• Freshman Malcolm Bragg leads DMACC with 18 points
• Freshmen Landen Norris and Brent Taylor also score in double figures
• Bears can still finish as high as fifth

Ellsworth Community College (ECC), a co-member of the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with the DMACC men's basketball team, avenged two regular-season losses to the Bears with an 86-69 upset win in the quarterfinals of the 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 18 at Danville, Ill.

DMACC, the tournament's top seed, never led in falling to 32-2 for the season and seeing its 26-game winning streak come to an end. Freshman Malcolm Bragg of Newark, N.J., led the Bears with 18 points and freshmen Landen Norris of Knoxville and Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., added 11 and 10 points respectively.

DMACC got off to a rugged start, missing its first 10 shots and committing three turnovers in its first 13 possessions. ECC, seeded eighth, improved to 27-7 with the win. The Panthers took advantage of DMACC's poor start by scoring the game's first seven points and they led the entire game.

DMACC finally got on the board on a layup from Taylor with just less than 15 minutes remaining in the first half and the Bears used a 15-4 run to gain a 23-23 tie with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left until intermission. But DMACC scored just two points the rest of the half and ECC took a 33-25 lead into halftime.

The Bears stayed within five points through the first seven minutes of the second half before the Panthers pulled away behind a 19-6 run that pushed their lead to 68-50 with 7:18 to play. DMACC never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 20 points.

DMACC, which was shooting at a 48-percent clip through its first 33 games, made just 22 of 75 field goal attempts for 29 percent. The Bears were 8-of-35 from three-point range and 17-of-24 from the free throw line.

ECC, led by Jayden Pretty's 19 points, made 28 of 57 field goal attempts for 49 percent. The Panthers were 10-of-21 from three-point range and 20-of-30 from the free throw line.

ECC outrebounded the Bears 47-43 with sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, leading DMACC with 11 rebounds. Bragg led the Bears in assists with four and Taylor, sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., and sophomore Jayden Jones of Katy, Texas, had one steal apiece.

The DMACC men's basketball team can still finish as high as fifth in the tournament. The Bears won't play again until March 20 at 3 p.m. when they will face the winner of the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)-Parkland College (PC) game that will be played at 7 p.m. today. The DMACC-MATC-PC winner will advance to the fifth-place game against an opponent to be determined. Game time is 2 p.m. on March 21.