Kirkwood Mens Basketball

Lassen commits to William Jewell

Matt Lassen will continue his basketball career at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.

Lassen, a 6-foot-5 guard, committed to William Jewell Monday morning, his father Ron confirmed. William Jewell is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Lassen, a Linn-Mar grad, averaged 11.6 points at Kirkwood Community College as a sophomore this season and hit 44.2 percent of his 3-point shots.

"Incredibly excited to announce that I will be accepting a full scholarship to continue my basketball career at William Jewell University," Lassen said in his announcement.

"It is a spot where I will have an opportunity to start and play lots of minutes right away, which is ultimately what I wanted, and why I have truly put so much work into this sport. Thank you to all of my great coaches and teammates at Kirkwood for helping me grow over the past two years.

"Thank you to all my friends who have supported me constantly. The biggest thank you goes to my parents. You guys do everything for me and I wouldn't be here without you.

"Excited for what the next two years has in store for me."

Ashton named first team All-American

Jordan Ashton from Kirkwood has been named a first team Division II All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Ashton, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Mount Pleasant, averaged 16.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Eagles. He finished third in NJCAA Division II in free throw percentage at 88.0 percent and was 16th in the nation with 82 3-pointers.

Ashton helped Kirkwood finish 25-7 and reach the regional finals.

Ashton is the fourth men's basketball player at Kirkwood to be named a first team All-American. He joins Bryce Brunz (2009), Ali Farokmanesh (2008) and current Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen (2007).

6 Kirkwood men make All-Region

Joe Tagarelli and Jordan Ashton of Kirkwood have been named to the top All-Region XI basketball team for the 2014-15 campaign.

Tagarelli, a sophomore from Bayside, Wis., led the Eagles in rebounding at 8.2 per game. Ashton, a sophomore from Mount Pleasant, led the region in free throwing percentage (88 percent) and most 3-pointers (82).

Matt Lassen, Ajay Lawton and Hunter Rhodes of Kirkwood were named second team All-Region. Ron Singleton received honorable mention.

Lassen is a sophomore from Linn-Mar, Lawton a sophomore from Westfield, Ind., Rhodes a freshman from Canton, Ill., and Singleton a sophomore from Chicago.

Trey Sampson, a Xavier grad, was named second team All-Region for DMACC. Ky Kramer, a Cedar Rapids Jefferson grad, received honorable mention for Iowa Central.

Kirkwood men ousted by DMACC

BOONE - There's an old saying in sports that it's difficult for any team to beat another team three times in a season, but that's exactly what host DMACC was able to do Saturday afternoon.

The second-ranked DMACC Bears sent No. 8 Kirkwood home just one game short of a spot at nationals with an 86-69 victory in the championship game of the NJCAA Region XI tournament in Boone.

The Bears will take a 26-5 record to the national tournament. Kirkwood retires with a 25-7 mark.

Although they led for stretches of the first half, in large part by forcing turnovers and scoring in transition, the Eagles could not keep the pressure on down the stretch as DMACC gradually pulled away.

Read more...