GREAT FALLS, Mont. -  Two players from the University of Providence men's basketball program were recognized by the NAIA Thursday afternoon. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly was one of ten players named a 1^st Team All-American and Jaxen Hashley was named Honorable Mention. Darko-Kelly was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches 1^st Team.

"I'm proud of both of them," head coach Steve Keller said. "Obviously they both worked hard for this award. I'm proud they were awarded these individual awards, but they both would tell you they'd rather win than get those awards. That's what's really special about them."

Darko-Kelly is the first player in Providence history to be named 1^st Team All-American. He had a phenomenal first year as a member of the Argos, leading the team in every statistical category. He averaged 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks a game while shooting a whopping 52.4% from the field, 42.5% from the three-point line and 79.1% from the free throw line.  Darko-Kelly also broke the Providence single season scoring record by scoring 701 total points. For his efforts he was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Year. 

Darko-Kelly also finished in the Top 5 in every statistical category in the Frontier Conference. He led the league in scoring, steals and blocks, was second in assists, hird in rebounding and finished 5th in field goal percentage. Nationally, Darko-Kelly ranks 4th in total scoring, 6th in total assists (177), 7th in points per game, 7th in total steals (72), 9th in assists per game and 10th in steals per game.

Darko-Kelly has been named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week six times, including the first men's basketball player to win it three weeks in a row. He also was the first men's basketball player in NAIA history to ever win the NAIA Player of the Week Award three times in a row. Darko-Kelly is also one of 25 finalists for the Bevo Francis Award. The list will be narrowed down to on April 4, with a winner being announced on April 6.

"NAIA 1^st Team All-American is about as good as you can get," Keller said. "That's a pretty amazing accomplishment to get picked in the Top 10 in all of NAIA Division I. Z had a great year. I'm proud of him for that accomplishment."

Hashley was named Honorable Mention after being named the Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year last season, Jaxen Hashley had a solid sophomore season for the Argos and was named 2nd Team All-Conference. He averaged 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds while leading the Frontier Conference in field goal percentage at 62.6%. Hashley also ranked 4th in the conference in rebounding.

"Jaxen was a big part of our push down the stretch," Keller said. "He really stepped up his game and gave us an inside presence that we need. I'm really proud of him that he got honorable mention as a sophomore. He's got a couple more years to move up that ladder. He had a great year."

This is the second straight season that two Argos have received All-American awards; Brandon Cotton and Jalen Shepard received Honorable Mention honors last season.

"We're getting some respect already," Keller said. "Obviously these two guys are coming back to build around. It helps everything. It gets our name out there which is good for our program."