No. 6 Eagles set goals beyond last season’s second place Region XI finish
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (October 30, 2015)-The Kirkwood Community College men’s basketball team aims to build off the success of last season and bring a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI championship back to Johnson Hall. The Eagles, ranked number six in the nation, will begin the 2015-2016 campaign tomorrow (10/31) with a home game versus William Penn University. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Johnson Hall on Kirkwood’s main campus.
Kirkwood Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bryan Petersen will begin his third season at the helm with a 46-17 overall record. Last season, the Eagles finished second in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with a 25-7 record. This year, Petersen hopes to guide his squad to a Region XI Championship, but to get there the team will need to overcome some challenges.
“Every year there are various obstacles standing in your way when you begin the season,” said Petersen. “For us I think the challenge will be figuring out what it will take to succeed with our players. At the same time, the opponents on our schedule are not pushovers either. John Wood Community College finished second in the nation last season and are ranked 11th this year. We face them in our second game. I think we can do great things this year, but we have to execute and play as a team.”
Kirkwood has seven sophomores on the squad this year including guards Hunter Rhodes (Canton, Ill.), Nick Richards (New Castle, Del.), Jacob Olson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Earnest Cowser (Waukesha, Wis.). The sophomore forwards are Josh Bartlett (Houston, Texas), Josh Meier (Chicago, Ill.) and Cristen Wilson (Cleveland, Ohio).
New to the team are freshmen guards Deantae Woods (Racine, Wis.), Al’Tavius Jackson (Saukville, Wis.), Lewrenzo Byers (Milwaukee, Wis.), Byron Harp (Ankeny, Iowa) and Kaliph Fagan (South Holland, Ill.). Forwards Josh Carter (Sherrill, Iowa), Gary Bonds (Indianapolis, Ind.), Elijah Henry (Evanston, Ill.), Shakur Triplett (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Da’Rion King (Racine, Wis.) will also make their Eagles debuts.
Kirkwood takes on the William Penn University Statesmen in Johnson Hall on Saturday (10/31). Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.