Morales Named Maryland JUCO Men's Basketball February Player Of The Month
LARGO, Md. – Alex Morales (Patterson, N.J.), a member of the Prince George's Community College men's basketball team, has been named the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference Player of the Month of February, announced on Thursday.
Morales, a 6-6 guard, helped the Owls to their first Maryland JUCO Tournament title since 1980-81 after averaging 19.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in the three-game tournament. The freshman registered 22 points and 11 rebounds in an 81-71 victory against Garrett Community College in the quarterfinals on Feb. 17 and then recorded 20 points and 17 rebounds in the championship game win against Baltimore City Community College on Feb. 19 to earn Most Valuable Player honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team. In 10 games in the month of February, Morales averaged 15.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while shooting at a 58.8 percent clip (40-for-68) from the field while also adding 26 assists, 13 steals and 10 blocks to lead Prince George's to a 6-4 record, the Maryland JUCO title and a spot in the NJCAA Division III Region XX Championship Game. Morales scored double figures in seven of the 10 games including four 20-point performances while adding six double-digit rebound contests and five double-doubles.
The freshman ranked second on the team with 13.8 points and a team-best 9.9 rebounds per game and shot 46.9 percent from the field. Morales posted double figures in points 18 times this season, including five 20-point performances. He notched a career-high 28 points in a 106-94 win against Howard Community College on Jan. 25. The top rebounder on the team registered 11 double-doubles on the year and posted 14 double-figure rebound games including six contests with 15 boards or more. Morales grabbed a career-best 20 caroms against the Navy JV team on Dec. 5.
Along with being named the Maryland JUCO Player of the Month, the freshman received NJCAA All-Region XX first-team recognition, All-Maryland JUCO second-team honors, Maryland JUCO Tournament MVP and Maryland JUCO all-tournament honors.
Prince George's finished 21-9 in head coach Brian Johnson's first season in Landover to notch the team's first 20-win season since 2013-14. The Owls won the Maryland JUCO Tournament for the fourth time in program history.
