• DMACC overcomes 18-0 start to defeat Spoon River College in triple overtime
• Bears fall to North Central Missouri College in second game
• DMACC will host the Simpson College junior varsity on Nov. 10

The DMACC men's basketball team split a pair of games in the North Central Missouri Classic November 4 and 5 at Trenton, Mo.

The Bears' win was a triple overtime 100-97 decision against Spoon River College (SRC) on Nov. 4 and the loss came against North Central Missouri College (NCMC), 78-65, on Nov. 5.

That loss cost the Bears their No. 1 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll. DMACC, the NJCAA Division II defending national champion, was ranked first in the preseason poll but slipped to sixth in this week's rankings.

Covid-19 sophomore (CoSO) Noah Parcher of LaCrosse, Wis., led five players in double figures with 23 points in DMACC's win over SRC. SRC began the contest with an 18-0 run and led 37-21 at halftime. The Bears outscored the Snappers 45-29 in the second half to send the game into overtime deadlocked at 66. The first overtime ended with the score tied at 72 and the second overtime ended at 83-83.

Sophomore Michael Hartford of McKinney, Texas, scored 21 points for the Bears, Covid-19 freshman (CoFR) Goanar Biliew of Denison and freshman Greg Brown of Omaha, Neb., scored 18 points apiece and CoFR Preston Thomas of Princeton, Mo., tallied 10 points. DMACC shot 44 percent in the win, hitting 33 of 75 field goal attempts. The Bears were just 3-of-23 from three-point range and made 31 of 45 free throw attempts.

Biliew recorded a double-double with 16 rebounds, lifting the Bears to a 51-39 advantage on the boards. Brown came away with eight rebounds and freshman Jo Blair of Biella, Italy, had six. Parcher led DMACC in assists with six and Brown topped the Bears in steals with five.

Parcher and Brown scored 20 and 19 points respectively in DMACC's loss to NCMC. The Bears trailed 44-32 at halftime in suffering their first defeat of the season.

DMACC shot 42 percent, connecting on 24 of 57 field goal attempts. The Bears made seven of 17 three-point attempts and were 10-of-14 from the free throw line.

Brown grabbed 10 rebounds to come away with a double-double as DMACC suffered a 35-31 deficit on the boards. Biliew had seven rebounds and Parcher dished out five assists. Thomas, who finished with nine points, led the Bears in steals with three and Biliew recorded four blocked shots.

The DMACC men's basketball team will host the Simpson College junior varsity (SCJV) Nov. 10. Game time is 7:30 p.m. inside the DMACC gymnasium.