FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Derek Needham earned a spot on the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) second team while Amadou Sidibe and Marcus Gilbert were selected to the MAAC All-Rookie team as the conference annual awards were announced on Monday afternoon. Sidibe and Gilbert are now eligible for the MAAC Rookie of the Year award which will be announced with all the major awards on Thursday, March 7 from Springfield, Mass. The 2013 MAAC Basketball Championships run from March 7-11 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

                Needham dished off three assists in last Sunday's game against Marist, raising his season total to 100 and making him the fifth student-athlete in school history to register 100 assists in each of his four seasons. The senior leads the team in scoring with a 14.3 scoring average, and is tied for the team in assists.  Needham places among the conference leaders, ranking 10^th for scoring and ninth in assists. He makes his fourth appearance on the All-MAAC team and also has the MAAC Rookie of the Year award on his resume.

"I am pleased for Derek because he has proven for the fourth year in a row that he is one of the best players in the MAAC," Head Coach Sydney Johnson said. "Over his four-year career, Derek has posted some of the best numbers in Fairfield basketball history and been a model student-athlete by making the Dean's List."

                Gilbert comes off a solid week in which he was the team's top scorer against Manhattan and Marist. He has developed into one of the team's top three-point shooters, leading the team with .367 percentage. He is averaging nearly a three-point field goal per game with 29 in 30 appearances. He is currently averaging 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

                Sidibe has been the team's top rebounder and has ranked among the MAAC leaders for most of the season. The forward averages 6.0 rebounds per game and contributes 6.2 points every forty minutes. He was the team's top rebounder in 12 games and was a co-leader twice this season. Sidibe ranks ninth in the MAAC for rebounding. He leads the team in field goal percentage, netting 55.6 percent of his shots.

"Marcus and Amadou spearhead a freshman class that our coaches worked incredibly hard on bringing to Fairfield, Johnson said.”I am grateful to their families for trusting us with mentoring Marcus and Amadou. The two of them have committed themselves to everything that I've asked from the moment they arrived on our campus. Our coaches look forward to seeing the two of them continue to develop on and off the court over the next few seasons."

The Fairfield University men's basketball team begins play in the 2013 MAAC Basketball Championship this Friday. The Stags will take on Saint Peter's University at 9:30 pm.