HICKORY, N.C. --- Tusculum College's Kyle Moore has been named the South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year announced officials Friday night at the league's annual Awards Banquet at the Catawba Valley Community College Arena. The CVCC is the site of this weekend's Food Lion SAC Basketball Tournaments.

Moore becomes the first player in the program's history to earn SAC Player of the Year honors. Senior guard Ryan Troutman earned a spot on the All-SAC Second Team, while rookie guard Taylor Hobbs was named to the SAC All-Freshman Team.

Tusculum has a 19-9 overall record, while finishing tied for second in the conference race, its second-best league showing since joining the league in 1999. Head coach Jim Boone has led the Pioneers to a six-win improvement so far, from a year ago and is on the verge of posting the program's first 20-win campaign in over 15 years. TC is the No. 3 seed in this week's Food Lion SAC Tournament and will face second-seeded Newberry College Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the CVCC Arena.

Moore, a 6-3, 185-pound junior guard from Gainesville, Fla., earns All-SAC honors for a second straight year, but his inaugural nod to the All-SAC First Team. Moore leads the conference in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game, which is second in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region and 18th in the country. The Buchholz High School product also leads the SAC in three-point field goals per game (3.14), hitting 88 treys so far this year. That tally is tied for second in league history, matching the 88 he posted last season. He is just two treys shy of establishing a new SAC best and surpassing former Pioneer Bobby Ewing, who recorded 89 three-pointers in the 2004-05 campaign.

Moore has also shined from the free throw line, shooting 83.7 percent, which is second on the team and fourth in the conference, going 190-of-227 from the foul line. His 190 made free throws are a new Tusculum single-season record and six shy of establishing a new SAC record.

Troutman, a 6-2, 165-pound native of Mt. Washington, Ky., has led the conference in assists the past two seasons, including this year where he is dishing out 6.14 helpers per contest, which is 16th in the country. The Bullitt East High School graduate has already recorded 318 assists in his 56-game career at Tusculum, averaging 5.68 assists per contest, which is on pace to be a new conference record. The St. Catherine College transfer is second on the team averaging 12 points per game (14th in SAC) and 5.3 rebounds per outing (14th in SAC).

Troutman also leads the team in free throw percentage (88.2%) and minutes played per game (36.11 mpg). He is second on the SAC at the free throw line and tops in minutes played.

Hobbs, a 6-4, 190-pound Dublin, Ohio native, is averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while playing in 27 of TC's 28 games this year, including 19 starts. The Worthington High School graduate is averaging 19.1 minutes per game, shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.

The winner of Saturday's Tusculum/Newberry semifinal will face either Lenoir-Rhyne University or Catawba College in Sunday's final at 4 p.m. from the CVCC Arena.