmerman from the Lady Flames, being honored by the conference for their work in the classroom.

McKinnon and Ceda Ilic were named Lee’s representatives on the women’s and men’s Musco Lighting Champion of Character Team.

The Lee ladies were beaten in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament in Rome Ga., Friday afternoon, falling to Loyola University of New Orleans, 72-70, in overtime.

The No.14 ranked Flames were upset by the Loyola men, Thursday, and now await next week’s at-large selections, hoping they will be picked to return to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.