March 14, 2016

D3hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region

BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University senior Thayne Recker (Arlington) earned his second straight All-Great Lakes Region honor after a second consecutive First Team All-Heartland Conference award. He was just the fifth Beaver and the first since Scott Bergman in 2005-06 to collect consecutive First Team All-HCAC honors. Recker, a Third Team honoree this season, and Bergman are the only two D3hoops.com All-Region selections in Bluffton men's basketball history.

A two-time HCAC Player of the Week as a senior, Recker finished second in the conference with 20.3 PPG and 8.6 RPG. His 507 points this year are 14th all-time for a single season. His 55.6 FG percentage was eighth in the conference while Recker's 154 makes at the charity stripe are third all-time, giving him two of the top three spots (178) for free throws. He hit 77.4 percent from the line, dished out 48 assists and blocked 20 shots this season.  

As a junior, Recker was named the USBWA’s National Player of the Week following his 53 points in Bluffton’s 103-102 triple overtime victory over Hanover College. The 53 points was an HCAC and Bluffton record for points in a game, as well as the most points scored in a game by a Division III player in 2014-15. Recker was also named to the D3hoops.com team of the week twice and was HCAC Player of the Week three times as a junior. Following Bluffton's magical tourney run, Recker was named to the HCAC All-Tournament team after averaging 26.3 points and 10 boards per game in leading  the Beavers to their first ever HCAC title game. He was a Second Team All-Great Lakes Region selection last season before being named a pre-season All-American this year.

Recker finished off his decorated career as the #5 leading scorer all-time with 1,613 points as a Beaver. He shattered the career free throws made mark of 424 by Mark Froning (1965-68) with 465 conversions at the line and his 610 attempts equaled him with Pete DuMonte (1984-87) for the most-ever free throw attempts in Bluffton history. His 777 career boards are seventh all-time and they helped him become the 11th player in Bluffton's history to go for 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He is just the fourth Beaver to finish with at least 1,600 points and 750 boards. Recker hit double figures in each contest as a senior, giving him 37 straight games of at least 10 points to end his career.

-BEAVERS-