Allen, Barnes Earn Mid-Con Post-Season Accolades

CEDAR CITY, Utah, March 1 – Southern Utah University seniors Justin Allen and Steve Barnes both received post-season recognition from the Mid-Continent Conference Thursday, with Allen earning the league’s defensive player of the year award and Barnes earning first-team all-conference recognition.

Balloting was conducted among the league’s coaches, sports information directors and selected media representatives.

Allen, a 6-foot guard from Los Angeles, Calif. (Bellflower HS/Saddleback CC), was honored more for his performance as a shut-down defender than on the basis of statistics. Typically assigned to guard the opposing team’s top offensive guard, Allen had great success shutting them down. Two examples are he held first-team all-league selection Quinton Day of UMKC to 20 percent shooting (7-of-35) in two meetings and held Oral Roberts’ first-team selection Ken Tutt to 27 percent (7-of-26) in two games. He is the Thunderbirds’ first defensive player of the year honoree since SUU joined the Mid-Con in 1997.

Barnes, a 5-foot-10 guard from Cedar City (Canyon View HS/Snow JC) led the Mid-Con in assists for the second straight season and also had the conference’s best free throw shooting percentage. Barnes, an honorable mention all-Mid-Con selection last year and a pre-season second-team honoree, also ranked among the conference’s top-10 scorers and 3-point shooters and was in the top-15 in overall field goal percentage. Barnes led Southern Utah in scoring as well. Barnes is SUU's first first-team selection since Dan Beus following the 2001-02 season.

Oral Roberts forward Caleb Green was named the conference’s Player of the Year for the third time, marking the first time a player has received the award three times in the Mid-Con. Green’s teammate, forward Marchello Vealy, was named Sixth Man of the Year, while IUPUI forward Austin Montgomery was tabbed as Newcomer of the Year. Oakland Coach Greg Kampe took home Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Grizzlies to a second-place finish after being picked fifth in the pre-season poll.

Joining Barnes, Green, Day and Tutt on the first team were Oakland forward Vova Severovas and Centenary forward Alexander Starr. Second-team honorees included forwards Dee Ayuba of UMKC and Urule Igbavboa of Valparaiso, as well as guards Tyrone Hamilton (Centenary), Erik Kangas (Oakland) and Montgomery.

Honorable mention recognition went to Oakland center Shawn Hopes, forwards Derick Nelson of Oakland and and Shawn Huff  of Valparaiso as well as guards David Barlow (IUPUI) and David Jackson (Western Illinois).

Named to the all-newcomer team were Montgomery and guard Gary Patterson of IUPUI, Valpo guard Samuel Haanpaa, Oakland guard Johnathon Jones and Oral Roberts center Shawn King.