- Freshman Kiki Deng leads DMACC with 26 points
- Bears battle back from a ten-point deficit in the last seven minutes
- DMACC shoots 53 percent from the field
The DMACC men's basketball team continues to find ways to win tight games on the road.
Freshman Kiki Deng of Des Moines scored 26 points as the Bears battled back from a ten-point deficit in the last seven minutes to hand Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) an 85-83 loss January 17 at Fort Dodge.
DMACC, which improved to 18-1 overall and 10-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with its 12th consecutive victory, came into the game ranked second in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II rankings. ICCC, which fell to 15-4 and 7-3, is ranked fifth in NJCAA Division II.
The win improved DMACC road record to 6-1 and comes on the heels of an 88-82 win over 11th-ranked Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) Jan. 14 at Council Bluffs in which Deng scored 33 points. The Bears also have a 93-90 road win over Ellsworth Community College (ECC). That win came on Jan. 13 at Iowa Falls when the Panthers were ranked first in NJCAA Division II. Freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., keyed that victory with 20 points.
ICCC gave the Bears all they wanted and then some before losing in the final minutes. The two teams were tied at 44 at the half and the Tritons led most of the second half, including 60-49 with 16 minutes, 13 seconds to play. DMACC used a 15-5 run to get within one at 65-64 with 10 minutes left but ICCC had an answer, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 74-64 lead with 7:01 remaining.
The Tritons had an eight point advantage at 78-70 with 5:29 left when DMACC mounted its comeback. The Bears got three-pointers from Deng and sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., to cut the deficit to 78-76 with just less than four minutes to play and then got a layup from sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, to gain a 78-78 tie with 3:11 remaining.
The game was tied at 80 before Tate gave the Bears the lead for good with a free throw with 1:43 left. Freshman Solomon Mosley of Chicago, Ill., put DMACC up 83-80 with 58 seconds to play and a pair of free throws by Deng all but made it official at 85-81 with 10 seconds left. A desperation three-pointer by the Tritons' C.J. Mitchell at the buzzer was off the mark.
DMACC shot 53 percent from the field, making 29 of 55 field goal attempts. The Bears were 9-of-20 from three-point range and 18-of-23 from the free throw line.
ICCC, led by Jordan Cain's game-high 27 points, made 33 of 69 field goal attempts for 48 percent. The Tritons drained 11 of 27 shots from beyond the arc and were 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
Mosley, who scored 18 points, came away with a double-double with 11 rebounds in leading DMACC to a 35-27 advantage on the boards. Freshman Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J. led the Bears in assists with four.
The DMACC men's basketball team gets a much needed break from ICCAC play with a home game against Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) Jan. 20. DCTC brings a 7-12 record into the game.