- Sophomore Trevian Carson leads DMACC with 17 points and 14 rebounds
- Sophomore Da'Shon Fisher adds 15 points
- DMACC will face either Parkland College or Henry Ford College in a consolation bracket game on March 19
Most college basketball fans are fully aware of the fifth seed-12th seed matchup in the NCAA men's basketball tournament where a 12th seed upsets a fifth seed in tournament play almost every year. Sometimes there is more than one upset of a fifth seed by a 12th seed.
That scenario also takes place at the community college level as evidenced by 12th-seeded Howard Community College (HCC) handing the fifth-seeded DMACC men's basketball team a 69-66 overtime loss in the first round of the 2025 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) 2025 Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 17 at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Ill.
DMACC, ranked third in the most recent Division II poll from the NJCAA, fell to 29-4 and HCC, ranked 15th, improved to 26-5. Sophomore Trevian Carson of Des Moines led the Bears with a double-double, 17 points and 14 rebounds, and sophomore Da'Shon Fisher of Iowa City added 15 points.
DMACC struggled against the Dragons' 2-3 defense, making just six of 27 shots from beyond the arc and committing 19 turnovers that led to 20 HCC points.
HCC had a couple of five-point leads early, and a three-point basket from freshman Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., gave DMACC its first lead at 17-14. The Bears never led by more than four points until a traditional three-point play by Carson put them up 34-27 with 1 minutes, 43 seconds left in the half. A steal and layup from HCC's Truth Norton with 49 seconds left cut the deficit to 34-29 at halftime.
HCC scored the first six points of the second half for a 35-34 lead and the two teams were never separated by more than three points the rest of the half and entered overtime tied at 57.
Another layup from Norton with 2:57 remaining in overtime ignited an 8-2 run that put the Dragons ahead 67-61 with 34 seconds left. Carson's three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining made it a 67-64 game but HCC got a free throw from Emanuel Henriques for a 68-64 lead with 13 seconds left. Fisher's layup with eight seconds to play cut the deficit to 68-66. The Dragons' Jaden Johnson made two free throws with six seconds left for a 69-66 lead and a three-point attempt from DMACC freshman Andrew Austin of Rock Rapids was off the mark at the buzzer.
DMACC shot 42 percent from the field, making 25 of 60 field goal attempts. The Bears were 10-of-14 from the free throw line.
HCC connected on 28 of 63 field goal attempts for 44 percent. The Dragons made just three of 17 three-point attempts and were 10-of-15 from the free throw line.
Carson's 14 rebounds led DMACC to a 41-34 advantage on the boards. Freshman Jaden Jefferson of Forney, Texas, added seven rebounds for the Bears. He led DMACC in assists with four and Austin came away with a team-high two steals.
The DMACC men's basketball team will face r 13th-seeded Henry Ford College (HFC) in a consolation bracket game March 19 at 1 p.m. The Bears can still finish as high as seventh in the double-elimination game, but will have to win out.