Sophomore Zach Lester of Clear Lake led six players in double figures with 27 points as the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) men's basketball team handed North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) a 107-63 loss in a battle of ranked teams January 11 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
The Bears are ranked fifth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll and NIACC is ranked fourth.
Freshman Willie Guy of Cedar Rapids scored 18 points, freshman Ryan Schmitt of Van Meter had 14, sophomore Demarion Bariffe-Smith of Skokie, Ill., and freshman Mike Hartford of McKinney, Texas, finished with 13 points apiece and sophomore Barlow Alleruzzo of Chicago, Ill., contributed 11 as the Bears improved to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with their eighth consecutive win.
DMACC limited NIACC to 30 percent shooting in the game, including 2-of-24 from three-point range. The Bears forced 18 turnovers leading to 22 points.
DMACC shot 55 percent from the field in the first half with 16 field goals in 29 attempts in opening up a 46-33 advantage at halftime. The Bears cooled off a bit in the second half but still outscored the Trojans 61-30 to come away with the win.
For the game, DMACC was 36-of-70 from the field for 51 percent. The Bears made 13 of 31 attempts from three-point range and were 22-of-30 from the free throw line.
Bariffe-Smith, Schmitt and sophomore Ty Majlik-Autry of St. Petersburg, Fla., had nine rebounds apiece to lead DMACC to a 50-36 advantage on the boards. Guy paced the Bears in assists with eight and Majlik-Autry came away with five. Lester and Schmitt had three steals apiece.
The DMACC men's basketball team faced another ranked team in Kirkwood Community College (KCC) Jan. 15 inside the DMACC gymnasium. Game time is 7:30 p.m. KCC is ranked 12th in the NJCAA Division II poll. The Eagles are 12-3 overall and 2-0 in the ICCAC.
