ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The 2011-12 American Midwest Conference Men's Basketball All-Conference team was announced tonight (Tuesday) in conjunction with the 2012 AMC Tournament Championship game between Hannibal-LaGrange University and Columbia College in Columbia's Arena of the Southwell Complex, and Cougar junior Jordan Dressler was named AMC Player of the Year following the conclusion of the game.

Dressler, a 6-foot-9 hometown forward from Columbia, entered the championship game third in the AMC in scoring at 15 points per game, but his presence was felt in the paint throughout the 2011-12 season, leading the league in rebounding with 45 blocked shots (second in the AMC). Dressler, who led the Cougars to the AMC regular-season championship at 11-1 in league games, was joined on the first team by AMC Newcomer of the Year Dez Hickman, a junior guard for Missouri Baptist University from Collinsville, Ill.

Hickman averaged 14.8 points per game, helping lead Missouri Baptist to the AMC Tournament Semifinals after a second-place finish in the regular season at 8-4. A 6-foot-3 guard, Hickman was often outsized in the paint, but ended the year as the AMC's third-leading rebounder, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game.

The AMC's Freshman of the Year is Harris-Stowe State University's Wayne Brown, from St. Louis, Mo., helped the Hornets tie with Missouri Baptist for second in the AMC at 8-4 before ending their season in the league quarterfinals. His coach, third-year sideline general Phil Hunt, was named Co-AMC Coach of the Year after guiding the Hornets to a 17-13 overall record, a five-game turnaround in the win column from the 2010-11 season. In three seasons, Hunt has compiled 45 victories.

Columbia College head coach Bob Burchard shared the award with Hunt after leading the Cougars to a 25-6 record entering the title game, pushing his career win total closer to the 600-win mark.

The individual honorees were joined on the first team by Harris-Stowe's Terry Hollins, who averaged 13.6 points and four rebounds per game for the Hornets and Reco Anderson, a Park University senior from Sumter, S.C., who finished second in the AMC in scoring for the Pirates with 15.4 points per game. Anderson was also the Pirates' leading rebounder, finishing fifth in the conference at 5.7 rebounds per game.

Anderson's teammate, Melvin Gatson, joined on the first team, averaging 12.8 points, 2.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, and Kyle Harvey, the AMC's leading scorer from Williams Baptist College, also landed on the first team after 17.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2011-12. Logan Decker was William Woods University's lone first-team honoree, closing the year as one of the AMC's top 3-point shooters with 50 makes from above the arc and 14.9 points per game.

Le Andre' Johnson, another St. Louis product, was Missouri Baptist's other first-team honoree, joining Hickman on the first team after 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and a pair of guards who competed in Tuesday's championship game rounded out the first team, as Columbia's Taylor Evans entered the game averaging 8.8 points per game and Hannibal-LaGrange University's Gerrell Wells scored 13.2 points per game, finishing third in the conference with 45-percent shooting and second in the AMC with 3.5 assists per game.

Co-Coach of the Year: Phil Hunt, Harris-Stowe State University; Bob Burchard, Columbia College

Player of the Year: Jordan Dressler, Columbia College

Newcomer of the Year: Dez Hickman, Missouri Baptist University

Freshman of the Year: Wayne Brown, Harris-Stowe State University

First-Team All-Conference

Jordan Dressler, Columbia College (Jr., F, Columbia, Mo.)

Terry Hollins, Harris-Stowe State University (Sr., G, Milwaukee, Wis.)

Le Andre' Johnson, Missouri Baptist University (Jr., G, St. Louis, Mo.)

Reco Anderson, Park University (Sr., G, Sumter, S.C.)

Dez Hickman, Missouri Baptist University (Jr., G, Collinsville, Ill.)

Logan Decker, William Woods University (Jr., G, Kansas City, Mo.)

Kyle Harvey, Williams Baptist College (Jr., F, Corning, Ark.)

Melvin Gatson, Park University (Sr., G, Kansas City, Kan.)

Taylor Evans, Columbia College (Sr., G, Belleville, Ill.)

Gerrell Wells, Hannibal-LaGrange University (Sr., G, Hannibal, Mo.)

Honorable Mention All-Conference

Donald Davis, Harris-Stowe State University (Sr., G, St. Louis, Mo.)

Andrew Miller, William Woods University (Sr., F, Whangamata, New Zealand)

Chris Smith, Hannibal-LaGrange University (Sr., F, Dallas, Texas)

Juston Hairston, Park University (Sr., F, Fort Wayne, Ind.)

Devin Griffin, Columbia College (So., G, Fairview Heights, Ill.)

Kalvin Lewis, Missouri Baptist University (So., G, Houston, Texas)

Academic All-Conference

Columbia College

Zach Rockers, Tanner Sutton, Blake Walker, Brock Walker, Ben Bowman, Jordan Dressler, Hal Payne, Taylor Evans, Matt Woodcock

Hannibal-LaGrange University

Preston Steinhoff, Alistair McCann, Arii Meuell, Juurgen Lico

Harris-Stowe State University

Jordan Loveless

Missouri Baptist University

Kalvin Lewis, Kyle Ford, Brice Scott, Ryne Brewer, Le Andre' Johnson, Erik Hunter, Sam Pearson II

Park University

Tyler Price, Mark Halsell, Vince Langkamp, Ethan Sticken

William Woods University

Logan Decker, Andrew Miller