Kimbal Mackenzie Named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Kimbal Mackenzie Named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year

3/6/2019 10:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Bison senior was also named First Team All-PL earlier in week

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell senior guard Kimbal Mackenzie has been named the 2019 Patriot League Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced on Wednesday. It was Mackenzie's second significant honor of the week, as he was previously named to the All-Patriot League First Team.

This is the 12th time in the 29-year history of the Patriot League that Bucknell has claimed the Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree in men's basketball. Mackenzie follows in the footsteps of former teammate Nana Foulland, who received the honor last year, as well as Mike Muscala (2013), Chris McNaughton (2005, 2006, 2007), Dan Blankenship (2002, 2003), Valter Karavanic (1999, 2000), Tom Welch (1997) and Paul Olkowski (1993).

Mackenzie is an economics major who carries a stellar 3.52 cumulative grade-point average. The Oakville, Ontario native has made multiple appearances on Bucknell's Dean's List, he is a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, and he was selected to participate in the Bucknell Athletics Leadership Institute.

Earlier this season, Mackenzie was selected as one of 30 national candidates for the Senior Class Award, which recognizes notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

On the hardwood, Mackenzie is averaging a career-high 16.9 points per game, which is the third-highest figure in the Patriot League. He leads the team with 67 3-pointers, and he ranks fourth in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage at .861.

Mackenzie has scored in double figures in 27 of the team's 30 games this season, including seven 20-point games, and he has hit big shots in crunch time when the team has needed them. In the second halves of games he averages 9.3 points per game while shooting just under 90 percent from the foul line. Most recently, his two free throws with 10 seconds remaining gave the Bison a 62-61 win over Army and a co-regular-season title in the Patriot League.

Mackenzie scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season, and he has since moved all the way up to 20th place on Bucknell's career scoring list with 1,255 points. He also ranks sixth in school history in 3-point field goals with 195, and his career free-throw percentage .856 is second-best.

Joining Mackenzie on the 2019 Academic All-Patriot League Team are Lafayette's Justin Jaworski, Navy's Hasan Abdullah, and Lehigh's Pat Andree and Jordan Cohen.

Mackenzie and the Bison will next be in action at home on Thursday night when they host Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals at 7 p.m.