The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) men's basketball team improved to 14-2 for the season with a pair of wins January 3 and 4 at Chicago, Ill.
The Bears, ranked fifth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll, topped Richard J Daley College (RJDC), 108-72, on Jan. 3 and handed McHenry County Community College (HCCC) a 79-53 loss on Jan. 4. DMACC ran its current winning streak to seven games with the victories.
Sophomore Zach Lester of Clear Lake scored 24 points and led five players in double figures in the Bears' win over RJDC. Sophomore Demarion Bariffe-Smith of Skokie, Ill., had 19 points in the win, sophomore Ty Majlik-Autry of St. Petersburg, Fla., recorded 15 points and freshmen Mark Bradshaw of Chester, Penn., and Ryan Schmitt of Van Meter tallied 11 and 10 points respectively.
DMACC shot 57 percent in the first half, opening up a 51-44 advantage at halftime. The Bears were even better in the second half, hitting 67 percent of their shots as they put the game out of reach with 57 points. For the game, DMACC shot 62 percent, hitting 45 of 73 field goal attempts. The Bears were 6-of-18 from three-point range and 12-of-17 from the free throw line.
DMACC came away with a 55-27 advantage on the boards with sophomore Barlow Alleruzzo of Chicago, Ill., leading the way with 10 rebounds. Bariffe-Smith added nine and Majlik-Autry had eight. Freshman Willie Guy of Cedar Rapids led DMACC in assists with nine and Majlik-Autry finished with eight.
Alleruzzo had a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds in DMACC's win over MCCC. Lester and Bariffe-Smith also reached double figures with 13 and 11 points respectively. Majlik-Autry barely missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears were 13-of-33 from the field in the opening half and limited HCCC to four field goals in 39 attempts as they took a commanding 39-12 advantage into halftime. For the game, DMACC was 27-of-74 from the field for 37 percent and made four of 25 attempts from beyond the arc. The Bears connected on 21 of 24 free throw attempts.
Alleruzzo's 17 rebounds and Majlik-Autry's 10 lifted DMACC to a 68-34 advantage on the boards. Bariffe-Smith and Schmitt had nine rebounds apiece and freshman Bradley Day of Mildenhall, Suffolk, UK, added seven. Bradshaw led the Bears in assists with five and freshman Mike Hartford of McKinney, Texas, and Majlik-Autry finished with four and three respectively. Lester topped DMACC in steals with three.
The DMACC men's basketball team will face North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play Jan. 11 inside the DMACC gymnasium. Game time is 3 p.m. DMACC is 2-0 in league play. NIACC, ranked fourth in the NJCAA Division II poll, is 13-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Trojans host Little Priest Tribal (LPT) on Jan. 8.