KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Skidmore College senior and former Vergennes Union High School standout Connor Merrill capped his men’s basketball career on Saturday by scoring 15 points on six-for-nine shooting as his West All-Star team defeated the East All-Stars, 105-94, in the Reese’s NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball All-Star game.
Merrill, a 1,000-point scorer at Skidmore and VUHS, added six rebounds, an assist and a block in Saturday’s contest, during which he sank three of four three-attempts.
This winter, Merrill led the Thoroughbreds to the Liberty League championship, the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament, and a team-record 20 wins. He scored a season-high 28 points in Skidmore’s 81-66 win over NESCAC champion Wesleyan in the NCAA D-III first round.
Merrill was named a 2015 Liberty League First-Team All-Star after averaging 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He helped anchor a Skidmore defense that finished fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense at 37.7 percent.
Merrill finished his career seventh on Skidmore’s all-time scoring list with 1,256 points. He is the program’s all-time blocked-shot leader with 212 and ranks ninth in rebounds (543).
Merrill became the first Skidmore player to be selected to play in the Reese’s NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball All-Star game.
“This is a tremendous honor for Connor and for our program,” said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. “I couldn’t be happier for him. This is the finishing touch on what was an incredible career.”