NATCHITOCHES – Trenton Massner's classroom performance earned him another postseason honor.
 
A 6-foot-2 junior guard who led Northwestern State in scoring in the 2020-21 season, Massner was chosen to the Southland Conference All-Academic First Team on Tuesday, becoming the first Demon to do so since Ishmael Lane in 2018-19.
 
Massner earned second-team All-Southland Conference honors for his on-court performance in which he averaged 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was named Southland Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 1 after averaging 19.5 points per game to help lead the Demons to a pair of wins against New Orleans and Central Arkansas.
 
A business administration major from Wapello, Iowa, Massner carries a 3.62 grade point average and was a member of the 2020 Southland Conference Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll in his first year of competition at Northwestern State.
 
The Southland Conference All-Academic Teams are selected by votes of head coaches, academic advisors and sports information directors of the league's 13 member institutions. Nominees must carry at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. First-team all-conference selections were automatic selections.
 
Massner was joined on the first team by automatic selections Gavin Kensmil of Stephen F. Austin, Kolton Kohl of Abilene Christian and Demarkus Lampley of Sam Houston. Abilene Christian's Joe Pleasant earned the other first-team spot while Kensmil earned league Student-Athlete of the Year honors.  
 
Massner filled the stat sheet throughout the season, leading Northwestern State in scoring and steals (35) while ranking second in shooting (49.3 percent), third in rebounding and blocked shots (11) and fourth in made 3-pointers (33).
 
In conference play, Massner performed even better, shooting 53.5 percent from the field, fifth-best in the conference and 37.7 percent from 3-point range. Massner averaged 14.4 points per game in conference play and handed out nearly three assists per game while grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game.
 
In the Demons' two Southland Conference games, Massner averaged 15 points, 4.5 rebounds and three assists per game as Northwestern State reached the tournament semfinals.
 
 
2020-21 Southland Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Teams
2020-21 Student Athlete of the Year: Gavin Kensmil, SFA

First Team
Name	University	Class	Hometown		GPA	Major
Gavin Kensmil^1	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	Parmaribo, Suriname		3.52	Kinesiology
Kolton Kohl1	Abilene Christian	R-Sr.	San Angelo, Texas		3.00	Management
Demarkus Lampley1	Sam Houston	Sr.	Phenix City, Ala.		3.21	Liberal Studies
Trenton Massner	Northwestern State	Jr.	Wapello, Iowa		3.62	Business Administration
Joe Pleasant2	Abilene Christian	Jr.	Overland Park, Kan.		3.20	Management
Second Team Name	University	Class	Hometown		GPA	Major
Rylan Bergersen	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Boise, Idaho		3.03	Health Education
Cameron Johnson	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	Little Rock, Ark.		3.10	Health Science
Anderson Kopp	Lamar	So.	Houston, Texas		3.77	Communication Studies
Avery Sullivan	Lamar	Sr.	Pflugerville, Texas		3.17	Management
Keaston Willis	UIW	So.	Sulphur Springs, Texas		3.46	Communications

 
^2020-21 Southland Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year
¹All-Conference First Team selection
²Two-time all-academic selection