Central’s Turner receives all-league basketball honors

Central College

PELLA—Central College senior Demarco Turner (Des Moines, East HS) has been named a first-team all-Iowa Conference men’s basketball selection.

Turner is among three athletes earning league recognition. Junior Jack Bruns (Story City, Roland-Story HS) and Sarah Paulson (Ottumwa) are honorable mention picks.

A 5-foot-10 guard, Turner led the league in made 3-point field goals with 69, second on Central’s all-time charts. He was second in the conference with an 85.3 free-throw percentage, hitting 81-of-95. His perfect 10-for-10 effort from the line against Wartburg tied the school record for free-throw percentage in a game.

Turner placed fourth in the league with 408 points, averaging 16.3 points per game. He set and tied Central’s record in 3-point percentage in a game, shooting 6-for-6 against Faith Baptist at home before doing the same on the road at Dubuque. He attempted 160 3-pointers during the season, second on Central’s all-time leaderboard. Turner was named the men’s basketball player of the week twice this season (Dec. 8, 2010; Jan. 24, 2011).

Bruns, a 6-5 forward, averaged 12.4 points and was the team’s second leading scorer with 310 points. He had 132 rebounds (5.3 per game), including a team-high 44 offensive boards. He shot 47 percent from the floor and posted one double-double at Knox College (Ill.) with 24 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs.

Although Paulson missed the first half of the season studying in Spain through Central Abroad, she competed in 14 games and averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds. The 5-9 guard led the Dutch in free-throw percentage, shooting 89.7 percent (26-of-29). Paulson was a 2009-10 academic all-conference pick.