La Crosse, Wis. - Midwest Collegiate Conference officials announced today that Viterbo University forward Scott Buschman (Sr. - Naperville, Ill.) is the 2009-10 MCC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Teammates Eric Ambrose (Sr. - Twin Lakes, Wis.) and Nick Stilwell (Sr. - Portage, Wis.) were also recipients of conference honors.

Buschman earns the award after helping lead the V-Hawks to a 14-15 overall record and co-champions of the MCC regular season. He was the team and MCC leader in scoring (20.4 ppg), rebounding (11.3 rpg), and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). Buschman finished the season with an NAIA best 23 double-doubles including a streak of 15 consecutive games recording a double-double.

The honor is just one of many that Buschman earned this season as he also became the first player in the school's history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Buschman, who has been named First Team All-Conference three times, finished his career at Viterbo with 2,007 points which is good enough for third place all-time. He is also the leading rebounder in Viterbo history with 1,178 rebounds. Buschman was also named MCC Player of the Week twice this season.

Ambrose received First-Team All-Conference honors after averaging 14.6 ppg and 3.7 apg this season for the V-Hawks. Ambrose finishes his career fourth on the all-time scoring list at Viterbo with 1,810 points as well as becoming the universities all-time leader in steals as he finishes with 249 in his career. Ambrose finished the season second in the MCC in steals per game (1.83 spg) and was the conference leader in minutes played per game (34.38 mpg). This is the second straight season that Ambrose has received first team all-conference honors.

Receiving Honorable Mention honors was senior forward Nick Stilwell. Stilwell saved one of his best games for the end of his career at Viterbo as he finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds against William Penn on February 20^th which helped Viterbo clinch a share of the MCC regular season title. Stilwell finished fourth on the team in scoring with 8.4 ppg and was second in rebounding with 5.2 rpg while finishing his career at Viterbo with 572 points and 396 rebounds.

Despite a slow 3-11 start the V-Hawks turned things around once conference play began as the team finished 11-5 in the MCC and earned a share of the conference title which is the first for Viterbo since 1998. The V-Hawks season came to an end in the MCC Semifinals as the team lost to William Penn University 75-68. Viterbo also says goodbye to its four seniors as Buschman, Ambrose, Stilwell, and Tyler Hanold (Richland Center, Wis.) have all played their final game as a V-Hawk.