Evanston's Clark Named Midwest Conference Player of the Year

LAKE FOREST, IL (03/01/2012)(readMedia)-- The Midwest Conference Released its 2011-12 Men's Basketball postseason awards on Wednesday and the league champion Foresters were well-represented. Travis Clark (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) was selected as the MWC Player of the Year and Chris Conger earned MWC Coach of the Year honors. Jeff Beck (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) and Nate Bateman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) joined Clark on the all-conference lists.

Clark, a senior post player, if Lake Forest College's first MWC Player of the Year since Mike Ansani earned the award for the league's South Division in 1998. Clark led the conference in 2011-12 with 9.9 rebounds per game, 12 double-doubles, and a .643 field goal percentage, which also ranks second in the nation. He finished fourth in the league with 18.0 points and 1.7 steals per game, tied-for-fourth with 1.3 blocked shots per contest, and 12th with 3.1 assists per game. He was selected as the MWC Performer of the Week four times during the season and six times in his career. Clark finished his four years with nearly 1,500 points and more than 800 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals, and 100 blocked shots. He was named First Team All-MWC for the third consecutive year after being an honorable mention selection as a freshman.

Conger was voted MWC Coach of the year by his peers for the fourth time in his 16-year career. He also earned the award in 1998, 2000, and 2007. He led the 2011-12 Foresters to the best overall record in team history at 20-4 and, after falling in the season opener, Lake Forest won a school record 15 consecutive contests. The team went 16-2 in conference play and claimed the program's first MWC title since 2000 and just the third championship since joining the conference in 1974.

Beck, a junior point guard, was a Second Team All-MWC selection. He led the team and ranked eighth in the conference with 3.3 assists per game and he also averaged 9.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. He has scored 700 points and dished out 188 assists over the last three seasons. It was the first all-conference award of his career.

Bateman, a senior forward, earned Honorable Mention All-MWC accolades. He finished among the conference leaders with 11.0 points (23rd), 5.5 rebounds (12th), 2.6 assists (15th), 1.0 blocked shots (6th), and 1.7 three-pointers made (10th) per game. Only four players in the league posted more than his four double-doubles. Bateman finished his career with 865 points, 357 rebounds, and 168 assists. It was his first all-conference award.

Lake Forest had not put three players on the all-conference teams in the same season since since 2001 had not had players earn first team, second team, and honorable mention distinction since 2000, when J.R. Jurecko, Brian Bruha, and Fred Bell, respectively, accomplished the feat.