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Feb. 28, 2008
The Northern Sun Conference has handed out their Men's Basketball Conference Awards; Matt Lesan (FR/ Solon, Iowa) was named Co-Newcomer of the Year and Jude Roybal (SR/ Albuquerque, N.M.) was named to the All-Conference Third Team. "I am proud of both Matt and Jude. They would be the first to tell anyone that without their teammates they could not have earned these honors. Both of these guys deserve the recognition for their hard work this year," said Coach Brian Dolan. Matt Lesan started all but two of the 27 games during the Peacocks' 2007-08 campaign. He led the team in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game. He was second on the team in several categories per game including minutes (28.3), assists (1.7), and steals (1.0). In the offensive half court, Lesan was tenth in the NSIC in scoring, seventh in free throw percentage (79.8%) and 3-point percentage (44.6%), thirteenth in minutes played. The Solon, Iowa native shot 44% from the field and pulled down 2.3 rebounds per game. In Northern Sun games only, Lesan was sixth in scoring (14.6), fifth in free throw percentage (80.8%), eleventh in steals (1.17), fifth in 3-point percentage (45.9%), and ninth in minutes played (30.11). Dolan had the following thoughts on Lesan. "He worked extremely hard turning himself into a Division II basketball player. Many people told Matt that he couldn't play at this level, but he has worked hard since the day he committed to Upper Iowa to improve himself as a player. In high school, Matt almost always played in a zone in high school and had to work extremely hard at his man-to-man defense all year long to become a good defender. Lesan's greatest asset to the team is his desire to win." Jude Roybal started all but one of the 27 games during Upper Iowa's 2007-08 season. He led the team in minutes per game (31), assists per game (4.3) and steals per game (1.4). He was second on the team in points per game (10) and three-point percentage (47.6%). Roybal was nineteenth in the NSIC in scoring, third in assists per game, sixth in steals per game, third in three-point percentage, fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) and minutes played. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native shot 44% from the field, 70.8% from the free throw line and averaged 1.8 rebounds per game. In Northern Sun games only, Roybal led the conference in three-point percentage (50%), and was eighteenth in scoring (11), second in assists per game (4.4), sixth in steals per game (1.6), and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.9). Dolan made the following statements about Roybal. "I am very excited for Jude. He has been a great role model on the team and in the UIU community. He wouldn't let the team's focus slip when we were 0-11. He was a great leader for our young team. Jude is going to graduate this spring and we wish him all the best as he moves on. He will always be a part of this program." The honors earned by Lesan and Roybal are the first All-Conference awards earned by a men's basketball player at the NCAA Division II level and first in the Peacocks' brief history in the Northern Sun Conference. The UIU Men's basketball team qualified for postseason play this season as the #6 seed in the NSIC Tournament and finishing the regular season with a 9-18 record overall and an 8-10 record in NSIC action. The Peacocks will travel to Marshall, Minnesota for the first round of the NSIC Tournament and take the court against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State. Tip off for the contest is set for 7:00 p.m. |
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