Click Here to Listen to Coach Troy Larson Preview the Regional Tournament
Estherville, IA - The post-season for NJCAA Division II men's basketball starts Friday in the Iowa Lakes Lakers Gymnasium.
The NJCAA 5th ranked Lakers have earned the regular season conference championship and the #1 seed in the conference tournament with a win over Kirkwood this past Saturday. The Lakers are currently 21-8 on the season and 13-3 in the ICCAC.
The leading scorer for the Lakers is Jeremiah Burke, who is averaging 15.1 PPG and 9.8RPG. The Lakers have a balanced scoring attack with 4 averaging double figures. Creighton Morisch is averaging 11.6PPG and 7.2RPG, Isaiah Williams is averaging 11.8PPG and Anthony Holdon is averaging 11.2PPG. Burke is leading the conference in rebounds per game. Morisch is 4th in the conference in field goal percentage at 56.6% and is 5th in the conference in rebounds per game. Holden is leading the conference in three point percentage at 41%.
"Winning the regular season title is a great accomplishment for our team. The guys have worked hard and have sacrificed for the good of the group. This has resulted in us playing at a high level for a long period of time. The team is excited for the regional tournament and the #1 seed. Anxious to play on our home court in front of our fans," commented Head Coach Troy Larson.
Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville, IA will host the first two rounds of the DII ICCAC Region XI Tournament. As the number 1 seed, the Lakers will play at 5:00pm on Saturday, March 4th, taking on the winner of the 8-9 play-in game between Northeast and NIACC. This will be the third time the Lakers have faced either team. Iowa Lakes won both meetings with NIACC 105-92 and 93-66. The Lakers also swept Northeast 91-69 and 83-74.
Head Coach Troy Larson commented, "We are very excited to host the regional basketball tournament. The ICCAC is such a strong basketball league. There are 6 teams from our league that have been ranked nationally at some point during the season. There are going to be some high level college basketball games here this weekend.
You can find the link to the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Tournament Bracket and standings here: bracket: https://iccac.org/sports/mbkb/2022-23/releases/20230301yy803o standings: https://iccac.org/sports/mbkb/2022-23/d2/standings
Admission for the tournament is $10 per day. Iowa Lakes students with a current ID will be admitted for free as well other students from the 5 county area we represent, and Century Club members are admitted for free.
Below is the weekend tournament schedule:
Friday March 3rd play-in game
7 p.m. - *(8) Northeast (14-16) vs. (9) NIACC (11-18)
Saturday March 4th first-round games
1 p.m. - *(2) Kirkwood (23-6) vs. (7) Southwestern (9-20)
3 p.m. - *(3) DMACC (23-7) vs. (6) Iowa Western (14-16)
5 p.m. - *(1) Iowa Lakes (21-8) vs. NIACC (12-18)/Northeast (14-16) winner
7 p.m. - *(4) Ellsworth (21-9) vs. (5) Iowa Central (15-14)
Sunday March 5th semifinal games
5 p.m. - 2/7 winner vs. 3/6 winner
7 p.m. - 1/8/9 winner vs. 4/5 winner
Thursday, March 9 title game
7:30 p.m. - At site of highest remaining seed
ICCAC Standings
IOWA LAKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE 13-3 21-8
KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE 11-5 23-6
DES MOINES AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE 11-5 23-7
ELLSWORTH COMMUNITY COLLEGE 9-7 21-9
IOWA CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE 8-8 15-14
IOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE 6-10 14-16
NORTHEAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE 5-11 14-16
SOUTHWESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE 5-11 9-20
NORTH IOWA AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE 4-12 12-18
Future men's basketball regional tournament sites
2023-24 - Southwestern
2024-25 - Ellsworth
2025-26 - Iowa Central
2026-27 - Kirkwood
2027-28 – DMACC
OTHER: Photo of 22-23 Team attached.
Link to Roster: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/roster
Link to Schedule: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/schedule
MEDIA: For more information, please contact Head Men's Basketball Coach Troy Larson at (712) 362-7915 or the Iowa Lakes sports information office at (712) 362-7928.