Champion Vikings take two of top three UMAC men's basketball postseason accolades
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017-18 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball season ended with a new regular season and tournament champion in Bethany Lutheran College – a team that will make its first NCAA tournament appearance beginning Friday. Following a supremely successful season, the champion Vikings headline the UMAC men's hoops postseason awards announced Tuesday.
The champion Vikings collected the most honors among all-conference awards – as voted by conference coaches – with four honorees selected either First Team, Second Team or Honorable Mention, while Vikings' Head Coach Matt Fletcher was selected by his peers as the UMAC Coach of the Year and Jake Dale was awarded Freshman of the Year. University of Minnesota Morris senior CD Douglas capped off his incredible career with the UMAC Player of the Year distinction.
In his second year at the helm, Fletcher led the Vikings' program to just its second-ever UMAC regular season title in men's basketball and a program-first postseason title that was locked up with a 96-90 win over seven-time defending postseason champion University of Northwestern. Fletcher's squad became the first UMAC men's basketball program other than the Eagles to win a UMAC tournament title during the NCAA Division III era of the league in which the conference has received an automatic qualifying bid to the national tournament.
Fletcher's two-year stint as head coach of the Vikings has seen a dramatic turnaround with the Vikings jumping all the way to first after being sixth in the conference standings prior to his arrival after the 2015-16 season. This year, Fletcher guided Bethany Lutheran to a 13-3 conference mark and 19-8 overall record heading into the NCAA postseason. The Vikings are currently riding a six-game winning streak and have captured victory in eight of their last nine games. Even more impressive, the Vikings reached the 100-point plateau in three regular season games this season and put together a 112-point performance in a dominating semifinal win over Minnesota Morris last Wednesday. Two of the three Viking losses this season came by five points or less.
In conference play this season, the Vikings led in team statistical categories for points per game (84.4), assists per game (17.25), rebounds per game (40.9), rebounding margin (6.1), field goal defense (.409) and 3-point field goal defense (.326).
One of the key factors to the Vikings' success was a balanced offense – all four Vikings all-conference honorees averaged in double figures. Additionally, rookie Dale added to the Vikings' attack in his first year in the red and white. The forward averaged 9.9 ppg in conference play and started 18 games on the year. Overall, he shot an impressive 61.1 percent from the field and was a strong inside presence for the Vikings in his 18 minutes per game. Dale also had 10 games in conference play where he scored in double-digits including a career-high 18-point effort in the UMAC-opening win over Northwestern.
While Dale may be the future of the UMAC, the conference coaches acknowledged the significant impact of Minnesota Morris guard Douglas on the league during his four years in a Cougar uniform. A three-time All-UMAC First Team honoree, Douglas wrapped up his career as the Cougars' all-time leading scorer with 1,960 points. He also led the league as the only player averaging over 20 points in conference games this season with 23.2 ppg.
Douglas was not only the top scorer in the league, but ranked in the top five in UMAC games in multiple categories. He ranked second in free throw percentage (89.3), third in assists per game (4.4), fourth in steals per game (1.6) and fifth in field goal percentage (55.1). The senior scored in double figures in every game he played this season and tallied more than 30 points in three regular-season conference games. He picked up a season-high 34 points against North Central University and finished off his career with an impressive 30-point performance in the Cougars' quarterfinal playoff win over Crown College.
While Douglas is the only player to be named to the First Team more than twice in this year's field of honorees, Austin VanDerHeyden of Crown is the only player to earn a spot on one of the three teams each of his four years. Crown's all-time leading scorer has been a Second Team pick each of the last three years and was the 2014-15 Freshman of the Year and an Honorable Mention selection.
Bethany Lutheran also had two players complete storied UMAC careers – Neil Eichten earned his third Honorable Mention of his career, while Brady Rose was named Second Team for his second career all-conference nod. Rose has also been selected to the All-Defensive Team for the third time as a Viking. Shaq Coleman finishes his career with the University of Wisconsin-Superior as a First Team player after being picked for Honorable Mention last season.
Brandon Newman of runner-up College of St. Scholastica wrapped up his junior season with a second-consecutive appearance on the First Team following his 2015-16 Freshman of the Year honor, while last year's top rookie in Tim Wendel of Crown was picked First Team as a sophomore after being Second Team last season.
Bethany Lutheran led all teams with four selections to all-conference, while playoff runner-up Northwestern had three picks. Crown, Minnesota Morris, St. Scholastica and Wisconsin-Superior each had two players honored. Martin Luther College and North Central had one player recognized.
Northwestern won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – CD Douglas, Sr., Minnesota Morris
Freshman of the Year Award# – Jake Dale, Fy., Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Matt Fletcher, Bethany Lutheran
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Shaq Coleman |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| CD Douglas* |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Marshall, Minn./Marshall |
| Trenton Krueger |
So. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Forward |
Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Brandon Newman |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Barnum, Minn./Barnum |
| Tim Wendel |
So. |
Crown |
Forward |
Montevideo, Urugauy/Club Malvin |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Bradley Rose |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson |
| Brady Rose |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson |
| Noah Grove |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Morris, Minn./Morris Area |
| Austin VanDerHeyden |
Sr. |
Crown |
Forward |
Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville |
| Tanner Youngberg |
So. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Collin Anderson |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Neil Eichten |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Wabasso, Minn./Wabasso |
| Caleb Hageman |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Charles City, Iowa/Charles City |
| Jared High |
Jr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo |
| Vid Milenkovic |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Zurich, Switzerland/DSB Belgrade, Serbia |
| Ian Paulsen |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Forward |
Ixonia, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Isaiah Rahier |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Northome, Minn./Northome |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Zach Dahlman |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Forward |
Braham, Minn./Braham |
| Trey Heinsuis |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Brooten, Minn./Brooten-Belgrade-Elrosa |
| Ian Paulsen |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Forward |
Ixonia, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Brady Rose |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson |
| Isaiah Rahier |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Northome, Minn./Northome |
| Matt Zorn |
Sr. |
Northland |
Forward |
Porterville, Calif./Porterville |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Jeremy Becker, Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids
Crown – Tim Wendel, So., Montevideo, Urugauy/Club Malvin
Martin Luther – Joey Behm, Fy., Jackson, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran
Minnesota Morris – Jeffrey Halverson, Jr., Upsala, Minn./Upsala
North Central – Joel Cline, Sr., Green Bay, Wis./Southwest
Northland – Harrison Lucas, Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.
Northwestern – Caleb Hageman, Jr., Charles City, Iowa/Charles City
St. Scholastica – Mitch Liebert, Jr., Rogers, Minn./Rogers
Wisconsin-Superior – Nate Kalien, Sr., Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chippewa Falls