- Freshman Brent Taylor leads DMACC with 25 points
- Freshman Kiki Deng adds 16 points
- Sophomore Kaden Tate comes away with 13 points and 15 rebounds
Freshman Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., led all scorers with 25 points as the DMACC men's basketball team held off a late threat from Kirkwood Community College (KCC) for an 89-85 win February 21 at Cedar Rapids.
Freshman Kiki Deng of Des Moines had 16 points and sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, contributed 13 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals and five blocked shots as the Bears improved to 28-1 overall and 19-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with their 22nd consecutive victory.
DMACC, ranked second in the Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), led 51-41 at halftime and seemingly had the game well in hand with a 76-55 advantage with 11 minutes, 12 seconds to play. The Bears, who led by as many as 23 points in the second half, were up 80-70 with 6:25 left when an 11-3 run got the Eagles within two at 83-81 with 1:25 to play.
DMACC's lead was never more than five points the rest of the way. Two free throws by Deng and one from Tate got the Bears an 88-83 advantage with 11 seconds left and two free throws by Deng all but assured the Bears of the win after KCC closed to 88-85 on free throws by Chris Coleman with seven seconds to play. Coleman's desperation three-pointer with two seconds left was off the mark assuring the Bears of a sweep of their two games series against the NJCAA Division II defending national champions.
DMACC shot 48 percent from the field, making 27 of 56 field goal attempts. The Bears were 12-of-29 from three-point range and 23-of-29 from the free throw line.
KCC, led by Coleman's 18 points, was also 27 of 56 from the field for 48 percent. The Eagles connected on 13 of 27 shots from beyond the arc and were 18-of-25 from the free throw line. The Eagles came into the game ranked 15th in NJCAA Division II.
Tate's 15 rebounds helped DMACC to a 34-30 advantage on the boards. Freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., led the Bears in assists with three and Tate's two steals led the Bears in that department.
The DMACC men's basketball team closes out the regular season against Ellsworth Community College (ECC) Feb. 25 inside the DMACC gymnasium. The Panthers, ranked sixth in NJCAA Division II, are 24-5 and 14-5 with losses in their last two games. DMACC came away with a 93-90 win when the two teams played Dec. 13 at Iowa Falls.