March 28, 2024

Spartans stay perfect with easy win at Ellsworth

Strong defense, hot shooting help Spartans move to 19-0

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IOWA FALLS — Southwestern Community College men’s basketball coach Todd Lorensen and assistant Scott Davis expected a solid test from Ellsworth Community College heading into Saturday’s Iowa Community College Athletic Conference game.

What happened was much different in a positive way for the NJCAA Division II top-ranked Spartans.

Southwestern dominated the first half in improving to a perfect 19-0 with an 93-57 demolition.

The Spartans overwhelmed the Panthers in the first half, leading 60-25 at halftime.

“I certainly didn’t expect that kind of a lopsided score,” Lorensen said. “I thought it would be an extremely competitive game. We did a lot of good things. I’m happy for our guys.”

Ellsworth came out defensively in a 2-3 zone. Southwestern’s shooters were spot on offensively to limit the zone’s effectiveness. The Spartans had nine three-point field goals in the first half.

“We got a couple of real good looks,” Lorensen said. “We were fortunate that we made them. We had confidence from one guy to the next. We had good shooters taking good shots.”

Southwestern’s defense made sure Ellsworth didn’t have many opportunities to set up the zone by playing stingy defense themselves.

“Our defense was off the charts,” Lorensen said. “We knew there was a couple things we could take away offensively. The guys did a good job taking the scouting report to heart.”

Southwestern also took care of the defensive glass effectively, leading to a number of transition baskets on offense.

“When we got a rebound, we did a good job of turning our defensive stops into easy shots offensively,” Lorensen said.

Southwestern’s starters dominated when in the game. By the time the second half was five minutes old, the starters were done for the day.

The big lead allowed the reserves valuable playing time.

“It was good for our subs to get some quality minutes,” Lorensen said. “They might get four or five minutes where there’s not quite as much execution and focus. They got some realistic minutes against their starting group. It was good to get out there and work on some things in a game situation.”

KeShawn Wilson led a balanced attack with 15 points, all from downtown and all in the first half. Brodric Thomas had 15 points, including three triples. Jamil Maddred and Malachi Canada each had 10 points. Thirteen of the 15 Spartans scored.

UP NEXT — Southwestern (19-0, 2-0) hosts Des Moines Area Community College Wednesday.

The Bears (9-6, 2-1) fell at Kirkwood 58-50 Saturday.

Wednesday’s game is important for the Spartans early in the league season.

“It’s kind of been the rallying cry, but the next game becomes the biggest game on the schedule,” Lorensen said. “If we don’t take care of business, we could find ourselves behind them. They’d be a half-game ahead, plus the tiebreaker. It’s a huge early portion conference game.

SWCC scoring — Alijah Thomas 0 0-0 3, Brodric Thomas 5 2-2 15, Lavon Hightower 3 0-0 6, Jamil Maddred 4 0-0 10, Jordan Johnson 3 0-0 7, Calvin Chambers 2 1-3 3, Khallid Edwards 2 0-0 6. KeShawn Wilson 5 0-0 15. Dan Ngoyi 1 0-0 2, Nate Lee 2 1-3 5. Malachi Canada 4 2-3 10. Antonio Williams 1 0-0 2, Bennie Curtis 3 0-0 9. 3-pt goals 17 (Alijah Thomas 1, Brodric Thomas 3, Khallid Edwards 2, KeShawn Wilson 5, Bennie Curtis 3). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — None.

SWCC (93) 60 33

Ellsworth (57) 25 32