Kirkwood Mens Basketball

Pickens finds new home at Kirkwood

Allante Pickens never planned to become a scientist when he enrolled at Missouri University of Science and Technology last year, but he's obviously a smart guy.

"That was the only scholarship offer I had," he said Wednesday night. "I took the opportunity and I took advantage of it."

Now Pickens is taking advantage of a new opportunity at Kirkwood Community College.

Pickens scored 18 points and steered the fifth-ranked Eagles to an 84-71 victory over Marshalltown Community College in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

Pickens averaged 11.1 points at Missouri Science and Technology as a freshman, but the Miners struggled through a 3-23 campaign and he decided to transfer.

Kirkwood recruited him in high school in Chicago, so he contacted KCC Coach Bryan Petersen about the possibility of joining the Eagles. Kirkwood needed a new point guard and Pickens needed a new school.

"This is a great program," said Pickens, who plays a lot bigger than his listed size of 5-foot-8. "I'm having fun. It's the most fun I've had in a long time. It's going to be a great year."

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3 Eagles sign with next schools

Three members of the Kirkwood men's basketball team signed their national letters-of-intent Wednesday with four-year colleges.

Doug Wilson signed with South Dakota State, Kyle Arrington signed with Western Illinois and Connor Kasperbauer signed with Truman State. South Dakota State and Western Illinois are NCAA Division I schools, while Truman State is an NCAA Division II college.

Wilson, a 6-foot-7 forward from Des Moines, was an All-American for Kirkwood last season as a freshman when he led the nation in field-goal percentage. He's averaging 19.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks this season.

Arrington, a 6-10 center from Council Bluffs, has been plagued by injuries this season. He recovered from a preseason knee injury to begin the year in uniform, but now has a fractured bone in his ankle and will be sidelined for about four more weeks. He's averaging 5 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games.

"Doug and Kyle trusted the process," said Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen. "They are two of our guys that stuck around and trusted it and they got rewarded. That was my message to them and the rest of the team."

Kasperbauer, a 6-4 guard from Ankeny, was red-shirted last season at Truman State and will be returning there next season after one year with the Eagles. He's averaging 15.8 points for Kirkwood and scored 30 points against Morton College on Saturday, with eight 3-pointers.

Kasperbauer nets 30 as Eagles roll

CICERO, Ill. - Connor Kasperbauer poured in eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points Saturday afternoon as the Kirkwood Eagles drilled Morton College, 96-64, in a non-conference men's basketball game.

Kasperbauer, a 6-foot-4 guard, played high school basketball at Ankeny Centennial and was red-shirted last season as a true freshman at Truman State University.

Doug Wilson, an All-American for Kirkwood last season, scored 17 points and snared 12 rebounds. Brady Sartorius, a freshman guard from Mount Pleasant, hit four 3-pointers and netted 16 points for the Eagles.

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No. 5 Eagles dump Mount Mercy JV

Bryan Petersen spent a lot of time shaking his head in disappointment during the first half Tuesday night, so don't be fooled by Kirkwood's 101-54 victory over the Mount Mercy junior varsity at Johnson Hall.

The fifth-ranked Eagles sputtered to a 42-30 lead at intermission before getting untracked in the second half.

"The first half obviously wasn't very good," said Petersen, in his sixth year as Kirkwood's head coach. "Obviously these type of games (against JV opponents) are hard to play in sometimes, but it was the home opener.

"I was kind of hoping that we'd come out with a little more urgency from the beginning, which was kind of disappointing."

The Eagles (2-1) have four new starters in the lineup to team with returning All-American Doug Wilson, so Petersen knows it will take time as he tries to mold the team.

"The second half obviously was better," he said. "I thought some guys came in and sparked us a little bit and brought some energy. But it was disappointing that we didn't have better energy in the first 20 minutes.

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