WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Two members of the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team have been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 16 All-Region Team.

They are sophomores Gage Wooten, Centennial, Colo., and Nathane Simniok, Forsyth, Mo.  The team was announced Tuesday, Feb. 28, by Region 16 officials.

“I am very proud of these two young men,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said.  “They came in with our first recruiting class and have really been the steady foundation for our program for three years.  I can’t speak for them, but I would be willing to bet that both of these young men learned how much to appreciate basketball last season when they had to sit out due to injuries.”

Wooten, a 6-foot, 4-inch guard/forward, averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds during the 2011-2012 regular season.  He shot 55 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent  from the charity stripe.  Against region opponents, he averaged 16 points and six rebounds and shot 53 percent from the field, 30 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the free throw line.

Wooten also recorded seven double-doubles during the season, including a 23 point and 13 rebound performance against Region 16 rival Mineral Area College Feb. 1 in Park Hills, Mo.  He also scored 20-plus points in four region games during the season: The Jan. 14 and Feb. 1 games against Mineral Area, the Jan. 25 game against State Fair Community College at Sedalia, Mo., and the Feb. 25 regular season finale against Moberly Area Community College of Moberly, Mo., at the West Plains Civic Center.

“Gage is the third two-time All-Region 16 performer in Grizzly Basketball program history,” Walker said, pointing to previous two-time honorees Robert Yanders and Tyrone Brazelton.  “He thinks the game very well, and he can influence the game without calling one play for him.”

Simniok, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward, averaged 9 points and seven rebounds per game and shot 58 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range and 66 percent from the free throw line against all opponents this season.  In region play, he averaged 8 points and eight rebounds and shot 54 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line.

Simniok also recorded four double-doubles during the season, including a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against Mineral Area Feb. 1 in Park Hills and a 10-point, 11-rebound outing against State Fair Feb. 14 at home.

“Nathane is the epitome of being an all-region performer by simply being good at doing his job,” Walker said.  “He gets a lot done by simply being in the right spot.  He makes shots, and he is hard to guard.”

Other players selected to the All-Region 16 team include Kenny Williams and Daylen Robinson, both of Moberly; Alfonzo Houston and Kenny Chery, both of State Fair; Jerome Davis and Darian Hooker, both of Mineral Area; and Tarius Johnson, Rudy Harrell and Ibrahim Djambo, all of Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

The Grizzlies are seeded second in the Region 16 Postseason Tournament, set for Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, on the Jefferson College campus in Hillsboro, Mo.  They will face third seeded Three Rivers at 8 p.m. Friday in the tournament’s second semifinal game.  No. 1 seed Moberly will face the winner of the March 6 quarterfinal game between fourth seeded State Fair and fifth seeded Mineral Area in the first semifinal game at 6 p.m. March 9.  The region championship game between the winners of the two semifinal games will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 10.

For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993.