NEW ORLEANS – Coming off a season in which he led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring by a considerable margin, UT Arlington's David Azore has been named to the league's First Team in voting conducted by the 12 head coaches.
 
A graduate student, Azore led the Sun Belt in both overall scoring for the year (19.8) and conference-only scoring (23.9) – nearly five points better than Conference Player of the Year Norchad Omier (19.1). The 19.8 average ranks 25th nationally, and the 6-foot-4 guard had four 30-point games in Sun Belt play; the rest of the league combined had just three such outings.
 
The Houston native is responsible for the three highest-scoring games in Sun Belt play this year with 37, 36 and 33. The 36 points came against App State after he dislocated a finger on his shooting hand minutes into the game on Feb. 5, and the 37 points occurred at Little Rock on Jan. 22 to represent a tie for the 10th-most points in single-game program history. He made 17 free throws in that contest – tied for the 3rd-most by any player in the nation this year, the most by a UTA player since 1979 and tied for the 4th-most in program history.
 
Azore had 11 games of 20+ points in Sun Belt play in only15 opportunities. The Clear Brook High School product ranked 3rd in the Sun Belt in conference free throw shooting (84.9) and tied for 6th in field goal percentage (44.1). He was responsible for 30 percent of UTA's points in Sun Belt play, and he missed two games due to COVID protocols. Azore was a two-time Sun Belt Player of the Week this year (Jan. 4, Feb. 15), the first UTA player since Erick Neal in 2018 with multiple wins.
 
The aforementioned two 35+ point games by Azore has tied a single-season program record. His four 30-point contests are tied for the 5th-most in single-season program history behind Eddie Stallings (five) in 1967-68 and 1968-69, Sam Norton (six) in 1983-84 and Marquez Haynes (seven) in 2009-10.
 
Incredibly, Azore is the first UTA player to be named to the Sun Belt First Team since Kevin Hervey in 2018. Furthermore, he's just the fourth, and final, Mav selected to an SBC First Team along with Reger Dowell (2014), Neal (2016) and Hervey (2017, '18). UTA is joining the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2022.
 
Azore will lead the 9th-seeded Mavs into the 2022 Sun Belt Tournament with a first-round matchup against 8th-seeded Louisiana on Thursday, Mar. 3, at 11:30 a.m. from the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.
 
The Mavericks won both regular-season matchups against the Ragin' Cajuns. The first was an 83-73 decision in Arlington on Jan. 13 in a game in which Azore did not play due to above-mentioned COVID protocols. The second came in Lafayette on Feb. 12 in overtime, 80-77, as that contest featured 15 lead changes alone in the 2nd half and extra period.
 
With a win over Louisiana, UTA would advance to face top-seeded Texas State in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Mar. 5, also at 11:30 a.m. from the Pensacola Bay Center. UTA has also defeated the Bobcats this year. A complete SBC Tournament preview will be posted on UTAMavs.com on Tuesday, Mar. 1.
 
2021-22 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Norchad Omier, Arkansas State (Fr., F – Bluefields, Nicaragua)
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Norchad Omier, Arkansas State (Fr., F – Bluefields, Nicaragua)
 
Newcomer of the Year
Efe Odigie, Troy (Jr., F – Houston, Texas)
 
Freshman of the Year
Duke Deen, Troy (Fr., G – Shreveport, La.)
 
Sixth Man of the Year
Elijah McCadden, Georgia Southern (Sr., G – Rocky Mount, N.C.)
 
Coach of the Year
Terrence Johnson, Texas State
 
All-Sun Belt First Team 
Adrian Delph, App State (Sr., G – Gastonia, N.C.)
Norchad Omier, Arkansas State (Fr., F – Bluefields, Nicaragua)
David Azore, UTA (Gr., G – Houston, Texas)
Caleb Asberry, Texas State (Sr., G – Pflugerville, Texas)
Efe Odigie, Troy (Jr., F – Houston, Texas)
 
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Vince Cole, Coastal Carolina (Sr., G – Charleston, S.C.)
Jordan Brown, Louisiana (So. F – Roseville, Calif.)
Jay Jay Chandler, South Alabama (Gr., G – Katy, Texas)
Charles Manning Jr., South Alabama (Sr., G – Riverhead, N.Y.)
Mason Harrell, Texas State (Sr., G – Midwest City, Okla.)
 
All-Sun Belt Third Team
Corey Allen, Georgia State (Sr., G – Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Kane Williams, Georgia State (Sr., G – Douglasville, Ga.)
Kobe Julien, Louisiana (RS Fr., F – Baton Rouge, La.)
Andre Jones, ULM (Gr., G – Little Rock, Ark.)
Javon Franklin, South Alabama (Sr., F – Little Rock, Ark.)
 
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