Conference Honors Follow Championship Season For Tri-C Men’s Basketball

Quintin Dove, Devon Robinson and Coach Michael Duncan claim top awards

The Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) men’s basketball team dominated the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference this season while rising to the top of the national rankings.

Tri-C’s dominance continued when the conference announced its postseason awards on Thursday, March 8.

Quintin Dove was named the OCCAC Player of the Year, Devon Robinson the Defensive Player of the Year and Michael Duncan earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.

Three other Challengers — Wade Lowman, Vincent Smalls and Larenz Thurman — also earned All-OCCAC recognition.

Tri-C (27-1) is currently preparing to play in the NJCAA regional tournament.

“We’re proud of these honors but still have work to do this season,” Duncan said. “This team’s goal is to win a national championship. That’s the award we really want to bring back to Metro Campus.”

Dove led the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game while topping the conference in shooting percentage. The forward also averaged 8.8 rebounds per game. He won the OCCAC Player of the Week award three times during the season.

The sophomore from Euclid is working toward an Associate of Arts degree at Tri-C. He received a full athletic scholarship to play next season at the University of Tennessee at Martin, a Division I NCAA school.

Robinson led the team and conference by averaging 10.6 rebounds and three steals per game. The forward also chipped in 12.1 points per game. He earned a national Player of the Week award in January.

The sophomore from Cleveland is working toward an Associate of Arts degree at Tri-C. He recently received a full athletic scholarship to play next season for California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II NCAA school.

Three teammates joined Dove and Robinson in earning all-conference honors, including:

• Center Wade Lowman, who averaged 7.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game to receive All-Defensive Team honors. The sophomore from Philadelphia is studying accounting at the College.

• Forward Vincent Smalls, who averaged 7.3 points and five rebounds per game while being named to the All-Freshman Team and Honorable Mention All-OCCAC. The freshman from Philadelphia is pursuing an Associate of Arts at Tri-C.

• Guard Larenz Thurman, who averaged 11.6 points and a team-leading 4.8 assists per game to be named Second Team All-OCCAC. The sophomore from Wilmington, Del., is working toward an Associate of Arts degree at the College.

Tri-C ended the regular season as the top-ranked team in the NJCAA Division II coaches’ poll. The conference title won by the Challengers is their second in a row and third since the 2010-2011 season.

The team is 92-28 under Duncan, now in his fourth year as head coach. Duncan played on the College’s 2004 national championship basketball team.

March 08, 2018

John Horton, 216-987-4281 john.horton@tri-c.edu