Wittenberg Men's Basketball Standout Dane Borchers Earns Awards
Capping a phenomenal collegiate career that included one North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championship, two NCAC Tournament titles and three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, Dane Borchers, class of 2007 from Russia, Ohio, earned third-team All-America honors from d3hoops.com.
Springfield, Ohio — Capping a phenomenal collegiate career that included one North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championship, two NCAC Tournament titles and three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, Dane Borchers, class of 2007 from Russia, Ohio, earned third-team All-America honors from d3hoops.com.
Borchers also claimed first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and second-team All-Great Lakes Region honors from d3hoops.com. It was the first NABC award in Borchers' career, and the first All-America honors of any kind as well. Also a first-team All-NCAC selection in 2007 after two straight years on the second team, Borchers moved from third-team in 2006 to second-team in 2007 on the d3hoops.com all-region list.
The awards were a fitting conclusion to Borchers' stellar four years in the Red & White. After sitting out the 2002-03 season with a back injury, Borchers made up for lost time by helping the Tigers to a 101-18 record between 2003 and 2007, including a mark of 22-5 in the 2006-07 season. That came on the heels of a school-record 30 wins and a trip to the national championship game in 2005-06.
Borchers became one of a select few Wittenberg players to average a double-double for a season as he finished at 17.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in 2006-07. He also led the team in blocked shots and minutes played, while ranking among the leaders in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and steals. Borchers topped the NCAC in rebounds and blocked shots.
For his career, Borchers ranks 10th on the Wittenberg scoring list with 1,461 points and fifth on the school's rebounding list with 831 boards. His 272 rebounds in 2006-07 were the 10th highest total in school history, and his 20 rebounds in an NCAC Tournament semifinal loss to Ohio Wesleyan set an NCAC record. In addition, Borchers was named Most Valuable Player of Wittenberg's annual holiday basketball tournament an unprecedented three straight years.