- Freshmen Brent Taylor and Kiki Deng lead DMACC with 15 points apiece
- Bears never trail and pull away in the second half
- DMACC shoots 50 percent from the field
Freshmen Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., and Kiki Deng of Des Moines scored 15 points apiece as the DMACC men's basketball team took an 85-62 decision from Kirkwood Community College (KCC) in a battle of ranked teams Jan. 3 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
The win was the eighth straight for the Bears, who are ranked second in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll and improved to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).
KCC, ranked 10th in NJCAA Division II, fell to 10-5 overall and 3-4 in the ICCAC. The Eagles are the defending national champions in NJCAA Division II.
Freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., and sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., joined Taylor and Deng in double figures with 14 and 11 points respectively.
DMACC never trailed. The Bears scored the game's first nine points and pulled away from a 15-13 advantage with 7-0 run for a 22-13 lead with eight minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the opening half. DMACC had a 32-25 lead at intermission and duplicated its first half start with another 9-0 run for a 41-25 lead with the second half barely a minute old. The Bears never led by less than 14 points the rest of the way and led by as many as 27 points.
DMACC shot 50 percent from the field, making 29 of 58 field goal attempts. The Bears were 8-of-25 from three-point range and 19-of-24 from the free throw line.
KCC, led by 15 points from Manasse Kasongo, was 20-of-53 from the field for 38 percent. The Eagles made eight of 24 three-point attempts and drained 14 of 22 shots from the free throw line.
KCC had a 36-32 advantage in rebounding with sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, leading DMACC with six rebounds. Taylor dished out nine assists and freshman Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J., topped the Bears in steals with four.
The DMACC men's basketball team will put its national ranking and winning streak on the line Jan. 7 when the Bears face North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City. NIACC is 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the ICCAC.
