Tip-in wins it for SWCC men

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FORT DODGE — Sometimes the ball just bounces your way, and the Southwestern men’s basketball team got the right bounce in Saturday’s league matchup with Iowa Central. After Iowa Central missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Royce Phillips followed up a missed shot with a tip-in to give the Spartans an 81-80 victory over Iowa Central. “Defensively we did a really nice job late in overtime and fouled one of their kids that missed a front end of a 1-and-1,” said Southwestern coach Jerry Drymon. “We pushed it down the floor and Ryckey got the tip.” Southwestern led by three with 45 seconds remaining in regulation, but an Iowa Central 3-pointer tied the game to send it to overtime. In the early part of overtime, Iowa Central took an 80-76 lead. But Kristian Williams connected on a three-point play with just over a minute left to bring Southwestern within one at 80-79. Williams led the Spartans with a season-high 23 points. But Southwestern struggled out of the gate against Iowa Central. “We were down 10 in the first half and we got it back to five at halftime,” said Drymon. “We stayed close in the second half.” The Spartans trailed 38-33 at halftime. It was the first road win for Southwestern since a 79-72 victory at Mount Mercy JV on Jan. 14. With the win, the Spartans wrap up fifth place at 6-7 in league play. Southwestern (17-11 overall, 6-7 ICCAC) travels to Ellsworth Tuesday for a league match, with game time being 6 p.m. The game was originally rescheduled for tonight, but inclement weather moved it to Tuesday. IOWA CENTRAL (80) — Greg Schulz 7 0-0 18, Leterrious Thomas 6 1-1 14, Keith Kuenstling 5 3-3 13, Yusef Gray 5 0-0 11, Jerome Nelson 3 1-1 9, Keinon Collins 4 1-1 9, Spencer Shelman 2 1-3 6. Totals — 32 7-10 80. SOUTHWESTERN (81) — Kristian Williams 8 5-6 23, Anthony Davis 10 0-2 20, Ryckey Harper 6 0-0 16, Laurice Ellison 5 3-4 13, Royce Phillips 3 0-0 6, Tyler Raasch 1 0-2 3, Jamahl DePriest 0 0-2 0. Totals — 33 8-16 81. ICCC — 38 75 80 SWCC — 33 75 81