SWCC men hold on for 59-56 win
MASON CITY — After a back-and-forth second half, the Southwestern Community College men held on for a 59-56 league road win over NIACC here on Saturday.
The Spartans improved to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in ICCAC play, while NIACC dropped to 11-7 and 0-4.
“Really, you’ve got to consider anything in this league, especially on the road, a good win,” Holmes said. “I felt fortunate to come away with it. I don’t think we played as well as we can offensively, but we played pretty good defensively.”
Southwestern took a 28-23 lead into halftime, and held that lead until about the 14:00 mark in the second half.
From that point forward, it was a back-and-forth contest, with several ties. Holmes said he remembers ties at the 7:00 mark and again at the 3:00 mark.
“I know the big play, Jack Harrison made two free throws on a one-and-one situation, and then leading by two, in our last possession — there was too much time to run it down — Devin Kastrup made a three from the corner to put us up four with about :17 to play.”
Marquealis Edwards then made a free throw with :01 remaining on the clock to put the Spartans up three. NIACC’s Chris Davis heaved a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim, giving the Spartans the win.
“Those were three big plays that stuck out in my head as far as offensively,” Holmes said.
The Spartans held Davis and David Humphries well below their season scoring averages. Davis, who averages 19.8 points per game was held to 12 points, while Humphries, who averages 18.9 points, was held to 13.
The Spartans were led by Kastrup with 14 points, while Edwards added nine. Patrick Wright pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Spartans.
Southwestern returns to action at home Tuesday against William Penn’s JV team. The Spartans return to league play 3 p.m. Saturday when they host Kirkwood, which is tied with Southwestern for third in the ICCAC.
NIACC (56) — David Humphries 5 2-3 13, Mohamed Mohamed 4 0-1 9, Sam Skogen 1 2-2 4, Josiah Lee 1 0-0 2, Chris Davis 5 1-2 12, Mike Wagner 1 3-6 5, Matthew Don 1 3-6 5, Braxton Williams 2 2-2 6. Totals — 20 13-22 56. FG shooting — 20-54 (37 percent). 3-point goals — 3-16. Rebounds — 32. Assists — 9. Steals — 13. Blocked shots — 3. Turnovers — 24. Team fouls — 21. Fouled out — Humphries, Don.
SOUTHWESTERN (59) — Jack Harrison 3 3-3 9, Devin Kastrup 5 3-5 14, Marquealis Edwards 4 2-2 10, Patrick Wright 3 3-6 9, Delby Halcomb 3 2-2 8, Larry Mason 3 0-0 6, Marcus Littleton 0 3-4 3. Totals — 21 16-22 59. FG shooting — 21-46 (45.6 percent). 3-point goals — 1-5 (Kastrup 1). Rebounds — 37 (Wright 9, Harrison 6, Edwards 6, Kastrup 4, Littleton 3). Assists — 7 (Edwards 2, Halcomb 2, Littleton 2). Steals — 12 (Halcomb 4). Blocked shots — 4 (Harrison 2). Turnovers — 28. Team fouls — 22. Fouled out — None.
NIACC — 23 56
SWCC — 28 59
