• Sophomore Rylan Smith leads six players in double figures with 19 points
• Bears pull away in the second half, outscoring the Hawks 58-29
• DMACC shoots 50 percent from the field

Sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., led six players in double figures with 19 points as the DMACC men's basketball team stretched its current winning streak to seven games behind a 106-66 decision against Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) December 15 inside the DMACC gymnasium.

Freshmen Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J., and Landen Norris of Knoxville tallied 14 points apiece, freshmen Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., and Shelton Colwell, Jr., of Newark, N.J., had 13 points apiece and sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, contributed 11 points as the Bears showed no signs of a possible letdown after last week's upset of top-ranked Ellsworth Community College (ECC), improving to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).

Smith became the third DMACC player to make five three-point baskets in a game this season as he was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and made all four of his free throw attempts.

DMACC led 48-37 at halftime and put the game out of reach in the second half, outscoring the Hawks 58-29. The Bears shot 50 percent from the field, hitting 35 of 70 field goal attempts. They were 15-of-42 from three-point range and 21-of-25 at the free throw line.

NECC, led by 23 points from Johanes Piscikas, fell to 6-6 overall and 2-4 in the ICCAC. The Hawks made 24 of 73 shots for 33 percent, including 4-of-24 from three-point range. They went 14-of-19 from the free throw line.

Tate came away with a double-double with 13 rebounds as the Bears had a 47-31 advantage on the boards. Norris, Taylor and freshman Solomon Mosley of Chicago, Ill., had five rebounds apiece. Smith also led the Bears in assists with seven and Tate had a team-high three steals.

The DMACC men's basketball team moved from seventh to second in this week's Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the Bears are one of five ICCAC teams to be ranked this week, including four in the top ten. ECC fell from first to fourth after being upset by the Bears on Dec. 13 and Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) and Kirkwood Community College (KCC) are seventh and tenth respectively. Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) rounds out the ICCAC teams in the rankings at No. 12.

DMACC's win over NECC was the Bears' last outing before Christmas break. They will begin the new year against KCC Jan. 3 inside the DMACC gymnasium