• Freshmen Angelo Winkel and Kwat Abdelkarim join Crews in double figures with 21 and 12 points respectively
• Bears trail by nine at halftime and by as many as 12 points in the second half
• DMACC shoots 57 percent in coming away with the win

Freshman Jaron. Crews of Ankeny scored a game-high 27 points to lead the DMACC men's basketball team to a season-opening 86-77 win over Kansas City (Kan.) Community College (KCKCC) Nov. 1 at Kansas City, Kan.

Freshmen Angelo Winkel of Algona and Kwat Abdelkarim of Lincoln, Neb., joined Crews in double figures with 21 and 12 points respectively.

DMACC, ranked ninth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II preseason poll, needed a second half rally to come away with the win. The Bears, who led as many as six points midway through the first half, fell behind late in the half and were down 47-38 at intermission after KCKCC closed out the half with a 16-6 run. The run included nine unanswered points that gave the Blue Devils a 40-32 lead with just more than three minutes left in the half.

KCKCC opened up a 12-point lead at 55-43 five minutes into the second half before DMACC fought back behind a 17-2 run that gave the Bears a 60-57 advantage midway through the second half. Freshman Cael McGee of Stoughton, Wis., made a three-point basket with 6 minutes, 32 seconds to put DMACC ahead for good at 70-67. The Bears led by as many as eight points late in the game before a pair of free throws by freshman Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., provided the Bears with the nine-point win.

DMACC. shot 57 percent from the floor, making 28 of 49 field goal attempts. The Bears were 12-of-21 from three-point range and 18-of-27 from the free throw line. Crews' line included 10 field goals in 12 attempts, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Winkel was 6-of-8 from the field and made both of his three-point shots and Abdelkarim was 4-of-6, including 2-of-3 from three-point range.

DMACC came away with a 37-30 advantage on the boards with Winkel's six rebounds leading the way. Crews had five boards and McGee and Desmond had four apiece. Winkel led the Bears in assists with three and Covid-19 sophomore Jean Francois of Coral Springs, Fla., contributed a pair of blocked shots.

The DMACC men's basketball team will play in the Southeastern Classic Nov. 4 and 5 at West Burlington. The Bears will face Spoon River College (SRC) on Nov. 4 and will play Community Christian College (CCC) on Nov. 5.