- Freshman Jaron Crews leads DMACC with 12 points
- Bears escape after leading 35-24 at halftime
- DMACC shoots 41 percent in the win
Freshman Jaron Crews of Ankeny led three players in double figures with 12 points as the DMACC men's basketball team defeated Southwestern Community College (SWCC), 63-60, January 7 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
Freshmen Angelo Winkel of Algona and Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., added 11 and 10 points respectively as the Bears improved to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).
DMACC, ranked 15th in the most recent Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), appeared to have taken control of the game in the first half when the Bears took a 35-24 lead into halftime. SWCC, which fell to 5-11 overall and 3-2 in the ICCAC, rallied for a 49-49 tie with seven minutes to play and had a pair of two-point leads late in the half, including 60-58 with 2 minutes, 11 seconds remaining.
DMACC knotted the game at 60 on Desmond's basket with 58 seconds left and then took a 62-60 lead on a pair of free throws by Desmond with 23 seconds to play. Freshman Elijah Thomas of Surprise, Ariz., closed out the win with a free throw with 13 seconds left and a desperation three-pointer by SWCC's Brance Baker with two seconds remaining was off the mark.
The Bears shot 41 percent, making 20 of 49 field goal attempts. They were 6-of-20 from three-point range and 17-of-23 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Greg Brown of Omaha, Neb., came away with seven rebounds in leading DMACC to a 30-27 advantage on the boards. Winkel grabbed five rebounds and Desmond, freshman Cael McGee of Stoughton, Wis., and Covid-19 sophomore (CoSO) Jimarius Sneed of Chicago, Ill., had four rebounds apiece. Brown topped the Bears in assists with five and Crews and freshman Kwat Abdelkarim of Lincoln, Neb., had three steals apiece.
The DMACC men's basketball team will host Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) Jan. 11. Game time is 7:30 p.m. inside the DMACC gymnasium. ICCC is 9-7 overall and 3-2 in the ICCAC.
