INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - After leading the Great Lakes Valley Conference in defensive rebounding, and finishing 16th in NCAA Division II in that statistic, Lincoln men's basketball senior Max Ekono was selected to the GLVC All-Defensive Team.

Ekono, who averaged 8.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the season, tallied a league-best 6.9 defensive boards per contest in 2025-26. Ekono's overall rebounding average was the 32nd-best in the nation and the third-highest in the GLVC. Ekono, who was also 15th in the league in offensive rebounding (2.0), had 247 total boards this season, the second-most in the conference and the 36th-most in Division II. 

Thanks in part to Ekono's play, Lincoln led the GLVC in team rebounding (38.4); ranked second in the conference in rebound margin (+5.1) and offensive rebounding (11.9); and was fourth in the league in defensive rebounding (26.4). Ekono, who had four double-doubles on the season, secured at least seven rebounds in 19 games, and had 12 performances where he grabbed at least 10 boards. Over the final seven games of the season, Ekono never ended a night with fewer than seven rebounds.