• Freshman Hunter Gawron leads DMACC with 20 points
• Sophomore Rylan Smith and freshman Brent Taylor add 14 and 13 points respectively
• Bears push current winning streak to six games

Freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., recorded a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the DMACC men's basketball team won arguably its most important game of the 2025-26 season with a 93-90 decision over Ellsworth Community College (ECC) December 13 at Iowa Falls.

ECC entered the game undefeated at 13-0 and ranked first in the Division II basketball poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). DMACC is ranked seventh and brought an 11-1 record and a five-game winning streak into the contest. The Panthers were undefeated in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play at 4-0 and DMACC was unbeaten at 3-0.

DMACC carried a 36-35 advantage into halftime and outscored the Panthers 57-55 in the second half to come away with the win. Sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., and freshman Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., joined Gawron in double figures with 14 and 13 points respectively.

Gawron got all of his points from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. He made five of nine three-point attempts, the second DMACC player season to make five three-pointers in a game this season, and was 5-of-6 at the free throw line.

The Bears shot 48 percent in the win, making 31 of 65 field goal attempts. They drained 11 of 24 attempts from three-point range and were 20-of-27 from the free throw line.

ECC's Tanner Berggren matched Gawron's game-high 20 points. The Panthers shot 46 percent from the field, hitting 32 of 69 field goal attempts. They were 10-of-27 from three-point range and 16-of-19 from the free throw line.

Gawron's 12 rebounds included seven offensive rebounds and helped DMACC match ECC on the boards, 37-37. Sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, added six rebounds and freshman Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J., came away with five. Tate also came away with five blocked shots.

Gawron, Smith, freshman Landen Norris of Knoxville led DMACC in assists with three apiece and Gawron, Tate and Bragg had two steals apiece.

The DMACC men's basketball team will play its final game before Christmas break tonight when the Bears host Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) inside the DMACC gymnasium. Game time is 7:30 p.m. NECC is 6-5 overall and 2-3 in the ICCAC.