Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

Journal Staff

Matt Pepdjonovic achieves 1,000 career point milestone

Junior forward Matt Pepdjonovic scored his 1,000th career point on January 17, becoming the 26th player in the history of the Suffolk University men’s basketball program to do so.

“I am very proud of Matt. Reaching the 1000 point milestone as a junior is a great accomplishment and is a testament to his hard work and dedication,” said Suffolk Rams Coach Adam Nelson.

Averaging 17.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game, Pepdjonovic is currently in the top five scorers and the leading rebounder in the league, and ranked second among all NCAA Division-III rebounders in the nation.

Pepdjonovic is about 100 rebounds from reaching the 1,000 mark in that category as well.

There is only one other player in Suffolk history to reach the 1,000 rebound milestone and that is Hall of Famer Chris Tsiotos who led the Rams to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances between 1975 and 1977.

Not only is Pepdjonovic determined on the court, but he aims to score high in the classroom as well.

“I decided to come to Suffolk because of the good reputation of the Sawyer Business School,” said Pepdjonovic who is a finance major.

Although he had played recreational basketball his entire life, Pepdjonovic didn’t begin playing on an organized team until high school, and then picked it up a level in college.

“In terms of athletics, I saw a great opportunity at Suffolk for me to play right away and take a program that had been struggling for a little and turn it around,” said Pepdjonovic. “It was a struggle my freshman year, but now as a junior we’re one of the better teams in the GNAC, and we can compete with anybody.”

In 2009-10, Pepdjonovic was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Year, while also garnering third team All-Conference honors. He was also the GNAC first-team All-Conference selection in the 2010-11season.

“After college I would like to go play basketball professionally overseas for a year or two for the experience,” said Pepdjonovic. “I never thought I would be able to say that coming out of high school, but I’ve developed my skills enough and I feel I can make it a reality.”

While Pepdjonovic has his goals after college set, the team hopes to continue strong into the postseason. They are currently on a three-game winning streak.

“We were plagued with injury first semester so we came out of the gates a little slow, but the team chemistry is really starting to come together,” said the eager player. “I’m a junior now and I’ve been working hard for three years now. My only goal is to win a championship and get this team to the NCAA tournament.”

Although Pepdjonovic is happy with the improvements that both he and his team as a whole have made, he feels that there are still things that they can do to ensure they keep their game up in the following weeks.

“We have a strong bond, but one of the things we still need to improve on is consistency,” said Pepdjonovic. “We tend to play down to our opponents level some nights.”

“Our goal this season is to go deep into the post-season,” added Coach Nelson. “Last year, we made the playoffs, but lost in the first round. We have seven games left this season and we are starting to play well at the right time.”

Junior forward Colin Halpin and junior guard Chris Torres are next in line to reach the 1000 point milestone, both about 200 points shy.