Iowa City West alum Seybian Sims records first collegiate double-double for Kirkwood
CEDAR RAPIDS — In his first season of college basketball, Seybian Sims has displayed a variety of skills.
On offense, the 6-foot-7 Kirkwood freshman has played both wing and forward. On the opposite end of the floor, Sims is an active defender who can guard multiple positions.
"He is the same guy every day," Kirkwood men's basketball coach Bryan Petersen said after the second-ranked Eagles routed Southwestern, 106-52, in an NJCAA Division II regional quarterfinal Tuesday night at Johnson Hall. "That is the best thing about Seybian is he brings it every day, he plays with urgency, he plays hard, plays with a motor. Those are the things that we appreciate. It was really good to see him have some more success."
Sims scored eight of the first 10 points for Kirkwood (25-4) and finished the game with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season.
"Definitely just coming out, playing hard," Sims said. "It is really just having an edge. You try to have an edge every game, but when also something is on the line, you have more of an edge."
It was the third double-figure scoring effort this season for Sims and his sixth game of at least 10 rebounds. Sims played two seasons of varsity ball for Iowa City West, where he helped the Trojans win 44 games, including the 2017 state championship.
"Definitely more versatile," Sims said of his improvement from high school. "Working with the guards more has definitely made me way more versatile from shooting to dribbling to everything."
Freshman Devonte Thedford scored 18 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for Kirkwood, which is the top seed in the eight-team regional. The Eagles will host fourth-seeded DMACC (22-9) in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday.
"Stay focused," Sims said. "It was a good win today, but you always have to go by steps. It is always day by day. Honestly right now, we're not focused on DMACC right now. We're focused on practice. Getting that done, staying sharp."
Men's basketball - NJCAA DIVISION ll REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL
At Johnson Hall
No. 2 Kirkwood 106, Southwestern 52
SOUTHWESTERN (52): Ryan Warren 4-15 2-2 11, Willshon Warren 3-12 0-2 8, Noah Persich 0-2 0-0 0, Chad Moran 1-6 2-2 4, Gatdoar Kueth 5-13 2-4 14, Trevonte Diggs 3-7 0-0 8, Jordan Doss 1-8 2-5 4, Marquas Gafeney 1-8 1-2 3, Totals 18-71 9-17 52.
KIRKWOOD (106): Seybian Sims 4-5 3-3 12, Allante Pickens 2-7 0-0 6, Devonte Thedford 5-8 8-9 19, Connor Kasperbauer 4-8 1-1 12, Doug Wilson 7-9 1-2 15, Bailey Dee 2-3 0-1 5, Griffen Clark 4-7 0-1 11, Jamal Stephenson 3-8 2-2 8, Sean Biernacki 2-6 1-3 5, Niko Gosnell 3-4 1-2 7, Kyle Arrington 3-6 0-0 6, Luke Appel 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 39-72 17-24 106.
Halftime — Kirkwood, 51-25. Three-point goals — Southwestern 7-31 (Diggs 2-4, Kueth 2-4, W. Warren 2-8, R. Warren 1-8, Moran 0-1, Doss 0-2, Gafeney 0-2, Persich 0-2), Kirkwood 11-30 (Clark 3-5, Kasperbauer 3-6, Pickens 2-7, Dee 1-1, Sims 1-1, Thedford 1-2, Arrington 0-1, Biernacki 0-3, Stephenson 0-4). Rebounds —Southwestern 34 (Doss 11), Kirkwood 53 (Sims 10). Assists — Southwestern 6 (Persich 3), Kirkwood 20 (Appel 4, Thedford 4). Turnovers — Southwestern 14, Kirkwood 8. Total fouls — Southwestern 22, Kirkwood 17. Fouled out — Moran.
l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com
