Cedar Rapids, IA - The #20-ranked Howard Community College Dragons nearly pulled off the upset of the year in NJCAA Division II basketball Friday evening, as they just came up short to the #2-ranked Kirkwood Community College Eagles 76-74.
Facing one of the toughest opponents they will see all year, the Dragons played one of their best games of the season. Howard kept up with the Eagles all night, and came one rebound short of getting a chance for a game-winning shot. The loss drops the Dragons to 3-2 on the season.
Howard jumped out to an early lead over the Eagles, with
RJ Greene leading the push. The sophomore scored ten points in the first half, dicing through Kirkwood's defenders while
Kalvyne Eby secured extra possessions for the Dragons with seven first-half rebounds.
David Rushing would keep Kirkwood's outside shooters at bay, shutting down their three-point abilities until leaving the game with a minor injury.
Kirkwood fought back to retake the lead late in the half, but a massive three-pointer from
Aiden Igwebe at the buzzer gave the Dragons a 35-33 lead entering the locker room. Out of the half, Igwebe continued to kep up the pace, dropping ten second half points as the Dragons stretched their advantage. However, the Eagles would wake up and begin to dominate the second half. Kirkwood pulled out to a 13-point lead with eight minutes to go as they capitalized on Dragon turnovers.
The Dragons would not go down without a fight. Greene and
Evin Thompsons continued to shoot from deep, slowly cutting into Kirkwood's lead. With two minutes to go, the Dragons had fought back to within nine points. Crucial rebounds from Eby and
Jordan Noel kept Howard within striking distance, and with 37 seconds left, Thompson hit a layup to make it a five point game.
After stalling out Kirkwood's offense with some well placed fouls, the Dragons jumped on a loose rebound to retake possession with ten seconds left. Igwebe then hit a corner three with four seconds left to cut the Eagles lead down to two points. A Dragon foul sent Kirkwood's Trevan Krumrei to the line, where he missed the ensuing free throw. However, Krumrei snagged his own rebound to clinch the win for the Eagles and prevent one last Dragons possession.
Greene led the Dragons with 25 points, a career high. Igwebe hit four three-pointers and finished the night with 16 points and three rebounds. Thompson scored 12 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in another excellent performance, backing up his career night against Delaware Tech earlier this week. Eby ended the night with eight points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, while
Jamar Payen scored six points and four rebounds off the bench.
The Dragons will have a quick turnaround, as they travel west to Iowa Falls to face #5 Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, November 14, at 4:00 PM EST.
