NEW ORLEANS, La. - William and Mary men's basketball senior Quinn McDowell and the other finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award will be in New Orleans during the NCAA^® Final Four^® weekend to participate in several community activities.

On Friday, the finalists will be onsite at a community service project at the St. Bernard Recreation Center (1500 Lafreniere St.) at 11 a.m.  A crew of local Lowe's employees will be working to renovate the facility, which provides safe, wholesome, educational, recreational and culturally engaging opportunities to the citizens of New Orleans.

The finalists will also participate Friday in an on-court presentation at approximately 3:15 p.m. during Final Four Friday open practices at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. During this presentation, the winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award will be announced.

The players will appear Sunday at the NCAA Dribble at Champions Square at noon to sign autographs and kick off the dribble for the more than 3,000 kids registered for the event.

McDowell became the first CAA men's basketball player to be named a finalist of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award since the award was established in 2002. The other finalists for the distinction includes Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Mick Hedgepeth (Belmont), Robbie Hummel (Purdue), Ronald Nored (Butler), Zack Novak (Michigan), Zack Rosen (Pennsylvania), Tyler Zeller (North Carolina) and William Buford (Ohio State).

The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches, national media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's basketball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

An exceptional leader for the Tribe and a strong representative in the Williamsburg community, McDowell received the Dean Ehlers Leaders Award from the CAA in 2011 and 2012, becoming the first CAA player ever to win the award twice. The Ehlers Leadership Award is given to the student-athlete who "embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement." A two-time First-Team CAA All-Academic, McDowell, who is a two-time team captain, is heavily involved in the community. He is the President of the Tribe Fellowship student organization on campus and leads a Bible Study group comprised of high school students at the Williamsburg Community Chapel.

On the court, McDowell led the Green and Gold at 12.5 points per game, which ranks 16th in the CAA, to go along with 4.7 rebounds per game. He ranks 13th in the CAA at 76.9 percent from the free throw line and 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (34.3). Earlier this season, McDowell became just the fourth player in W&M history to score 1,500 career points and pull down 500 career rebounds. He will become the Tribe's all-time leader in games played this season, while ranking fourth in career 3-pointers (213) and sixth in career scoring (1,621).