Sophomore Tray Buchanan of East Moline, Ill., scored 23 points as the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) men's basketball team ended the regular season with a 104-62 win over Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) March 2 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
Sophomore Ray Miller of Davenport scored 12 points and sophomore Dyllan Robinson of Las Vegas, Nev., and freshman Zach Lester of Clear Lake finished with 10 points apiece as the Bears ended the season at 21-9 overall and an 8-6 mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). The Bears will be the No. 4 seed in this week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship.
DMACC built a 51-36 halftime lead against ICCC and was never serious challenged in the second half. The Bears shot 46 percent, connecting on 34 of 74 field goal attempts. They were 18-of-40 from three-point range and 18-of-22 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Zaire Swaby of Brooklyn, N.Y., grabbed 10 rebounds to lead DMACC to a 50-33 advantage on the boards. Buchanan and sophomores Devonta Prince of Brooklyn Center, Minn., and Louis Psihoyos of Dubuque came away with six rebounds apiece. Prince and freshman Vinny Tarello of Bolingbrook, Ill., dished out four assists apiece and Buchanan had three assists and a team-high four steals.
The Bears will host Ellsworth Community College (ECC) in the first round of the Region XI Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 5 inside the DMACC gymnasium. Game time is 7 p.m. The Panthers ended the regular season at 9-20 overall and 4-10 in the ICCAC. DMACC won both regular season matchups, 73-63 Jan. 19 at Iowa Falls and 74-47 Feb. 9 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
The DMACC-ECC winner will play either Kirkwood Community College (KCC) or Southwestern Community College (SWCC), March 7 at 7 p.m. The site will be determined following the March 5 games. KCC is the tournament's No. 1 seed and SWCC is seeded eighth.