Ravens Garner Four All-HCAC Selections, Two Major HCAC Awards

The Anderson University men's basketball team garnered four all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) selections and two major HCAC awards, which was announced by the conference on ready.

Tate Ivanyo and Bryson Huckeby received first-team all-HCAC honors while Elijah Mattingly and Cam Smith earned second-team all-HCAC honors. Mattingly was tabbed HCAC Defensive Player of the Year while Carter Collins was selected as HCAC Coach of the Year.

Tate Ivanyo (Junior; 6-4 Wing; Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Twp.)

• Career All-Conference Accolades – HCAC Player of the Year (2022-23), First-Team (2022-23, 2023-24)
• HCAC Athlete-of-the-Week recipient in 2023-24 season
• Conference-Only Stats – 16.5 Points Per Game (7th in HCAC), 110/205 (53.7%) FG (2nd in HCAC), 2.3 3-Pointers Made Per Game (2nd in HCAC), 1.6 Steals Per Game (4th in HCAC), 5.4 Rebounds Per Game (13th in HCAC), 36/41 (87.8%) FT, 41/103 (39.8%) 3FG
• Overall Stats – 16.6 Points Per Game (6th in HCAC), 154/295 (52.2%) FG (2nd in HCAC), 2.3 3-Pointers Made Per Game (3rd in HCAC), 1.4 Steals Per Game (T-4 in HCAC), 5.2 Rebounds Per Game (T-12 in HCAC), 50/59 (84.7%) FT
• 1,135 Career Points
• 165 Career 3-Pointers Made (4th in School History)
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments – Tate has had a phenomenal season. If Tate were on a different team that had fewer blow-out victories, he could easily be one of the leading scorers in all of Division III basketball. There are very few, if any, players at our level that are better than he is. Last year, we only had four "blow-out" victories the whole season, where we remove the starters at the end of the game, and this year we had 14 – more than half of our games. Because of this, and the addition of more offensive talent on the roster, we didn't require as much from Tate this year in the way of minutes or shots. But make no mistake about it – Tate was a much better player this year than he was last year. He was a more athletic player this year, he grew immensely in his ability to attack the rim off of the bounce, and also made big strides defensively within our zone. I am always thrilled with everything that Tate provides our program, as he continues to establish his standing as one of the greatest AU basketball players of all time.

Bryson Huckeby (Sophomore; 6-5 Wing; Freeland, Mich./Freeland)

• Career All-Conference Accolades – First Team (2023-24), Honorable Mention (2022-23)
• Two-time HCAC Athlete-of-the-Week recipient in 2023-24 season
• Conference-Only Stats: 13.9 Points Per Game (10th in HCAC), 2.2 3-Pointers Made Per Game (3rd in HCAC), 6.2 Rebounds Per Game (10th in HCAC), 0.5 Blocks Per Game (14th in HCAC), 2.2 Assists Per Game (15th in HCAC)
• Overall Stats – 14.3 Points Per Game (9th in HCAC), 2.4 3-Pointers Made Per Game (2nd in HCAC), 6.6 Rebounds Per Game (7th in HCAC), 1.2 Steals Per Game (13th in HCAC), 2.3 Assists Per Game (14th in HCAC), 53/138 (38.4%) 3FG
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments – What a season for Bryson. Bryson had a great freshman season last year. We were all excited about his future and he came out and took it to a whole new level this year. It was immediately clear when practice started that Bryson had had a great offseason. Bryson is one of the most versatile offensive players in the conference, with an ability to hurt opponents from beyond the 3-point line, off the bounce, or even on post-ups. He also plays a great wing for us defensively, the most mentally-demanding spot in our defense, and is an extremely important rebounder. He was elected a team-captain as a sophomore. The sky is the limit for Bryson.

