Matt Lawrence was named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.Matt Lawrence was named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Men's Basketball

Mizzou's Matt Lawrence Named Candidate For Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

Dec. 19, 2008

Kansas City, Mo. - University of Missouri senior guard Matt Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo. / Lafayette HS) was named one of 30 candidates for the prestigious 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports.

The award is based on criteria focusing on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition and the award winners will be selected by a national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.

Lawrence has certainly fit those "Four C's" during his time at the Missouri, initially agreeing to come to Mizzou on an academic scholarship, before earning an athletic scholarship at the start of his freshman season.

Lawrence has been a visible Tiger in the community, working at the team's free Douglas Park youth basketball clinic, while also volunteering at functions involving the Special Olympics, area elementary school read-a-thons and visits to children's hospitals.

In the classroom, Lawrence is a finance major and was an All-Big 12 Academic pick as a junior in 2007-08.

On the hardwood, Lawrence is a three-year starter for the Tigers and has started 70 of Missouri's last 71 games during that stretch. Already among Mizzou's Top 10 career three-point shooters, Lawrence has made 181 career treys and needs just three more three-pointers to pass the great Melvin Booker for No. 6 all-time. Lawrence could finish as high as No. 2 in career three-point makes by the time he concludes his MU career.

Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekends of the respective NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

Lawrence is one of five Big 12 hardwood standouts listed among the 30 nominees. Lawrence joins Texas seniors A.J. Abrams and Connor Atchley, Baylor's Curtis Jerrells and Nebraska's Paul Velander.

Missouri Basketball, already off to an 8-1 start, returns to action on Saturday evening against Stetson University. Game time from Columbia is slated for 6 p.m.

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