- Hartford led the Bears to a win over Kirkwood CC in Region XI championship game
- Hartford was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player
- Bears advance to NJCAA Division II Men's National Championship for the second consecutive season
The Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) has named DMACC's Michael Hartford the ICCAC Athlete of the Week for Division II Men's Basketball for the week of February 28 to March 6.
Hartford, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, earned the honor for the second consecutive week and he is the fourth member of the DMACC men's basketball team to be honored by the conference this season. Covid-19 freshman (CoFR) Goanar Biliew of Denison was honored for the weeks of Feb. 7 to 13, Jan. 10 to 16 and Dec. 13 to 19; Covid-19 sophomore (CoSO) Jadan Graves of Syracuse, N.Y., was honored for the weeks of Jan. 17 to 23 and Nov. 15 to 21; and CoSO Noah Parcher was honored the week of Nov. 1 to 7.
Hartford led the Bears to an 84-66 win over Kirkwood Community College (KCC) in the championship game of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Men's Basketball Tournament March 3 at Cedar Rapids. He scored 18 points, hitting six of his eight field goal attempts, including four of five from three-point range, and he made both of his free throw attempts. Sixteen of his 18 points came in the first half.
Hartford capped the tournament by being named the Most Valuable Player.
Hartford is averaging 8.2 points a game for the Bears. He has made 68 of 185 field goal attempts for 37 percent and is 41-of-119 from three-point range for 36 percent. Hartford has made 50 of 60 free throw attempts for 83 percent.
Hartford's season also includes 73 rebounds, including 58 defensive rebounds, 49 assists, 20 steals and eight blocked shots.
The win over KCC sent DMACC to the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 15 to 19 at Danville, Ill., where the Bears will seek to defend the national championship they won in 2021. DMACC, 25-7, is ranked eighth in the NJCAA Division II poll and is the tournament's No. 4 seed. The Bears will face 13th seeded Parkland College in their tournament opener. The game is scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 15.