Elijah Mattingly (Sophomore; 6-7 Wing; Beech Grove, Ind./Central Christian Academy)

• Career All-Conference Accolades – HCAC Defensive Player of the Year (2023-24), Second Team (2023-24)
• Two-time HCAC Athlete-of-the-Week recipient in 2023-24 season
• Conference-Only Stats – 11.5 Points Per Game (14th in HCAC), 2.9 Blocks Per Game (1st in HCAC), 9.5 Rebounds Per Game (3rd in HCAC), 2.4 Assists Per Game (14th in HCAC)
• Overall Stats – 9.1 Defensive Rebounds Per Game (3rd in NCAA D-III, 1st in HCAC), 2.8 Blocks Per Game (7th in NCAA D-III, 1st in HCAC), 10.0 Rebounds Per Game (29th in NCAA D-III, 1st in HCAC), 12.1 Points Per Game (13th in HCAC), 1.2 Steals Per Game (14th in HCAC)
• 21 Rebounds vs. Trine (HCAC Single-Game Record)
• 115 Career Blocks (3rd in School History, 1st in Anderson D-III History)
• 65 Blocks in 2023-24 Season (4th in School History, 3rd in Anderson D-III History)
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments – Elijah is a special player for us. He is an absolute matchup nightmare for most teams – he's too fast to be guarded by big men, but too tall to be guarded by guards. Most importantly, Elijah added muscle this past offseason to be able to play the middle spot in our zone, and he was an absolute force down there all year long. He's an extremely gifted rim protector, leading the conference in blocks by a mile… but just as impressively, he's not TOO aggressive – many guys struggle with going for blocks they won't get, and racking up fouls as a result, but not Elijah. Elijah had a monster season, and things are only looking up moving forward.
• Elijah Mattingly's Comments – I'd like to thank my team first of all, for being the guys they are and having a big impact on how I play. Everybody on the team believes in me and my ability to get things done on the defensive end. So, having that belief in me from the other guys is the biggest part on why I think I do so well defensively. I also want to thank Coach Collins and all the rest of the coaches who have helped me with this special defense we play. Lastly but mostly, God has given me the ability to wake up everyday and play the of basketball for Him. All the glory has gone to Him, winning defensive player of the year is just a side work of this. My ability to block shots I would say is what I love doing most on the court for as long as I play.

Cam Smith (Senior; 6-1 Guard; West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison)

• Career All-Conference Accolades – Second Team (2022-23, 2023-24)
• HCAC Athlete-of-the-Week recipient in 2022-23 season
• Conference-Only Stats – 12.1 Points Per Game (12th in HCAC), 3.7 Assists Per Game (T-5 in HCAC), 1.53 Assist-Turnover Ratio (8th in HCAC)
• Overall Stats – 12.7 Points Per Game (11th in HCAC), 4.0 Assists Per Game (4th in HCAC), 1.77 Assist-Turnover Ratio (4th in HCAC)
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments – Cam continues to get better every year. His calling card has always been his ability to get into the paint, and that was no different this year. Teams can scheme around this or scheme around that, but there's no scheme that exists for somebody that you just can't stay in front of. The biggest area that Cam improved in this year was his decision-making and passing once he got into the paint, and he was phenomenal in this area, ranking top-five in the conference in both assists per game and assist-turnover ratio. Cam also was once again one of our most vocal leaders, and the team improved in virtually all of the areas having to do with leadership that I asked them to.

Coach Carter Collins (2nd Season as Head Coach, 7th Season Overall)

• First Career HCAC Coach-of-the-Year Selection
• Team earned HCAC regular-season championship
• Team finished with 16-2 HCAC record (best record in program history)
• Team holds 21-4 record (Highest winning percentage since 1960-61 season (team went 26-4), most wins since 2009-10 season (team won 23 games))
• Team ranks eighth in NCAA D-III in scoring (87.8)
• Team ranks ninth in NCAA D-III field-goal percentage (.495)
• Team ranks 11th in NCAA D-III in scoring margin (15.3)
• Teams ranks 14th in NCAA D-III in blocks per game (5.3)
• Team leads HCAC in 12 statistical categories
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments – I am completely honored to have won this award, particularly in a conference with so many top-of-the-line coaches, and in a season where I felt the top of the conference was as strong as it has been in many years. However, as is the case with any Coach-of-the-Year award, the award almost always goes to the coach that has the best players, the best coaching staff, the best athletic trainers, and the best managers, and that is CERTAINLY the case this time around. I am exceptionally blessed to be able to work every day with the people that make up our program, and this award says much more about their capabilities than it does my own.

UP NEXT

Anderson (21-4) is set to host the HCAC men's basketball tournament this weekend in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. Top-seeded Anderson clashes with fourth-seeded Manchester University (16-10) on Friday at 5 p.m. Second-seeded Transylvania University (19-6) then faces off with third-seeded Hanover College (17-9) on Friday at 7 p.m. The winners of the two semifinal games go head to head in the HCAC Championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m.