[Men's Basketball] Mount Mercy big men get league honors

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa -- The Midwest Collegiate Conference announced its men's basketball all-conference awards on Wednesday, and Mount Mercy's Chad Underwood and Josh Watznauer were among 19 student-athletes recognized by a vote of league coaches.

Underwood, a sophomore forward, ranked fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.6 points per game. He led the league in field goal percentage (58.7%) and free throw percentage (83.9%), and was third in the MCC in blocked shots per game (1.03). Underwood was also 10th in rebounding at 5.9 boards per contest.

Watznauer, a senior forward, averaged 9.3 points per outing for the Mustangs. He was second in the league in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and blocked shots per game (1.36), and ranked 10th in the MCC in steals (1.21 spg) and field goal percentage (51.7%). Watznauer was his team's second-leading assist man, dishing out 2.21 assists per game.

Mike Kennedy of St. Ambrose earned MCC Player of the Year honors. Nate Fuqua of Iowa Wesleyan was named MCC Newcomer of the Year, and Tigers head coach Al Magnani took home MCC Coach of the Year laurels.

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2011 MCC Men's Basketball Honors

MCC Player of the Year: Mike Kennedy (St. Ambrose)

MCC Newcomer of the Year: Nate Fuqua (Iowa Wesleyan)

MCC Coach of the Year: Al Magnani (Iowa Wesleyan)

All-MCC First Team (by school):

Javier Valdez (Ashford); Kevin Smith (Grand View); Nate Fuqua, Keenan Stanbridge (Iowa Wesleyan); Chad Underwood, Josh Watznauer (Mount Mercy); Chris Donnelly, Mike Kennedy (St. Ambrose); Ryan Ambrose (Viterbo); Alan Douglas (William Penn).

All-MCC Honorable Mention:

Peter Tanzillo, Jonathan Wyatt (Ashford); Travis Farrell, Eli Fitzsimmons (Clarke); Kody Ingle, Nick Wagner (Grand View); Reggie Shipp (Iowa Wesleyan); Sean Chenault (Waldor); Blake Walker (William Penn).