The NJCAA 16th ranked Iowa Lakes Men's Basketball team wrapped up regular season play on Wednesday with a 94-62 win over NIACC. The win moved the Lakers to 20-9 on the season and 11-5 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference play earning them the 3 seed in the ICCAC DII ICCAC Region XI Tournament.
The first two rounds of the DII ICCAC Region XI Tournament will be hosted by NIACC in Mason City, IA. The Lakers earned the 3 seed and will take on 6th seeded Southwestern at 3:00pm on February 26th. This will be the third time the Lakers have faced the Spartans this season. Iowa Lakes won the first meeting 82-69 on December 1st, and lost 75-77 on February 5th.
The leading scorer for the Lakers is Ryan Hall, who is averaging 13.1 points per game. The Lakers have a balanced scoring attack with 4 averaging double figures. Caleb Johnson is averaging 12.1 points per game and 5.4 assists per game, Xzavier Jones is averaging 10.1 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game, and Johnathan Oden is averaging 10.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Johnson is 2nd in the conference in 3 point percentage at 43.4%. Oden is 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage at 63.1%. Jones is 5th in the conference in rebounds per game at 7.1.
Head Coach Troy Larson touched on his thoughts going into the tournament by saying, "Really proud of our guys and how they compete all year. We play one of the toughest schedules in the country to get us a ready for this week, and I'm looking forward to coaching our team as we compete for a regional championship."
The semifinals will be held at NIACC in Mason City, IA on Sunday, February 27th. The winner of #3 Iowa Lakes vs #6 Southwestern will play the winner of #2 DMACC vs #7 Ellsworth at 5:00pm. The winner of #1 Kirkwood vs #8 Iowa Central will play the winner of #4 Iowa Western vs #5 NIACC at 7:00pm. The championship game will be held at the highest remaining seed on Thursday, March 3 for a trip to the NJCAA DII National Tournament.
OTHER: Link to Roster: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/roster
Link to Schedule: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/schedule
Photo ID: Photo of Ozzie Meiborg attached.
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.