By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Lynchburg, VA---Point guard Joe Retic II will be moving on from the Express men's basketball team after one season to attend NCAA D-I Liberty University.

In his only season with the Express, Retic started all 36 games and averaged 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. In postseason play, he was a key catalyst for the district champion Express team. Over six games, he averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds. His four game stretch in the national tournament earned him NJCAA D-II All-National Tournament team honors.

"Joe is a great fit for our team," said Liberty head men's basketball coach Dale Layer via Liberty's official athletic website. "He is competitive, experienced and tough. He played at a high level in leading his team to 26 wins. We are getting a very good person, player and student to add to the point guard position. We are looking forward to having him for the next three years."

Following the regular season, Retic was named Second Team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC). He finished 15th in scoring in OCCAC play and third in assists. During conference season, he averaged 13.1 points, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

During the season, he had double figure assist totals in five games and scored in double figures in 18 games, including a season-high 26 points in a 71-69 road win over Lakeland Community College on Feb. 13.

In the district tournament, Retic II was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 12 points, 6.5 rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

"Liberty is getting a player that will graduate with a college degree and be an extremely successful person in life," said Express men's basketball head coach Dave Clarke. "I am very pleased to have coached Joe in basketball, but I am more excited that Joe has reached his dream to play Division I basketball."

Retic II, who chose Liberty over University of Illinois at Chicago, BGSU, IUPUI, Chicago State and Washington State, becomes the third NCAA D-I player from the Express men's basketball team this past year after James Kelly (University of Miami Fla.) and Justin Edmonds (Marshall University) previously signed.

The Liberty Flames finished 15-21 last year under the direction of Layer, but captured the Big South Conference Tournament and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Express men's basketball team finished 26-10 last year, won the Region XII District 11 championship and advanced to the NJCAA D-II Final Four before falling in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Rend Lake College.