Three Temple men's basketball players will be honored at the annual Philadelphia Big 5 Banquet, to be held April 14 in the Palestra.

Senior guard Dalton Pepper was named to the second team while also earning the city league’s top free throw shooter award.  Junior guard Will Cummings also was named to the second team and redshirt junior Jimmy McDonnell was recognized as the Big 5’s “Scholar Athlete of the Year.”

Pepper, the first-ever Temple player to make a three-pointer in every game of a season, led the Owls in scoring (17.5 points), three-pointers made (84), and percentage and minutes played per game (1,171; 37.5). He also ranked second in assists (74) and steals (32).

From Levittown, Pa., Pepper made 61 in 70 attempts from the free-throw line, leading all Big 5 players. Additionally, he had the third-best scoring improvement among all Division I players, increasing his average points per game from his junior to senior season.

Another Temple player to see significant improvement in his offensive numbers from the previous season, Cummings ranked second on the squad in scoring (16.8 points per game), while leading the team in assists (132) and steals (43). He also scored in double figures in 27 of the 29 games he played, including the final 16 of the season.

Also named the American Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year, McDonnell earned a 3.63 cumulative GPA as a civil-engineering major while playing in 24 games, six starts and setting career highs in points and rebounds. After graduation in May, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in either civil engineering or engineering management. 

Big 5 Banquet tickets cost $50 each and may be reserved by contacting Steve Crider at 814-935-5015 or steve@philadelphiabig5.org.