2022 Men's Basketball All-CCIW - Leritz, Lambesis, Noe, Yoder

Leritz Voted CCIW’s Most Outstanding Player as IWU Highlights CCIW Postseason Awards

Ron Rose named CCIW Coach of the Year for fourth time

2/22/2022 11:00:00 AM

CCIW Release

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Hot off a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship, the fifth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team headlined the CCIW's postseason honors released Tuesday, Feb. 22. Senior Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) was voted the league's Fred Young Most Outstanding Player, while seniors Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) and Cory Noe (Mahomet, Ill.-Mahomet-Seymour), junior Luke Yoder (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic), and Head Coach Ron Rose also reeled in postseason accolades.

Leritz was joined by Lambesis on the All-CCIW First Team, while Noe and Yoder earned second team honors. It is the third straight season in which Leritz has been named to the first team. Lambesis returned to the all-conference squad after earning second team honors in 2020, with Noe and Yoder receiving their first All-CCIW accolades. IWU's four all-conference selections are tied for the second-most in school history, as well as the most since 1998. Additionally, Lucas Heflen (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) was named Illinois Wesleyan's RESPECT award recipient.

Rose was recognized as the CCIW's Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career after guiding IWU to the league title and No. 1 seed in the CCIW Tournament. He led the Titans to a 14-2 CCIW record, marking IWU's most conference wins since 1992, and their first outright regular season championship since 2014.

A unanimous First Team All-CCIW pick, Leritz is the 15th Titan in program history to be voted the league's top player, while it marks the 18th time a Titan has earned the award. He is the first to do so since Dylan Overstreet shared the honor with Augustana's Hunter Hill in 2015. A dominant force for the Green and White this season, Leritz averaged 18.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over IWU's 16-game conference slate. He shot 56.9 percent from the field, 42.4 from three-point range, and 73.7 percent at the free throw line against league competition. A three-time CCIW Player of the Week, Leritz has been recognized as part of D3hoops.com's Team of the Week three times and has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Division III National Player of the Week once. The St. Louis, Mo. native scored double digit points in all 16 of IWU's conference games, including a career-high 31-point effort in a win over Wheaton, Feb. 12.

Lambesis, lauded as one of the top defenders in Division III, averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.8 assists per game in conference play. He ranked tied for second in the conference in steals per game, while his field goal percentage of 51.8 was good for seventh-best in the league. A D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection back in January, Lambesis leads the team in steals, while ranking fourth in scoring and rebounding.

Noe, who reeled in postseason honors for the first time in his career, averaged 11.1 points as one of the conference's top three-point shooters. He averaged 1.8 threes per game in league play, the seventh-most in the CCIW, on a 37.5 three-point field goal percentage. Noe was recognized as the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational's Most Valuable Player earlier this season, while he also earned a spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week Nov. 15.

Illinois Wesleyan's floor general, Yoder put up 11.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game over 16 CCIW contests. He ranked 25th in the league in field goal percentage (.439), while he checked in tied for 14th in three-point field goal percentage (38.8). Yoder went off for 27 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals in IWU's win over Elmhurst, Jan. 17.

The top-seeded Titans will host the semifinal and championship rounds of the CCIW Tournament Friday-Saturday, Feb. 25-26. IWU will play in the 7 p.m. semifinal Friday, with the Titans opponent to be determined based on tonight's quarterfinal games.

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