mbball-conf/00

March 3, 2000

Contact: Amber Cox, AMC Director of Information
573/ 441-8685 (Phone & Fax)
E-mail: american_mw@yahoo.com
Internet Address: http://www.amermw.org

Columbia College Snags Automatic Bid to
NAIA Division I National Tournament

Columbia, Mo. - The Columbia College men's basketball team seized an automatic berth to the NAIA Division I National Tournament tonight, knocking off top-seeded McKendree College in the championship game of the American Midwest Conference post-season tournament. Columbia, the #2 seed in the tournament, beat McKendree, 72-61. With the win, the Cougars secured an automatic berth into the NAIA Men’s Division I National Tournament scheduled for March 14-20 at the Maxwell Convention Center in Tulsa, Okla.

In a vote by league coaches, Robert Joseph, a forward for the Hannibal-LaGrange College Trojans, has been chosen as the 1999-00 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Most Valuable Player for men's basketball. The 6-7 junior from Port Au Prince, Haiti led the Trojans in scoring and rebounds, averaging 18.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. In addition, Joseph shot 62 percent from the field, connecting on 207 of his 335 shot attempts.

Matt Laur, a 6-11 center for the McKendree College Bearcats, is the 1999-00 AMC Freshman of the Year. Laur, a native of Kinmundy, Ill., averaged 17.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in his first season at McKendree. In addition, the rookie led the NAIA in shooting percentage throughout most of the regular-season, netting 220 of his 325 (68%) shot attempts.

The AMC Newcomer of the Year honor is presented to the top transfer student-athlete in the AMC. Nic Stotler, a 6-0 junior guard for McKendree College, is the 1999-00 recipient of this award. Stotler, who hails from Brighton, Ill., averaged 16.4 points throughout the regular-season. In addition, he connected on 41 percent of his three-point attempts and 83 percent of his free throws, leading the Bearcats in both categories.

The 1998-99 AMC Coach of the Year for men's basketball is Harry Statham from McKendree College. Statham is in his 34th season as head coach at McKendree. This season, he led the Bearcats to the AMC regular-season championship with an 8-2 record in league play. Statham’s career record at McKendree is 756-304. He is currently the winningest active coach in the NAIA.

A complete list of the 10-member AMC All-Conference team, the Honorable Mention squad and the Academic All-Conference team, is included below. Members of the Academic All-Conference team have earned at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Player	School	Pos.	YR	Hometown
Robert Joseph	Hannibal-LaGrange College	Forward	JR	Port Au Prince, Haiti
Matt Laur	McKendree College	Center	FR	Kinmundy, IL
Nic Stotler	McKendree College	Guard	JR	Brighton, IL
Lawrence Thomas	Columbia College	Forward	SR	Dallas, TX
Brandon Moore	Columbia College	Forward	SR	St. Louis, MO
Sam Estelle	Missouri Baptist College	Guard	SR	St. Louis, MO
Ted Blackett	McKendree College	Forward	SR	Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jerrod Thompson	Columbia College	Guard	JR	Mexico, MO
Nate Riney	Missouri Baptist College	Guard	JR	Crystal City, MO
Fred Manyawu	Park University	Forward	SR	Zimbabwe

Most Valuable Player		Newcomer of the Year
Robert Joseph (JR), Hannibal-LaGrange College Forward from Port Au Prince, Haiti		Nic Stotler (JR), McKendree College Guard from Brighton, IL

Freshman of the Year		Coach of the Year
Matt Laur, McKendree College Center from Kinmundy, IL		Harry Statham, McKendree College 24-6 (Reg.-Season) / 8-2 (AMC Reg.-Season)

Player	School
Eric Hemmer	Columbia College
Donald Bell	Hannibal-LaGrange College
Justin Davis	Harris-Stowe State College
John Lewis	Harris-Stowe State College
Ricky Taylor	McKendree College
Cliff Beale	Missouri Baptist College
Chris Sisk	Missouri Baptist College

AMC Home Page	The AMC	Members of the AMC
AMC News	Constitution & Bylaws	Weekly Statistics & Standings
All-Conference Teams	Post-Season Tournaments	Post-Season Results