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Jim Zeleznak
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Jim Zeleznak's Rattlers cut down the nets after winning the Heartland regular-season title.

Men's Basketball RattlerAthletics.com

Zeleznak, Binney, Whitt take home All-Conference honors

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

SAN ANTONIO — The Rattlers' collective eyes remain on the championship prize that looms this weekend, but Thursday night offered a brief moment to reflect on what a successful season it has been for the St. Mary's men's basketball program.
 
St. Mary's head coach Jim Zeleznak was named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year, it was announced on the St. Mary's campus during a banquet kicking off the 2014-15 Heartland Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
 
Zeleznak's squad was also honored with the selection of point guard Marvin Binney (Sr., Toronto, Ontario) to the All-Conference First Team and guard Marvin Whitt (Sr., Birmingham, Ala.) to All-Conference Honorable Mention team. The awards were voted on by the Heartland Conference's head men's basketball coaches.
 
Zeleznak, a two-time Heartland Conference Coach of the Year is trying to take his squad to the regional tournament for the fourth straight year, a task that begins with Friday's semifinals round of the Heartland Conference Tournament. Top-seeded St. Mary's (18-9) will face No. 4 seed UA Fort Smith (16-12) at 5:30 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena, followed by the other semifinals matchup between No. 2 seed St. Edward's (21-7) and No. 3 seed Texas-Permian Basin (17-11) at 7:30 p.m. The winners will advance to Saturday's championship game at 4 p.m., where a winner will be crowned and granted an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
It was only fitting that the senor-laden Rattlers saw two seniors honored Thursday night.
 
Binney leads St. Mary's with 12.7 points per game and is second on the team in assists, averaging 2.6 per contest. The point guard, who last season was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year and earned Second Team All-Conference recognition, has reached double figures in scoring in 18 games this season, including a season-high 23 against UTPB on Feb. 14. Perhaps his brightest moment came in a key home victory over Rogers State on Feb. 5, when Binney scored 21 points in 20 minutes after missing the entire first half.
 
Whitt, a sparkplug on the floor, earned Honorable Mention status for the second consecutive year. The guard leads St. Mary's with 74 assists this season (2.7 per game) and is second in scoring at 12.2 points per contest. He has hit double figures in 14 games, including a season-high 24 points against Newman on Jan. 3.
 
For Zeleznak, this season has shaped up to be a banner year for his Rattlers, who closed out the regular-season on a five-game winning streak to win the conference's regular-season championship outright.
 
Zeleznak, a native of Shawnee Mission, Kan., boasts a 62.5-percent winning percentage (178-107) in his 10 years at the helm of the St. Mary's program. But despite that success, which includes three Heartland Tournament championships during Zeleznak's tenure, this year marked the first time the program won the regular-season crown since the 2004-05 season.
 
St. Mary's hopes its good fortune continues once tournament play gets underway Friday. 
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Players Mentioned

Marvin Binney

#15 Marvin Binney

G
6' 3"
Senior
Marvin Whitt

#20 Marvin Whitt

G
5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Marvin Binney

#15 Marvin Binney

6' 3"
Senior
G
Marvin Whitt

#20 Marvin Whitt

5' 9"
Senior
G

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