Bower’s bombs help Spartans advance

A 3-point barrage by freshman TJ Bower finally kept Iowa Central at bay as the Southwestern men advanced in Region XI play here Tuesday night, 86-74.

The Spartans held just a 37-36 halftime lead after going in front by 10 points earlier in the half, 26-16. Guard Jaylon Smith had three 3-pointers for 11 points and Mataika Koyamainavure was a force inside with 10 points at the break.

Bower, freshman from Nodaway Valley, converted on a spin in the lane and was fouled for a conventional 3-point play to give the Spartans a 53-46 edge seven minutes into the second half.

Then he just got on fire from behind the arc, making five triples in a 22-point second half in leading the Spartans to a double-digit lead with two minutes to play, 79-65.

“I was just feeling it, with a lot of confidence,” Bower said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me. Drive and kick. At the end there I even dropped one out of bounds. I was getting a little too anxious.”

Coach Todd Lorensen said the hot shooting stretch came at a good time, because Iowa Central had been closing the gap every time the Spartans opened up a margin of six to eight points.

Once Bower got going, the Tritons couldn’t keep pace.

“It appeared they were content to give us some open jumpers, and TJ clearly took advantage of that,” Lorensen said. “He had some good looks in the first half and just didn’t make them. The hoop looked like an ocean to him for a little bit in the second half.”

Smith also provided consistent firepower in finishing with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Koyamainavure had 10 of his 14 points in the first half and Josh Kirk had 16 points off the bench, including 6-of-8 shooting at the free throw line in the second half as coach Dennis Pilcher had the Tritons fouling to stretch out the clock.

“They did a nice job of whittling down our lead in the first half,” Lorensen said. “We made a couple of poor decisions with the ball and they made some timely shots on top of the turnovers. This time of year it doesn’t really matter how you do it, as long as you have one more good possession than the other team.”

The win is in contrast to the last time the Spartans hosted a regional game two years ago, when Iowa Central was also the opponent and took a 61-60 road victory on a late shot.

Tuesday’s game was a good home atmosphere on “Red Out Night” with a good local crowd on hand.

“It was great hosting a game and nice to have our fans behind us,” Bower said. “It was a good confidence booster. Now we get ready for Kirkwood.”

Kirkwood beat Iowa Lakes Tuesday, 83-59. Top-seeded DMACC got a bye and will host Ellsworth, which knocked off NIACC, 77-69.

Lorensen said the Spartans (23-9) showed in their last trip to Cedar Rapids that they can contend with the eighth-ranked Eagles (24-6).

“At our place they clipped us pretty good (92-68), but that was in that two-week stretch where we were not playing well,” Lorensen said. “At their place we were up 29-23 at half, and lost 70-53. But with five minutes to go it was a four-point game and we fouled. It got extended to double digits on free throws and they hit a three at the end. They have a nice group and we’ll have to play well, but we don’t have to play a perfect game. We just need to make some shots and play well. I truly think any of the four teams left could win it.”

The highest seed of Thursday’s winners will host the regional final on Saturday at 3 p.m. The regional champion advances to the national tournament March 17-21 at Danville, Ill.

IOWA CENTRAL (74) — Nic Laycock 7 5-6 21, Marcus Baldwin 6 2-2 15, Ky Kramer 4 2-2 14, Deon Wright 4 4-7 13, Dylan Hogarty-Doyle 1 4-4 6, Tyce Sarver 1 0-0 3, Junior Moaku 1 0-1 2. Totals — 24 17-22 74. 3-point goals — 8 (Kramer 4, Laycock 2, Wright 1, Sarver 1, Baldwin 1). Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.

SOUTHWESTERN (86) — TJ Bower 8 1-1 22, Jaylon Smith 6 2-2 18, Josh Kirk 5 6-8 16, Mataika Koyamainavure 5 4-4 14, Jok Kut 3 2-4 8, Ahmad Newsome 0 5-6 5, Josh Tolbert 1 0-0 3. Totals — 28 20-25 86. 3-point goals — 10 (Bower 5, Smith 4, Tolbert 1). Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.

ICCC — 36 74

SWCC — 37 49