Kelsey Ackerman | Sports Co-Editor
Men’s Basketball:
The Beavers finished their season at 11-16 overall (5-9 IIAC) and advanced to the IIAC Conference Tournament semifinals.
With the end of this season for the Beavers came the end of college basketball careers for five seniors: Nick Clark, Bobby Ivey, Kyler Huisman, Sam Lipps, and Jarod Juhl.
Clark finished the season with a First-Team All-Conference selection. With Clark’s selection, it is now the 8th straight year that BVU has had at least one First-Team selection. Clark led the team and finished third in the conference in scoring at 20.0 ppg. He was also second in the IIAC in assists per game at 4.4, first in steals per game at 2.0, and first in three-point makes per game at 3.0.
“I really wanted to make it to the national tournament. However, this season will go down as one of my favorite’s ever. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of teammates. We were so close and I will miss the bus and plane rides as well as practices. However, the future of BVU basketball is very bright with the guys coming up on the roster,” Clark said.
The Beaver’s had another All-Conference selection in junior center, Kennedy Drey. After being named first-team in the 2014-15 season, Drey was seleced to the second-team following this season. Drey was right behind Clark in scoring on the team at 14.7 ppg. He also closed out the IIAC season with five double-doubles.
“My goal individually was to help the team as best as I could, and to work especially hard coming off an injury. As a team, the goal was to win a conference championship, and we were never really able to get into a rhythm and stay consistant although we were very skilled as a team,” Drey said.
Drey, along with all of the other returners are excited to get into the weight room and work hard in the off-season.
Women’s Basketball:
Coming off a 2014-15 season at 3-11 in the conference play, the Beavers came out ready to redeem themselves. The team turned it around, and finished at 15-12 overall (8-6 IIAC).
The end of this season, also marked the end of great careers by five seniors: Becca Penningron, Lacey Vokt, Lexi Fisher, Alicia Savoy, and Jasmyn Flynn-Graves.
The Beavers ended with two All-Conference selections in the group of five seniors.
The first came from center Flynn-Graves. Flynn-Graves was a First-Team All-Conference selection for the first time in her career. Flynn-Graves finished second in the conference in scoring at 17.3 ppg and 10th in rebouding at 6.4. She also sat at fifth in field goal percentage at .486 and third in free-throw shooting at .824. She also scored in double figures in all 14 conference games.
“It’s a bitter-sweet moment. As a team, we had an amazing season. While we didn’t win the conference, we proved a lot of people wrong and had fun doing it. Individually I am so happy to see all of my hard work pay off. Many years of practice and countless hours in the gym let to my best season yet. I’m proud to say I ended my career with nothing left to give, I truly feel I left it all on the court,” Flynn-Graves said.
The second of the All-Conference game from Fisher. Fisher was a Second-Team selection for the second year in a row. She ended at 11th in the conference in scoring at 12.5 ppg, and at fifth in long-range shooting at 2.4 makes per contest. She was second in steals per game at 2.3. Fisher was also announced one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Jostens Trophy, which is awarded to an NCAA Division III basketball player who excels not only on the court, but also in the classroom and community. BVU has only had three prior nominations between the Men’s and Women’s team.
“This year we were able to push eachother and get better every day as well has hold eachother accountable. I felt I could contribute to the team in more areas than I have been in previous years. While the season didn’t end in a conference championship, I am still proud of how we finished,” Fisher said.
The Beavers look to gear up in their off-season and come out even better and stronger next year.
Wrestling:
The BVU wrestling finished out the season at the NCAA Central Regional Tournament with 26.5 points at 10th out of 13 teams.
Three Beaver wrestlers finished in the top 10 of their respective weight divisions.
Sophomore Nashid Barrow took sixth at the 141-pound weight class. He fell just short of his second NCAA Tournament berth. Barrow went up against first-seed Drew Van Anrooy in the semifinals. Barrow finished his season at 23-13 overall.
Junior Ernesto Garcia came up at sixth place along with freshman Brad Kerkoff. Kerkoff has been the team’s leader in wins all season.
With the end of this season, the Beavers say goodbye to their lone senior Gable Bonner.
Graphic by Nic Gibson
