INDIANA, Pa. – Senior men's basketball guard Dante Lombardi was named the 2018-19 IUP Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced Monday, June 17 by the IUP Athletic Department.
 
The award is part of the Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season. The Awards are in their third year of existence.
 
Lombardi graduated in May with a 3.67 cumulative grade point average in finance.
 
Lombardi earned selection to the esteemed Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Winter Top 10 Team for the second straight year. He became the first student-athlete in IUP men's basketball program history to earn PSAC Top 10 honors twice in a career.
 
On the court, Lombardi was arguably the best guard in the PSAC this season. He was a second team All-Atlantic Region and first team All-PSAC West selection who helped lead IUP to a PSAC West regular season title, PSAC tournament championship, No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region, and a No. 2 final ranking in the NABC Division II Top 25 poll.
 
Lombardi averaged 17.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, was named the PSAC Tournament MVP, and became IUP's all-time assist leader this season finishing his career with 567. He also led the PSAC and ranked eighth in Division II with a school record 106 made 3-pointers this season.
 
Lombardi finished his career with 1,603 points and is the only player in program history with at least 1,300 points and 500 assists.
 
About the Scholar-Athlete Award
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year is given to an IUP men's and women's upperclassman for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be eligible, the student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher and be a starter or valuable contributor for an IUP varsity team.
 
About the Crimson & Gray Awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards are in their third year of existence and consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men - with top performers and performances from the 2018-19 year eligible.
 
Awards include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

The IUP Sports Information Office collected award nominations from its coaches, with those nominees voted on by a select panel to narrow each category down to finalists. That panel votes again to determine the winners.
 
Up next
The 2018-19 IUP Men's and Women's team Coaches of the Year will be announced Tuesday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Athletics on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.