CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College junior guard David Mataloni (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) has been named the2011-12 IIAC Men’s Basketball Most Valuable Player, Luther College junior center Tyler Wedemeier (Westgate, Iowa/West Central) has been named the 2011-12 IIAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, and Coe College head coach Pat Juckem has been named the 2011-12 IIAC Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.

Mataloni averaged 15.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 27 contests, leading Coe in scoring 18 times. He led all league players in free throw percentage (85.0 percent; 91-of-107) and steals, ranked third in scoring and ninth in both assists and 3-point field goals made (1.59/game). Mataloni tied a career-high with 27 points against Mount Mercy. In that game, he also set a new career-high with six 3-pointers. Through three seasons, he ranks sixth in school history with 130 3-pointers, 10th with 175 assists, and 17th with 953 points. His 428 points this season ranked 12 on Coe’s all-time single-season scoring list.

In 16 Conference games, Mataloni averaged 15.1 points, 2.69 assists and 1.75 steals per game while shooting 43.2 percent (89-of-206) from the field and 85.2 percent (46-of-54) from the charity stripe. He led the Conference in steals, ranked fourth in scoring and free throw percentage, seventh in assists, and 15th in field goal percentage. Mataloni is the second Coe player to be named IIAC Most Valuable Player. Mike Kilburg picked up MVP honors while leading the Kohawks to a share of the 2006 Iowa Conference title.

Wedemeier averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.69 blocks and shot 53.2 percent from the field in 16 Iowa Conference games. He led the league in blocks per game, ranked second in defensive rebounds (6.13 per game), third in total rebounds, and fifth in field-goal percentage. Wedemeier ranks 19th in Division III in blocked shots (2.3 per game) through games played Feb. 26. Wedemeier is the second consecutive Luther player to be named the IIAC’s top defensive player (Jacy Dillahunty).

Juckem led Coe to a 12-4 Conference mark and the program’s first outright Iowa Conference title. The Kohawks fell to Buena Vista, 54-52, in the championship game of the Iowa Conference men’s basketball tournament to finish at 19-8 overall. In conference games, Coe led the IIAC in free throw percentage (78.1 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (37.8 percent), and steals (6.75 steals/game), ranked second in field goal percentage defense (40.8 percent), and third in scoring defense (64.2 points/game), field goal percentage (43.4 percent), 3-point field goal percentage defense (32.0 percent), and 3-point field goals made (6.75 per game).

Finishing 19-8 overall, the 2011-12 Kohawks helped push Juckem over 100 career victories. He enters next season with 105 wins. Juckem is also the first Coe men’s basketball coach to post three 19-plus win seasons.  This is the second time Juckem has been named IIAC Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. He was previously honored in 2006 when he led the Kohawks to a share of their first Iowa Conference title.

The IIAC also released the 2011-12 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Basketball Team. The 15-member Team includes seven repeat All-Conference performers including Buena Vista’s Doug Bissen and Wartburg’s Jordan Sathoff, who were each named All-Iowa Conference for the third time. Mataloni, Buena Vista’s Wes Nordquist, Central’s Demarco Turner, Cornell’s Reggie Greenwood, and Luther’s Dane Larson, the 2011 Iowa Conference MVP, were each named All-Iowa Conference for the second time. Eight of nine schools were represented on this year’s All-Conference Team with Coe taking MVP honors and seven other schools taking one spot on the First Team. Buena Vista and Coe both had three selections overall. Central, Luther and Simpson each had two players selected while Cornell, Dubuque and Wartburg were each represented by one player.

The complete 2011-12 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Basketball Team follows this release.

~~ www.iowaconference.com ~~

 

2011-2012 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player — David Mataloni, jr., G, Coe
Defensive Player of the Year — Tyler Wedemeier, jr., C, Luther
Coach of the Year — Pat Juckem, Coe

Most Valuable Player	School	Year	Hometown / High School
David Mataloni ^	Coe	Jr.	Urbandale, Iowa / Urbandale
Defensive Player of the Year	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Tyler Wedemeier !	Luther	Jr.	Westgate, Iowa / West Central
First Team	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Wes Nordquist & ^	Buena Vista	Jr.	Adel, Iowa / Adel-DeSoto-Minburn
Demarco Turner ^	Central	Sr.	Des Moines, Iowa / East
Reggie Greenwood !	Cornell	So.	Berkeley, Ill. / Timothy Christian
Lee Piccinelli	Dubuque	Sr.	Henry, Ill. / Senachwine
Dane Larson & %	Luther	Sr.	Waverly, Iowa / Waverly-Shell Rock
Zack Barragan @	Simpson	Sr.	Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny
Jordan Sathoff $ ^	Wartburg	Sr.	Packwood, Iowa / Pekin
Second Team	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Doug Bissen # !	Buena Vista	Sr.	Earling, Iowa / Harlan
Jeff Janssen	Buena Vista	Sr.	Fairmont, Minn. / Fairmont
Jacob Winkler	Central	Jr.	Lancaster, Mo. / Schuyler R-1
Seth Light	Coe	Jr.	Carlisle, Iowa / Carlisle
Andrew Wirth	Coe	So.	Cedar Falls, Iowa / Cedar Falls
John Androus	Luther	So.	Lindhurst, Ill. / Lakes
Chad Boston	Simpson	Sr.	Des Moines, Iowa / Hoover
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Hometown / High School
Alex Miller	Cornell	Jr.	Mesa, Ariz. / Westwood
Chris Frazier	Dubuque	So.	Heidelberg, Germany / Heidelberg American
Mitch Michaelis	Dubuque	So.	LeClaire, Iowa / Pleasant Valley
Cornelius Mosby !	Simpson	Sr.	Chicago, Ill. / Corliss
Previous Honors
% — 2010-11 Iowa Conference MVP
^ — 2010-11 First Team All-Conference
! — 2010-11 Second Team All-Conference
@ — 2010-11 Honorable Mention
# — 2009-10 First Team All-Conference
$ — 2009-10 Second Team All-Conference
& — 2009-10 Honorable Mention