June 01, 2025
Local NewsState & National

Spartans cruise past Mustangs in 71-57 win

By JARED LARSON

Southwestern's Carson Busch (23) of Lincoln, Neb., brings the ball up the court while being guarded by Mount Mercy Mustang Jakari Bradley (2) on Friday. Busch finished with a game high 21 points. Busch also pulled down six rebounds and dished out a team high four assists. (JARED LARSON)

CRESTON – Southwestern Community College and Mount Mercy University JV men’s basketball teams met for the second game in the doubleheader on Friday night, and the Spartans earned a 71-57 victory.

The Spartans got their first win of the season after falling to Kansas City Kansas Community College on Nov. 2.

“I thought our guys, we’re young and inexperienced, and the returners we have, they didn’t play a lot last year,” first year Southwestern Community College head coach Reginald Kindle Jr. said. “That game against KCK, they pressured us and really sped us up and our youth and inexperience really showed. I thought today we did a much better job of settling down and taking care of the ball for the most part.”

With this being coach Kindle’s first year in Creston, getting his first win of his SWCC career in front of a home crowd is important.

“It’s super important for us to show the community what we can do, that we can play together, you got to protect your home court especially going into conference play,” Kindle said. “This was our only home game of the month so it was really important that we got this win at home.”

Carson Busch led all scorers with 21 points for the Spartans. Duke Carey added 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.

“We have the hometown hero Brance Baker who had a heck of a game tonight,” Kindle said. “He plays really hard and he’s a smart player.”

Creston native Brance Baker had 22 minutes off the bench in the win and contributed nine points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

Mount Mercy University JV was led in scoring by Kyle Kelley who tallied 15 points and six rebounds.

SWCC had a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Carey and Busch opened the scoring for the Spartans.

The Spartans were up by six points, 17-11, when SWCC took their second timeout of the half.

Mount Mercy went on a 6-0 over the next 2:14 of game time to tie at 17.

The Spartans went on an 18-5 run to end the first half.

SWCC continued their momentum into the second half and made a 35-22 lead a 47-29 lead in just over six minutes. For the game, Southwestern hit 43.5% of their field goals.

The visiting Mustangs went on a 13-5 run to trail by 10, 52-42, with 11:15 remaining in the contest.

Spartan Devin Tomlinson made a pair of layups which gave the Spartans both some momentum and a 56-42 lead.

Mount Mercy’s Riley Pankey had five quick points and Kelley made a layup which brought the Spartan lead to nine points.

The Spartans finished the game on a 15-1 run, punctuated by a Khayden Hooks layup.

“People need to come check us out,” Kindle said. “We aren’t the most athletic or the biggest team, but we’re going to play hard and we’re going to compete every night

Southwestern Community College men’s basketball will take part in the Johnson County Classic on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 in Overland Park, Kan.

The Spartans are scheduled to play Highland Community College at 3 p.m. on Friday and Johnson County Community College at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

SWCC (71) — Carson Busch 8 2-2 21, Duke Carey 6 0-0 14, Devin Tomlinson 5 0-0 11, Brance Baker 4 0-0 9, Khayden Hooks 2 1-1 5, Qushawn Wells 1 0-1 3, Teon Thomas 1 0-0 2, Collin Sager 0 2-2 2. 3-point goals (8-27) — Busch 3, Carey 2, Baker 1, Tomlinson 1, Wells 1. Rebounds (32) — Tomlinson 7, Busch 6, Baker 5, Carey 4, Jackson 3, Gonnigan 2, Sager 2, Lee 1, Lacabe 1, Wells 1. Assists (10) — Busch 4, Carey 2, Baker 2, Hooks 1, Lacabe 1. Steals (13) — Wells 3, Tomlinson 3, Busch 2, Lacabe 1, Hooks 1, Jackson 1, Baker 1, Sager 1. Blocks (1) — Baker 1. Turnovers — 16.

Mount Mercy University JV (57) Kyle Kelley 6 2-5 15, Jakari Bradley 2 6-6 11, Riley Pankey 4 0-0 9, Quincy Underwood 4 0-2 8, Will Raife 3 0-0 8, James Aschenbrener 1 0-0 2, Calon Amey 0 2-2 2, Landen Sullivan 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals (5-18) — Raife 2, Bradley 1, Panley 1, Kelley 1. Rebounds (29) — Kelly 6, Underwood 6, Pankey 4, Bradley 3, Sullivan 2, Amey 2, Raife 2, Chandler 1, Rodriques 1, Aschenbrener 1, TEAM 1. Assists (9) — Bradley 2, Underwood 2, Kelley 2, Chandler 1, Amey 1, Pankey 1. Steals (9) — Pankey 3, Amey 2, Bradley 1, Aschenbrener 1, Raife 1 . Blocks (3) — Underwood 2, Bradley 1. Turnovers — 25.