• Sophomore Angelo Winkel leads DMACC with 20 points
• Sophomores Trey Lewis, Elijah Thomas and James Glenn also score in double figures
• Bears close season at 32-5

Sophomore Angelo Winkel led four players in double figures with 20 points as the DMACC men's basketball team closed the 2023-24 season with a fifth-place finish in the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 18-23 at Danville, Ill.

The Bears defeated Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), 87-77, to close the season at 32-5. Sophomores Trey Lewis of Johnston, Elijah Thomas of Surprise, Ariz., and James Glenn of Altoona joined Winkel in double figures with 17, 13 and 12 points respectively.

DMACC advanced to the fifth-place game with an 81-66 win over Parkland College in a consolation bracket matchup on March 22. The fifth-place finish marks the sixth time the Bears have placed eighth or higher in the tournament since 2002. They finished fourth in 2002, eighth in 2007, fourth in 2025, first in 2021 and third in 2022.

The Bears, seeded eighth, never trailed against the sixth-seeded Stormers after Winkel's layup gave them a 4-3 lead with the game less than two minutes old. Winkel's basket started a 14-3 run that saw DMACC open up a 16-6 lead with 15 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first half.

MATC, which closed the season at 30-7, got within one at 22-21 midway through the half before DMACC pulled away again, this time behind a 14-5 run that gave the Bears a 36-26 lead at the 6:44 mark of the half. DMACC had a 50-37 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 23 points in the second half. The Bears were up 82-62 with just more than six minutes to play before a late rally by the Stormers got them within 10 points at the buzzer.

DMACC shot 49 percent, hitting 34 of 69 field goal attempts. The Bears were 10-of-27 from three-point range and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.

DMACC came away with a 45-42 advantage in rebounding with freshman Trevian Carson of Des Moines leading the way with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., had nine rebounds and Glenn and freshman Da'Shon Fisher of Iowa City grabbed five apiece. Freshman Demerius Shakur of Milwaukee, Wis., topped the Bears in assists with five and Carson finished with four. Lewis had a team-high three steals and Winkel blocked two shots.

Glenn scored 17 points and Fisher and Carson scored 15 and 10 points respectively in DMACC's win over seventh-seeded PC. The Bears began the game with an 18-4 run and led by as many as 22 points before settling for a 37-19 lead at halftime. DMACC led by as many as 29 points in the second half.

Desmond led the Bears to a 46-42 advantage on the boards with seven rebounds and Carson dished out four assists.