STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 3, 2022) - The American Rivers Conference has announced its 2022 men's basketball all-conference teams and Buena Vista had four players voted to the team this season.

Seniors Michael Demers and Jake Thompson were voted First Team All-Conference while fellow senior Garrett Sittner and sophomore Zane Neubaum each landed Second Team All-Conference honors.

Demers, who was also a First Team selection in 2021, led the team and ranked fifth in the A-R-C in scoring at 15.9ppg, was second on the team and seventh in the league in rebounding (5.9rpg) and was among the top three-point shooters in the conference at 43.4 percent (4th) while making 33-of-76.  Demers scored in double figures in 14 of the 16 conference games, including 21 at Central in the regular season finale on the strength of four three-point buckets.  He also added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists during the 65-60 road win at league champion Dubuque.

Thompson solidified himself as one of the top all-around players in the league and earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career.  He ranked 13th in scoring (12.4ppg), fifth in rebounding (6.3rpg), first in assists (5.7apg) and seventh in steals (1.6spg).  He also shot 46.6 percent overall from the field which was in the top-20.  Thompson was the only player in the A-R-C to record a triple-double this season when he scored 10 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 12 assists during a road win at Simpson.  He also had a 20-point, 10-assist performance during the team's road win at Nebraska Wesleyan.  Thompson dished out at least seven assists during seven league games on the year.

Sittner also earns all-conference accolades for the first time after landing Honorable Mention recognition last season.  He was a key contributor for the team coming off the bench for the majority of the year.  He was seventh among all A-R-C players in scoring during conference play at 14.3ppg while shooting 46.8 percent from the field.  He also hauled in over 5.0 rebounds per game and dished out 2.3 assists per contest.  He was among the best free-throw shooters in the conference, making 35-of-40 attempts (.875) to rank second.  He registered a career-high 38 points, on 12-of-22 shooting during a road win at Wartburg.  That total was also the highest single-game total in the A-R-C this season.  He was in double-figures in the final three regular season contests and hauled in eight rebounds in two of those outings.

Neubaum is a repeat Second Team selection and was playing as well as any player in the league at the end of the season.  He wrapped up the 16-game conference slate having scored 20+ points in the final three contests while shooting 9-of-17 from downtown in those contests.  He finished eighth in the league in scoring during conference play at 14.0ppg.  He scored a then career-high 27 points during an early-season road win at Nebraska Wesleyan before he topped that with his 32-point effort during the semifinal victory over Coe College.  He began his torrid late-season surge with 23 points and 10 boards in a home victory over Simpson.

Buena Vista went 11-5 during conference play this season and tied for second in the league standings while earning the No. 2 seed into the American Rivers Conference Tournament.

The University of Dubuque swept the major awards with Peter Ragen voted as the A-R-C Most Valuable Player, Brock Simon voted the Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Robbie Sieverding named Coach of the Year.