Kirkwood Men's Basketball Puts Three on All-Region Teams
ICCAC Division II Men's Basketball announced this season's All-Region teams and special awards Tuesday. Eight players were voted to the First Team, with two earning special awards, in addition to Coach of the Year honors. An inaugural All-Defensive Team was also announced alongside the Second Team and Honorable Mention Team.
Iowa Central's Jordan Cain earned Player of the Year honors after a standout season for the Tritons. Cain averaged 18.3 points per game, the fourth-highest mark in the conference, while shooting just under 50% from the field. In addition to his scoring ability, he averaged 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
Four times this season he scored 30 or more points in a game with a stretch of three games where he scored 33, 33, and 30, all against NJCAA ranked opponents. Cain, the Region 11-B Tournament MVP, was also one of the top defensive players in the conference, as he was voted to the All-Defensive team.
DMACC's Kaden Tate was named Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring one of the conference's top teams on both ends of the floor. Tate averaged 2.3 blocks and 8.9 rebounds per game this season, including 9.3 rebounds per game in conference play. Also a scoring threat, Tate averaged 10.3 points per game in 32 contests and 11.3 points in 20 conference games. He also led the conference in field goal percentage at 65.5%.
DMACC head coach Blake Sandquist earned his third straight Coach of the Year award after leading the Bears to an undefeated conference season (20-0) the first since 2006-07. DMACC finished 31-1 overall. DMACC won the Region 11-A title and qualified for the national tournament for the third straight year -- the first automatic bid earned under Sandquist's tenure.
Joining Tate on the First Team from DMACC was Brent Taylor. Taylor, a sophomore guard, did a little bit of everything this season, averaging 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Iowa Central placed two other players on the First Team in addition to Cain. CJ Mitchell joined after averaging 14.2 points per game and making a major impact as a playmaker with 6.1 assists per game. His 171 total assists led the conference. Aleix Sempere also earned First Team honors after averaging a double-double for thes season (the only player to do so) with 14.8 points and a conference-best 10 rebounds per game.
Ellsworth's Jonovan Wilkinson earned First Team All-Region honors after proving to be one of the conference's most versatile guards. Wilkinson averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Panthers.
Kirkwood's Manasse Kasongo was voted to the First Team All-Region squad in his first season with the Eagles. Kasongo averaged 11.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while providing a strong presence on the offensive glass with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.
Western Iowa Tech's Caleb Kawela also earned First Team All-Region honors after a standout season for the Comets. Kawela averaged 19.6 points per game, the second-best mark in the conference, and nearly posted a double-double by adding 9.3 rebounds per game, which ranked second in the league.
In addition to the First Team All-Region honorees, an All-Defensive Team was voted on for the first time this season. Selected to the team were Tate of DMACC, Cain of Iowa Central, Eesher Singh Sarai of Ellsworth, JP Sumo of Iowa Western and Lochie Harvey of Northeast.
| First Team All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 0 | Brent Taylor | DMACC | G | Fr. |
| 3 | Kaden Tate | DMACC | F | So. |
| 23 | Jonovan Wilkinson | Ellsworth | G | So. |
| 23 | Jordan Cain | Iowa Cenral | G | So. |
| 4 | CJ Mitchell | Iowa Central | G | So. |
| 22 | Aleix Sempere | Iowa Central | F | So. |
| 4 | Manasse Kasongo | Kirkwood | F | Fr. |
| 21 | Caleb Kawela | Western Iowa Tech | F | RFr. |
| Second Team All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 5 | Hunter Gawron | DMACC | F | Fr. |
| 10 | Rylan Smith | DMACC | G | So. |
| 11 | Jayden Pretty | Ellsworth | F | So. |
| 1 | Tashun Pender | Iowa Central | F | So. |
| 7 | Zayden Best | Iowa Western | G | Fr |
| 14 | Chris Coleman | Kirkwood | G | So. |
| 3 | TJ Cusciotta | NIACC | G | Fr. |
| 10 | Johanes Piscikas | Northeast | G | Fr. |
| Honorable Mention All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 2 | Kiki Deng | DMACC | G | Fr. |
| 24 | Malcolm Bragg | DMACC | G | Fr. |
| 6 | Eesher Singh Sarai | Ellsworth | F | So. |
| 33 | Tanner Berggren | Ellsworth | G | So. |
| 12 | Jalen Wynter | Iowa Central | G | So. |
| 1 | Jermaine Freeman | Iowa Lakes | G | So. |
| 3 | JP Sumo | Iowa Western | PG | Fr. |
| 10 | Judah Vignery | Iowa Western | G | So |
| 22 | Ben Bockman | Kirkwood | G | Fr. |
| All-Defensive Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 3 | Kaden Tate | DMACC | F | So. |
| 6 | Eesher Singh Sarai | Ellsworth | F | So. |
| 23 | Jordan Cain | Iowa Central | G | So. |
| 3 | JP Sumo | Iowa Western | PG | Fr |
| 25 | Lochie Harvey | Northeast | G | Fr. |
Player of the Year: Jordan Cain, Iowa Central
Defensive Player of the Year: Kaden Tate, DMACC
Coach of the Year: Blake Sandquist, DMACC
