- Sophomore Da'Shon Fisher leads DMACC with 21 points
- Sophomore Trevian Carson and freshman Andrew Austin score 15 and 14 points respectively
- Bears win second consecutive ICCAC regular season title and fifth championship in the past six seasons
Sophomore Da'Shon Fisher of Iowa City scored 21 points to lead the DMACC men's basketball team to an 86-60 win over Kirkwood Community College (KCC) in a battle of ranked teams February 27 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
Sophomore Trevian Carson of Des Moines and freshman Andrew Austin of Rock Rapids joined Fisher in double figures with 15 and 14 points respectively.
DMACC, which closed the regular season at 28-2 overall and 17-1 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with its 16th consecutive victory, took a No. 4 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll into the game and KCC is ranked third. The Eagles were responsible for DMACC's only conference loss behind a 70-53 win Dec. 15 at Cedar Rapids. They finished regular season play at 26-3 and 15-3, finishing second in the ICCAC standings.
With the win DMACC clinched its second consecutive ICCAC regular season championship and its fifth in the past six seasons. Outright championships came this season, 2024 and 2021. The Bears shared the 2022 and 2020 titles with KCC.
DMACC never trailed in leveling its season series with the Eagles. Carson's three-pointer 38 seconds into the game put the Bears up 3-0 and they used a 14-4 run to open up a 20-8 lead eight minutes into the opening half. DMACC led by as many as 18 points before settling for a 41-28 lead at halftime.
The Bears left little doubt about the outcome after beginning the second half with a 19-7 run for a 60-25 lead with 14 minutes, 13 seconds to play. They led by as many as 32 points in the half.
DMACC shot 47 percent from the field, hitting 31 of 66 field goal attempts, including going 13-of-32 from three-point range. The Bears made 11 of 13 free throw attempts.
KCC was 22-of-61 from the field for 36 percent. The Eagles made seven of 24 three-point attempts and were 9-of-14 from the free throw line.
DMACC had a 42-36 advantage in rebounding with Carson's nine rebounds leading the Bears. Fisher added six rebounds and sophomore Demerius Shakur of Milwaukee, Wis., came away with five. Carson led DMACC in assists and steals with eight and four respectively.
The DMACC men's basketball team will be the No. 1 seed in the 2024-25 Region 11 Division II Men's Basketball Championship and will begin tournament play against eighth-seeded Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) March 1 inside the DMACC gymnasium. Game time is 3 p.m. The Bears swept their season series against the Hawks, winning 111-78 Dec. 4 inside the DMACC gymnasium and coming away with an 88-65 win Jan. 22 at Norfolk, Neb.
The DMACC-NECC winner will play the winner of the Iowa Central Community College (ICCC)-Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) matchup March 5 at the home of the highest seeded team remaining in the tournament. Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), Ellsworth Community College (ECC), KCC and North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) make up the other half of the bracket. The tournament championship game will be played March 8 at the home of the highest seeded team remaining in the tournament.
