Winona, MN-

Several pivotal contests took place across the Minnesota College Athletic Conference this past week, with some notable upsets shuffling the standings. Read on for more about two stellar student-athletes who were key in the success of their team on the court in MCAC action.  

Adidas, the United States Marine Corps and Nicklasson Athletic Company sponsor the MCAC Athlete-of-the-Week awards, and proudly honor the following student-athletes for their performances this past week on behalf of their teams. 

For all things men's basketball in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, please visit: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/mbkb/indexMBB

Southern Division  Men's Basketball  Athlete-of-the-Week

Kong Kong Soph. / Forward Mankato, MN

The Performance: RCTC forward Kong Kong (Mankato, MN) led his team to an upset of previously unbeaten SCTCC on Saturday as a part of a 2-0 week for the Yellowjackets. In 80 minutes of work, Kong scored 46 total points, going 16-of-26 from the field.  The sophomore hit three 3-pointers and was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. He grabbed 24 rebounds for the week while also notching an assist, two steals and two blocks for Yellowjackets.  In addition to a 75-55 mid-week win over Western Technical, RCTC downed SCTCC 110-101 in double-overtime on Saturday, February 8.  RCTC will look to continue their momentum as they host Riverland on Wednesday, February 12; the game is set for a 7:30pm tip-off.

Northern Division  Men's Basketball  Athlete-of-the-Week

Brian (AJ) Pinkney Fr. / Guard Waycross, GA

The Performance:   In 73 minutes of work between two Itasca wins over Vermilion and Mesabi, respectively, AJ Pinkney was a force at both ends of the floor.  The Vikings freshman racked up 64 points on 23-of-37 shooting, including 6-of-10 from behind the arc.  Defensively, Pinkney amassed 11 steals and collected 13 rebounds for ICC. He also had nine assists total over the two contests.  Pinkney and Itasca are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Central Lakes College in a 7:30pm tip-off.

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin.  The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions.  The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.

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