April 5, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Seniors Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island and Temple's Dionte Christmas have been named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS All-America Team. Baron garnered first-team honors, while Christmas earned second-team distinction. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence. Baron and Christmas were among just 10 seniors nationally to earn the honor.

Baron led URI in scoring this season, averaging 17.4 points per game. He was selected to the Atlantic 10's All-Conference's first team. The URI and A-10's career leader in three-pointers made (361), he also holds URI's top three single-season records for 3-pointers made. Baron ranked sixth in the A-10 in scoring (17.4 ppg), while leading the league in 3-pointers made (118). His .454 3-point field goal percentage ranked fifth nationally.

The 6-3 guard was named to the 2008-09 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America second-team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The East Greenwich, R.I., native has compiled a 3.42 grade-point average through his first seven semesters at the University of Rhode Island, while majoring in communications.

Christmas, the only player in Atlantic 10 Conference history to lead the league in scoring three times, topped the A-10 with a 19.5 scoring average. The 6-5 All-America became the fourth Temple player to score 2,000 career points, finishing his four seasons with 2,043 points. He also set new school records for three-pointers made in a season (107) and career (319).

The Philadelphia native (Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy), who joined UMass' Harper Williams (1991-92) as the only players in Atlantic 10 Conference history to earn two A- 10 Most Outstanding Player Awards, also was named first team all-district by the USBWA and the NABC and first team all- Atlantic 10 Conference. He is also the only Owl player to score 600 or more points in three straight seasons.

Tyler Hansbrough was named the winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and headlined the First Team which also included Baron, Jerel McNeal (Marquette), Terrence Williams (Louisville) and Sam Young (Pittsburgh). Joining Christmas on the Second Team is A.J. Abrams (Texas), Lester Hudson (Tennessee-Martin), Curtis Jerrells (Baylor) and Andy Wicke (Belmont).