- Freshman Malcolm Bragg leads DMACC with 24 points
- Sophomores Kaden Tate and Rylan Smith and freshman Brent Taylor also score in double figures
- DMACC sets school records in regular season wins and winning streak
Freshman Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J., led four players in double figures as the DMACC men's basketball team closed the regular season with an 84-74 overtime win over Ellsworth Community College (ECC) February 25 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
Freshman Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., had 13 points and sophomores Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, and Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., tallied 10 points apiece as the Bears closed the regular season at 29-1 overall and 20-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with their 23rd consecutive victory.
DMACC's 29-1 mark set a new school record for wins in a season and the 23-game winning streak is a new school record for consecutive wins. The Bears have won four six ICCAC championships since 2020, outright titles in 2026, 2025 and 2024 and ties in 2022 and 2020. DMACC has an impressive 53-3 record in ICCAC play in the last three seasons and has won 35 consecutive conference games.
The Bears' most recent victory didn't come easy. DMACC, ranked second in the Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and ECC, ranked ninth, were never separated by more than eight points until the overtime period when the Bears outscored ECC 13-3 to come away with the win.
DMACC trailed 35-30 at halftime and opened the second half with a 13-2 run for a 43-37 advantage with 15 minutes, 29 seconds to play. Bragg's layup at the 17:07 mark gave the Bears the lead for good at 39-37.
Tate's layup with 6:35 to play gave DMACC its largest lead of the half at 64-56 and the Bears were up by six at 71-65 with just more than three minutes left. But DMACC didn't score again in regulation and ECC got a 71-71 tie on William Taylor's basketball with 1:24 left, sending the game to overtime.
Tate scored DMACC's first four points of the extra period on a dunk and a layup with the layup putting the Bears ahead for keeps at 75-73 as ECC scored just one point in the last 3:42.
DMACC got two free throws from Taylor and one by freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., for a 78-74 lead with 2:32 remaining and the Bears closed out the win on a free throw from Bragg and a three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Smith.
ECC, led by Jonovan Wilkinson's 24 points, finished the regular season at 23-6 overall and 15-5 in the ICCAC with its third consecutive loss.
DMACC shot 46 percent from the field, making 34 of 74 shots. The Bears were 9-of-27 from three-point range and 7-of-11 at the free throw line.
ECC made 29 of 67 field goal attempts for 43 percent. The Panthers drained nine of 26 shots from beyond the arc and were 7-of-14 from the free throw line.
ECC came away with a 38-35 advantage on the boards with Tate's 12 rebounds leading DMACC. Taylor dished out seven assists and he and Bragg topped the Bears in steals with two apiece.
The DMACC men's basketball team will be the No. 1 seed in the Region 11-A tournament that begins Feb. 28. The Bears will face eighth-seeded Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) at 3 p.m. inside the DMACC gymnasium. Fourth-seeded Kirkwood Community College (KCC) and fifth-seeded Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) will meet in the other semifinal matchup and the two winners will play for the Region 11-A championship March 2 at the home of the highest seeded team still playing in the tournament.
The Region 11-A champion will advance to the 2026 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship or the North Central District Championship pending the outcome of the Region 11-B tournament.
DMACC, which swept every series in the ICCAC during the regular season, topped IWTCC 81-70 Dec. 10 inside the DMACC gymnasium and 86-58 Feb. 4 at Sioux City. The Bears beat KCC 85-62 Jan. 3 inside the DMACC gymnasium and 89-85 Feb. 21 at Cedar Rapids. DMACC handed IWCC an 88-82 loss Jan. 14 at Council Bluffs and defeated the Reivers 97-67 Feb. 14 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
DMACC's only loss during the regular season was a 61-59 decision against Spoon River Community College (SRCC) Nov. 20 at Canton, Ill. The Bears are 18-0 inside the DMACC gymnasium this season.
