Southwestern College senior Cevin Clark was named the KCAC Player of the Year and a 1st Team All Conference selection this week.
The Ark City High School and Cowley College alum leads the NAIA in scoring with 26.8 points per game. In February, Clark again made the Bevo Francis Top 50 watchlist for best small college basketball player in the country for the second consecutive year. The cut to 25 players up for the award will be March 15. Clark made the Top 25 list last year.
In the Moundbuilders’ 93-79 win against McPherson College Thursday night inside Stewart Field House in the opening round of the KCAC Tournament, Clark amassed 35 points — including a 5-of-8 performance from the perimeter — in his final game in Winfield. Chants of “MVP” for Clark roared in the gym in the game’s closing minutes.
But Clark isn’t the only star for No. 9 SC (24-4) going into the second round of the tournament at Kansas Wesleyan (22-7) in Salina Saturday night with accolades.
Fellow senior and Halstead native Andrew O’Brien — who was just two assists away from a triple-double Thursday night against McPherson — was named to the KCAC All-Defensive Team and selected as KCAC 2nd-Team All-Conference pick.
Finally, teammate Justin DeMaria, a junior from Newpaltz, NY, was also honored this week as a KCAC Honorable Mention All Conference selection.
Kansas Wesleyan has won five in a row against the Builders. SC had the lead against the Coyotes in Salina on Feb. 17, but KWU came back to force overtime and the Coyotes came out on top 96-93.
