Merced College piles up Central Valley Conference honors

Lashari Clayborne's adaptation to the college game was slow but steady.

Not only was the freshman getting used to the pace and physical nature of junior college basketball, she was doing it while learning a new position.

Lady Devils coach Allen Huddleston asked Clayborne to move from shooting guard to point guard and the transition was rocky at times.

Clayborne never wavered, however.

The freshman made progress each game and by the time the second half of Central Valley Conference play came around, Clayborne was exuding confidence out on the court.

Clayborne led the Lady Devils with 78 assists, was second on the team with 28 steals and third on the team with 173 points.

All were good enough to earn her a spot on the CVC first team.

"In the second half of conference, she got to the point where she'd start taking her man off of the dribble," Huddlseton said. "She also responded on the defensive end, allowing us to put her on the other team's best guard."

Clayborne wasn't alone in postseason honors, center Linda Murray was named to the second team.

Murray led MC with 11.4 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game and 66 blocks.

While the MC women struggled down the stretch as a team, the MC men found their stride.

Bill Russell's squad turned some heads with a third-place showing in the CVC and the group was rewarded with a number of postseason honors.

JerMichael Williams and John Lowe were named to the CVC first team.

Lowe was second on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game.

He led MC in assists and was second in steals.

Williams was the team's top defender, rebounder (117) and ranked third on the Blue Devils with 7.4 points per game.

Sophomore power forward Logan Wiens led the team with 9.8 points per game and received an honorable mention.

Freshman forward Fred King made the all-freshman team while Alonzo Sharpe and Tamar Moultrie received honorable mentions.

Steven Diaz and Williams were each named to the all-defensive team with Glen Ayers getting an honorable mention.

"We started the season slowly, but the team's turnaround in conference was a pleasant surprise," Russell said. "We finished third in a pretty prestigious conference and I think our kids were recognized for that."

Columbia forward and former Golden Valley star John Sykes was also named to the CVC first team.