Trojans fall to No. 2 Bears, 94-76
MASON CITY - The NIACC men's basketball team dropped a 94-76 decision to No. 2 DMACC Wednesday evening in an ICCAC contest in the NIACC gym.
DMACC (15-1 overall, 7-0 in the ICCAC) led 40-31 at the half and outscored the Trojans 54-45 in the second 20 minutes.
Kiki Deng led DMACC with 27 points. Shelton Cowell Jr. came off the bench to score 19 points for the Bears.
NIACC (10-6, 3-4) was led by freshman TJ Cusciotta and sophomore Joseph Fitch with 19 points apiece.
The 19 points by Fitch was a career high. Fitch, who also had five rebounds with one assist and one steal, was 8 of 9 from the field, including his first career 3-point goal.
Sophomore guard Jacob Martin, the reigning ICCAC player of the week, scored 10 points with two steals and one assist. NIACC's RJ Mitchell scored nine points with 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and one assist.
NIACC's Lance Helming scored six points with seven rebounds and three assists.
The Trojans were an impressive 33 of 37 from the free-throw line. The 33 made free throws is the most by the Trojans since they were 34 of 42 in a 86-78 win over Riverland CC on Nov. 22, 2016.
Cusciotta was 15 of 16 from the charity stripe and Martin was 8 of 9. The 15 made free throws in a game by Cusciotta was the most by a Trojan since Myles Tucker was 15 of 19 against Iowa Western on Jan. 4, 2023.
NIACC returns to action Saturday at home against Southwestern CC. Game time in the NIACC gym is slated for 3 p.m.
