MASON CITY, Iowa – Kendall Brown (So., Des Moines, IA) scored nine points during an 18-11 run in the final 5:43 to lift NIACC past Iowa Lakes 82-80.
Chris Davis (Fr., Colorado Springs, CO) led NIACC scoring with 23 points. Brown finished with 13 points, and Darius Wilson (Fr., Dowagiac, MI) added 11 points.
Brown sparked the run with a three-pointer with 5:13 to go. During the run, NIACC scored on eight of their last 10 possessions and forced four Laker turnovers.
NIACC (13-11, 4-4 in ICCAC) held off a 52 point second half by Iowa Lakes and won despite losing the points in the paint battle, 38-20. NIACC did force 24 turnovers while only giving up 16.
Iowa Lakes was in control for much of the second half. Coming into the second half down 37-28, the Lakers started the half shooting five-for-nine to cut the lead down to 44-41. The Lakers shot 60.6 percent (20-for-33) in the second half, while NIACC shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30).
Eric Allison helped Iowa Lakes take control of the lane in the second half by scoring eight points of Iowa Lakes’ 16 points in the paint during the first eight minutes.
Iowa Lakes cut the lead to 53-52 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Allison with 11:25 to go, and grabbed the lead during a 13-5 run on a tip-in by Terrell Newton with 8:28 left. The run ended with a Reggie Hearn basket to put the Lakers up 69-64.
Brown’s three helped NIACC outscore Iowa Lakes 14-3 in a four minute span during the 18-11 run, and put the Trojans in the lead for good. Iowa Lakes had a chance late to win the game after fighting back to make it 82-80, but NIACC’s pressure didn’t allow a shot before the buzzer.
In the first half, NIACC led by as many as 15 (33-18). Davis recorded 12 points in the first half by going 5-for-6. Dejoni Norris (Fr., Waterloo, IA) had seven first half points, and finished with eight points. Kendale Dunn (So., Cleveland, OH), who scored eight points in the game, controlled the boards with 10 of his 14 rebounds.
NIACC will be at Southwestern Community College on Wednesday.
