Kirkwood Mens Basketball

Wilson commits to Kirkwood men's basketball

The Kirkwood men's basketball team has landed another top high school senior from Iowa.

Doug Wilson, a 6-foot-6 forward from Des Moines Hoover, has committed to the Eagles for the 2017-18 campaign.

Wilson averaged 17.9 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.4 blocks for Hoover last season and made 58.2 percent of his shots from the field.

Kyle Arrington, a 6-foot-10 center from Council Bluffs Lewis Central, also has committed to Kirkwood for next season. Arrington averaged 15.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks this past year.

Kirkwood Eagles land 6-foot-10 center

COUNCIL BLUFFS - Council Bluffs Lewis Central senior Kyle Arrington has a dream to play Division I basketball, and he believes Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids can help him achieve that dream.

The 6-foot-10 Titan star went between dominant and unstoppable  during the course of his senior season when he averaged 15.3 points,  grabbed 12.2 boards and blocked 58 shots, helping the team to a 16-6 record.

However, he was under-recruited by four-year schools possibly due to  a pair of knee injuries sustained during his junior and senior seasons. In order to build his profile and game, he recently committed to Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen.

The Eagles won the NJCAA Division II national championship in 2016 and finished 25-7 last season, losing to eventual national champ Southwestern, 98-90, in Region XI title game.

"I worked out with one of their assistant coaches," Arrington told KMA Sports, "and I just liked the way he knew how to work out a big. He actually knew what he was talking about. That obviously intrigued me to want to get better with him."

Arrington said he was also impressed with the school.

"Usually community colleges are one or two buildings," he said. "Kirkwood has a four-year feel to it. The facilities and the team and everybody on campus is second to none. It's going to be a fun experience."

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3 Eagles named NJCAA All-Americans

Simone Goods and Deleyah Harris are both from Omaha, they both helped Kirkwood win the national this season and now both sophomores are  NJCAA Division II All-Americans.

Miles Wentzien, who starred for the Kirkwood men's basketball team, also has been named an All-American.

It should come as no surprise that Goods was selected as a first team All-American. She averaged 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as the Eagles won all 37 of their games en route to the national crown. She also led the nation in shooting percentage, hitting 67.9 percent  of her attempts.

Harris earned second team All-American honors this season. She averaged 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a do-it-all player who scored from all spots on the floor.

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KCC men fall short in regional final

CRESTON — Falling into a 7-0 hole in the opening two minutes left 15th-ranked Kirkwood playing from behind the entire afternoon Saturday at
top-ranked Southwestern for the Region XI men's basketball championship.

The Eagles battled back twice within two points in the first half and closed it to a single point (70-69) with 8:25 to play, but the Spartans
hung on for a 98-90 victory.

The defending national champion Eagles ended their season at 25-7. Southwestern (32-1) advances to the NJCAA Division II national tournament
March 21-25 in Danville, Ill. The Spartans' only loss of the season was a 78-75 setback at Kirkwood on Jan. 11.

Southwestern stretched its early lead to 20-8 before the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to close it to 20-16. Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen said the slow
start made it too much of an uphill battle.

"Our kids battled back to get within striking distance several times, but we just didn't have enough to get over the top," Petersen said.

A highlight for the Eagles offensively was sophomore Byron Harp of Ankeny. He was 9-of-10 at the free throw line in the first half and finished
19-of-20 at the line while scoring a career-best 35 points.

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