Coombs and Jackson garner individual honors, Barton men's basketball lands seven on KJCCC/Region VI awards list #GoBarton

Clinching the program's 10th KJCCC title and fourth Region VI title, the accolades for the nation's top ranked Barton Community College men's basketball team poured in as the Cougars netted the Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year with six other post-season honors released by the KJCCC and Region VI.

Suffering just one blemish through the regular season, Head Coach Jermey Coombs was tabbed as the Coach of the Year guiding the Cougars into the NJCAA National Tournament with a 32-1 overall record and 23-1 conference mark. 

Of the seven players recognized for their efforts on the season, Cooper Jackson headlined the selections earning the Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Sophomores Lajae Jones and Myles Thompson secured first-team selections with Mozae Downing-Rivers joining Jackson on the second-team list while Ring Malith, Brent Moss and Keandre Kindell claimed honorable mention distinctions.

LAJAE JONES – 1st Team
A transfer from Tarleton State University, Jones established himself as the Cougars leading scorer with games of 30 and 12 points against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and North Idaho College in the first two games of the season.

Jones averaged the league's 10th most points at 15.4 and fourth most 9.2 rebounds. Jones has led the Cougars in points over 13 games and 18 times in rebounds. The Seattle, Washington, native has recorded the team's most 13 double-doubles entering the National Tournament. 

The son of former Barton Sports Hall of Famer Jackie Jones racked up four Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week honors and one weekly NJCAA distinction.

MYLES THOMPSON – 1st Team
The 6-foot-7 sophomore from Hutchinson, Kansas, posted six double-double performances during his 33 games.

Thompson ranked 16th in the Jayhawk Conference at 14.0 points per game while adding 6.7 rebounds. Thompson corralled 10-plus boards six times including a career high 14 against Dodge City on February 28th.

The forward shot 48.3-percent from the field with 18 games eclipsing his average with his best performance over 10-attempts coming in Barton's 111-91 victory at Dodge City finishing 12 of 17 (70.6) with 25-points. 

A two-time KJCCC Player of the Week recipient, Thompson has accumulated five games of 20-points or more with his career high 25 coming on the road against Dodge City.

MOZAE DOWNING-RIVERS – 2nd Team
Downing-Rivers, a sophomore from Atchinson, Kansas was Barton's court leader directing the offense and posting two double-doubles.

A second-team selection a season ago, Downing-Rivers once again made his on-court presence known dishing out 5.7 assists per game to rank second in the KJCCC while adding six points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Downing-Rivers surpassed five or more distributions in 21 of 33 games with career highs of 12 coming against the junior varsity squad of McPherson College and on the road verses Coffeyville. 

The sophomore currently sits with the third most career assists 373 over 33 games.

COOPER JACKSON – 2nd Team & DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jackson, the Lawrence, Kansas nightmare for opposing offenses once again is challenging for the nation's lead in thefts, sitting at 11th with 2.8 per game.

The sophomore guard currently has caused havoc on opponents forcing four-plus turnovers in nine games with three games eclipsing five including a season high eight on sophomore night against Hutchinson.

Generating his offense off the defensive end, Jackson averaged 7.3 points per game with 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. 

Heading into the NJCAA National Tournament, Jackson sits second in career steals with 201 just 118 behind Eric Bush's 319 (1999-2001).

RING MALITH – Honorable Mention
Ranking third on the team in points per game, the 6-foot-9 sophomore from Twic, South Sudan was a key x-factor to the Barton lineup with his all-around game.

Averaging 12.2 points per game, Malith also contributed with 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists while also playing a vital role on the defensive end defending opponents leading scorers.

Scoring a career high 31 points against Butler in February, Malith has reached double figures in 20 of the 33 games thus far this season. 

BRENT MOSS – Honorable Mention
Moss, from Freeport, Bahamas, led Barton's bench production at 9.9 points per game over 33 regular season games.

The 6-foot-6 freshman finished the regular season as the team's third best rebounder at 6.2 boards while reaching double-digit rebounds four different times. 

Moss reached double-figure scoring 19 times with four double-double performances.

KEANDRE KINDELL – Honorable Mention
Joining Malith and Moss on the honorable mention selections, Kindell a freshman guard out of Cincinnati, Ohio became a vital part to Barton's bench production at 9.7 points per game.

Directing the point when providing Downing-Rivers a break, Kindell averaged 2.6 distributions over his 33 games played.

Kindell's biggest regular season output came on January 17th on the road at Hutchinson, as the freshman scored 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 20 minutes.