- Sophomore James Glenn leads six players in double figures with 20 points
- Bears lead 58-32 at halftime and coast to the win
- DMACC will be the No. 1 seed in the NJCAA 2024 Region XI Division II Men's Basketball Championship
Sophomore James Glenn of Altoona led six players in double figures with 20 points as the DMACC men's basketball team capped the 2023-24 regular season with a 121-77 win over North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) February 28 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
The win gives the Bears their fourth Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) regular season championship in the past five seasons. DMACC closed out the regular season at 27-3 overall and 16-2 in the ICCAC with its sixth straight win.
Sophomores Angelo Winkel of Algona, Trey Lewis of Johnston and Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., and freshmen Trevian Carson of Des Moines and Da'Shon Fisher of Iowa City joined Glenn in double figures. Winkel had 17 points, Lewis and Fisher scored 12 apiece and Desmond and Carson came away with 11 apiece.
DMACC, ranked fourth in the final Division II poll of the season from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), scored the game's first seven points and never trailed in sweeping its season series against the Trojans, who fell to 9-20 overall and 3-15 in the ICCAC. The Bears led by 11 points, 21-10, with the game just more than six minutes old and cruised to a 21-point lead at 40-19 at the 7 minute, 51 second mark of the half. DMACC all but put the game out of reach with a 58-32 lead at halftime and led by as many as 48 points in the second half.
The win marked the 12th time the Bears have surpassed the century mark this season.
DMACC shot 60 percent from the field with 45 field goals in 75 attempts. The Bears were 11-of-31 from three-point range and 20-of-24 from the free throw line.
Desmond pulled down nine rebounds and Winkel had eight to lead DMACC to a 51-30 advantage on the boards. Fisher had seven rebounds and sophomore Sam Hytinen of Delafield, Wis., and freshman Ethan Thomas of Greenfield, Wis., grabbed five apiece. Glenn and Desmond led the Bears in assists with five apiece and Lewis finished with four. Glenn also led the way in steals with three and Carson and Fisher recorded three and two blocked shots respectively.
The DMACC men's basketball team will be the No. 1 seed in the NJCAA Region XI Division II Men's Basketball Tournament that begins March 1 at Creston. NIACC and Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) will meet March 1 in a play-in game and DMACC will face the winner of that game at 5 p.m. March 2 in one of four quarterfinal games. The semifinals will be played March 3 and the championship game is scheduled for March 7 at the home of the highest seeded team remaining in the tournament.
The Region XI champion will advance to the NJCAA 2024 Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 18 to 23 at Danville, Ill. DMACC will be seeking its fourth appearance in the national tournament since 2020. The Bears won the national championship in 2021 and finished third in 2022.
