MCAC Northern Division 

Player-of-the-Week

Chris Buckley

So. / Guard

Coon Rapids, MN 

Chris Buckley, a sophomore guard at Central Lakes College,  has earned his second Northern Division Player-of-the-Week award of the 2018-19 campaign for the Raiders. 

Buckley scored 51 total points on the weekend for CLC, including a 28 points effort against defending MCAC Tournament champion Minnesota West.  He also picked up seven steals and hauled in nine boards over the two contests, in which thre Raiders went 1-1 overall. 

Central Lakes and Buckley will next take the court on Wednesday, January 9 when they travel to Thief River Falls to take on Northland CTC in a Northern Division match-up.  Tip-off is set for 7:30pm. 

MCAC Southern Division 

Player-of-the-Week

Jadaunte Sutton

So. / Wing

Columbia, MO   

Jadaunte Sutton, a sophomore wing at Ridgewater College, has been named Player-of-the-Week in the Southern Division for his role in a pair of Warrior victories. 

Sutton scored 25 points against Vermilion while also hauling in 13 rebounds and dishing out four assists in a 81-63 Warrior win.  Against host Central Lakes College, the Columbia, Missouri product scored 17 points and had 11 boards and three steals in a 75-72 Ridgewater victory. 

Sutton and Ridgewater will open up Southern Division play on Wednesday, January 9 with a home game against Western Technical College. 

Notable Performances from Around the MCAC:                                                 

Riverland Community College:  The Blue Devils opened up the new year with a 83-63 win over the JV team of Luther College, improving their record to 12-1 overall. Five players hit double-digits in scoring for RCC, with DeAndre Smith scoring 18 points and Deandre Raggs notching 14. Jalen Smith had 14 points coming off the bench. Uwana Etukakpan had 10 rebounds and four steals against Luther.

St. Cloud Technical & Community College:  The Cyclones remained undefeated with a 2-0 weekend sweep of Itasca (92-72) and Mesabi Range (93-80). Combined for the two contests, Jazz Booker hauled in 23 total rebounds for SCTCC. Eric Racine came off the bench against MRC to notch 18 points while Paul Coleman had 17 points as a substitute in the Itasca game, including a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.  Keyshawn Sutton had 18 to lead the team against ICC. 

Rochester Community & Technical College:  The Yellowjackets dropped a pair of games to NJCAA Division II opposition, losing 86-75 to NDSCS and falling to DCTC, 74-57.  Kong Kong had a double-double for Rochester vs. NDSCS, scoring 13 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.  Karmonga Lero had 14 points off the bench for RCTC in that contest.  Naa'il Mahdi had 27 points over the two games, with 16 coming against the Wildcats.  

Itasca Community College: The Vikings dropped their opening two contests of 2019 as they fell to St. Cloud Technical and Community College by a 92 - 72 score and lost to M State-Fergus Falls,  69 - 67. Devante Morgan scored 21 points to lead Itasca against Fergus Falls with Torez Kinchen scoring 17 and grabbing eight rebounds. Andrew Johnson had a double-double for ICC with 11 boards and 13 points.  Against the Cyclones, Itasca was led by Kinchen again, as he scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. Jemel Manjo added 16 points and Danielle Ricard had 13 for the Vikings.

Vermilion Community College: Paul McDonald's squad opened up 2019 with a 1-1 weekend at Central Lakes College against two MCAC South opponents.  The Ironmen were led by Davante Spates who had 16 points while Curtis Bell grab 11 boards and 13 points for a double-double against Ridgewater.  Maurice Carter had 5 assists and 4 steals along with 13 points against the Warriors for VCC. Vermilion downed defending MCAC tournament champion Minnesota West, 71-68. Curtis Bell led all scorers with 25 points in the contest and had a game-high 12 rebounds as well. Reggie Rogers grabbed 10 boards, well Taray Graves scored 19 points for VCC.

Minnesota West CTC: MnWest fell two 5-6 on the year with a pair of setbacks at Central Lakes College. The Blue Jays lost to CLC 73-63 and dropped their second game to Vermilion, 71-68. Deshawn Pickford scored 11 points against the Raiders while grabbing 6 rebounds and contributing 3 assists and notching a steal. Montez Hearon had ten points off the bench for Midwest. Pickford and here on each had 16 points against Vermilion wow Chris Morales added 11 to the effort. Moralez also had 5 assists against VCC.

Anoka-Ramsey Community College: The Golden Rams fell to a pair of NJCAA Division II programs over the weekend. In a 101-88 setback against DCTC, Jackson Odegard led the way with 23 points and seven boards.  Murshid Mudricat Zuberi had a team-high nine boards and Justin Castro chipped in 16 points and five assists.  In a 81-73 loss to NDSCS, Castro had 22 points and Jalen Dunlap came of the bench to score 20 and notch seven assists.  Dunlap was 5-for-5 from the free throw line. 

Central Lakes College: The Raiders hosted three MCAC programs last weekend in the CLC Invitational, where they went 1-1 overall.  In a 73-63 victory over Minnesota West CTC, Chris Buckley led all scorers with 28 points; he also grabbed five rebounds and notched three steals. Tyree'on Johnson had 15 boards and 12 points while Malik Kelly grabbed 13 rebounds. Brandon Burgraff hit double-digits in rebounds with 11 on the night.  Against Ridgewater College, a 75-72 setback, Buckley again had a big night, scoring 23 points, notching four steals. Burgraff hauled in 10 rebounds and Al-Jureau Ray scored 17 for CLC. 

Northland Comunity & Technical College:  The Pioneers hosted the NCTC Classic this past weekend, defeating Gogebic Community College 69-60 and falling to Dakota College-Bottineau, 70-69.  Christian Horton had a strong night for Northland against GCC, scoring 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Bakri Gubara added 18 to the Pioneer effort and Z'Mari Minter had a team-high 14 boards. Against DCB, Gubara had a 27-point game, while Minter added 16 points, nine boards. Darnell Durgin added 10 points and nine rebounds as well. 

Ridgewater College: The Warriors improved to 8-4 on the year with a pair of wins over Vermilion Community College (81-63) and Central Lakes College (75-72) in Brainerd. Southern Division Player-of-the-Week Jadaunte Sutton led RC both nights, scoring 17 against CLC and notching 25 vs. Vermilion.  He also collected 24 rebounds between the two games. Faizon Stephens added 11 points off the bench for Ridgewater against Central Lakes, while Sam Olson tallied 17 points for the Warriors against VCC. 

Mesabi Range College: The Norse fell twice over the past weekend, losing to M State-Fergus Falls 82-67 and SCTCC, 93-80.  Calvin Lee scored 16 against MSFF and had a team-high eight rebounds in the contest while teammate William Howard had 11 points.  Against the unbeaten Cyclones, Howard led all scorers with 21 points and ten rebounds. Alban Cooke added 14 points and Markis Watkins notched three steals and eight boards. 

M State-Fergus Falls: The Spartans improved to 7-6 overall with two victories last weekend. In a 82-67 win over Mesabi Range, Kyler Neuman had 17 points off the bench while Aaron Solberg had a double-double with 14 boards and 11 points. Austin Miller poured in 15 points and Martin LaFond had 11.  Two players came of the bench to lead MSFF in scoring in a 69-67 win over Itasca; Alend Alemadi and Newman each had 12 points.  Solberg was again a force on the boards with 14 rebounds and LaFond was in double-double territory with 11 points and 11 rebounds. 

The following teams were idle this past week:

Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College

Lake Superior College

Western Technical College

Hibbing Community College

Rainy River Community College