D3hoops Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Seniors Matthew Leritz (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University HS) and Peter Lambesis (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-St. Viator) represented the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team on the D3hoops.com All-Region 8 teams announced Tuesday, March 15. Leritz was a first team pick, while he also earned D3hoops.com Region 8 Player of the Year honors. Lambesis garnered a third team selection.
Leritz, a three-time D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection, averaged 17.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game for the Titans. He was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's Player of the Year, an unanimous First Team All-CCIW honoree, a three-time CCIW Player of the Week pick, and reeled in US Basketball Writers Association Division III National Player of the Week status. He was also named to the Bevo Francis Award Top-50 by Small College Basketball.Â
One of the top defenders in Division III, Lambesis earned Third Team All-Region honors from D3hoops.com for the first time in his career. He averaged 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest. Lambesis was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once, earning the honor after IWU's win at then-No. 1 Yeshiva, Dec. 30. A First Team All-CCIW selection, Lambesis finished tied for third in the CCIW in steals per game.
Lambesis and Leritz were two of seven CCIW student-athletes recognized among the Region 8 teams. Meanwhile, IWU was one of three teams to see multiple student-athletes recognized in the region, with Wheaton and WashU also having two players on the 15-person list.
The duo led the Titans to a 24-6 overall record, highlighted by an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The Green and White won the CCIW Regular Season Championship outright and posted its highest win total since 2014.
D3hoops.com Region 8 Awards
Player of the Year:Â Matthew Leritz, F, Illinois Wesleyan
Coach of the Year:Â John Baines, Elmhurst
Rookie of the Year:Â Hunter Penn, F, Transylvania
| First team |
 |
 |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| G |
Nyameye Adom |
Wheaton (Ill.) |
Sr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| G |
Jake Rhode |
Elmhurst |
Sr. |
Chicago Heights, Ill. |
| G |
Matt Helwig |
North Central (Ill.) |
Sr. |
Aurora, Ill. |
| G |
Jack Nolan |
Washington U. |
Sr. |
Downers Grove, Ill. |
| F |
Matthew Leritz |
Illinois Wesleyan |
Sr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| Second team |
|
| G |
Jordan Johnson |
Concordia (Wis.) |
Sr. |
Cedarburg, Wis. |
| G |
Ian Milsteadt |
Eureka |
Sr. |
East Peoria, Ill. |
| G |
Maurice Knight |
Anderson |
Sr. |
Frankton, Ind. |
| F |
Jake Schroeckenthaler |
Edgewood |
Jr. |
Cottage Grove, Wis. |
| C |
Dan Carr |
Augustana |
Jr. |
Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| Third team |
|
| G |
Tyson Cruickshank |
Wheaton (Ill.) |
Sr. |
Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| G |
Jordan Matthews |
Concordia-Chicago |
Sr. |
Chicago, Ill. |
| G |
David Britton |
Marian |
Sr. |
Hartford, Wis. |
| G |
Peter Lambesis |
Illinois Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Mount Prospect, Ill. |
| F |
Justin Hardy |
Washington U. |
Sr. |
St. Charles, Ill. |
The 2021-22 D3hoops.com All-Region Rookie of the Year pool is comprised of true freshmen, plus players who played fewer than five countable games in 2020-21.
