Kirkwood men’s basketball looking for a return to national tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — When it comes to junior college basketball, all eyes are on Cedar Rapids this season.

The Kirkwood women’s basketball program is atop the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II rankings again, has won two of the last three national championships and nine overall.

The second-ranked Kirkwood men’s team has three national titles of its own, but has not qualified for the national tournament since winning its last crown in 2019.

Could this be the year when both programs reach the summit in the same season? Does the success of one program inspire the other?

“We ride to a lot of the games together, so you know both teams are friendly,” Kirkwood men’s basketball coach Tim Sandquist said before the Eagles overwhelmed Northeast Community College, 85-67, in an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference game Saturday at Johnson Hall. “Our guys definitely know what those girls are doing and don't want to be in the shadows and want to make a mark for their own right … but it's a very, very good relationship with the men’s and women’s staffs and it's not like that at every place.”

What is it about this place that fosters two successful basketball programs? Sandquist, who has the benefit of coaching at five different junior college schools throughout his career, recognizes a marked advantage at Kirkwood.

“Most junior colleges are in rural towns, so I think our location and kids wanting to come live in Cedar Rapids corridor area, I think it really helps,” Sandquist said. “We can attract those kids for that, but then it starts with our administration. With (school president) Dr. (Kristie) Fisher on down to Melissa Payne our VP of Student Services to our athletics director Todd Rima, they’re all aligned in their vision of what they want Kirkwood athletics to be. If we have great administration, which we do, that allows us to have success because we’re given the resources to do that.”

Against Northeast, redshirt freshman guard Lucas Leuth led all scorers with 24 points and former Monticello prep Tate Petersen added 20 for Kirkwood (18-1, 8-1 ICCAC), winners of nine games in a row. The Eagles’ 18-1 record is a better start to the season than either of Kirkwood’s last two national championship teams (2016, 2019).

“Lucas Leuth, that guy is an absolute monster,” Kirkwood sophomore Traijan Sain said. “I personally don’t think there is anybody that can stop him when he's going. Tate Petersen, great scoring floor general for us. As a freshman last year, didn't get a lot of minutes and then this year he really stepped up huge moving into the starting lineup.”

While Leuth averages 9.5 points per game and Petersen accounts for 12.3, Sain has utilized an improved 3-point shooting stroke to boost his scoring average to a team-best 12.6 and also leads the team in assists (3.1 per contest).

“I worked a lot on shooting in the offseason,” said Sain, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate who holds Division-I offers from Fairfield and Hampton. “My percentage is up almost 10 percent from last year (and) that's a huge impact for me just personally as a player, but then also on the floor for our team.”

Sain embodies the cohesion between the men’s and women’s programs at Kirkwood. His cousin, Kaliyah Sain, is a sophomore standout for the women’s team and a Cedar Rapids Kennedy alum.

“It's awesome,” Traijan said. “Going from crosstown rivals to being in the same school together is definitely a huge difference-maker. It makes it a lot more fun.”

Kirkwood hosts Iowa Western Wednesday night.