HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Athletically, Sean Lowry is in the NCAA Division II basketball Final Four.

As a person, he stands alone.

The 2007 Butler graduate and senior tri-captain of the Stonehill College (Mass.) basketball team recently received the Elite 89 Award at the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championships.

The award honors the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.

Lowry is a 6-foot-4 guard coming off the bench for Stonehill (25-8), which defeated No. 3 West Liberty (W.Va.) 91-90 Wednesday to reach the Division II Final Four for only the second time in school history.

“This was a total surprise,” Lowry said. “I’m extremely honored by it, but my focus right now is helping our team win games any way I can.”

Eligible student-athletes for the award are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school, being an active member of the team and a designated member of the squad at the championship.

Lowry is carrying a 3.79 grade point average as a marketing major with a minor in communication. He interned with Thomson Reuters in Times Square last summer and is returning there this summer. He plans to apply for fulltime employment with the company.

Upon leaving Butler, Lowry spent a year at the Naval Prep Academy in Newport, R.I., before joining Stonehill.

“That was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” he said. “The academics at that academy are second to none. The school was tough as nails.

“I decided I didn’t want the commitment to the Navy. Stonehill was interested in me before I blew out my knee my junior year of high school, so I gave Coach (David) McLaughlin a call.

“They invited me there as a walk-on and I was on scholarship by my junior season. It all worked out,” Lowry added.

And how.

Though he never got a lot of minutes on the court, Lowry has been a major contributor to a Stonehill team that has won 92 games in four years, a school record.

Lowry averaged just 3.8 minutes per game this season, scoring seven points, grabbing 17 rebounds, contributing five assists and getting two steals. He scored 41 points and grabbed 33 rebounds in his college career.

“Forget the numbers. Forget the playing time, all of that ... Sean’s contributions to this team have been immeasurable,” McLaughlin said.

“He’s our hardest worker in practice — always, since he’s been here. He’s always ready to make an impact in a game at any time. Our starters know they have to match his work ethic. If they don’t, they hear about it.”

McLaughlin recalled a game earlier this season in which Lowry entered, took two charges and set some critical screens.

“No stats at all ... and we don’t win the game without him,” the coach said. “He sparked us that night. He’s done that in plenty of games.”

Lowry has earned the St. Thomas Aquinas medal for having the highest GPA on the Stonehill team each of the past two years. He also serves as the men’s basketball team representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“He is so motivated and driven. A coach runs across a player with the package he’s got maybe once in a career,” McLaughlin said.

Lowry missed his entire junior season at Butler before returning to average 13.5 points and eight rebounds per game his senior year.

Since high school, he’s undergone sixc more surgeries, including two knee operations and having a shoulder replaced.

“(Former Butler High School coach) Joe Lewandowski and (Butler Catholic coach) Harry Leyland were true mentors for me when I was there,” Lowry said. “I owe a lot to those two guys.”

Lewandowski now coaches varsity boys basketball at Deer Lakes. Lowry came and spoke to his players before a game earlier this season.

“Sean Lowry is one special person,” Lewandowski said. “To keep coming back from those injuries — it’s a ton of heart. They don’t make guys like him anymore.

“If my son grows up to be like Sean, I’d be an extremely happy dad. He’s just a big-time kid primed for big-time success.”

McLaughlin agreed.

“Ninety percent of people who went through what Sean has gone through physically would have settled for just being a college student,”McLaughlin said. “This kid doesn’t ‘just settle’ for anything.”

Lowry is happy he stuck it out.

“It’s all working out in the end,” he said. “If we win that national championship? Fairy tale ending. Simple as that.”

Stonehill plays Western Washington at 7 p.m. today in the semifinals at Northern Kentucky University. The Division I championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday.