• Sophomores Elijah Thomas, Victory Desmond and Trey Lewis and freshman Da'Shon Fisher also score in double figures
• Bears lead 60-35 at halftime
• DMACC faces top-seeded Davidson-Davie CC in the quarterfinals

Sophomore Angelo Winkel of Algona scored 36 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out six assists in leading the DMACC men's basketball team to a 98-74 win over Pima Community College (PCC) n the first round of the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 19 at Danville, Ill.

Sophomores Elijah Thomas of Surprise, Ariz., Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., and Trey Lewis of Johnston and freshman Da'Shon Fisher of Iowa City also scored in double figures as the Bears, making their fourth appearance in the tournament in the past five seasons, improved to 29-4. Thomas scored 16 points, Desmond had 12, Lewis finished with 11 and Fisher tallied 10.

DMACC, seeded eighth, never trailed in handing ninth-seeded PCC its fifth loss of the season against 28 victories. The Aztecs, who averaged 100 points a game during the regular season, got off to a slow start and never recovered.

Winkel scored 12 points as DMACC opened up a 23-4 lead with the game six minutes old. He made all eight of his field goal attempts, including 2-of-2 from three-point range as the Bears cruised to a 60-35 halftime lead behind 59 percent shooting from the field. They made 23 of 39 field goal attempts, including 8-of-12 from three-point range.

DMACC, which led by as many as 31 points in the second half, cooled off during the final 20 minutes, hitting 16 of 37 field goal attempts, including 1-of-12 from three-point range, but the damage done in the first half was more than enough to prevent PCC from making a comeback.

The Aztecs, who shot 39 percent in the first half and were guilty of 14 turnovers, got better in the second half, but never got closer than 22 points.

DMACC finished the game with 39 field goals in 76 attempts for 51 percent. The Bears were 9-of-24 from three-point range for 38 percent and made 11 of 13 free throws for 85 percent.

PCC shot 41 percent, making 26 of 64 field goal attempts. The Aztecs were 3-of-15 from three-point range for 20 percent and 19-of-22 from the free throw line for 86 percent.

PCC had a 45-32 advantage in rebounding with Winkel, Desmond, Lewis, Thomas and freshman Trevian Carson of Des Moines pulling down four rebounds apiece for the Bears. Winkel's six assists led DMACC and four of them led to easy layups in the second half. Desmond topped the Bears in steals with three.

DMACC will face top-seeded Davidson-Davie Community College (DDCC) in a quarterfinal matchup March 21 at 5 p.m. DDCC moved into the quarterfinals with a 100-93 win over Hocking Community College (HCC), also on March 19.

DMACC and DDCC met in the national championship game in 2021 with DMACC prevailing by an 86-75 score to win its first national title.